Statewide Education News

Lake, Geauga counties, area schools feeling squeeze (News-Herald)

As the economy tries to rebound from a recession, Lake County government continues to see operating revenues decline due to flat sales tax revenue, property values that declined by 10 percent and meager earnings on investments that used to generate millions of dollars. Commissioner Daniel P. Troy said the county has done nearly all that it can to cut expenses and that has meant a reduction in the number of employees who are paid through the county's general fund. Read More…

Launch nears for Youngstown teacher’s new app for grading tests (Vindicator)

YOUNGSTOWN - Elijah Stambaugh wasn’t a teacher for long before he realized a fundamental flaw in the education process. “Students in some classes score very low, and others score very high,” the former Stambaugh Academy seventh- and eighth-grade math teacher said. “I was looking for tools to better analyze students’ strengths and weaknesses.” So Stambaugh came up with an idea for a test-scoring software application to help teachers better organize and analyze their teaching tendencies. Read More…

Local Issues

Truancy Decrease May Help Lessen Crime (WBNS 10 CBS)

COLUMBUS - Police said that a decrease in truant students has helped Columbus’ crime rate, CrimeTracker 10’s Jeff Hogan reported on Thursday. Five years ago, Columbus police created a special unit to track down truants. That unit now has 10 officers. “If we can get the kids back in school and get them on the right path at an earlier age, we'll prevent them from either being a victim -- or a suspect,” Sgt. Kevin Corcoran said. About 10,000 students have been picked up by police since 2007, police said. Read More…

Homeless shelters seeing most children ever (Marion Star)

MARION - Local and national agencies are reporting an increase in homelessness among children as the economy continues to struggle. The National Center On Family Homelessness recently released its report "America's Youngest Outcasts 2010," which estimates one in 45 children in America are homeless within a year's period. That's a 38 percent increase when compared to the 2007-10 economic recession. The Marion Shelter Program is seeing a similar trend as its women and family homeless shelter served 116 children in 2010. Director Chuck Bulick said that was the most in the program's history and said he expects to meet or exceed that number in 2011. Read More…

Editorial

Building agreement (Dispatch)

Gov. John Kasich has asked Ohio’s 37 public colleges and universities to figure out how to divvy up the state’s slim budget and submit a single wish list for campus construction and repairs. Positioning the schools to cooperate rather than compete is astute. University leaders are best-positioned to evaluate the hard choices that must be made, since they live with the problems daily and will have to live with the decisions long-term. And by making colleges sit down together to determine priorities, they cannot help but gain a better understanding of the needs of their sister institutions. Read More…

For public schools, the year brought big cuts (Post-Gazette)

In public education circles, 2011 was the year that officials quickly learned how to do more with less. No relief was provided from the federal No Child Left Behind mandate that the state's 500 school districts continue to move students toward proficiency in math and reading. Yet, the state budget provided nearly $900 million less in funding for public schools. Read More…