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.