Clevelander17

Look, no matter what system is used, the wealthiest 10-15% are always going to have the resources to buy their kids' way into a school that is segregated from the plebs. That will never change and the distribution of vouchers to everyone regardless of means (which would be the absolute worst way to do it, IMO) would only serve to make the most expensive private schools even more expensive. So any idea of passing out vouchers so CMSD families can attend Laurel or University School is just unrealistic. Heck I'm pretty sure that even with Catholic schools like St. Ignatius and Benedictine, even though they take students using vouchers, the vouchers don't cover full tuition. I'll say the same thing about vouchers that I said about charter schools. If we have a robust public school system that includes plentiful magnet school choices (including ones that cater to high-achievers and ones that exist to work with the biggest problem students), there's no need for vouchers. IMO, one of the public school system's biggest problems (and this is not just CMSD, but nationally) has been trying to shove too many kids into one-size-fits all comprehensive schools, particularly at the secondary level. There is a place for neighborhood schools, especially for K-6 or K-8, but when kids get older their families need some educational options to help get them more on track for what comes after K-12.

Oh okay, yeah I'd take issue with that, too. Any voucher system should be means-tested and I also don't believe that the voucher should be worth anywhere near as much as the per pupil expenditure of the local district. That way if a student/family does choose to leave a school, the school isn't taking a huge hit, and in a way may even benefit from having one less student. The voucher should probably be closer to the marginal cost of educating one student.

Parents who would have been sending their children to private schools get a $12,000 subsidy from my taxes. Good reason to leave Ohio Huh?

But are they really necessary? If CSMD created a system that separated the students with active parents and those that aren't causing problems from those that aren't interested in learning, wouldn't the same ends, for the most part, be achieved? Charter schools in urban districts lead to re-segregation (not necessarily along racial lines), but give those that allow them to exist and those that operate them political cover. Also, while it's true that charter schools usually require more contract hours of their teachers, it's debatable whether charter school teachers work any harder than their peers in public schools.

I almost have to question the league's future at this point. What's this, four lockouts in two decades? How come other major professional sports leagues seem to be able to have more long-term labor stability?

They also: -Have a cherry-picked student enrollment and can freely boot out those that don't comply with their rules. -Do not pay or treat teachers like true professionals. -Have mixed results, but as studies have shown on the whole do no better than public schools. Charter schools, generally speaking, aren't doing anything special. While they were originally created to be laboratories of innovation, nowadays they've mostly become little more than another way for corporations to extract more money from the public (see White Hat Management and their ilk). IMO charter schools haven't proven to be necessary and they bring almost nothing to the table that a good magnet school system could not replicate.

Awwww No need for that, the Heights-Shaker rivalry is over now that the Red Raiders, a charter member of the LEL, ran off to the NOC. ;)

Not unique to Cleveland, but also less prevalent in the suburbs because of student body makeup and available resources. The districts that have the most problems are also the ones that tend to have the least amount of resources to deal with the problems. Though in CMSD's case, due to test scores and state ratings, as well as public perception, it's bad for business when you have to kick a kid out of school for five days (even if it is completely warranted). It hurts the attendance number (which factors into the state rating), it causes that student to fall behind and miss out on learning time (jeopardizing test scores), and it goes on the books as a suspension (which is a problem when you want to cite these numbers as proof that discipline in the schools is improving). In fairness, a lot of this is simply CMSD's response to outside pressures as dictated by failed state and Federal policies.

Sorry for not being clearer. "They" would be district administrators and they have put an emphasis on teachers dealing with discipline "in-house." In other words, things that in the past may have caused a reasonable teacher to send a kid down to the office are now being dealt with in the classroom. And on some occasions when students are sent down to the office, they are not being disciplined as they should (i.e. receiving a suspension). Some of this is left up to the discretion of individual principals, and as such varies by school, but the point is that there are enough problems in a lot of these schools that only the most extremely serious cases are dealt with by office staff and punished in a way that one might expect to be reasonable. Well, just recently Chicago has considered implementing a "carrot" approach, that is, giving parents a $25 gift card to entice them to come to teacher meetings. I think some combination of the carrot and stick approach is necessary, and I'm not sure if this makes a whole lot of sense, but at least it's an idea that accepts the reality of the situation (lack of parental involvement) and aims to do something about it.

The retroactive part is where the issue arises. I believe most schools/districts have set eligibility standards that are higher than what the OHSAA requires. Oh and from what I'm hearing/reading, Heights and Beachwood are OUT, and Mayfield and Edgewood are back IN, and that the ruling is final now.

You have some good points here. I'm a big fan of grouping students. Along with more John Hay-type schools, perhaps with other focuses, CMSD also needs probably a good half-dozen schools that play the role that Taylor Academy played in CH-UH about 15-20 years ago. The students that are truly want to learn--gifted or not--need to be given an environment to do so, away from the problem students. There should probably be three or four tiers of schools. By the way, a little off-topic, but what are you hearing about the SE-L levy? Think it will pass?

I believe that there are some things they can do, including actually allowing teachers to enforce the rules and follow through on disciplining the students that cause problems. Beyond that, the district has to find ways to make students and parents accountable. There are ways to do it, and I sincerely believe these things would improve overall student outcomes, but doing so would anger a lot of Jackson's constituency, so I guess we can't take about such solutions. So instead their "innovative" plan is to place a larger burden on teachers, who can only do so much in such a tough environment--that's where the truth is being ignored or glossed over. This part of the plan is going to backfire; it will hurt morale of currently employed teachers in the short-run, and in the long-run CMSD will be even less attractive to the best teaching candidates. Who is going to want to work in a situation where they're being held accountable for things beyond their control, with their salary is riding on such factors, and where working conditions are almost always going to be worse than what you'll find in the suburbs because discipline is inconsistent? I support this levy, the children need it, but I think the overall Transformation Plan is mostly pretty bad. We can talk about it here in a few years when CEO Gordon is gone and someone has taken his place with the next big plan that's going to fix the schools.

Heights did get hosed two years ago and based on that alone I feel like the OHSAA should owe them one. Not how it works, but it would be poetic justice if the courts give the spot to Heights.

Cross-posted in the Urban Education thread: With the upcoming CMSD levy vote on Tuesday, there has been a flurry of discussion recently. I liked this editorial by a teacher calling out district and union leadership and local politicians for ignoring the real issue and placing the blame in all the wrong places: The real crisis in the Cleveland schools is being ignored by those who think the levy will help: Louis E. Filippelli Once again the citizens of Cleveland are being hoodwinked about the crisis in the public school system. The deception is widespread and the list of culprits includes the governor, the mayor, elected state representatives, the business community, and even the teachers union. All have failed to educate themselves and the citizenry on the real issues regarding educational failure and all have abdicated their responsibility to consider and discuss social factors in public education. Financial problems, as severe as they are, have been permitted to overshadow the remedies for real reform. The prevailing attitudes of these so called educational reformers pretty much assures us that education in this district will continue to be a failed endeavor. Teacher evaluations are highlighted while discipline solutions and parental and student accountability are virtually ignored. Irresponsible parents and the children they are failing to raise are the real culprits in this ongoing scholastic disaster. http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/11/the_real_crisis_in_the_clevela.html

With the upcoming CMSD levy vote on Tuesday, there has been a flurry of discussion recently. I liked this editorial by a teacher calling out district and union leadership and local politicians for ignoring the real issue and placing the blame in all the wrong places: The real crisis in the Cleveland schools is being ignored by those who think the levy will help: Louis E. Filippelli Once again the citizens of Cleveland are being hoodwinked about the crisis in the public school system. The deception is widespread and the list of culprits includes the governor, the mayor, elected state representatives, the business community, and even the teachers union. All have failed to educate themselves and the citizenry on the real issues regarding educational failure and all have abdicated their responsibility to consider and discuss social factors in public education. Financial problems, as severe as they are, have been permitted to overshadow the remedies for real reform. The prevailing attitudes of these so called educational reformers pretty much assures us that education in this district will continue to be a failed endeavor. Teacher evaluations are highlighted while discipline solutions and parental and student accountability are virtually ignored. Irresponsible parents and the children they are failing to raise are the real culprits in this ongoing scholastic disaster. http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/11/the_real_crisis_in_the_clevela.html

I was hoping to see Heights in the playoffs again this year, but I sort of think, based on everything I've read about the legal challenges, that Mayfield should get that final spot...and either way the OHSAA is going to have to clarify language in its by-laws as it moves forward.

Interesting to say the least. Mandel may have swayed some Jews to his side due to certain loyalty considerations, but I'm not sure it's really that far-reaching or long-lasting. More like a one-time situation and something that may not even carry over to other Republicans in this election. Judaism has a deep humanistic tradition, one that in a lot of ways is at odds with a large chunk of the Republican platform, and one that, for the moment, transcends blind, unquestioning support for Israel.

How so?

I don't think 45%. Also, when it comes to topics like this I relate person facts instead of a gross generalization. I'm not sure what you mean...your informal polling data is biased by the people with whom you associate in your everyday life. That was the point of the story. Mandel is going to get a lot of votes and I think it's going to be close. He probably won't win, but I don't see this being a landslide, either.

^ At the end of the day, Ohio is a purple state, it's a toss-up year, and he's the Republican candidate. Those facts alone dictate that he's going to almost automatically have ~45% of the vote. As for your anecdote, please don't take this the wrong way, but it reminds me of a fictional story I once heard that I recall goes like this: In 1984 there was a woman from Manhattan that said that she was shocked that Reagan won re-election because everyone she knew voted for Mondale.

Not sure what you mean considering the bucks are not bowl eligible. Or are you trying to say, since they are not bowl eligible, the BCS will have an asterisk year considering one of top teams is not competing? That's what I was implying, though obviously there won't really be an asterisk next to the BCS champion. I just want Ohio State to continue playing well enough to cast some doubt on the national picture.

News out of the eastern suburbs this week is that Shaker Heights and University Heights are very close to completely merging their fire departments: http://www.cleveland.com/university-heights/index.ssf/2012/10/proposed_merger_of_fire_depart.html

After the election's over he can collect them, paint over the word "Senate," and re-use them for whatever office he runs for next.

I'm somewhat in shock. What a ballgame. They didn't deserve to win, but I'll take it! I want so badly for this team to win out and cast some doubt on the Big Ten and perhaps even the National Championship picture. Go Buckeyes!

I was driving through the Chagrin Valley yesterday (Solon, Moreland Hills, Orange, etc.) and I saw a significant amount of signs for Mandel. He may be a terrible candidate, but the wealthy folks at least that will benefit from having him in Washington seem to be circling the wagons a bit. I agree with your analysis, this will be a closer election than the polls from a week ago indicated, but I still see Brown winning by a few points.