fee

Education News for 02-22-2012

in

Statewide Education News

  • Columbus City Schools Biggest User of Non-Traditional New Teachers (State Impact – NPR)

    • We’ve been writing recently about ways to become a teacher in Ohio if you didn’t graduate from a school of education. But you may be wondering: Where are all these usually career-changing new teachers who followed an alternative route to the classroom? (Well, we were curious about it.) Ohio Department of Education data shows that the Columbus school district is likely the biggest employer of new alternative-route teachers this school year. The district was set to hire 19 of them. Read More…

  • Beaver district out of emergency (Vindicator)

    • Lisbon - After just more than two years in fiscal emergency, the state auditor’s office has lifted that designation from the Beaver Local School District. The state auditor’s office declared the district in fiscal emergency Feb. 11, 2010, after the school board passed a resolution in September 2009 stating its inability to develop a fiscal-watch recovery plan that’s acceptable to the state superintendent of public instruction. A Financial Planning and Supervision Commission was appointed to direct the district’s return to financial stability. Read More…

  • State consultant calls Lake schools operation lean (Blade)

    • MILLBURY - After analyzing staff numbers and the financial books, an Ohio Department of Education consultant described Lake Local Schools as lean. "You've been through some tough financial times and have made cuts," said Rob Miller, a former school superintendent who is now a state fiscal consultant to financially troubled schools. "There comes a limit to what you can do without affecting programs. And I know what this board is concerned about." Mr. Miller made his presentation a month before Lake school officials are expected to make budget cuts. Read More…

  • Schools close doors as budgets tighten (Enquirer)

    • LINCOLN HEIGHTS — At Lincoln Heights Elementary recently, tears rolled down parent-volunteer Dominique Langford’s eyes as she imagined what would happen if Princeton’s school levy fails March 6. The mother of two knows about the $6.7 million in cuts the school board recently approved if the levy fails. An elementary school will close, dozens of teachers, aides and others will lose jobs, busing will end for high school and some classes will be crowded. Read More…

  • Glenn Urges Focus On Future, Education (WCMH 4 NBC)

    • COUMBUS - Former Senator John Glenn, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his historic flight into earth orbit, appeared at the Ohio State University today to say that education is the pathway to a bright future. "I think, unless we correct our K-12 education system, we are in trouble," the former senator said during a news conference with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Both men have logged time in orbit and credit much of their success to their education and training. Read More…

Local Issues

  • Columbus State partnering with Reynoldsburg schools (Dispatch)

    • Reynoldsburg students will soon be able to take Columbus State Community College courses at their high school and possibly earn a two-year associate degree along with their diploma, officials said last night. Under the proposal, announced at the district’s regular board meeting, Reynoldsburg High School’s Livingston building would house a Columbus State regional campus where area students and adults could take classes starting this fall. Officials are working out details. The school board and Columbus State’s board still need to approve the initiative. Read More…

  • Parents urged to organize to save Youngstown schools (Vindicator)

    • YOUNGSTOWN - Key ingredients to improve Youngstown city schools are engaged parents and a commitment to long-term involvement, a longtime community organizer contends. “If we begin to create a movement between parents, between educators, between churches and between administrators, we can begin to challenge the status quo,” said Greg Galluzzo, founder and senior organizer of the Chicago-based Gamaliel Foundation. Read More…

  • Perrysburg schools may allow iPads, iPods (Blade)

    • Perrysburg school officials are considering letting students bring iPads, iPods, smart phones, and other hand-held devices to school. The school board heard a first reading on the policy Tuesday and is expected to vote on the issue March 19. Under the policy, students in all grades could use electronic devices before and after school and during lunch or in class at the teacher's discretion. In December, school officials said they were considering buying such devices for high school students. The move could happen as early as January, 2013, at an estimated cost of $360,000. Read More…

  • School board agrees to pay fee for background checks (Findlay Courier)

    • FOSTORIA - Fostoria school board approved a motion Tuesday to waive a $60 fee for Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification/Federal Bureau of Investigation background checks for district volunteers. The board will pay the fee. Superintendent Steve Pritts said it was an important action by the board to ensure students and staff are safe in district buildings. It was unknown Tuesday how many volunteers serve in the district. Read More…

Let's Say You're a Teacher

in

So--let's say you're a teacher.

Not "just a teacher," but one of those special teachers we hear about in news and policy discussions-- the supposedly rare educator who has passionate disciplinary expertise, a toolbag full of teaching strategies and genuine caring for their students. You're in education because you want to make a difference, change the world, raise the bar. You actually love teaching, finding it endlessly variable and challenging. You plan to spend a long time in the classroom.

So you begin pursuing a graduate degree in education. You notice that getting a masters degree in education is scorned in policy world as having little impact on student learning. A few of your classes are tedious. But some of them are genuinely interesting and valuable, pushing you to think more deeply about the work you do and increasing your content knowledge. Even though pundits declare your advanced degree does not correlate with increased student achievement, you press on. You're enjoying the intellectual stimulation and--let's face it-- accruing credits is another way to increase your salary and you need the money.

You're fascinated by new instructional strategies and curriculum ideas. You're eager to learn. But your district--which just replaced all its computers in the past two years--has no money for professional development. So you burn two of your business days, pay your own registration fee and mileage, and travel with three colleagues to a conference across the state, where--being a teacher type--you attend every single session and collect tons of free stuff to take back to your classroom in a canvas bag (which you will later give to a student as a reward for reading 25 books). The four of you share the $200 hotel room, and split a pizza. The high life.

[readon2 url="http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teacher_in_a_strange_land/2010/03/lets_say_youre_a_teacher.html"]Continue reading...[/readon2]