Education News for 07-11-2012

Statewide Stories of the Day

• State schools chief gets praise, not raise (Dispatch)

After a year on the job, Ohio schools Superintendent Stan W. Heffner won’t get a raise, but the state Board of Education approves of the job he’s doing. “From his appointment as interim superintendent, Stan has led the department with professionalism, objectivity and commitment to ensuring the highest quality of education for all Ohio’s children,” board President Debe Terhar noted on Heffner’s first evaluation. The 19-member board met privately with Heffner during its annual retreat this week in Columbus. Read more...

Local Issues

• Partnership talks fail between EOPA, TPS (Blade)

There will be no collaboration on a Head Start grant application between Toledo Public Schools and the Economic Opportunity Planning Association of Greater Toledo, which currently administers the program locally. "There will not be a formal partnership between the two organizations," states a letter from Jerome Pecko, Toledo Public Schools superintendent, to Jim Powell, EOPA chief executive officer, dated Tuesday. Mr. Powell did not return calls seeking comment. Read more...

• O-G teachers get contract, small raises (Lima News)

OTTAWA — Ottawa-Glandorf teachers will get minimal raises during the next three years, but other concessions will keep the district from suffering financially. The school board approved the three-year contract with the Ottawa-Glandorf Classroom Teachers Association on Tuesday. Teachers previously ratified the deal that was largely hammered out in one meeting. “I think the teachers came to the table with a real good understanding of where the district is at financially,” Superintendent Kevin Brinkman said. Read more...

• Grant to help feed 1,000 CPS students (Enquirer)

EAST WESTWOOD — The Walmart Foundation Tuesday donated $50,000 to a local non-profit group to combat child hunger. The money was awarded to the local Childhood Food Solutions and will fund a summer’s worth of weekly take-home food bags for 1,000 Cincinnati Public elementary school students – 600 at Roll Hill Academy in East Westwood and 400 at Ethel M. Taylor school in North Fairmount. Both have high number of students living in poverty. Read more...

• Students say school’s too easy (Dayton Daily News)

Millions of students across the country aren’t being challenged enough in the classroom, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for American Progress. The nonpartisan research and educational institute analyzed three years’ worth of student survey data (2009-11) from the Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress. Among the findings: 37 percent of fourth-graders reported their math work was “too easy.” More than a third of high school seniors said they hardly write about what they’ve read in class. Read more...

Education News for 06-22-2012

Statewide Stories of the Day

• Kasich lauds his pick of ex-OSU quarterback for state school board (Dispatch)

Gov. John Kasich described his new pick for the Ohio Board of Education yesterday as “a man of great character,” “a man of faith” and a “great addition” to the board. On Monday, Kasich appointed former Ohio State quarterback Stanley Jackson, 37, to replace Dennis Reardon on the 19-member board and serve the final six months of an at-large term. The Republican governor’s critics raised questions about Jackson’s qualifications for the board and Kasich’s vetting process. Read more...

• Ohio schools must prep for food allergy reactions (Telegraph Forum)

Food allergies are a part of the modern day school room. Ask just about any teacher, principal and of course school nurse (for schools that still have one) and they'll tell you that food allergies are among their many daily concerns when it comes to the well-being of students. Nationwide Children's Hospital estimates that one in 20 children have a food allergy. It's no wonder school personnel must address this very serious health concern. Read more...

Local Issues

• Advocates complain that juveniles in jail aren’t getting schools’ attention (Dispatch)

They’re “off the radar” kids. Special-needs juveniles who are doing time in jails and prisons with adults are entitled to, but often are not receiving, an education behind bars. That’s the thrust of a complaint filed against Columbus City Schools and the Focus Learning Academy by the Children’s Law Center Inc. The 14-page, class-action complaint was filed with the Ohio Department of Education. It is an administrative complaint, not a lawsuit. Read more...

• City schools cut 21 positions, $3M (Dayton Daily News)

DAYTON — Dayton Public Schools approved a budget Tuesday that cuts 21 positions and $3 million for fiscal year 2012, which is slightly more than 1 percent of its projected total expenditures. Those positions are for 12 part-time home instructors, three clerical employees and six high school physical education teachers. The 12 home instructors will be laid off and the other nine employees in the affected positions will be offered employment opportunities within the district, according to spokeswoman Melissa Fowler. Read more...

• Poland board members have their work cut out for them (Vindicator)

News earlier this month that the Poland Board of Education will place a five-year, 5.9-mill additional operating levy on the Nov. 6 ballot has unleashed a tsunami of passionate protest among many in one of most respected and best performing school districts in the Mahoning Valley. Judging by those passions that range from polite questioning to outright outrage and the school board’s 0-3 record of winning additional tax-levy approval over the past two years. Read more...

Editorial

• A new tack on funding California's schools (L.A. Times)

Wouldn't it make sense for education funding in California to be transparent and equitable, with money spent according to students' varying needs? Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to inject some overdue clarity and logic into the process by allocating to schools a flat amount per pupil, plus a large additional sum for low-income students or those who aren't fluent in English. The governor's plan is far from perfect — it's especially lacking in accountability — and the Legislature appears unwilling to support it this year for reasons both political and philosophical. Read more...

Education News for 05-18-2012

Statewide Stories of the Day

• House panel raises bar on third-grade reading test standards (Dispatch)

Last week, the Senate weakened Gov. John Kasich’s so-called third-grade reading guarantee by lowering the bar students need to hit on a state reading test to move on to the fourth grade. This week, the House Education Committee bumped it back up. Despite the debate, all agree that youngsters should be “proficient,” or reading at grade level, before moving on. But the possibility of having nearly two-thirds of third-graders held back in a few years when Ohio schools must start using more-rigorous curriculum standards and assessments has some lawmakers worried. Read More...

• Positive Education Program raises $4 million in agency's first capital campaign (Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND - The Positive Education Program (PEP), which specializes in providing services to children with severe behavioral and learning challenges, announced today that the nonprofit had met its $4 million fundraising goal. The capital campaign, launched two years ago, was the first in the agency's 40-year history and raised money for the PEP Prentiss Autism Center in Fairview Park. The center is named for the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation, which donated $1 million to PEP. Read More...

Local Issues

• Parents plead to preserve schools for developmentally disabled (Dispatch)

Parents upset about a plan to phase out much of the school-age program provided by the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities say they doubt their local districts can provide comparable education and care. “It’s not their passion,” said Becky Swartz, whose 14-year-old daughter attends the board’s West Central School. The two county-run schools have top-notch adaptive equipment, experienced staff and a proven approach that leads to the best environment for children with the most-significant disabilities, she and other parents said during a meeting last night. Read More...

• Conneaut BOE makes cuts to teaching staff (Star Beacon)

CONNEAUT — Many, if not all, of the ten Conneaut educators pared from the Conneaut Area City Schools roster for the 2012-2013 school year Thursday night could be back at their desks in the fall. By a 4-1 vote, the Conneaut Board of Education approved the reduction in force of the teachers. However, a better-than-expected budget forecast could allow the district to bring many of them back, officials said. "We're going to take a look at some options, plug them into our five-year forecast and see what we can do," Superintendent Kent Houston said. Read More...

• Weathersfield schools see no changes in forecast (Vindicator)

MINERAL RIDGE - The Weathersfield Board of Education learned from district Treasurer Laurena Rouan that there are no major changes in the district’s five-year forecast. “Because of big, prudent decisions by the board members and administration, we’ve made incredible strides to be in the position we are in,” Rouan said at this week’s board meeting. Projections for the district still show no major changes from the October 2011 forecast projections, which continue to show the district in the black at year’s end until 2015, when a deficit of $75,000 is expected. Read More...

• Columbus schools to stay in food business (Dispatch)

Five months after food-services firm Sodexo pulled out of its $13 million-a-year contract with Columbus City Schools, the district has decided it doesn’t need help providing 61,000 meals a day. The district’s food-services department interviewed three firms to replace Sodexo, and at least one said it could save the district millions of dollars over the next five school years, said Joe Brown, the district’s food-services director. But Brown recommends going it alone — the same way most districts operate. Read More...

Education News for 01-23-2012

Statewide Education News

• Mobile technology brings challenges to schools (News-Sun)

Schools are opting for new technology like laptops and tablets over the traditional stationary computer labs. The new technology has many benefits in education but presents problems such as funding new purchases, managing the equipment and supervising student use. At the start of this school year, Springfield City School District purchased 720 iPads at a cost of $473,000, including warranties and protective cases for each device, said Stacy Parr, the district’s technology director. Read More…

• Law now lets public schools donate excess food (News-Herald)

U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette is encouraging public schools throughout Northeast Ohio to donate excess unused food to local food banks and pantries. A recent change in the law gives public schools the same protections as restaurants and caterers that donate to food banks under the Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. The food donation measure, which became law in 1996, protects donors to food banks from all liability — criminal and civil — yet did not provide public schools that same protection, said LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township. Read More…

• How much homework is too much? (Dispatch)

In the four years since Upper Arlington High School reduced homework loads, students have achieved more, in some respects. The rate of students who take at least one advanced course has doubled, to 84 percent. The past two years, scores on college entrance exams have been the highest ever at the high school. Principal Kip Greenhill sees a connection between the students’ success and the school’s target of no more than 21/2 hours of homework a night. Read More…

Local Issues

• Parents shop for school options (Beacon Journal)

North Hill parent Gina Lang shopped for schools for her three children Sunday at an informational fair at the Akron-Summit County Public Library that brought area school districts, charter schools and private schools under one roof. She and her husband, Tony, were looking for an alternative to Akron Public Schools for their three children, who attend or will attend Harris elementary school and eventually, Jennings Middle School. Read More…

• For some, school tax rates rise after home values fall (Newark Advocate)

NEWARK - Some Licking County taxpayers will pay more in taxes this year despite a decrease in home values. Because of overall decreases in values, tax rates for six school districts, including the Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County, rose between .02 and .73 mills. Licking Heights residents will see their school taxes rise by 6.1 mills because of a combination of a replacement levy this past May and plummeting home values among the district's Franklin County residents. Read More…

• What has Liberty ‘Learn’ed? (Vindicator)

It's no secret that the Liberty Local School District has been in financial turmoil for the better part of a decade. Voters have rejected five levies from 2001 to 2010. Not even the board of education members knew just how bad the district’s finances were when the state began to probe its books in 2011. Last February, the state announced the financial records were such a mess that an audit on the 2010 budget was impossible. Read More…

• Bullying is a life and death issue, local educators say (Journal-News)

A Middletown teenager ingested household chemicals. A Ross senior posted a video on YouTube where she described cutting and burning her skin with cigarettes. A Talawanda student attempted to break his legs. The students gave authorities the same reason for their desperate acts — bullying. They were bullied by students at school to the point they thought they couldn’t escape it. Read More…

Editorial

• Set the limits (Dispatch)

School officials throughout the U.S. will be very glad if the U.S. Supreme Court opts to hear arguments on an issue that plagues most of them: What they can and should do when students harass teachers, administrators or each other online. Like any form of bullying, cyber-bullying disrupts schools and can cause emotional harm to its victims. But the vast reach of the Internet greatly magnifies the damage when, say, a student creates a fake MySpace profile characterizing the principal as a pervert, or another creates a website portraying a classmate as promiscuous and diseased. Read More…

• For Kasich, a State of the State road trip (Plain Dealer)

A State of the State speech is both a message -- and "a message." So it's notable that Republican Gov. John Kasich will give his 2012 address Feb. 7 not at the Statehouse, but at a high-performing public school in Steubenville -- a Democratic city hard by the Ohio River, and hard-hit by the economy. The constitution requires only that a governor "shall communicate at every session, by message, to the General Assembly, the condition of the state." Read More…

Administration - cut ESP's first

Despite analysis and news reports to the contrary, the administrations education Czar continues to state that school districts can and should meet their massive budget shortfalls without local tax increases.

Mr. Sommers said the budget proposal is as much about trying to correct a faulty funding system as it is about a lack of money. "We're real clear: Don't raise taxes at the local level either. It's time to think about ways to be more efficient in our production of educational success."

A report from the political think tank Innovation Ohio said the cuts to schools would result in the layoff of 30,000 teachers and support staff. Mr. Sommers said the administration's message has been to not start cuts with teachers and principals.

"I think any school that starts by cutting teachers is short sighted," he said.

Schools should instead make reductions in non-instructional costs such as administration, food service, transportation, human resources, etc., he said.

Clearly as much as the focus has been on teachers, this reckless budget also impacts education support professionals too. Indeed, if you take Mr. Sommers at his own word, ESP's would be first on the chopping block.

On top of the errosion of these middle class jobs, a lot of parents are going to struggle to find ways to safely get their kids to and from school because they have inflexible work schedules.

The services ESP's provide to both parents and teachers, often unrecognized, will come into stark relief if no serious adjustments are made to this reckless budget.