Monthly Archives: February 2012

Special Needs Scholarship Provider List Now Available

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Parents of children with special needs can begin applying for the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program. The Ohio Department of Education posted the searchable list of approved providers for the program online at https://scholarship.ode.state.oh.us/Provider.

The list will continue to be updated in real time as ODE continues to approve provider applications. Schools that are interested in becoming a provider for the program can visit the department’s website for instructions on how to apply.

Families can use the scholarship funding to pay for tuition at participating private schools that offer special education services and /or for additional services at approved private therapists and other service providers. The scholarship can also be used at other public providers, such as another public school district, if the district chooses to accept scholarship students.

To apply for a scholarship, just follow these three simple steps:

Step 1:  Verify your child has an IEP
If your child attends a private school, be sure to request an IEP from your home district by the time of the April 15 deadline. Note that by law, the home school district has 30 days to fulfill the request.   

Step 2:  Choose a school and / or provider for your child
Review the approved provider list (available online here) and determine the school and/or provider(s) you wish to use. Note that more will be added to this list as ODE continues to approve providers. 

Step 3:  Call and request that your school / provider of choice apply for you  
The school and/or provider(s) will apply for the scholarship on your behalf.

Any student in the state who has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is eligible to apply for a scholarship. Current private school students are also eligible. Remember, the deadline to apply for a scholarship for the first academic term is April 15, 2012.

Do you have questions about the application process? Let us know –we would be happy to answer them!

Education Equality Now Rally in Cleveland

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More than 150 people attended the Education Equality Now Rally yesterday at Trinity Outreach Ministries in Cleveland. Kelley Williams-Bolar joined Michelle Bernard, president and CEO of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy to speak at the rally.

Kelley Williams-Bolar, the Akron mother who was charged with falsifying records to enroll her daughters in another school district, addressed the crowd at the rally saying that they only thing she was guilty of was wanting the best for her daughters. She stressed that open enrollment should be a choice for all parents in all schools. Williams-Bolar now hopes to become a “foot soldier” for school choice.

“It’s about the educational rights of my two girls and the children across the country,” said Williams-Bolar. “I want my children to grow up safe, healthy, and have a great educational experience that will lead to a sustainable career upon their high school and college graduation.”

Michelle Bernard served as the keynote speaker at the rally, and encouraged attendees to get involved.

“Each and every one of us has a moral obligation to be the foot soldiers for education reform,” said Bernard. “Demand that every child have access to an equal and an excellent education. Make your voices heard.”

Annette Bush, School Choice Ohio’s outreach and mobilization associate for the Akron area, attended the event. She encouraged attendees to be an active participant in their child’s education and to write their legislators and ask them to support expanded school choice.

School Choice Ohio would like to give a big shout-out to Trinity Outreach Ministries C.O.G.I.C. for hosting such an important event!

You can watch the recording from the rally online here.

To view the news coverage of the rally, click the links below.

School Choice and Education News

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School Choice and Education News
February 16 – February 23, 2012

Ohio

New Special Ed Vouchers Give Parents Options, Worry Public Schools
StateImpact Ohio
February 20, 2012
This article from StateImpact Ohio highlights the story of Kari Link, a Cleveland mother of a child with special needs. She plans to apply for a Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship so that her daughter can attend a private school that has smaller class sizes and individualized attention. The article also highlights Youngstown Christian School, which participates in the Autism Scholarship Program and the Special Needs Scholarship Program.  SCO’s Cheryl Bowshier tells StateImpact Ohio that the scholarship program is about what is best for each individual child.

Williams-Bolar becomes new voice for school choice
The Akron Beacon Journal
February 22, 2012
Kelley Williams-Bolar will join Michelle Bernard, president and CEO of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics and Public Policy, for a rally in support of school choice this Sunday in Cleveland.  The Akron Beacon Journal reports that Williams-Bolar is organizing an Ohio Parents Union to give parents a voice to counter teachers’ unions.

‘No Child’ left behind? Ohio seeks waiver from federal law
The Columbus Dispatch
February 20, 2012
The Ohio Department of Education will submit a waiver request to President Obama’s administration by Feb. 28 asking to opt out of 11 major provisions of the No Child Left Behind law. The state proposes an alternate plan that State Superintendent Stan Heffner calls “a continuous improvement strategy.” The plan proposes changes, such as judging schools based on their progress in closing the achievement gap and listing school ratings as letter grades. 

Columbus State partnering with Reynoldsburg schools
The Columbus Dispatch
February 22, 2012
Students in the Reynoldsburg School District could soon have the opportunity to take Columbus State Community College courses at their high school, which could possibly result in earning a two-year associate degree with their high school diploma. The partnership must still be approved by the school board and Columbus State’s board. Under this initiative, the district’s Bell Academy would become an early-college high school.

Schools making progress in Race to the Top
Chillicothe Gazette
February 19, 2012
This article highlights Ohio’s participation in the Race to the Top program, which calls for improved student testing, more collection of data, and a focus on improving low-performing schools. The article also discusses the Common Core State Standards, which were developed by the National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The standards will unify curriculum in core subjects across the nation. Ohio is one of 45 states that adopted the Common Core State Standards, and by 2014, the state hopes to have the standards in place.

Group offers bold plan for improving city schools
The Youngstown Vindicator
February 23, 2012
Representatives from KnowledgeWorks, an education reform organization based in Cincinnati, are presenting recommendations to an Academic Distress Commission meeting for Youngstown City Schools today. The organization worked with Youngstown State University and the city school district to implement Youngstown Early College, which is the only school in the district to receive an “excellent” rating from the state on recent report cards. The Vindicator reports that the organization’s materials encourage the school district to “consider hitting the restart button.”

Local educators concerned about evaluation standards
Springfield News-Sun
February 20, 2012
A new law requires teacher evaluations to include student performance as 50 percent of the evaluation. The state board of education will develop the framework to help districts adopt an evaluation process that emphasizes student improvement. Sen. Chris Widener tells the News-Sun that this process is fair for both teachers and students. Some school officials express their concern with unanswered questions about the process.

 

National

What Research Says About School Choice
Education Week
February 21, 2012
This article by nine scholars and analysts takes a look at the research on school choice. They argue that there is a strong case for expanding school choice.

 

School Choice: A human right ignored

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was developed in 1948 after World War II because the United Nations wanted a document to help prevent future human rights violations.

Article 26 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

The basic human right of parents to choose their child’s education setting has been recognized for more than 60 years, so why is the United States still divided on the issue of school choice?

As evidence clearly shows, school choice continues to be limited by a child’s income and zip code. Parents usually have to send their children to the school they’re assigned to, regardless of whether it is a good fit for their children’s learning needs. And if parents want to send their children to private schools, it is costly.

In many places, parents only have the right to choose their child’s school if they can afford to live in the neighborhood of their choice or if they can afford to pay tuition at a private school.

Recent comments from union leaders show that they do not even believe that low-income parents are capable of choosing their child’s education and they can’t afford to anyway. And while Ohio is farther along the road to ensuring this right for families, we still have a long way to go.

School choice and free education has been recognized as a basic human right for 60 years. As Barb and so many other families have shared, when this right is denied, children suffer. What steps can we take to ensure this human right for every Ohio family?

Ten-Year Anniversary of Zelman Argument

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On this day ten years ago, arguments were made in a landmark school choice case that continues to affect education in Ohio and all across the nation.

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris was a federal lawsuit brought by opponents against the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program that questioned the program’s constitutionality. In a ruling on June 27, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the program. The Institute for Justice calls it “the most important education decision since Brown v. Board of Education.”

The impact of this decision extends beyond the boundaries of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and even beyond the state of Ohio because it set the precedent for school voucher cases with regards to questions of constitutionality.

Because of this ruling, thousands of students in Ohio and across the nation have the opportunity to attend the school of their choice. We see the positive results of this decision in the faces of these students who are now able to thrive and excel in an educational environment that best fits their learning needs.

School Choice and Education News

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School Choice and Education News
February 9 – February 16, 2012
 

Ohio

Cleveland school district plan draws enthusiasm, concern from state school board
The Plain Dealer
February 14, 2012
Cleveland Metropolitan School District Chief Executive Officer Eric Gordon presented Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson’s plan to overhaul Cleveland education to state school board members this week. The Plain Dealer reports that the board members reacted with enthusiasm to the portion of the plan that calls for partnering with high-performing charter schools. Board President Debe Terhar says that she hopes the board will soon have a decision with regards to whether they will support the plan.

School pays kids to come to class
Cincinnati Enquirer
February 12, 2012
Dohn Community High School, a Cincinnati-area charter school, will begin a new experiment this week by paying students in Visa gift cards to attend class. Students from the school tell the Enquirer that the money will motivate more students to come to school. The goal of the incentive program is to decrease the number of dropouts and improve attendance and graduation rates. The school also hopes that the program will help keep students off the streets.

Ohio could get STEM schools on agriculture
The Columbus Dispatch
February 13, 2012
A plan that proposes creating regional schools with an agriculture focus for grades 6-12 in Ohio is in the works. Sen. Chris Widener, Sen. Peggy Lehner, and Sen. Cliff Hite are teaming up to work on the plan. The plan envisions students completing projects and doing field research.  Linda Martin, associate dean and director for academic programs at OSU’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, tells the Dispatch that job opportunities in the agriculture sector have never been better.

Cleveland school district seeks to fill seats at best-performing schools
The Plain Dealer
February 14, 2012
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s CEO Eric Gordon tells The Plain Dealer that some of the district’s top-performing schools still have empty seats. The district’s New Tech high schools have open seats as do the Design Lab at Jane Addams and the schools at John Hay Campus, including the MC2STEM program. In addition, several elementary schools with an “effective” rating from the state have open seats. The district is encouraging students to apply for their top school choice next year by Feb. 20.

Vo-tech students set to fly into careers
Toledo Blade
February 11, 2012
This article highlights Toledo Public Schools’ aviation program, which is available through the vocational education programs provided by the district. The program is one of only four high school programs in the state that provides FAA mechanic certification training. Students who complete the program will graduate with their high school diploma as well as their FAA certification.

National
Students rally for education reform at Indiana statehouse
The Courier-Journal
February 16, 2012
Yesterday, more than 1,000 students, teachers and legislators gathered at the Indiana Statehouse for the “Ed Reform Rocks” rally to advocate for education reform.  Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels participated in the rally. This article shares quotes from two students who attended the rally and say they hope these changes will help them graduate and get into college.

Embracing the Common Core

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Today the Thomas B. Fordham Institute , Ohio Grantmakers Forum, and Achieve hosted an event called “Embracing the Common Core: Helping Students Thrive.” Speakers at the event talked about how Ohio will be on board with new national standards developed by the National Governor’s Association. Teachers will mainly focus on preparing students for success in three important subjects: literature, English, and math.

Stan Heffner, State Superintendent of Public Instruction told the group that there was a survey that students completed, and 40-45 % said that they were not prepared for college. Do you feel that this number is too high? When I was in college classes for the first time, I felt unprepared even though I took college preparation classes in high school. The goal of the Common Core is for all students to graduate from high school ready for college and career.

Because the Common Core is benchmarked against international standards that are more rigorous than Ohio’s current standards, several speakers said that they expect Ohio test scores to plummet initially. With the higher standards, it will be interesting to see how school districts handle and communicate the expected drop in scores. Will schools be able to buckle down and teach the majority of students what they need to know in the “real world”?     

There is going to be a lot of work that goes along with aligning teaching to the new standards. A good amount of school districts are already on board with the core curriculum, but what about those that are just waiting to “teach the test”? One of the speakers made a great point about how teachers will tell students that they need to know information because it is on the test. Has anyone else heard that before?

I had the experience of being in the Class of 2007, which was the first class that had to take the OGT (Ohio Graduation Test) to graduate. It was obvious that teachers felt the need to take time just to give us practice questions because this was the real deal. I learned how to become a great test-taker, but I also learned how to forget about the material once the test was over.

The purpose of this new test for students is not to help them become better test-takers, but to help them thrive in adulthood. Michael Cohen, president of Achieve, recommends that districts begin working towards the common core now instead of waiting for the test to come out because this will be a tough transition.

Be sure to check out more information about the event. Check out School Choice Ohio’s tweets on the event as well, and tell us what you think. How do you feel about higher standards? About a partially national curriculum?

-Krista Everett

Guest Blog: PACE Participates in National School Choice Week

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By Daria Dillard Stone

National School Choice Week events were held across the country from Jan. 22 to 28, 2012. These events were shining a spotlight on effective education options for every child. One event that I participated in was hosted/sponsored by School Choice Ohio and the Forum For Educational Options. The event was called “Celebrating Ohio’s Educational Options – meeting the individual needs of students.” It was held at the Ohio Statehouse Atrium on 1.24.12 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. Many were honored (Dayton Early College Academy, ISUS, STEM School just to name a few), including Legislative “trailblazers” who have always advocated for the interests of children.

 

Photo of members of the Black Alliance for Educational Options. Tracie Craft (State Dir.), Ericka Murphy (State Coordinator), Dr. Shane Floyd (Outreach Coordinator), Daria Dillard Stone (PACE Program Manager of Parents Network)

There were wonderful parent representatives from Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton that were also present and vocal regarding their choice issues/challenges as they were given the opportunity to speak with State Representatives in their jurisdiction, including one of our star PACE Students Tevin Ademu an 11th grader at Chaminade Julienne (Dayton, OH). We were excited to hear a speech from a national “trailblazer” who has fought for Education Freedom for many years – namely Ms. Virginia Fowler Walden Ford- and to witness former State Representative Dixie Allen (current PACE Board Member) get honored/recognized for her accomplishments as a legislative “trailblazer” who has always advocated for the interests of children and helped pass the EdChoice Voucher/Scholarship in Ohio in 2006.

On Wednesday, January 25, 2012, a Parent Information Session/Workshop was hosted/sponsored by Tracie Craft, State Director of  BAEO Ohio, at One St. Elizabeth Place in the Chapel. Approximately 40 were in attendance to discuss the processes and timelines for parents interested in EdChoice Vouchers/Scholarships & other scholarships available for special needs children. The online applications for the EdChoice Scholarship Program are submitted by the participating private schools between February 1, 2012, and April 13, 2012, on behalf of the parent, ONLY AFTER the student has been accepted for enrollment by the school.  I was on hand to offer support to BAEO as the parents entered, registered and took group photos.

School Choice and Education News

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School Choice and Education News
February 1 – 9, 2012

Ohio

New boarding school outlines Cincinnati plan
Cincinnati Enquirer
February 2, 2012
The SEED Foundation, based in Washington D.C., recently signed an agreement with Cincinnati Public Schools that outlines plans for what could be Ohio’s first public boarding school. The school would serve at-risk youth, and it must still receive approval from the state. This school would be part of an ongoing effort by the Cincinnati Public School District to offer more options to its students.
 
Gov. John Kasich endorses Cleveland mayor’s plan to improve schools
The Plain Dealer
February 7, 2012
Governor Kasich said during his State of the State address that he will help Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson persuade lawmakers to support changes needed to implement the mayor’s new plan to revitalize Cleveland’s public schools. Within six years, Mayor Jackson’s plan looks to triple the number of Cleveland students who attend quality schools –both district and charter. The plan also proposes increasing partnerships with successful charters and creating more flexibility for high-performing district schools.

Straight Up Conversation: Departing Kasich Edu-Advisor Bob Sommers on Reform in Ohio
Education Week
February 1, 2012
Bob Sommers, Governor Kasich’s former education advisor, talks with Education Week about education reform in Ohio. When asked about Ohio’s most significant education reforms passed in 2011, Sommers highlights the development of a school ranking system, the expansion of Ohio’s school voucher programs, and the removal of the cap on charter schools.

Charter-CPS battle goes to higher court
Cincinnati Enquirer
February 6, 2012
The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments this week in a case that could set precedent for the future handling of public school districts’ vacant buildings. The Theodore Roosevelt Public Charter School is fighting an attempt by Cincinnati Public Schools to shut down their building. The charter school is housed in a building formerly owned by Cincinnati Public Schools. The building was sold under a contract agreeing not to open a school in the building, but the purchaser argues that the contract went against public policy.

High school grad calculator changes
Cincinnati Enquirer
February 6, 2012
This year, states must begin counting high school graduation rates based only on those students who graduate in four years. The goal of this change is to standardize graduation rates across states and make schools more accountable. Last year, Ohio’s official graduation rate was 84.3 percent, but using the new method of calculating, its four-year rate was 78 percent. This article discusses some of the concerns about how the new method will affect schools that work with at-risk youth or students with special needs.  

 

National

White House to Issue Waiver List on No Child Left Behind
The Wall Street Journal
February 9, 2012
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration will announce today the list of 10 states that will receive waivers to release them from requirements of No Child Left Behind. According to the article, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee will receive waivers.  

        

Governor Kasich: Education is a Civil Right

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Governor John Kasich delivered his second State of the State address today at Wells Academy in Steubenville. While stressing the need to do more to improve the quality of education and student performance in our schools, the governor also took time to highlight the many accomplishments in the expansion of school choice in the past year in Ohio.

2011 saw significant expansion of the state’s school choice programs. Through the hard work of our legislative champions and Governor Kasich, Ohio increased the number of EdChoice scholarships available for students to 30,000 for the current school year and 60,000 for the 2012-2013 school year. In addition to an increase in the number of EdChoice scholarships available, eligibility for the program was expanded to include students who attend the bottom 10 percent of schools in the state, based on performance index scores.

In addition to the expansions made to the EdChoice program, the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program was expanded and Ohio’s fourth school voucher program – the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program – was created.

Cleveland Scholarship & Tutoring Program                                                                                                                        

  • Scholarship amounts were increased to mirror EdChoice scholarship amounts
  • Eligibility was expanded to include all high school students who live in the Cleveland School District

Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program

  • Ohio’s fourth school voucher program will provide scholarships to students in grades K-12 with special needs.

This significant expansion makes Ohio among the leaders in the school choice movement across the country.

While highlighting this achievement, Governor Kasich declared that “No mom and dad should have to have their kid in a school where they are not safe and they are not learning. It is a Civil Right. When schools aren’t working and they are underperforming, let our children go.”

School Choice Ohio salutes the significant expansion of school choice in our state over the past year and we look forward to working with the Governor and legislature to make Ohio the State of School Choice!