Statewide Education News

Schools rethink using tournament accounts (Dispatch)

Some central Ohio schools are reining in bank accounts run by athletic directors in the wake of allegations that sports officials misused money in two local districts. Worthington and Gahanna-Jefferson already have closed the accounts that their athletic directors used to host state tournaments, and others, including Dublin, Pickerington and Westerville, plan to revise their policies. School athletic directors traditionally have managed bank accounts outside their districts, sometimes with little oversight. Read More…

Cleveland Teachers Union proposes concessions, alternatives to Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's school plan (Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Teachers Union's counter-proposal to Mayor Frank Jackson's schools plan offers concessions in seniority rules and an alternative way to fix troubled schools, but draws a hard line on letting the district impose changes or toss out the existing contract. CTU leaders this week gave Jackson, legislators and schools Chief Executive Officer Eric Gordon three pages of proposed changes to Jackson's school transformation plan that CTU President David Quolke says includes an "incredible compromise" on how the district can lay off and recall teachers. Read More…

Many states loose on homeschooling regulations (Journal-News)

With ever-tougher academic standards coming from both state and federal legislatures, schools are under unprecedented, increasing pressure to perform well on a variety of measures, including mandatory testing and more rigorous teacher evaluations. But much of the pressure that trickles down to the students can be avoided when parents adopt a do-it-yourself approach to education. To many, homeschooling is an effective way for families to educate their children, to others it is a loosely regulated world of education. Read More…

Cheers to tests (Vindicator)

Youngstown - “The OAA, it may be hard, but you can achieve and be a star.” That’s one of the cheers belted out Thursday by second-graders at William Holmes McGuffey Elementary School, urging their third- through fifth-grade schoolmates to prepare and do well on the Ohio Achievement Assessment tests April 23-25. Laycee Lenoir, 8, came up with the cheer with help from Danielle Walsh, 8. It took about 30 minutes, Laycee said. The girls in Becky Butcher’s class shook red and white pompoms from Youngstown State University; the boys did a cheer of their own. Read More…

Ohio auditor says closed Cleveland charter school misspent $578,000 (Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND – The people who ran Greater Achievement Community School, a Cleveland charter school that closed in 2010, owe the state $578,357, according to a close-out audit released today by Ohio Auditor Dave Yost. Most of the findings go against Elijah Scott, who was identified as the "developer/title program coordinator/ superintendent" of Greater Achievement. The auditors found he deposited at least $46,000 of public money into his personal bank account from 2003 to 2010, the period covered by the audit. Read More…

Local Issues

Columbus schools consider zero-tolerance tobacco policy (Dispatch)

The Columbus school district is poised to expand its anti-smoking policy to ban all tobacco use on school property, which includes parking lots and sports venues. In practice, the district bars students or staff members from using any tobacco products, including chewing tobacco, spokesman Jeff Warner said. But the current policy says only that smoking is prohibited on all land and in all buildings and vehicles owned or leased by the district. The district is following the lead of the State Board of Education, which voted unanimously last year to adopt a model policy for Ohio’s districts. Read More…

Montgomery County develops education plan (Business Journal)

Montgomery County has developed an action plan to help more low-income kids succeed in school that doubles as an application for a national award. The plan, put together by civic, business and community leaders, centers on literacy, school readiness and attendance and summer learning for children from birth to 8 years old. “When kids are not reading by fourth grade, they almost certainly get on a glide path to poverty,” said Ralph Smith, senior vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Read More…

Brecksville and Broadview Heights safety forces, schools work together for disaster drill (Sun News)

BROADVIEW HEIGHTS — Residents in Brecksville and Broadview Heights should not be alarmed if they hear a cacophony of sirens blaring and see the local safety forces racing to and from Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School. At least not tomorrow. Building upon successful mock disaster drills in 2009 and 2011, the Brecksville-Broadview Heights City School District, along with the Brecksville and Broadview Heights police and fire departments. Read More…

Indian Valley High trading books for computers (Times Reporter)

GNADENHUTTEN — Indian Valley Local Schools have taken a step to leave behind the world of textbooks, paper and pencils and embrace 21st century technology as a way to educate its students. The board of education has approved the One-to-One Laptop Initiative, in which each student in the high school will be issued a laptop computer instead of textbooks. Classroom content will be delivered electronically. Students, in turn, will submit their homework to their teachers electronically and take tests electronically. Read More…

Hospital to provide sports medicine services to Hamilton schools (Journal-News)

HAMILTON — As a way of reaching out to the community, Kettering Health Network and The Fort Hamilton Hospital will soon begin providing the Hamilton City School District with free sports medicine services. “Part of our mission is to promote health and wellness in our community,” said Kettering Health Network spokesperson Elizabeth Long. “The health and wellness of student athletes is very important, so we are happy to lend our expertise. Read More…

Editorial

Deficit of trust (Beacon Journal)

All of Northeast Ohio should be watching closely the efforts of Mayor Frank Jackson to remake the troubled Cleveland public schools. The point often is made, and rightly so, about the region’s future depending on the quality of its work force. There won’t be the necessary improvement without success in Cleveland, and Akron, for that matter. Thus, it was encouraging to see Democrats and Republicans rallying to the mayor’s plan during his visit to the Statehouse this week. Legislation must be approved to allow Jackson to move forward. Read More…