Statewide Education News

It’s PB and crackers if parents don’t pay (Dispatch)

Students at Fouse Elementary School ordered off a menu of burgers, chicken tenders and a slew of sides last week –– unless their parents were behind on lunch payments. The menu for those children was juice, six peanut butter-filled crackers and applesauce. The meal meets federal nutrition requirements, officials at the Westerville school say, while sending parents the message that they need to pay up. “It’s very comparable to a regular lunch,” Principal Brian Orrenmaa said. Read More…

Ohio schools leader fears for future of arts teaching (Enquirer)

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — Ohio Superintendent of Public Education Stan Heffner told a group of Cincinnati business leaders Thursday that he’s worried about the future of the arts in public schools. “I am worried for the arts because of funding,” said Heffner. “Superintendents have no choice. They took hits.” Heffner mentioned his concerns during a talk at Hughes STEM High School for Leadership Cincinnati’s Education Day, a day-long session in which business leaders learned about the issues affecting education in Cincinnati. Read More…

Tougher state ratings for schools make ‘A’ hard to get (Beacon Journal)

Hudson would be the only school district in Summit County earning an “A” if the state’s new rating system had been in place last year. Stark County’s only A school would be Jackson. Aurora would have the only A in Portage County, and Wadsworth would get the only top grade in Medina County. Wayne County would have no A schools at all. Only 17 Ohio districts out of 609 that received report cards last year would be given the top grade under the new system, which begins with this school year. Read More…

Area schools may see lower marks (Chillicothe Gazette)

Almost every Ohio school district rated excellent or better on the state's 2011 report card would drop to a B or worse under proposed changes to the rating system. The change is part of Ohio's waiver application for key portions of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. It replaces the state's current rating system with traditional letter grades and beefs up the standards for achieving high grades. "The purpose is to make it more understandable to the public," Ohio Department of Education spokesman Patrick Gallaway wrote in an email. Read More…

Kasich to pitch policy reform (Dispatch)

Gov. John Kasich is likely to propose a new tax structure for Ohio’s banks that would provide relief for community banks but close loopholes for larger financial institutions, sources tell The Dispatch. Kasich also could propose legislation on Wednesday that would allow Cleveland schools to divorce tenure from staffing decisions — a potential steppingstone for changing education policy statewide and a component of the failed Senate Bill 5. Read More…

New law will put some teachers to the test (News-Sun)

This fall, thousands of teachers in Ohio’s lowest-performing schools will be required to take new licensing tests. The requirement — a provision of the state budget law — likely would make Ohio the first state to take this step. It would affect teachers in core subject areas whose schools are in the bottom 10 percent based on Performance Index scores and are in Academic Watch or Academic Emergency. The rankings would be based on Performance Index scores on the next state report cards, which come out in August. Read More…

Schools push up property values (Dispatch)

Through February, school districts had filed more than double the number of complaints contesting property values set by the Franklin County auditor’s office than they filed in all of last year. The districts want the property values raised so they can collect more tax dollars. To show that property is undervalued, they hire lawyers who seek out commercial and industrial properties that were sold at a price higher than the value set by Auditor Clarence Mingo. School districts had filed 447 complaints through February, compared with 262 complaints last year. Read More…

Mild winter means districts haven't used allotted calamity days (News-Herald)

Last year, after months of discussion, state legislators chose to restore the number of calamity days schools could use to five, up from the previous three. However, to the chagrin of most students, this increase has not come into play this year thanks to a mild winter. Geauga County schools frequently use their full supply of calamity days because of historically heavy snows. However, this winter has required few or no days off from attending class. Ledgemont Schools used a single day and is on pace the use the fewest in several years, said district treasurer Kelly Moore. Read More…

Push for action to curtail restraining students (Dispatch)

WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of students, most of them disabled, are strapped down or physically restrained in school, and disability advocates hope that a new Education Department report detailing the practice of "seclusion and restraint" will spur federal action to end it. The report, compiled and made public for the first time by the department's civil rights arm, shows that 70 percent of students subjected to the techniques have disabilities. There are no current federal standards on the use of the techniques in schools. Read More…

Healthier lunches helping students develop nutritious eating habits (News-Herald)

Brown bags packed with provisions from home along with purchased meals from the food service filled cafeteria tables during a recent lunch period at West Geauga High School. Whether bagged or bought, the majority of edibles appeared to be healthy and nutritious. Fruits, sandwiches made with whole-grain bread, salads and soups seemed to be the norm. Noticeably absent were cans of soda, french fries and sugary desserts. Read More…

Local Issues

Olentangy schools didn’t track expenses (Dispatch)

More than $11,000 in unapproved purchases occurred in the Olentangy Local School District’s athletic department, the state auditor says. The audit, released this week, shows the money was spent from outside bank accounts between 2008 and 2011. The money has been repaid, “but it should not take an audit to correct this kind of error,” State Auditor Dave Yost said in a news release. The outside accounts were opened by three athletic directors to pay for tournaments sponsored by the Ohio High School Athletic Association. Read More…

Mayor Frank Jackson's plan to revamp Cleveland schools still needs legislative support (Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS - Mayor Frank Jackson wants to make it easier for the city's public school brass to fire or re-assign ineffective teachers to help turn around low-performing buildings. The Democratic mayor also wants the school system to share school revenue raised through tax measures with high-performing Cleveland charter schools, a holistic schooling approach aimed at reversing the city's dismal record for educating children. Read More…

Region mobilizes to ensure 3rd-graders read well (Enquirer)

More than 70 organizations in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are teaming up on a national effort to improve third-grade reading levels. The eight-year initiative includes seven counties and 19 school districts. It’s one of the broadest such efforts ever undertaken, organizers said. Its goal is to have 100 percent of children in this region reading successfully by the end of third grade by 2020. The groups are taking on this issue because third-grade reading is a problem here, they say. And failing to address it has huge consequences. Read More…

Ohio plan would hurt TPS rating (Blade)

A proposed school evaluation system could have major effects on the images of area schools, and hits Toledo Public Schools especially hard. Part of Ohio's request for a waiver from No Child Left Behind Act requirements includes a proposal by the state's Department of Education for a new school rating system. Gone would be designations such as "academic emergency" and "excellent." In the designation's place would be an A through F scale. Gone also would be high rankings for many districts, with A's sparsely distributed, as the new system is considerably more rigorous. Read More…

Steubenville a model for other districts — including Warren (Tribune Chronicle)

At first glance the classrooms inside the Steubenville city school district may look similar to those found in other schools throughout the state. Colorful bulletin boards decorate the walls, instructors use some of the most modern technology and students work on assignments at their desks or in small groups around the room. But when it comes to academics, Steubenville is a cut above the rest. So successful is the district that it is garnering attention from officials in other school districts - including Warren City Schools. Read More…

Niles schools still face financial difficulty despite passage of levy (Vindicator)

NILES - Voter approval of a renewal school levy last Tuesday has staved off a state declaration of fiscal emergency for now, but the school district faces the same threat again with the start of the new fiscal year this July. “We are still under the specter of a fiscal-emergency declaration because our current five-year plan shows a deficit of more than $2 million for fiscal year 2013, and we have to show the state we can eliminate it,” said Mark Robinson, school superintendent. Fiscal year 2013 begins July 1. Niles schools have been under a fiscal watch since 2003. Read More…

Granville only 'A' school under new grading system (Newark Advocate)

NEWARK - Eight Licking County school districts were rated excellent or better in 2011, but only Granville would have achieved that rating under Ohio's new evaluation system. The change is part of the state's waiver application for key portions of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. It replaces the state's current rating system with traditional letter grades and beefs up the standards for achieving high grades. Read More…