Bridging Resources, Information, and Data From s4

The ESC BRIDGE

Bridging Resources, Information, and Data from

Government and Education

FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 6, 2013

FEATURED NEWS

CLEVELAND SCHOOLS LEADERS LAY OUT BROAD TRANSFORMATION IDEAS, BUT INVITE STAKEHOLDERS TO HELP FILL IN THE DETAILS: EDITORIAL THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER It's taken a while to get here, but there's a lot to like in the first draft of the Cleveland Plan for Transforming Schools, which aims to turn around 13 failing schools next academic year. Instead of forcing all 13 "investment schools" to undergo the same reforms, it treats them as individual entities with their own strengths and weaknesses. It also recognizes the importance of input from parents, teachers and the community.

ODE AWARDS $13 MILLION ALLOCATED FOR THIRD GRADE READING GUARANTEE HANNAH The Third Grade Reading Guarantee has received its first round of funding with $13 million appropriated for FY13, an amount many Democrats and some Republicans have called inadequate for needed reading interventions. The Ohio Department of Education announced Early Literacy and Reading Readiness Grants, as they are called in the release, to 91 local education agencies (LEA) under 129-HB487 (Amstutz), the mid- biennium review (MBR) budget that provided support for the reading guarantee in conjunction with 129-SB316 (Lehner). School districts and community schools could apply individually or as part of a consortium of three or more partners. ODE received a total of 248 grant applications from 153 consortia and 95 individual LEAs, which together requested $44.4 million. The state was able to do about a third of that under HB487.

NATIONAL, FEDERAL AND US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

REWARDS FOR SCHOOLS KEY FACET OF NCLB WAIVERS EDUCATION WEEK One of the chief complaints about the No Child Left Behind Act has been that districts and schools that fail to meet achievement targets face serious sanctions, while schools that do a good job of closing the gaps between traditionally overlooked groups of students and their peers essentially get little in return. To help alleviate those concerns, the U.S. Department of Education asked states to identify so-called "reward schools" in their applications for waivers easing demands of the NCLB law, the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which Congress has yet to revise. States had to include not only high fliers—schools with consistently high student achievement —but also schools making significant progress with groups of students who had often struggled in the past. RIFTS DEEPEN OVER DIRECTION OF ED. POLICY IN U.S. EDUCATION WEEK In statehouses and cities across the country, battles are raging over the direction of education policy—from the standards that will shape what students learn to how test results will be used to judge a teacher's performance. Students and teachers, in passive resistance, are refusing to take and give standardized tests. Protesters have marched to the White House over what they see as the privatization of the nation's schools. Professional and citizen lobbyists are packing hearings in state capitols to argue that the federal government is trying to dictate curricula through the use of common standards.

HOUSE EDUCATION PANEL DISCUSSES NCLB RENEWAL EDUCATION WEEK Will this finally be the year that Congress actually reauthorizes the No Child Left Behind Act, which has been awaiting renewal for more than six years? Most folks aren't expecting that to happen, given how difficult it is to get anything done in Congress these days. But it sounds like lawmakers on the House education committee are going to give it a shot, even though the partisan divisions that doomed the last attempt at a renewal don't seem to be going away anytime soon. At a hearing today, U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, reiterated his criticism of the administration's plan for renewing the NCLB law, a system of waivers, which so far have been offered given to more than 30 states.

OHIO LEGISLATION UPDATE (RECENT BILL ACTION IN RED)

130TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Introduced

HB 154 LOTTERY PROFITS-EDUCATION (GERBERRY R) To require that a portion of lottery profits be distributed annually on a per pupil basis to public and chartered nonpublic schools STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Finance & Appropriations Committee

HB 158 NONREFUNDABLE TAX CREDITS-NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS (BRENNER A, PATMON B) To authorize nonrefundable tax credits for donations to nonprofit entities providing scholarships to low-income students enrolling in nonpublic schools STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Education Committee

SB 122 OFFICE OF REGIONAL SERVICES AND ACCOUNTABILITY (SAWYER T) To create the Office of Regional Services and Accountability in the Department of Education STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Education Committee

2 SB 123 INTERDISTRICT OPEN ENROLLMENT (SAWYER T) To terminate interdistrict open enrollment on that date with the possibility of renewal following the General Assembly's examination of the study's findings STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Education Committee

HB 1 OHIO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT LAW (DERICKSON T, ROMANCHUK M) To require a local workforce investment area to use OhioMeansJobs as the local workforce investment area's job placement system, to rename county one-stop systems, and to make other changes to Ohio's Workforce Development Law STATUS: Passed by House, Vote 81-11

HB 4 LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT GRANT PROGRAM (STAUTBERG P, BLESSING III L) To establish the Local Government Performance Measurement Grant Program STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House State & Local Government Committee

HB 8 SCHOOL SAFETY LAWS (ROEGNER K, KUNZE S) To revise the school safety law STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Education Committee

HB 10 FISCAL TOWNSHIPS-MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS FISCAL OFFICERS (HAGAN C) To establish education programs and continuing education requirements for the fiscal officers of townships and municipal corporations, to establish procedures for removing those fiscal officers, county treasurers, and county auditors from office STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House State & Local Government Committee

HB 14 SCHOOL RECORDS-ABUSED-NEGLECTED-DEPENDENT CHILD (PELANDA D) With respect to a school district's withholding or transfer to another district or school of the records of a child who is alleged or adjudicated an abused, neglected, or dependent child. STATUS: Passed by House, Vote 94-0

HB 16 HEAD INJURIES-YOUTH SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS (O'BRIEN S, HOTTINGER J) To correct a cross reference with regard to concussions and head injuries in athletic activities organized by youth sports organizations and to declare an emergency. STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate Medicaid, Health & Human Services Committee

HB 17 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUND (CERA J, GERBERRY R) To require that, for fiscal year 2014 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Local Government Fund must receive the same proportion of state tax revenue that the Fund received in fiscal year 2005. STATUS: House Finance & Appropriations Committee

HB 18 METAL DETECTORS-PUBLIC SCHOOLS (PATMON B) With respect to metal detectors in public schools STATUS: House Education Committee HB 30 EDUCATORS LETTERS OF ADMONISHMENT (JOHNSON T) Regarding letters of admonishment to licensed educators STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Education Committee

HB 32 MINIMUM SCHOOL YEAR (HAYES B, PATMON B) To establish a minimum school year for school districts, STEM schools, and chartered nonpublic schools based on hours, rather than days, of instruction STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Education Committee

HB 50 CHILDREN'S' RIGHTS (HEARD T, MCGREGOR R) To protect the rights of children before and during custodial interrogations STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Judiciary Committee

HB 58 STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERSHIP (GERBERRY R) To change the voting membership of the State Board of Education STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Education Committee

HB 59 BIENNIAL BUDGET (AMSTUTZ R) To make operating appropriations for the biennium beginning July 1, 2013, and ending June 30, 2015; to provide authorization and conditions for the operation of state programs STATUS: (Passed by House) Referred to Senate Finance Committee

HB 96 PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' COLLECTIVE BARGAINING LAW (STRAHORN F) To eliminate an exemption from the Public Employees' Collective Bargaining Law for specified educational employees STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee

HB 97 DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH (BRENNER A, LETSON T) To designate October as "Dyslexia Awareness Month” STATUS: House Health & Aging Committee – Reported out

HB 107 CAREER EXPLORATION INTERNSHIPS-TAX CREDIT (BAKER N) To authorize a tax credit for businesses that employ high school students in career exploration internships STATUS: Referred to House Ways & Means Committee

HB 111 STATE UNIVERSITIES-STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS (DUFFEY M, STINZIANO M) To grant student members of the boards of trustees of state universities and the Northeast Ohio Medical University voting power and the authority to attend executive sessions STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee

HB 113 HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICAL EDUCATION (ANTONIO N, HENNE M) To specify that school districts and chartered nonpublic schools may excuse from high school physical education students who participate in a school-sponsored athletic club STATUS: Referred to House Education Committee

HB 115 LOCAL GOVERNMENT BRIDGE FUND (SCHURING K) To create the Local Government Bridge Fund for the purpose of providing grants to local governments up to the reduced amount of funds the government received in fiscal years 2012 and 2013

4 from the Local Government Fund STATUS: Referred to House Finance & Appropriations Committee

HB 127 CAREER-TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MONTH (ADAMS R) To designate the month of March as "Career- Technical Education and Skilled Workforce Development Month” STATUS: House Education Committee – Reported out

HB 152 RIGHT TO WORK-PUBLIC EMPLOYEES (MAAG R) To remove any requirement under the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Law that public employees join or pay dues to any employee organization. STATUS: Referred to House State & Local Government Committee

HB 154 LOTTERY PROFITS-EDUCATION (GERBERRY R) To require that a portion of lottery profits be distributed annually on a per pupil basis to public and chartered nonpublic schools STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Finance & Appropriations Committee

HB 158 NONREFUNDABLE TAX CREDITS-NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS (BRENNER A, PATMON B) To authorize nonrefundable tax credits for donations to nonprofit entities providing scholarships to low-income students enrolling in nonpublic schools STATUS: Introduced; Referred to House Education Committee

Senate

SB 1 OHIOMEANSJOBS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT REVOLVING LOAN FUND (BEAGLE B, BALDERSON T) To create the OhioMeansJobs Workforce Development Revolving Loan Fund, to create the OhioMeansJobs Workforce Development Revolving Loan Program, to allocate a portion of casino license fees to finance the loan program, and to make an appropriation. STATUS: (Passed by Senate) Referred to House Manufacturing and Workforce Development Committee

SB 2 OHIO'S WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT LAW (LEHNER P, BEAGLE B) To require a local workforce investment area to use OhioMeansJobs as the local workforce investment area's job placement system, to rename county one-stop systems, and to make other changes to Ohio's Workforce Development Law STATUS: (Passed by Senate) Referred to House Manufacturing and Workforce Development Committee

SB 11 SUMMER MEAL PROGRAMS (BROWN E) To require school districts to allow alternative summer meal sponsors to use school facilities to provide food service for summer intervention services under certain conditions. STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Medicaid, Health & Human Services Committee

SB 13 VETERANS-ACADEMIC CREDIT (GENTILE L) To enhance support and services for veterans at state institutions of higher education and to require each institution to develop a policy for awarding academic credit to veterans for training received while in the military STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Public Safety, Local Government & Veterans Affairs Committee

SB 15 EDUCATION FUNDING (SAWYER T) To prescribe a system and timeline for the General Assembly to deliberate and determine the components and cost of a high quality public primary and secondary education STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Finance Committee

SB 21 THIRD-GRADE READING GUARANTEE (LEHNER P) To revise the requirements for reading teachers under the Third-Grade Reading Guarantee STATUS: Passed by Senate; Referred to House Education Committee

SB 26 HEAD INJURIES-YOUTH SPORTS (SCHAFFER T) To correct a cross reference with regard to concussions and head injuries in athletic activities organized by youth sports organizations and to declare an emergency STATUS: (Passed by Senate) House Health & Aging Committee – Reported out as amended

SB 31 INCOME TAX CREDIT-TEACHERS (SCHAFFER T) To allow a credit against the personal income tax for amounts spent by teachers for instructional materials STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Ways & Means Committee

SB 35 SPECIAL ELECTIONS (JORDAN K) To eliminate the ability to conduct special elections in February and August STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate State Government Oversight & Reform Committee

SB 42 PROPERTY TAXES-SCHOOL SECURITY (MANNING G, GARDNER R) To authorize school districts to levy a property tax exclusively for school safety and security purposes STATUS: Passed by Senate, Vote 31-2; Referred to House Way & Means Committee

SB 59 EDUCATION ENERGY COUNCIL (BEAGLE B) To authorize an eligible regional council of governments to establish itself as an education energy council for the purpose of issuing debt to pay for school district energy purchases STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Public Utilities Committee

SB 65 PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' COLLECTIVE BARGAINING LAW (TURNER N) To eliminate an exemption from the Public Employees' Collective Bargaining Law for specific educational employees STATUS: Referred to Senate Commerce & Labor Committee

SB 67 AUDIT PROCEDURE-POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS (PETERSON B) To create an agreed-upon procedure audit for certain eligible political subdivisions and to eliminate the Auditor of State's exemption from filing a rule summary and fiscal analysis with proposed rules. STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate State Government Oversight and Reform Committee

6 SB 69 COURSE AND PROGRAM SHARING NETWORK (BEAGLE B) To establish the Course and Program Sharing Network and to make an appropriation STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Finance Committee

SB 72 TRIO PROGRAMS (TAVARES C) To make an appropriation for the provision of state matching funds for federal TRIO programs at Ohio institutions of higher education for FY 2014 and FY 2015 STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Finance Committee

SB 74 AGENCY STANDARDS-CHILDRENS FACILITIES (TAVARES C) To require that any privately run non-Ohio agency, home, school, camp, institution, or other entity or residential facility to which Ohio abused, neglected, dependent, unruly, or delinquent children are committed comply with the same standards that are applicable to in-state agencies STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Criminal Justice Committee

SB 93 OPEN MEETINGS ACT (JONES S) To require that further information be stated in motions to hold executive sessions under the Open Meetings Act, to expand the fees and expenses that may be recovered for violations of the Act, and to make other changes to the Act STATUS: Referred to Senate State Government Oversight and Reform Committee

SB 96 HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM (LAROSE F) To require one unit of world history in the high school social studies curriculum STATUS: Referred to Senate Education Committee

SB 122 OFFICE OF REGIONAL SERVICES AND ACCOUNTABILITY (SAWYER T) To create the Office of Regional Services and Accountability in the Department of Education STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Education Committee

SB 123 INTERDISTRICT OPEN ENROLLMENT (SAWYER T) To terminate interdistrict open enrollment on that date with the possibility of renewal following the General Assembly's examination of the study's findings STATUS: Introduced; Referred to Senate Education Committee

OHIO POLITICS/BUDGET

TRANSPORTATION COSTS SQUEEZING SCHOOL DISTRICTS AKRON BEACON JOURNAL Barbara Shaner, associate executive director for the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, lobbied members of the Senate Education Finance Committee last week to increase funding for transportation — one of several items in the state budget she said is not adequately funded yet essential to educational outcomes. “The availability of safe, reliable transportation services is crucial for student access to a quality education. In some cases, it can mean the difference between a student’s lifelong success and what would otherwise be a lifetime of challenges with no hope for becoming an educated, productive citizen,” Shaner told Senate members. Those lifelong challenges are seeded in schools with limited access to busing.

AUDITOR’S FOCUS IN RECORDS SEIZURE WAS MOSTLY GRADE CHANGES COLUMBUS DISPATCH State Auditor Dave Yost seized records of grade and attendance changes for more than 870 students for his data-tampering investigation, according to a Dispatch analysis of court documents. The auditor’s office released some pages from each of the 34 search warrants that investigators served at 20 Columbus high schools on Thursday. They sought records for individual students identified by their student identification number. Those numbers were blacked out on the warrants released yesterday.

STATE LAWMAKERS WANT MORE MONEY FOR PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS DAYTON DAILY NEWS State lawmakers want to send more state dollars to pre-kindergarten programs that prepare children for kindergarten. Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, wants to put $100 million toward pre-kindergarten education for Ohio’s youngest and poorest students. Lehner, who serves on a panel of lawmakers evaluating the House version of the state budget bill, said every year the state waits to fund preschool, 130,000 more children go under-served. “This is one issue that we have such overwhelming data on the effectiveness of it, the cost savings and the value of how it can make a difference in a child’s life,” Lehner said Thursday.

SAYS MORE MONEY NEEDED FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMON CORE, ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP HANNAH The Ohio Education Association (OEA) voiced support Friday for Common Core standards that have received push back in some quarters lately. The union voted for “careful implementation” of tougher academic requirements at its spring assembly but warned against lack of instructional support and adequate funding to make the standards a success. OEA also called for the suspension of “outdated” proficiency testing that does not align with the phase-in of the Common Core. “It defies common sense for students, teachers and schools to be held accountable for test scores based on standards that have been rejected by educators -- and the State Board of Education,” said OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks. “There is no benefit from teaching and testing young people on outdated standards.”

DEVOLUTION OF ETECH AWAITS FINAL ACTION IN THE SENATE HANNAH The eTech Commission was reduced to an unofficial body this week as too few members attended to form the necessary quorum. Eight years young this month, the multi-disciplinary education-technology agency will be reduced to nothing on June 30 when -- should budget language stand -- the various functions of eTech Ohio will split off under three other state entities: the Board of Regents, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), and the new Broadcast Educational Media Commission (BEMC).

OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION/STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

8 ROSS TAKES EQUITY-MINUS-ADEQUACY ARGUMENT TO CAPITOL SQUARE FORUM HANNAH State Superintendent Dick Ross, architect of the governor’s school funding plan and current head of the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), took the argument for funding equity-minus-adequacy to a group of business leaders and stakeholders Wednesday. He called for no more “excuses” around proposed state dollars in the executive and House education budgets, and said result-driven superintendents answer the challenge of education excellence in lean years as well as revenue-rich funding cycles. Introduced by KidsOhio President Mark Real as an education leader with a “bias toward action,” Ross said a “kick in the seat of the pants” had jump-started his own college career and suggested school CEOs take the same approach.“It's not a job for the faint at heart. School leaders need to shut down expenditures that do not move the needle on student achievement,” he said at the Columbus Metropolitan Club. “We can't play the blame game. We can't make excuses.”

ODE RELEASES RTTT YEAR-TWO PROGRESS REPORT HANNAH The Year-Two Progress Report on the state's Race to the Top (RttT) program, released by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), shows Ohio has increased its graduation rate by 1.7 percent at Race to the Top schools, closed the graduation gap between white and non-white students, increased the math scores of economically disadvantaged students, and increased the number of eighth graders who scored proficient or better in math. Noting that the RttT goals "have become the education goals of our state," Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Richard Ross added, “Our Race to the Top strategy is having a positive impact on graduation rates and math scores in Ohio. The reforms we are making are establishing high standards of excellence and ensuring that our students will graduate with the skills to live successful lives. Still, we have much work to do. Our state Race to the Top staff and district teams understand this, and they are completely committed to carrying out our grant strategies. We will continue to fervently pursue these and other education reform goals.”

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO MEET MAY 13-14 AT OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HANNAH The State Board of Education will conduct its monthly meeting starting at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, May 13 and Tuesday, May 14, at the Department of Education, 25 S. Front St., Columbus. The two-day meeting will be highlighted by a hearing on school safety as the board solicits feedback from policymakers and security experts to determine where advocacy efforts can be increased and policies can be updated.

CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT

CONSERVATIVE OPPOSITION TO COMMON CORE STANDARDS IN SCHOOLS IS GROWING IN OHIO AND ELSEWHERE STATE IMPACT OHIO From the East Coast to the Midwest and beyond a backlash is developing to a new set of national education standards that schools in many states are already in the process of implementing. And the critics are an increasingly diverse group, as StateImpact Ohio’s Ida Lieszkovszky reports. OHIO'S EDUCATION STANDARDS DEBATED COLUMBUS DISPATCH Ohio districts are only a year away from the 2014-15 deadline to implement the more- rigorous Common Core academic standards, but many have been phasing them in since Ohio adopted them in 2010. Meanwhile, inside the Statehouse, a debate has arisen over whether Ohio should remain among the 45 states that decided to replace their math and English standards with those in the Common Core. They’ll also introduce new tests starting in 2014. “I would be disappointed if they drew the rug out from under us,” said Susan Witten, who oversees curriculum at Hamilton schools. Some say concerns over the Common Core reached new levels when conservative commentators Glenn Beck and Michelle Malkin began criticizing the standards a few months ago. The chorus of opposition grew to the point that the Republican National Committee in mid- April adopted a resolution opposing the Common Core, saying it is an “inappropriate overreach to standardize and control the education of our children so they will conform to a preconceived ‘normal.’ ”

THE COMMON CORE ON CAMPUS INSIDE HIGHER ED As elementary and secondary schools in 45 states and the District of Columbia work to implement new, more rigorous and increasingly controversial standards for math and language arts, though, that stalemate might be easing. The new standards, known the Common Core State Standards Initiative, for the first time make college and career readiness for every high school graduate an explicit, nearly nationwide goal. The first set of assessments is fast approaching, in the 2014-15 academic year. Still, the new standards remain largely unknown among college and university faculty members and all but a few top administrators on college campuses. That’s despite the fact the state- led initiative isn't only intended to transform elementary and secondary education. If the Common Core is implemented as advocates intend, its effects would significantly alter how many things work in higher education too.

MANY TEACHERS SAY THEY NEED TRAINING IN COMMON CORE STANDARDS, POLL SAYS WASHINGTON POST Most public school teachers feel unprepared to teach math and reading to the Common Core standards that are rolling out in 45 states and the District, according to a poll of 800 teachers released Friday by the American Federation of Teachers. The new standards, written by a group of states and embraced by the Obama administration, set common goals for reading, writing and math skills that students should develop from kindergarten through high school graduation. Curriculum is left to the states. The standards emphasize critical thinking and problem solving and are supposed to encourage students to think deeply about fewer topics. While a clear majority — 75 percent — of teachers surveyed by the union said they support the Common Core, less than one-third said their school districts have given them the training and resources to teach to the new standards.

CURRICULUM CRITICS WRONG COLUMBUS DISPATCH A campaign against Common Core educational standards — developed by governors, adopted by 45 states and designed to help American children catch up to their peers around the world — is misguided and misinformed. Ohio faces a critical need to improve the ability of its children to compete in a global economy; that starts with education-

10 content standards substantially more rigorous than those in place now. That’s what the Common Core is supposed to provide when the standards go into effect in 2014, and the movement to undermine it should be stopped in its tracks.

EARLY-COLLEGE-READINESS ASSESSMENTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS GROWING EDUCATION WEEK Concern over high school graduates being unprepared for college-level work has educators and policymakers looking for ways to identify learning gaps earlier. A new review by the Community College Research Center finds some form of early-college- readiness assessments are offered in 38 states, and 29 states have structured interventions to help reduce the need for remedial coursework for incoming college freshman. The paper, Reshaping the College Transition by Elisabeth A. Barnett, Maggie P. Fay, Rachel Hare Bork, Madeline Joy Weiss of Columbia University suggests that the number of state and local initiatives employing these tactics is widespread and growing.

COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS/PREPARATION

CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE IDENTIFIES THE TWO FINALISTS FOR ITS PRESIDENCY CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS Cuyahoga Community College has identified Alex Johnson, the former president of its Metropolitan Campus, and Lars A. Hafner, an embattled former administrator from a community college in Florida, as the two finalists for the presidency at Ohio's largest community college.

EARLY LEARNING

GROUND-FLOOR INVESTMENT COLUMBUS DISPATCH While much effort is being put toward figuring out how to make public schools better and more accountable, one thing is clear: If children arrive for kindergarten already behind the curve and unready to learn, they start their school careers more likely to struggle and fail. As Ohio’s economy improves, Gov. John Kasich is correct to propose an $18.5 million increase in state aid for preschool programs for 2013-14 and an additional $2 million bump the following year.

RESEARCH

ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING RESEARCHERS KNOW ABOUT BULLYING EDUCATION WEEK The American Educational Research Association released this week a thorough new analysis on the state of bullying research in the United States. The report includes several action items for improvement, aimed at both scholars and schools. Each part addresses a specific aspect of bullying, with 11 parts in total. Here is a brief summary, item by item.

A VISION FOR BOOSTING STUDENT OUTCOMES WITH BLENDED LEARNING PUBLIC IMPACT Here's how to use blended learning to drive improvements in digital instruction, transform teaching into a highly paid career, and improve student learning on a large scale, according to the authors. If, as they assert, the top 25% of teachers can produce a year and a half of learning annually, they can, with blended learning, reach more students. That in turn can close achievement gaps and help average students "leap ahead." It's a promise, not a guarantee, they say. Excellent teachers must be better deployed, "playing instructional and team leadership roles that maximize technology's impact with their own." A school can pick up "better blend" immediately, but to achieve excellence on a grander scale, state policies must be changed in the areas of funding, people, accountability for learning, technology and student data, and timing and scalability.

PER PUPIL SPENDING VARIES WIDELY BY STATE For regular school districts, the national median current expenditure was $9,989 in FY 2010, an increase of 1% over FY 2009, according to a recent federal study. States with the highest median per-pupil spending were Alaska ($24,244), District of Columbia ($18,667), New York ($17,583), Wyoming ($16, 213), and New Jersey ($15,468). Looking at the 100 largest public school districts, the range was from $5,528 in Alpine School District, Utah, to $19,184 in New York City. Total revenues reported in FY 2010 by school districts were $599.9 billion, 12.5% from the federal government, 43.1% from state governments, and 44.3% from local governments.

'ED. DESIGN STUDIO' TRIES TO LINK ENTREPRENEURS TO RESEARCHERS EDUCATION WEEK A new project at the University of Pennsylvania will attempt to give promising education startups and entrepreneurs targeted advice and other help, including access to academic researchers, so that those organizations grow and succeed. The university's graduate school of education unveiled plans to launch the program, known as the "Education Design Studio Fund," here on Penn's campus on Wednesday. The announcement came on the same day the graduate program announced the winners of a competition that will provide a combined $145,000 to education-focused entrepreneurs, money designed to help them either get off the ground or build on what they already have.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

PRIVATE

DOLLAR GENERAL LITERACY FOUNDATION ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR YOUTH LITERACY GRANTS DOLLAR GENERAL (DEADLINE: MAY 23, 2013) The Dollar General Literacy Foundation provides grants to qualifying nonprofit organizations in the forty states where Dollar General stores are located. The foundation's Youth Literacy Grants provide funding to schools, public libraries, and nonprofit organizations working to help students who are below grade level or experiencing difficulty reading.

USA FUNDS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR KEY TRANSITIONS IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION INITIATIVE USAFUNDS (DEADLINE: MAY 24, 2013)

12 USA Funds is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations working to provide education support services that help students and adult learners complete college. Through its Key Transitions in Postsecondary Education initiative, the organization will award grants of between $400,000 to $800,000 to three organizations for programs that support recent high school graduates, adult learners transitioning into a postsecondary education environment, and students transitioning between the first and second year of college, particularly at the community college level.

GTECH SEEKS PROPOSALS TO CREATE AFTER-SCHOOL COMPUTER LABS FOR AT-RISK YOUTH GTECH (DEADLINE: ROLLING) GTECH's After School Advantage Program provides nonprofit community agencies and public schools with state-of-the-art computer labs designed to give inner-city children between the ages of 5 and 15 a safe, meaningful, and fun learning experience during afterschool hours. The program provides up to $15,000 in computers, online technology, computer software, and volunteer hours to afterschool programs in inner- city communities where the online gaming company has an office. GTECH employees will work with each agency and school to design and develop a fully operational computer center.

NORTHEAST OHIO SCHOOLS

HUDSON BOARD OF EDUCATION NAMES PHILLIP HERMAN NEW SUPERINTENDENT AKRON BEACON JOURNAL

WILLOUGHBY-EASTLAKE SCHOOLS LEVY FAILS; KIRTLAND, MENTOR, PAINESVILLE SCHOOL LEVIES PASS WILLOUGHBY NEWS-HERALD

BRECKSVILLE-BROADVIEW HEIGHTS

BRECKSVILLE-BROADVIEW HEIGHTS VOTERS APPROVE RENEWAL LEVY SUN NEWS

BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN VOTERS PASS SCHOOL BOND AND LEVY SUN NEWS CMSD

CLEVELAND SCHOOL DISTRICT AND TEACHERS UNION REACH AGREEMENT ON CLEVELAND PLAN DETAILS THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER

CLEVELAND SCHOOL DISTRICT, CLEVELAND TEACHERS UNION REVAMP SALARY SYSTEM TO REWARD BEST TEACHERS THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER

NORTH OLMSTED

NORTH OLMSTED SCHOOL BOARD AIMS TO HIRE NEW SUPERINTENDENT WEDNESDAY LORAIN MORNING JOURNAL

WESTLAKE SCHOOLS PREPARE TO MAKE CUTS IN WAKE OF LEVY DEFEAT SUN NEWS 14