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 12-14-2012

State Education News

• Tax exemption annoys Upper Arlington school chiefs (Columbus Dispatch)

A property-tax exemption for Tree of Life Christian Schools would have been challenged had Upper Arlington schools known about it, school district Treasurer Andrew Geistfeld said…Read more...

• Veteran awarded diploma posthumously (Lima News)

The Lima school board approved a high school diploma Thursday for World War II veteran Ralph G. Washam. Ohio Senate Bill 75 allows schools to grant diplomas to World War II veterans who left school to serve during the war…Read more...

• Districts turn to fees to pay for activities (Springfield News-Sun)

More local school districts have implemented or increased pay-to-participate fees as budgets tighten and voters have said no to property tax requests…Read more...

• Academic commission takes over Youngstown school district (Youngstown Vindicator)

The city schools Academic Distress Commission is taking over budget authority for the school district because of a projected $1.5 million deficit this school year…Read more...

Local Education News

• Harmony talk turns divisive (Columbus Dispatch)

Talk of harmony among racial groups devolved into accusations of communism, racism and McCarthyism at the Olentangy school-board meeting yesterday evening…Read more...

• Panel starts discussing fix for schools (Columbus Dispatch)

With so many members they at first couldn’t all fit at the table in the largest meeting room in City Hall, Mayor Michael B. Coleman kicked off his new “education commission” to examine Columbus City Schools…Read more...

• Computer error throws off schools’ math competition results (Dayton Daily News)

A computer glitch miscalculated the scores at Dayton Public Schools’ Math-O-Lympics competition Saturday, leading some of the wrong teams to get trophies…Read more...

Editorial

• Think big for best use of windfall (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

As Vienna trustees discuss what to do with a $3.9 million windfall, they should engage their residents and think big. Really big…Read more...

Education News for 11-26-2012

State Education News

• Many Ohio 3rd-graders at risk of failing (Chillicothe Gazette)

Thousands of Ohio third-graders face being held back in school if they can’t improve their reading proficiency by year’s end — and the problem could be even worse next year…Read more...

• Schools critics open new front in seclusion-room fight (Columbus Dispatch)

Furthering its quest to end Columbus schools' use of seclusion rooms for disabled students, a state disability-rights group has filed a formal complaint against the district with the Ohio Department of Education…Read more...

• Education conference reflects tough economy (Middletown Journal)

Local school administrators were among the nearly 10,000 education professionals who attended the 57th annual Ohio School Board Association Capital Conference and Trade Show last week in Columbus…Read more...

• District’s financial recovery may take 5 years (Middletown Journal)

Members of the state-appointed Financial Planning and Supervision Commission said it will take three to five years before the effects of Monroe Schools’ passed levy will be seen…Read more...

• State Educators Agree to Replace the OGT (WSYX)

State education leaders have agreed on a plan for replacing the Ohio Graduation Test with a nationally standardized college readiness test, such as the ACT, and 10 subject-area exams…Read more...

Local Education News

• Schools in Singapore may provide lessons for educators here (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Helen Williams knew little about Singapore before traveling there this spring to learn about its education system. What she had heard were the tales of people caned for minor offenses and stereotypes about Asian schools…Read more...

• Pay freezes, cuts saving millions at local schools (Hamilton Journal-News)

Staff pay freezes have become the rule, rather than the exception, at Miami Valley public school districts…Read more...

Editorial

• Cleveland-area school districts must work harder to keep children who move frequently from falling (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Students who often change schools -- making them hard to track and harder to teach -- have long been a problem in many Ohio school systems…Read more...

• Fair assessment (Columbus Dispatch)

As Ohio lawmakers work through this lame-duck session, one item on the hurry-up agenda demands attention: revamping the report cards…Read more...

Education News for 09-14-2012

State Education News

• Teachers to pay more for pensions (Canton Repository)

By 2016, local teachers will have to contribute an additional four percent of their pay toward their pensions with the State Teachers…Read more...

• BMI record-keeping no longer weighs on schools (Columbus Dispatch)

Ohio schools no longer have to gather students’ body-mass-index measurements — just two years after a state law required them to do…Read more...

• State School Board candidate holds discussion in Lima (Lima News)

State School Board candidate and former Ohio State quarterback Stanley Jackson spoke and listened…Read more...

• Hundreds of northeast Ohio school buses (WEWS)

Hundreds of school buses in the top ten largest school districts…Read more...

Local Education News

• Erlanger after-school program may become model (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Principal Bryant Gillis pointed across the Tichenor Middle School cafeteria on Monday to a table of teens enjoying an after-school snack…Read more...

• Administrators, others to pay toward health care benefits (Newark Advocate)

Starting at the end of the month, the Lakewood Local School District no longer will pay 100 percent of the health…Read more...

• Area schools not playing with safety (Willoughby News Herald)

Playground safety is something that local schools take seriously…Read more...

• School districts add handling of cyberbullying to their policies (Willoughby News Herald)

While Mentor Schools has been addressing the issue of cyber-bullying for some time, the district is just now in the process of updating its policy on paper…Read more...

Editorial

• Saving by design (Akron Beacon Journal)

Ohio has seen a building boom in school facilities the past 15 years. Together, the state, school districts and local governments…Read more...

• Cleveland avoided Chicago's school impasse (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Four days into a politically charged strike that has sent thousands of teachers to the picket lines and 350,000 students…Read more...

• Student cheating (Columbus Dispatch)

The definition of cheating on a test was pretty clear-cut to most people who grew up in the old days…Read more...

Education News for 08-08-2012

State Education News

• School costs rise 6% (Youngstown Vindicator)

Columbus-based Huntington Bank has released its 2012 Backpack Index, which shows that parents can expect to pay 6 percent more than they did in 2011 for back-to-school supplies…Read more...

Local Education News

• Columbus schools barely keep C on state report card (Columbus Dispatch)

The Columbus school district has slipped in its score on this year’s state report card and will barely cling to an overall C grade, preliminary data show…Read more...

• Attendance scandal: ‘There is no way I would condone this,’ Harris says (Columbus Dispatch)

Some Columbus school-district principals might have received financial bonuses by retroactively changing student-attendance records to boost their schools’ state report- card numbers, Superintendent Gene Harris acknowledged yesterday…Read more...

• Madison School levy fails; personnel cuts likely (Willoughby News Herald)

The Madison School District will begin to examine where cuts can be made after voters rejected a 4.9-mill levy Tuesday…Read more...

• Pay-to-play policy in Poland schools brings minimal downsizing to teams (Youngstown Vindicator)

Pay-to-participate fees haven’t caused a dramatic drop in participation in fall sports, with the exception of high-school cross country, which was anticipated, the athletic director says…Read more...

Editorial

• Necessary resignation (Columbus Dispatch)

Ohio’s Education Department faces Herculean challenges: Fix school funding, repair a district-accountability system mired in scandal and ensure that third-graders can read, to name a few…Read more...

• Education official must face penalties for errors (Marietta Times)

Many public officials caught in wrongdoing maintain they just didn't know what they did crossed legal and/or ethical lines…Read more...

• Quitting isn't enough (Toledo Blade)

Stan Heffner's departure as Ohio's top education official became inevitable after a state report suggested he had deliberately concealed a major conflict of interest and used public resources for personal business…Read more...

• Penalize former Ohio school head (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

Many public officials caught in wrongdoing maintain they just didn't know what they did crossed legal and / or ethical lines…Read more...

• Ohio has opportunity to bolster accountability in education (Columbus Dispatch)

Rigorous academic standards and high-stakes accountability for schools and educators alike are important for school-improvement efforts…Read more...

Education News for 08-02-2012

Statewide Stories of the Day

• Democrats want to view state auditor’s school-attendance investigation (Dispatch)

The Ohio Democratic Party asked state Auditor Dave Yost last week to turn over records into the investigation of school districts rigging their state report-card data. Yost, a Republican, charged yesterday that the Democratic Party is meddling in a continuing investigation. “It’s a partisan political organization that exists for the purpose of electing Democrats and harassing Republicans,” Yost said. “That doesn’t belong in the middle of this work.” Read more...

• TPS may reduce Nov. levy request (Blade)

Toledo Public Schools could reduce its upcoming levy request, after reports of a better-than-expected financial picture indicate projected deficits may be smaller than expected. The Toledo Board of Education is expected to call a special meeting Friday, during which TPS Treasurer Matt Cleland plans to propose a range of millage rates lower than the 6.9-mill new permanent levy request approved in May by the board. TPS ended the 2012 fiscal year on Tuesday with $8.58 million more than expected. The original projected surplus was $2.64 million. Read more...

• Lockland puts superintendent on leave (Enquirer)

Lockland’s school board late Wednesday placed longtime Superintendent Donna Hubbard on paid administrative leave. Hubbard has worked for the tiny Hamilton County school district for about 37 years. Board President Terry Gibson said the board thought it appropriate to put her on leave while it investigates allegations of enrollment practices that resulted in low-scoring students being coded as withdrawn from the schools, which state officials say resulted in artificially inflated test scores. Read more...

Local Issues

• Lake freezes teachers' pay, opens doors of new school (Blade)

MILLBURY - Lake Local Schools officials approved a contract Wednesday that freezes teachers' pay and increases their medical insurance cost, then proudly toured their new high school with members of the media. The glistening high school replaces the former building that was mostly destroyed by a tornado in June, 2010. The 144,000-square-foot facility that cost $25.5 million -- none of which came from local taxpayers -- features 28 classrooms and will house 450 students when classes start Aug. 21. Read more...

• Heights pledges to pay bill, demands preschool funds (Newark Advocate)

PATASKALA - Licking Heights officials reiterate that they intend to pay back the Licking County Educational Service Center the money the school district owes the center. In the meantime, district officials continue to press the ESC to release state funding, pegged at between $78,000 and $156,000 a year, that they contend should go to Heights' preschool students with special needs. "We're certainly looking at paying what's owed, but we still contend we need that (special needs preschool) unit funding they're blocking from the state.” Read more...

• North Olmsted offering before school care program (WOIO 19 CBS)

The North Olmsted Before School Care Program will be offered at two school locations for students in grades K - 3rd. Birch Primary School (24100 Palm Dr.) for Birch and Butternut students and Forest Primary School (28963 Tudor Dr.) for Forest and Spruce students. The program times are 7:30 a.m. - 8:50 a.m. on all days that school is in session. Cost of the program is $75.00 per quarter/per child. Students from Butternut and Spruce Primary Schools will be taken by district transportation to their school of attendance for the start of the regular school day. Read more...

• Councilman would vote for charter schools after abstention (Blade)

A Toledo councilman who abstained Tuesday on two votes involving requests for new charter schools to open in the city admitted he should have voted and now wants the chance to do so. That could clear the way for one of the schools to open downtown. "I needed further clarification on the rule because I made a mistake in not understanding this rule of council and at the time, I labored under the belief that I could abstain," Councilman Tyrone Riley said Wednesday. Read more...

Editorial

• Improve the system (Dispatch)

As allegations of attendance-report rigging by Columbus City Schools and other districts spread, many are wondering if the annual school report cards put out by the state can be trusted. After all, if some districts have doctored their attendance figures in ways that make their proficiency-test passing rates look better than they are, then voters who are asked to pass school levies have no way of judging if they’re getting what they’re paying for. Others have gone a step further and said that if some school officials feel it necessary to cheat in order to improve district report cards. Read more...