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Education News for 06-14-2012

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Statewide Stories of the Day

  • Tougher reading standards passed (Dispatch)

    • A sweeping education bill proposed by Gov. John Kasich that imposes a new reading requirement for third-graders and a stricter evaluation of teachers passed the General Assembly yesterday, largely along party lines. The bill says districts must assess the reading skills of all children in grades K-3 starting this fall. Those who are struggling must be given services including “intensive, explicit and systematic instruction.” The additional help cannot be general; it must be targeted at a child’s specific reading problem. Read more...

  • Legislature OKs education reforms (Vindicator)

    • COLUMBUS - State lawmakers have signed off on legislation increasing reading requirements for third-graders and providing increased intervention for younger students who are not keeping pace with their grade level. Senate Bill 316 calls for increased testing requirements in coming years, eventually blocking students who are not proficient from moving on to fourth grade. The bill also calls for reading assessments of students starting in kindergarten and increased identification, parental notification and targeted teaching intervention for students struggling with reading. Read more...

  • Bill Targets Third-Graders For Reading Help (WBNS 10 CBS)

    • COLUMBUS - Ohio third-graders lagging in reading skills face the possibility of being held back for up to two school years under a sweeping overhaul of state education policy that has cleared the state legislature on Wednesday. The so-called third grade reading guarantee is modeled after a Florida program that's shown positive results in improving reading scores. It's one of dozens of elements in the education bill that cleared the Ohio House on Wednesday, and the Senate agreed to the changes. Read more...

  • Report pushes shared services for schools, local governments (Dispatch)

    • Shrinking budgets have left Ohio schools and local governments with a choice: raise taxes or cut services. A state report being released today focuses on a third option: sharing services to save money. A state report being released today focuses on a third option: sharing services to save money. It’s not a new idea. In fact, the report, Beyond Boundaries: A Shared Services Action Plan for Ohio Schools and Governments, identifies nearly $1 billion in savings already being realized by 51 collaborative efforts involving schools and governments across the state. Read more...

Local Issues

  • USV audit shows potential saving measures (Lima News)

    • McGUFFEY — Upper Scioto Valley schools has already reduced more than a recent state audit said it should, but officials continue to look for more ways to save the struggling district. “We will get control of this. We are trying to salvage and save the district,” said Superintendent Dennis Recker, who also said he faces constant surprise expenses that “bites the district.” A state performance audit suggests adjustments to staff levels and bus routes to address forecasted future deficits. The office believes the recommendations can save $686,900. Read more...

  • Springfield seeks free lunch for all students (News-Sun)

    • SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield City School District plans to apply to a federal program that provides free lunch and breakfast for all students in the district. The board will vote Thursday night on a resolution to apply for the Community Eligibility Option for the National School Lunch and Breakfast program. The USDA-funded program allows high-poverty districts like Springfield to serve free lunch and breakfast to all students at all schools, regardless of family incomes, and pays schools back for the cost of the meals. Read more...

  • Pay hike for Wolf Creek teachers (Marietta Times)

    • Teachers in the Wolf Creek Local school district will receive pay increases in exchange for insurance concessions. The district's board of education unanimously approved a new three-year contract with members of the Wolf Creek Local Education Association during an early morning meeting on May 31. The agreement creates a two-tiered insurance system. Workers who choose the first option, a traditional plan which includes prescription drug coverage, will receive a half-percent increase to their base salary. Read more...

  • Cleveland Schools CEO Hopes to Stay With District (WJW 8 FOX)

    • CLEVELAND — The man in charge of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is giving himself a passing grade for the school year, and hopes to be rehired by the school board. On Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer Eric Gordon spoke to FOX 8 News about the future of the district. “We’ve got a long way to go,” said Gordon. “We knew that going into it, but we can’t discount how much great goes on within the CMSD every day just because we haven’t gotten to the end goal, so I think we’ve had a great year!” Read more...

Editorial

  • A new chapter (Dispatch)

    • When state lawmakers gave the green light Tuesday for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to go forward with a groundbreaking reform plan, they gave that troubled district its best chance yet to break out of decades of dysfunction and failure. And if it brings meaningful improvement, it could provide a model for other districts. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, a Democrat, deserves credit for risking the ire of his traditional political supporters by pushing for changes that the Cleveland Teachers Union and other unions dislike. Read more...

  • The Jackson plan finally wins out (Plain Dealer)

    • The battle for the Cleveland schools is far from over, but Tuesday's overwhelming Ohio House and Senate votes to approve Mayor Frank Jackson's school reform plan show what can happen when politicians look beyond partisan self-interest. The mayor, who often works behind the scenes, deserves tremendous credit for staying out front and for acting without regard to his Democratic Party affiliation or his own political future. Read more...

Education News for 12-16-2011

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Statewide Education News

  • Midyear cut in federal funding hits schools (Blade)

    • A midyear cut in federal funds now leaves Toledo Public Schools with little wiggle room and facing possible future program cuts. The funding loss -- nearly $500,000 for Toledo's public, private, and charter schools -- came after congressional budget reduction deals led to about $8 million less federal money for Ohio schools. The cuts came largely to Title I funding, which is federal money dedicated to high-poverty schools. Read More…

  • School districts form 2 groups to save cash (Dispatch)

    • The Ohio Department of Education awarded grants yesterday to two consortiums of school districts teaming up to coordinate transportation services and computer purchases to save money. “Better use of scarce public resources is a key element for improving Ohio’s educational system,” said Stan Heffner, superintendent of public instruction. “The grant proposal(s) not only will save money for area taxpayers, but also will be example(s) for other schools to follow.” Read More…

Local Issues

  • Buzzers To Help Hilliard Schools Track Visitors (WBNS 10 CBS)

    • HILLIARD - Hilliard City Schools plans to install new security measures at all 14 of its elementary schools by the new year. Officials said that they want to know who is in their buildings at all times, and plans to install buzzers to let visitors and parents in the buildings. The buzzer at Ridgewood Elementary School was installed over Thanksgiving and the others plan to be installed before students return from winter break, CrimeTracker 10's Maureen Kocot said. Read More…

  • District awarded grant to purchase iPads for students (Journal News)

    • FAIRFIELD — Before the end of the 2011-12 school year, students in the Fairfield City School District will get an opportunity to use iPads in the classroom. The district was awarded a $20,000 grant by the Duke Energy Foundation at Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting for the purchase of iPads for student use. Read More…

Editorial

  • Budget cuts will cost us later (L.A. Times)

    • There's such a thing as tightening our collective belt or making do with less. When that happens, Californians raise fees or close another public office for a few additional days or cram a few more students into an already full classroom without screaming too loudly about it. But something entirely different is happening now: California is becoming a state that lets down its elderly, its disabled, its children and its college students in fundamental ways that will harm all of us in the years ahead. Read More…

Thanks to ODE for compiling todays news.

YouTube for Teachers

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We thought this was interesting enough to share. Youtube, the popular video sharing site has created a channel just for educators. You can view, share and even upload educational videos. YouTube provides teachers with ten reasons why their Youtube teachers channel could be useful in the classroom:

  1. Spark Lively Discussion: Engage students by showing a video relevant to their lives. Video clips can bring in different perspectives or force students to consider a new viewpoint, helping to spark a discussion.
  2. Organize all the great video content you find: Playlists are YouTube’s way of allowing you to organize videos on the site. When one video ends, the playlist plays the next video without offering ‘related videos,’ thus creating a curated environment for you students.
  3. Archive your work: Capture and save projects and discussions so you can refer back to them year after year. This will also help you save time as you can assign old videos to your new students.
  4. Allow students to dig deeper into a subject: Give students the option to dig deeper into a subject by creating a playlist of videos related to that concept. By creating playlists of relevant videos you allow students to pursue their interests without wasting their time searching for information (or finding potentially objectionable content).
  5. Get struggling students to speed up and push strong students ahead: Videos (or playlists) can help supplement in class teaching for struggling students. Students can review them at home time so you’re not forced to teacher exclusively to the middle 50%.
  6. Review for upcoming exams: Turn test review and flashcards into easy-to-watch videos. This way students can hear your explanations as they study. You can also create a “test review” video students can use to study the night before the big test.
  7. Create a YouTube center in your classroom: When working in stations or centers, have students use your YouTube channel to complete an assignment, freeing you upto work with small groups of students.
  8. Create quizzes to accompany videos for instant feedback: Create a Google Form that students complete after watching a video. You can use this quiz to get instant feedback on what they’re learning.
  9. Create Interactive Video Quests: Use YouTube annotations to create “Choose your own adventure” style video quests. You can also create a video guide.
  10. Flip your classroom: If your students watch a video of the basic concepts at home you can focus in class on applying those concepts, working collaboratively with their classmates rather than simply listening to you lecture.

You can find our more here.

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