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Education News for 03-29-2013

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State Education News

  • Board of directors’ votes to shut down Akron Digital Academy (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • With just more than half of its nine-member roster present, the board of directors for the Akron Digital Academy voted 4-1 Wednesday night to shut down the online school…Read more...

  • Bethel works to meet reading guarantee requirements (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • School board members March 21 approved a resolution stating the district would not be compliant with the Third Grade Reading Guarantee requirements for the 2013-2014 school year…Read more...

  • Students sharing successes (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

    • From designing bridges and 3D projects to exploring their creative side, area high school students also are getting a head start on their college degrees…Read more...

  • Tests point to improved designation for Youngstown schools (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • Based on preliminary data, city school and state officials expect the Youngstown district to move to the equivalent of “continuous improvement” on the 2012-13 state report card…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Small crowds attended Conneaut school shooter meetings (Ashtabula Star-Beacon)

    • A subject dear to parents, the safety of their children, didn’t help put people into seats at a series of recent meetings outlining Conneaut’s school defense plans…Read more...

  • Striking Strongsville teachers obtain documents (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Strongsville schools spent more than $1.1 million through the first two weeks of a teachers strike, according to figures the Strongsville Education Association…Read more...

  • ‘Still Frontier kids’ (Marietta Times)

    • Becoming a charter school would not sever Lawrence Elementary's ties with the Frontier Local school district…Read more...

  • Springboro school board posts contract proposals (Middletown Journal)

    • The Springboro school board has published contract proposals submitted by the board and the union representing district’s teachers and certified staff during their first negotiating session…Read more...

  • New school projects deficit in first 4 years (Springfield News-Sun)

    • Financial projections for the agricultural science school show that the academy would operate at a deficit for the first four years…Read more...

  • Documents detail cost of Strongsville teachers strike for district (Sun Newspapers)

    • According to recently released documents, the school district spent more than $1.1 million in preparation and execution through the first two weeks…Read more...

Education News for 01-18-2013

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State Education News

  • Big changes could be coming to transfer rule (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The word "transfer" appears 58 times in the Ohio High School Athletic Association bylaw covering eligibility…Read more...

  • Teachers get training on how to cope with shooter (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Like tornado and fire drills, lockdowns have become common practice in schools…Read more...

  • Yost seeks periodic head count of students (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Conducting official head counts of schoolchildren several times a year would discourage the “ scrubbing” of student data, the state auditor says…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Southeastern, Piketon schools honored for clean audit reports (Chillicothe Gazette)

    • State Auditor Dave Yost has announced a pair of local school governmental bodies have been presented the Auditor of State Award for clean audit reports…Read more...

  • Local teachers train to handle active shooters (Dayton Daily News)

    • The first group of 200 Ohio teachers were trained on Thursday about how to handle an active shooter situation in a school and hundreds more have signed up for upcoming classes…Read more...

  • Local schools wrestle with cost of security (WKYC)

    • Schools across the country are developing plans to avoid tragedies like Sandy Hook but increased security comes with increased costs…Read more...

  • City schools facing $48 million deficit (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • The city school district is facing a $48 million deficit by 2017 without reductions or additional revenue, according to its five-year forecast…Read more...

Editorial

  • Ohio searches for that elusive set of tests that does it all (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • The controversy over how and when to test Ohio students has been going on for 20 years, and rather than being settled, it is entering yet another iteration…Read more...

Education News for 10-22-2012

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State Education News

  • School chiefs making exodus from districts (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Almost half the school districts in Franklin County will lose their leaders this school year, an educational brain drain for central Ohio…Read more...

  • 2004 schools audit died quiet death (Columbus Dispatch)

    • In the fall of 2004, Andrew J. Ginther, who was then on the Columbus Board of Education and is now Columbus City Council president, received two anonymous messages…Read more...

  • School levies ruling ballot (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Two-thirds of the school levies on the Nov. 6 ballot are seeking additional local revenue to support public education, the highest percentage of new tax issues…Read more...

  • In some school districts, about 40 percent of their third-graders could be held back by a new state law (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Ohio school districts have started to tell some parents that their child is behind in reading, offering a glimpse of how many students could be held back under the state’s new third- grade reading-guarantee law…Read more...

  • Schools districts find ways to incorporate digital textbooks (Middletown Journal)

    • When U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said this month that all schools should convert to digital textbooks, some less affluent school districts cried foul…Read more...

  • Ohio e-book purchasers in line (Portsmouth Daily Times)

    • If you purchsed certain electronic books (e-books), you should be looking for an email…Read more...

  • State remaking the grade on report cards (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

    • Like other local administrators, Lakeview Schools Superintendent Robert Wilson said that his district will work to hit the state's academic target regardless of where it stands…Read more...

  • Patrol prepares for Bus Safety Week (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

    • Area Ohio State Highway Patrol posts are participating in National School Bus Safety Week, which starts Monday…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Trial in Chardon High shootings postponed until January (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The trial of T.J. Lane, the teenager accused of killing three students and shooting three others at Chardon High School, has been rescheduled to Jan. 14…Read more...

  • Group wants Columbus schools’ seclusion-room doors removed (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Take the doors off seclusion rooms before more children are harmed, a disability-rights group told the Columbus school district…Read more...

    http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/10/20/group-wants-columbus-schools-seclusion- room-doors-removed.html

  • Former Perrysburg woman indicted, accused of stealing from school, community groups (Toledo Blade)

    • A former Perrysburg woman accused of stealing thousands of dollars from school and community groups was indicted this week on charges she stole from three other organizations…Read more...

  • TPS’ challenge will get tougher without new tax (Toledo Blade)

    • This wasn’t the October surprise that Toledo Public Schools wanted. Even as TPS is pleading with voters to approve a big tax increase this fall, school leaders are scrambling to explain why a new state-issued report card has downgraded…Read more...

  • iPads no longer going home with Cleveland Heights students after thefts (WEWS)

    • A dozen thefts in the past two weeks have robbed middle school students…Read more...

  • Perry Schools' 5-year forecast points to deficit spending (Willoughby News Herald)

    • The Perry School District has approved a five-year forecast that projects deficit spending in 2016. Treasurer Lew Galante explained that each year, the time frame for when deficit spending could be expected has been delayed…Read more...

Editorial

  • Awash in excellence (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • What’s all the grousing about an underperforming public school system in Ohio? Take a look at the latest state report cards, and the impression is that the public is needlessly critical of the quality of public education…Read more...

Education News for 01-05-2012

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National Stories of the Day

  • Both Sides Hang Tough on Teacher Evaluations - New York Times

    • When it comes to labor issues, it is often difficult to tell what is really going on. Negotiations are often a game of chicken, with each side holding firm and acting tough — until one side pulls the brake or jumps to safety. In the case of the city’s Education Department and the United Federation of Teachers, it appears, from the outside, that both sides are determined to sail off the cliff. Read More…

Local Issues

  • Akron Public Schools try to win back students - Akron Beacon Journal

    • Leggett elementary, located a few blocks from the Summit County Jail, serves some of the poorest kids in Akron. The school boasts an “Effective” rating on the latest state report cards and a new school building, but Principal Philomena Vincente still faces competition from charter schools. Read More…

  • Dayton Schools hope to avoid $12M deficit – Dayton Daily News

    • Dayton Public School officials are trying to determine whether to put a property tax levy on the November ballot to avoid a projected $12 million deficit in 2014. The school board’s new president, Ronald Lee, said Wednesday that “later this year is a possibility” for a levy. Read More…

  • CPS cited for fire code violations – Cincinnati Enquirer

    • The Cincinnati Fire Department cited Cincinnati Public Schools for numerous safety code violations following a Dec. 26 fire at the vacant building that used to house Quebec Heights School. Fire Chief Ronald Coldiron noted in the citation that the “current condition of the premises presents a hazard to the public and safety personnel.” Read More…

Talking Points

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S.B. 5 TARGETS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR ELIMINATION

  • Children need their teachers to focus on them and their classrooms. Allowing the union to represent teachers frees teachers to do what they do best: teach.
  • Taking away the union’s role in support of teachers will mean teacher salaries would be dictated by state politicians and education bureaucrats.
  • Senate Bill 5 will hurt our local schools and kids because taking the unions out of the picture will make it easier for politicians to lay off teachers and cut funding for schools across Ohio.
  • Collective bargaining allows educators a voice in improving opportunities for Ohio’s students, better classroom resources and improved teaching and learning conditions.
  • Teachers know best what’s needed to improve student learning, and collective bargaining gives allows them to focus on teaching rather than time-­‐consuming employment issues.
  • Educators, like all public employees, are an integral part of the fabric of Ohio’s communities.
  • Senate Bill 5 weakens Ohio. Rather than creating jobs, this legislation will hurt local communities, reversing Ohio’s positive economic outlook.
  • Ohio’s collective bargaining law has created a framework for problem-­‐solving that has made strikes rare. Local teachers associations negotiate effectively to avoid disruption for student learning.
  • In a tough economy, with Ohio facing a major budget deficit, we must focus on the essentials. Nothing is more essential than giving our children a quality education that prepares them for good jobs.

Studies and facts about collective bargaining

The public does not support attacks on working families:

A January 2011 Quinnipiac poll showed that Ohio voters oppose limits on collective bargaining by public employees by 51% to 34%, a 17 % margin.

Ohio’s public employees make less than the private sector:

A Rutgers University study for the Economic Policy Institute released in February 2011 finds that similarly educated public employees make less than their private sector peers.

Looking at total compensation (wages and nonwage benefits), Ohio public employees annually earn 6% less than comparable private sector employees and 3.5% less on an hourly basis than comparable private sector employees.

Collective bargaining did not cause Ohio’s budget deficit:

Policy Matters Ohio recently released a study showing that states without public employee collective bargaining are facing the same large budget deficits as state with collective bargaining.

Collective bargaining supports high quality education:

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2008) suggests that students in states with CB perform better than those in states without CB: reading and math (4th & 8th grades; average freshman graduation rate).