Statewide Education News

Northeast Ohio schools welcome electronic devices to promote learning (Plain Dealer)

Cellphones and other electronic devices, once banished to school lockers, are becoming part of classroom lessons in some area school districts. From pop quizzes through text-messaging to lab results loaded onto electronic tablets to looking up information on smart phones, teachers are finding ways to engage students with the latest devices. Read More…

Local Issues

Disabilities in kids are increasingly nonphysical (Dispatch)

Growing numbers of American families say they’re raising a child who has a disability, and the most-prevalent conditions are less and less likely to be physical disorders. A report released yesterday by Princeton University and the Brookings Institution found that the top five chronic childhood conditions that limit typical activities are some type of developmental, behavioral or mental problem. Read More…

State recommends fiscal emergency for Monroe schools (Middletown Journal News)

The state could soon take over financial control of the Monroe School District. Officials with the Ohio Department of Education confirmed Tuesday Monroe’s fiscal recovery plan was not accepted and they recommended to the state auditor’s office the district be placed into fiscal emergency, which would be a first for any Butler County school system. Read More…

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson pitches school reform plan to lawmakers; concerns over charter school provisions linger (Plain Dealer)

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson on Tuesday formally pitched his education reform plan to state lawmakers, asking them to approve his proposal without making any changes. But charter school advocates, who have influential allies in the Statehouse, already are voicing objections. Read More…

Cleveland schools plan still has some critics (Dispatch)

A bipartisan group of lawmakers hopes to approve legislation by the end of May to overhaul Cleveland schools, but they still must resolve a final sticking point with charter school advocates who say the plan could limit school-choice options. Concerns about the tax-funded, privately operated schools are the “biggest obstacle,” said Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, after a two-hour hearing on the bill yesterday. Read More…

Envirothon competition teaches students outdoor science skills (Hamilton Journal News)

The competition was billed as The Area IV Envirothon, but area science teachers found the 62-school regional competition as a way to entice their students into learning and applying science outdoors. Franklin’s team trains all year for the event. Badin’s geared up the week before. Both looked to be enjoying themselves, Tuesday on the Pleasant Vineyard Ministries campground. Read More…

Ex-CEO of Cleveland schools works on Chaney plan (Vindicator)

A retired chief executive of Cleveland schools is working as a consultant in the Youngstown schools. Eugene Sanders, who retired Feb. 1, 2011, from the Cleveland school district helm, is working through his Sanders Transformation Group at Chaney’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics school. Read More…

High-schoolers’ COTA passes stay in Columbus schools budget (Dispatch)

Next year’s Columbus City Schools general-fund budget would grow by about 1.9 percent and maintain COTA bus privileges for high-school students, according to a preview that Superintendent Gene Harris presented to the school board last night. If approved by the Columbus Board of Education, the general-fund spending plan would grow by $13.5 million, to about $741 million. Read More…

Law Day offers Ross County students chance to argue case (Chillicothe Gazette)

Students at several area high schools were more likely to approach the bench than the chalkboard Tuesday as they took part in moot court sessions led by local attorneys. The courtroom simulations at Chillicothe, Southeastern and Unioto high schools were part of an effort by the Ross County Bar Association to spark student interest in the legal process for Law Day, which was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhowser in 1958 to mark the nation's commitment to the rule of law. Read More…

Online summer school has lower cost, more flexibility (Dispatch)

Some Olentangy students will go white-water rafting and ballroom dancing as part of a physical-education class this summer. Others will earn gym credit online. The district is one of many across the country moving summer-school classes online, in some cases to cut costs but often to provide students with a more-flexible schedule. Read More…

School reevaluating bullying prevention, other programs after bomb threats (WTOV-Steubenville)

A week after a student was accused of making bomb threats because she was being bullied, Jefferson County Joint Vocational School officials said they are reevaluating how they deal with social issues. Cecilia Abdalla, program assessment coordinator at the JVS, said they have an anti-bullying presentation to students at the beginning of each school year. Read More…