Molly Bloom is a reporter for StateImpact Ohio. She has covered education and other topics for the Austin American-Statesman and the Newark Star-Ledger. A New Jersey native, she has a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University. She can be reached at molly.bloom@ideastream.org or (216) 202-0665.
Here’s where we stand on this whole school funding thing this time around: Gov. John Kasich introduced his plan to “fix” how Ohio funds public schools. The House introduced and then passed its school funding proposal. And now the Senate may combine aspects of both plans, and “reinstate” parts of the governor’s plan, state Sen. Randy Gardner, chair of a state Senate finance subcommittee on education funding, tells the Toledo Blade.
“I think the House has done some good work on the education budget, generally. I have talked to the administration the last couple of weeks; there are changes to their original proposal that they would like the Senate to consider,” Mr. Gardner said.
“[Mr. Kasich] wants the senators to also consider the work the administration put in to develop a proposal, and I think we owe the governor an opportunity,” Mr. Gardner said. “It’s very possible there will be a combination of what the governor prefers and the House prefers.”
There are three kinds of people who don’t like the Common Core, our colleagues at StateImpact Indiana report.
The Common Core is a new set of expectations for what students should know and be able to do in math and English at each grade level.
Ohio’s state Board of Education adopted the Common Core in 2010, but in recent months a growing number of parents and other Ohioans have taken stands against the Common Core. Similar movements are happening in other states too.
A Columbus Catholic school fired a long-time teacher for being gay, the teacher tells WOSU. Carla Hale, 57, taught at Bishop Watterson High School for 19 years. Earlier this year, the name of Hale’s female partner appeared in an obituary for Hale’s mother. That obituary and an anonymous letter of complaint was sent to the Columbus Diocese in February. Hale was fired the following month.
Bishop Watterson school officials and the Diocese declined to speak to WOSU about the firing.
Hale, a 19-year health and physical education teacher at Watterson, said she did not discuss her sexual orientation with colleagues. She said only a few close co-workers knew. And for nearly 20 years, there was never a problem.
Hale called the anonymous letter cowardly.
“To use my mom’s obituary, her death, to write this letter. And, honestly, we wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for her death, nor if my partner’s name was Chris.”
The Columbus school district could face state takeover because it improperly altered student records, if a provision inserted into the state budget is approved.
The amendment (starting on p. 248) allows the state superintendent to “establish an academic distress commission for any school district that is found by the Auditor of State to have knowingly manipulated student data with evidence of intent to deceive.”
Kent State University President Lester Lefton announced his retirement today.
Kent State University President Lester Lefton will retire next summer. Lefton, 66, has served as president of Ohio’s second largest public university since 2006.
Lefton previously was provost of Tulane University and held administrative roles at the University of South Carolina and George Washington University.
In a written statement, the chairwoman of Kent State’s Board of Trustees praised Lefton as a “student-focused leader.” Continue Reading →
StateImpact is answering reader-submitted questions about the Common Core, a new set of expectations for what students should know and be able to do in math and English at each grade level. Ohio is one of 45 states that have fully adopted the Common Core.
Today, we answer a question about college admissions.
The Common Core is supposed to raise expectations for all students, but some parents are concerned that it may also make it hard for their children to get into college.
The new head of the Ohio Department of Education doesn’t talk much about the youth. Or the children. Or students, whippersnappers, anklebiters or tots. But he really loves to talk about boys and girls.
New State Superintendent of Public Instruction Richard Ross works the phrase “boys and girls” into just about every public comment he makes. It’s kind of his trademark.
In statehouse testimony on school finance in February, he hit the mark twice, mentioning “boys and girls” who are struggling in school and “boys and girls” in the poorest communities.
That’s a familiar refrain in K-12 education. And the latest big thing may be bigger than all the others: It’s the Common Core education standards that Ohio and 45 other states are now putting in place. And it has public schools across the country sitting on the cusp of a massive change in nearly every aspect of how math and English are taught, learned and tested.
But how does this big thing relate to all the other big things in education that you’ve probably heard about? Here’s a StateImpact survival guide to recent education overhauls. Continue Reading →
Wondering what books about teaching are actually worth reading?
#ohedchat, a weekly Twitter chat among Ohio educators, is here to help. Here’s a list of the top 30 (or so) books Ohio educators on #ohedchat said had the biggest influences on them.
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StateImpact is answering reader-submitted questions about the 