Education News for 04-10-2013

State Education News

• Ohio Adopts New Restraint, Seclusion Room Policies For Schools (WBNS)

Ohio was a state that had no restrictions on seclusion rooms or restraints in schools. In December, the state created a policy, or guidelines, for districts to follow...Read more...

• School funding plan gets overhaul from Ohio House (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

State legislative leaders tossed out a major part of Gov. John Kasich's school funding plan Tuesday and significantly shifted the dollars that individual districts would receive from the state...Read more...

Local Education News

• National Robotics Challenge returns for 10th year (Marion Star)

While much of the robotics buzz locally is centering on the upcoming world robotics championship to be held in California, the event that first spurred an interest locally will enter its 10th year Thursday...Read more...

• Cuts could hit Head Start (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

Students and teachers in Mahoning and Trumbull counties could be affected by a federal funding hit to Head Start programs...Read more...

• Geneva schools to host open meeting on lockdown response (Ashtabula Star-Beacon)

Geneva teachers and first responders will team up Thursday to inform parents about new emergency lockdown procedures at every district school...Read more...

• Students earn Junior Achievement experience, honors (Canton Repository)

Dozens of area high school students spent Tuesday morning showing what they’ve learned this year about business, and several went home with scholarship money...Read more...

• Fairborn teachers put to the test (WDTN)

Fairborn students got an extra day of Spring Break Monday while their teachers had a very serious lesson to learn in the classroom...Read more...

• Bluffton student raises awareness for diabetes, awarded for efforts (Lima News)

Jena Diller has no memory of a time when she didn’t have a sibling with Type 1 diabetes. Her older sister was diagnosed at age 12, her younger brother at age 4...Read more...

• New Technology Allows Police To Have Eyes Inside Schools (WBNS)

A new tool has turned Baltimore village police officers into “virtual” cops. DARE officer Jason Harget demonstrated how officers can see inside every school in the district from the inside of his police cruiser...Read more...

• Turnout seen as key to Chillicothe City School's levy success (Chillicothe Gazette)

With no other candidates or issues on the May 7 ballot for Chillicothe voters, people pushing for passage of the Chillicothe City Schools’ operational levy realize that getting people fired up..Read more...

• Pymatuning Valley Local School District classified employee has beef with superintendent (Ashtabula Star-Beacon)

A Pymatuning Valley Local School District classified employee says she has been placed on unpaid administrative leave after missing several weeks of work due to being on a mission trip out of the country...Read more...

• Cleveland School district approves sale of administration building to hotel for $4.5 million (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

A St. Louis hotel company will become the new owners of the Cleveland School District's landmark East Sixth administration building after the school board voted 5-to- 3 to accept its $4.5 million bid Tuesday night...Read more...

• Avon Lake City Schools stress passage of levy (Lorain Morning Journal)

As the May 7 primary election quickly approaches, Avon Lake City School board members met yesterday to discuss financials and stress how important the upcoming levy is to success of the district and city of Avon Lake...Read more...

• 'Do the Right Thing' program returns to Lorain City Schools (Lorain Morning Journal)

Lorain City Schools’ “Do the Right Thing” program has returned after more than a year’s hiatus...Read more...

• Niles McKinley High begins classes in new building (Youngstown Vindicator)

“It’s really nice, and I love it,” said Angelisa Beltran, a 17-year-old senior, as she and nearly 675 of her fellow students began their first day of classes in the new Niles McKinley High School...Read more...

• Youngstown school board rejects funding members' trip to Calif. (Youngstown Vindicator)

If three city school board members want to attend a National School Boards Association conference this weekend in San Diego, they’ll have to pay for it themselves...Read more...

Education News for 03-26-2013

State Education News

• Threat from February involved national security; 12-year-old charged (Chillicothe Gazette)

A threat that caused concern at Chillicothe Middle School in February also created alarm at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Gazette has learned…Read more...

• Judge rules Strongsville City Schools to release public records to teachers' union (WBNS)

An appeals court judge is ordering the Strongsville City School District…Read more...

• What Chardon shooter TJ Lane's life sentence in prison (WBNS)

If you were like most people and found yourself disgusted at TJ Lane's courtroom…Read more...

• Board’s evaluation rates superintendent a five of possible nine (Youngstown Vindicator)

Despite improved test scores, the school board evaluated Superintendent Connie Hathorn’s performance at a 5 out of a possible 9, down two points from last year…Read more...

Local Education News

• Chillicothe school board cuts 10.5 teaching positions (Chillicothe Gazette)

The Chillicothe City School District Board of Education on Monday approved a reduction in force that cuts 101/2 more teaching positions from a staff that has shrunk by 14 percent in the past several years…Read more...

• Student admits posting ‘angry’ videos (Columbus Dispatch)

A former Gahanna-Lincoln High School student admitted yesterday to a misdemeanor delinquency charge of inducing panic by posting an online video that some classmates considered threatening…Read more...

• Coleman issues ultimatum to school board (Columbus Dispatch)

Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman will not support any permanent successor to Superintendent Gene Harris whom the city school board hires by this summer, he said yesterday…Read more...

• Author connects with students, standards (Marion Star)

Taft Elementary School teachers hope a brush with fame encourages students to become better readers and storytellers…Read more...

• Perrysburg schools may purchase classroom units from Sylvania schools (Toledo Blade)

Perrysburg schools are moving forward with a plan to purchase five classroom portable units from Sylvania schools for a short-term fix to its overcrowding issues…Read more...

Editorial

• Panel could help curb child deaths (Columbus Dispatch)

Kaydence Lewinski, 5 months old, shaken and beaten to death; Angela Palmer, 4, burned to death; Brianna Blackmond, 23 months, beaten to death; Samuel and Solomon Simms, 6- year-old twins, strangled…Read more...

Education News for 03-04-2013

State Education News

• Private biller says schools missing out on $200 million (Akron Beacon Journal)

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services hasn’t fully reimbursed school districts for Medicaid related services since 2005. That’s when the state’s previous reimbursement system crumbled under a lack of oversight…Read more...

• Charter school money is big question mark in Gov. John Kasich's education budget (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Much of the debate so far on Gov. John Kasich's education budget has focused on whether he would give enough state money to public schools and how he would distribute it between poor and rich districts…Read more...

• State’s ‘guarantee’ on school funding may vanish (Columbus Dispatch)

School districts have been guaranteed for years that no matter what the state’s funding formula says, they won’t see their basic state funding cut…Read more...

• School security gets renewed emphasis from state (Columbus Dispatch)

For LaDonna Calingo, the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre was a call to action…Read more...

• Kasich’s school plan hits education centers (Columbus Dispatch)

Centers that provide support services to school districts across Ohio could see tens of millions in combined state funding cuts under Gov. John Kasich’s proposed two-year budget…Read more...

• Cursive 'is a dying art' (Findlay Courier)

Before smartphones, before personal and laptop computers, and before typewriters, people put pen or pencil to paper by hand writing. And the best of handwriting was cursive…Read more...

• Lorain schools will soon be under the guidance of state academic commission (Lorain Morning Journal)

Lorain City School’s recently passed levy stopped a state financial takeover, but its poor performance on state report cards will soon land it under the guidance of a state academic commission…Read more...

• Schools accepting voucher applications (Springfield News-Sun)

Parents of students who are eligible for the EdChoice voucher program can apply now at participating private schools…Read more...

Local Education News

• Chillicothe school district takes leaner approach (Chillicothe Gazette)

For the past 102 years, the Western School Building on Cherry Street has served as a venue for learning in the Chillicothe City Schools…Read more...

• Student competition to create an invention produces simple result (Columbus Dispatch)

A marble careens down a track and smacks a switch. A hair dryer breathes to life, sending a ping pong ball flying, releasing a toy car. The miniature Mustang zooms through a loop and releases a resting hammer that slams onto a waiting nail…Read more...

• Westerville schools losing kids, funding to charters (Columbus Dispatch)

Students are leaving Westerville schools at a rate that has alarmed district officials, spurring them to seek ways to draw students back and retain others…Read more...

• Schools use Internet to crush rumors (Lima News)

Rumor had it that Waynesfield-Goshen schools would soon drop its music programs. The grapevine also whispered that the district wanted to take over the community youth basketball program…Read more...

• District hears plan to arm teachers (Springfield News-Sun)

Two separate plans to protect local students are being debated in Clark County, highlighting the decisions districts face in the wake of shootings like Sandy Hook Elementary…Read more...

• Niles audit finds savings (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

Interim Superintendent Frank Danso said study, reflection and discussion will be necessary for the district as it moves forward after a recent audit…Read more...

• Increased police presence after rumors of planned shooting at Perry Middle School (Willoughby News Herald)

Perry Village Police provided an increased presence at Perry Schools Friday as a precaution after rumors of a shooting threat at Perry Middle School…Read more...

Editorial

• We must spend surplus wisely (Cincinnati Enquirer)

After months of pinching pennies, imagine finding yourself with almost $2,000 left over after you’ve paid all your bills. What do you do with the windfall: Put it into your children’s education…Read more...

• Business, labor, education and government entities pledge to find opportunities for people long (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

As Cleveland's economic turnaround gathers momentum, one of this community's great challenges is to extend that success to businesses, individuals and neighborhoods…Read more...

• How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms (PEW Internet)

A survey of teachers who instruct American middle and secondary school students finds that digital technologies have become central to their teaching and professionalization…Read more...

Education News for 02-15-2013

Local Education News

• James tackles Akron, state issues in ‘State of the Schools’ speech (Akron Beacon Journal)

Akron Public Schools Superintendent David James gave his fifth annual “State of the Schools” address Thursday, detailing challenges stemming…Read more...

• Normal school security routine returns Monday (Chillicothe Gazette)

The atmosphere at Chillicothe Middle and High School is expected to regain a sense of normalcy on Monday after a week of boosted police presence at the campus…Read more...

• Findlay evaluations will look for gifted students (Findlay Courier)

Findlay City Schools Gifted Services is arranging evaluations of students in kindergarten through 12th grade to determine if they are gifted in the visual and performing arts areas of dance, drama, music and visual arts…Read more...

• New internal assessments elicit cautious optimism for Toledo Public Schools (Toledo Blade)

As Toledo Public Schools found itself mired in public turmoil in recent months, with a search for a new superintendent, a state investigation that criticized attendance…Read more...

• McDonald officials reject arming teachers (Youngstown Vindicator)

McDonald schools have hired local off-duty police officers who will rotate for an eight-hour shift daily to provide additional security at the schools…Read more...

Editorial

• Question of adequacy (Akron Beacon Journal)

For more than 20 years two concepts have dominated the school-funding debate in Ohio: adequacy and equity. Equity points to a distribution issue…Read more...

Education News for 01-15-2013

State Education News

• Law allows principals to skip being teachers (Cincinnati Enquirer)

When Gilbert A. Dater High School teacher Terri Wessel heard the school’s new assistant principal didn’t have a traditional license, she was nervous…Read more...

• Teachers’ pay might be linked to quality, Kasich says (Columbus Dispatch)

Schools could tie teachers’ pay incentives to their performance as part of Gov. John Kasich’s yet-to-be-unveiled funding formula, the Republican governor said yesterday…Read more...

• Leader is re-elected by state education board (Columbus Dispatch)

A united State Board of Education unanimously re-elected Cincinnati Republican Debe Terhar to a second two-year term as president yesterday…Read more...

• STEM internship program wins state funding (Columbus Dispatch)

The state Controlling Board approved $11 million yesterday for a cooperative internship program designed to help make Ohio a leader in educating students in the high-demand fields of science, technology…Read more...

• Painesville City Schools seeks grant funds to improve literacy, team up with Fairport Harbor (Willoughby News Herald)

Painesville City Local Schools will look to partner with a neighboring district in the future to improve student reading skills…Read more...

Local Education News

• Chillicothe school board faces cuts regardless of levy approval (Chillicothe Gazette)

A number of significant changes, including the closure of Tiffin Elementary School, are on the table as Chillicothe City School officials look to cut $1 million from the district’s budget…Read more...

• Ross County sheriff suggests deputy presence in schools (Chillicothe Gazette)

As schools across the nation continue to look for ways to boost their security, Ross County Sheriff George Lavender has proposed having deputies make daily appearances at all of the county schools…Read more...

• CPS board puts open border policy on hold (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Cincinnati Public Schools on Monday delayed a vote on a policy that would for the first time allow it to open its borders to out-of-district students…Read more...

• Berea, Midpark wrestlers grappling successfully with schools' imminent merger (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Imagine the carnage if St. Edward and St. Ignatius held a joint hockey practice, or if Massillon and McKinley tried to do anything together, even a clambake…Read more...

• Phila schools seek $4 million levy to help boost security (New Philadelphia Times)

The New Philadelphia Board of Education has taken the final step to place on the May primary ballot a 9.6-mill, five-year emergency operating levy, which would pay for…Read more...

• Columbus City Schools Book Purchases Come Under Fire For Alleged Conflict Of Interest (WBNS)

At Marion Franklin High School, questions are not coming from school books but instead are about school books…Read more...

• Teachers institute ‘work to rule’ plan (Youngstown Vindicator)

School officials are responding with a little surprise and a little understanding to Austintown teachers’ new efforts to have their grievances heard…Read more...

• Poland schools beef up security (Youngstown Vindicator)

The board of education agreed Monday to allow a Poland Township police officer in all school buildings and to spend up to $80,000 in security upgrades district-wide…Read more...

Editorial

• Preventable tragedy (Columbus Dispatch)

Parents who are undecided about getting their children vaccinated against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV, might look at the statistics and heed the experience of a surgeon…Read more...

Education News for 12-04-2012

State Education News

• Unpaid Lunch Charges Grow To $8,000 In Central Ohio School District (WBNS)

The Southwest Licking Local School District is facing a budget problem in its food department. Superintendent Robert Jennell says the district now has $8,000 in unpaid lunch charges from students and staff…Read more...

• Riverside Schools gets SOAR award as 1 of Ohio's most improved districts (Willoughby News Herald)

Riverside School District has been recognized as one of the most improved districts in a statewide program geared at strengthening school and student performance…Read more...

Local Education News

• Chillicothe school board plans levy to close gap (Chillicothe Gazette)

For the Chillicothe City School District to close a looming budget gap, the district and its taxpayers will have to share in the sacrifice…Read more...

• Arlington schools consider options (Columbus Dispatch)

After the Upper Arlington schools’ first levy defeat in decades, district officials are trying to figure out how to plug a budget gap that they say is somewhere between $2 million and $4 million…Read more...

• Licking Heights Begins School Week Without Busing (WBNS)

One of the first cuts following Licking Heights School District's failed levy started Monday morning. Students who typically used district buses to get to school were forced to find an alternative way…Read more...