Looks like Quebec City to me.

 

Le Vendome, 36 Cote de la Montagne, Québec QC G1k4E2, Canada

Thanks all for tracking that down, now I can visit in street view!

 

I think Hollister Park should be sold and that whole corner sold to developer for housing, etc.  Inwood park is already across the street and there are tennis courts on W.H. Taft.  I think having a development anchor that corner actually improves Inwood.

 

 

Yeah I'm not a fan of a variety of the parks around town that get zero use.  Losantiville Triangle is another completely unused park.

 

Le Vendome, 36 Cote de la Montagne, Québec QC G1k4E2, Canada

 

Streetview that address, lots of parallels between that street and Vine in OTR, that is if OTR didn't have the number of demos its had over the years.  Makes me feel like I've taken a time machine :)

With the VLT Academy (1100 Sycamore St) liquidating all its assets at an auction, does anybody know future plans for the building? http://www.local12.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/online-vlt-academy-auction-boasts-wide-variety-19009.shtml

 

 

 

Yeah everyone should be absolutely disgusted by that auction, assuming it was all taxpayer dollars that paid for all that stuff that is being auctioned off.  These charter schools are a total scam.  The kids, the teachers, and the taxpayers are getting suckered by shadowy ownership that disappears into the night. 

 

 

3 years ago CPS opened the Hyde Park School. HP's first specific neighborhood school in a few decades. At City Hall, we got ANGRY calls from residents in Oakley (who are now in the Hyde Park School boundaries) who were furious because they used to be in the John P Parker school boundaries.  Parker is a failing school, and they were happy to use their vouchers to send their kids to Catholic school. 

 

Now that they were in the Hyde Park boundaries and Hyde Park is an excellent rated school, they didn't qualify for vouchers and were FURIOUS.

 

This shows how HORRIBLE vouchers are in many cases. Vouchers aren't just for subsidized catholic school like these parents wanted.  They were supposed to give an option to poor families who could never afford to get their kid out of a failing school, but once they lived in a good spot, the voucher is SUPPOSED to go away.  It's a temporary fix, not a subsidized private education.

 

I'd love to see some data on the new HP School.  Where the kids who went there were going, how many were using vouchers at other schools, how many were in magnet schools but now had a good enough neighborhood school (thereby opening more spots for the magnet schools to kids in spots where the schools aren't good), etc.  Anyone have any ideas about this?

This shows how HORRIBLE vouchers are in many cases.

 

Or it shows how great they are because parents are so satisfied with the program, they would prefer to continue to use vouchers rather than send their kids to even an "excellent" rated public school.

Yeah everyone should be absolutely disgusted by that auction, assuming it was all taxpayer dollars that paid for all that stuff that is being auctioned off.  These charter schools are a total scam.  The kids, the teachers, and the taxpayers are getting suckered by shadowy ownership that disappears into the night. 

 

A Columbus area charter school spends more money on rent than it spends on education. And who is the school renting from? A subsidiary of itself.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/10/12/charters-lease-deals-scrutinized.html

 

Yep. Nothing more than a money-funneling scam.

Oh and a lot of the ones up here like that one featured in the Dispatch are in '50s-'60-'70s parts of town where the land isn't worth anything, such as Linden and the South Side. But they inflate the value of the buildings when renting them to themselves to grind money out of the state.

This shows how HORRIBLE vouchers are in many cases.

 

Or it shows how great they are because parents are so satisfied with the program, they would prefer to continue to use vouchers rather than send their kids to even an "excellent" rated public school.

 

That's not how it works.  The purpose of the program is NOT to give wealthy Hyde Park residents subsidized catholic education.  They were asking to be put BACK into the map of a failing school so they could keep getting tax payer subsidized catholic education.  Vouchers are tax payer dollars taken away from public schools to help people get out of a bad school. Once you are in the map of a good school, pay your own money for catholic education.

My grandfather was a prominent figure behind the effort to change Ohio's public/parochial school funding policies in the 1960s and 1970s (busses, school nurse, text books, special needs/gifted classes in Catholic schools are all paid by property taxes thanks to the work of his group) and died shortly after vouchers began so never saw the messes that they created.   

http://classic.cincinnatilibrary.org:81/search?/Xmecklenborg+paul&SORT=DZ/Xmecklenborg+paul&SORT=DZ&extended=0&SUBKEY=mecklenborg+paul/1%2C14%2C14%2CB/frameset&FF=Xmecklenborg+paul&SORT=DZ&13%2C13%2C

 

Now the Catholic schools are in serious trouble because tuition costs are getting out of control, even with public funding for the afore-mentioned features of their operation, plus the priest scandal has turned many, may people away and they're never coming back.  Now the voucher thing opened the floodgates for many non-Catholic kids from poor families attending the schools.  Not surprisingly it's causing all kinds of discipline and test score issues, and parishes and schools continue to close.  In the heyday of Cincinnati's catholic schools, the proponents strutted around asserting that better organization and a better attitude was responsible for the schools' lower costs per student and better test scores.  But they can't do that anymore, and they can't put their kids in the catholic schools to "keep them away from drugs" like they could in the 80s.     

 

 

This reminds me of a recent episode of This American Life. In a town in New York, there is a growing population of Orthodox Jews who send their children to private, religious schools. They were tired of paying taxes for schools they didn't use, so they took over the school board and began making cuts. It got to the point where high school students didn't have enough classes to take and spent over half the day in lunch and study hall. They also began funding certain programs in the private school using public dollars, which was against state law.

Whether the school is public, Catholic, charter, or anything else, one thing always remains true: If you can somehow control "inputs" (i.e. students that enroll), you have much more control over "outputs" than anything you might possibly do regarding actual academics. Personally I think that urban/inner-ring public schools need much more freedom to get rid of problem students to create more positive learning environments.

Whether the school is public, Catholic, charter, or anything else, one thing always remains true: If you can somehow control "inputs" (i.e. students that enroll), you have much more control over "outputs" than anything you might possibly do regarding actual academics. Personally I think that urban/inner-ring public schools need much more freedom to get rid of problem students to create more positive learning environments.

 

People really, really want to think that "good schools" ensure a high-achieving adulthood for a child, but they are merely incidental.  I went to the #1 academic high school in my city and many graduates have faded into oblivion.  I personally know of dozens who never achieved professional employment who are working in call centers, as bank tellers, selling cars, or whatever.   

 

Overwhelmingly the #1 factor in the eventual "success" of children is the emotional and economic support of their parents.  At least half of the people who are "doing well" from my high school were told how great they were daily as boys and teenagers and then set up in their careers by their fathers.  There are some who are "doing well" outside that framework and those fields, but they are mostly in medicine, science, or IT. 

 

Whether the school is public, Catholic, charter, or anything else, one thing always remains true: If you can somehow control "inputs" (i.e. students that enroll), you have much more control over "outputs" than anything you might possibly do regarding actual academics. Personally I think that urban/inner-ring public schools need much more freedom to get rid of problem students to create more positive learning environments.

 

THIS.  In a major way.

 

Developer plans $12 million remodel of former Sands Montessori school

Feb 4, 2015, 3:39pm EST

Tom Demeropolis Senior Staff Reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

An Indianapolis-based real estate development company plans to transform the former George E. Sands School in the West End into 65 apartments.

 

TWG Development LLC plans to convert the school, located at 940 Poplar St., into apartments for seniors. Andrea Kent, development associate with TWG Development, said the project is expected to start in late March. The remodel is expected to be a $12 million project.

 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2015/02/04/developer-plans-12-million-remodel-of-former-sands.html

This is awesome news, especially when combined with the Heberle School (which just got Historic Tax Credits). If the Lafayette-Bloom School (owned by same developer as Heberle) also gets renovated into apartments, it'll bring a lot of new residents into the West End, making for a neat cluster of renovated schools.

 

(Is there a thread for West End development news)?

Vine Street school to get a makeover?

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/education/2015/10/12/vine-street-school-get-makeover/73816014/

Cincinnati Public Schools wants to renovate the old Vine Street School – upping the district’s capacity for preschool, and snatching away the now-vacant building from any hopeful charter schools.

 

The building at Vine and Mulberry streets has been empty since August 2014, when it was last used as swing space for Rothenberg and Taft elementary schools while their buildings were redone. According to Ohio law, if a public school building is unused for more than two years, districts are required to offer it for sale to charter schools.

Cincinnati Public Schools asks voters for levy that pays for preschool, improved K-12

 

Backed by a standing ovation from community leaders in the audience, Cincinnati Public Schools board members voted Tuesday morning to officially ask voters to pass a new $48 million levy.

 

If approved in November, the five-year levy will cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $277.55 a year, a 19.5 percent increase over the current levy...

 

The district agreed to devote $15 million of the levy annually to funding preschool. In addition to placing the levy on the ballot, the district approved a detailed plan to hire an outside organization to oversee preschool funding.

 

The trusted entity, in turn, will create a new nonprofit organization that will handle the daily operations of reimbursing preschool operators and a host of other responsibilities like making sure preschools' lesson plans align with Ohio's K-12 curriculum.

 

---

 

This "Trusted Entity" sounds a lot like the Park Board, to me. I'm extremely weary of this and will be voting no.

Yeah, it's not about the money.  I don't understand why there are layers of complexity.  Oh yeah -- Cranley was involved.

 

Plus, CPS just blew $1 billion on new buildings, and none of them are interesting.  They did a great job renovating Hughes, Rothenberg, and handful of other historic schools, but mostly just blew money on a few dozen new and totally ugly schools, all seemingly set back from the road, and lacking any sort of spirit. 

At least school systems are back to building multi-story schools. Though from watching 30-Second-Fights on Twitter I see that lets the kids throw each other down the stairs when they fight.

I voted against the levy, especially after I saw how huge it is.  It will raise as much annually as Cincinnati's earnings tax does for SORTA.  I did not like how they advertised the levy as funding the creation of new preschool programs but conveniently ignored that 2/3 of the money will go directly to CPS for stuff unrelated to the preschool program.

 

This preschool program and the tax were not thoroughly vetted by the local media thanks to the giant Trump distraction.  If they want to do a preschool program, we should vote just on that.  If they want to give teachers and staff raises, we should vote just on that. 

The Giant Trump Distraction mean zero statewide ballot initiatives this year as well.

I saw way, way more support for this tax levy than I expected, and little to no opposition. It is an absolutely massive tax hike, the type that the Enquirer would usually love to tackle and pick apart, but all of their political staff were busy blasting Trump, going to Sarah Palin rallies, etc. to actually cover local any issues or campaigns. In reality, this tax levy will have a more direct and sudden impact on Cincinnatians than whoever becomes president.

The Giant Trump Distraction mean zero statewide ballot initiatives this year as well.

 

And we still are not addressing how asinine the school funding situation is in Ohio.  The redistribution of lottery proceeds isn't cutting it: http://www.morningjournal.com/article/MJ/20140513/NEWS/140519953

 

It's a tax hike because it's a combination of a renewal for CPS' levy plus the creation of the Preschool Promise program. Over the past several years, the Preschool Promise people were exploring many different ways to put the issue on the ballot, including a dedicated sales or income tax, and ultimately decided that the best way would be to attach it to CPS.

It's a tax hike because it's a combination of a renewal for CPS' levy plus the creation of the Preschool Promise program.

 

No I think Jake had it correct. The preschool program is only a portion of the increase.

It's a tax hike because it's a combination of a renewal for CPS' levy plus the creation of the Preschool Promise program. Over the past several years, the Preschool Promise people were exploring many different ways to put the issue on the ballot, including a dedicated sales or income tax, and ultimately decided that the best way would be to attach it to CPS.

 

^ Correct, FWIW I voted for it.

With the shameful youth poverty rate in this city, I view it almost as a moral imperative to vote for this levy. We can't keep ignoring our suffering underclass and expect this city to positively change.  Giving all kids an early educational start seems to be one of the best ways to make a dent in this huge issue.

With the shameful youth poverty rate in this city, I view it almost as a moral imperative to vote for this levy. We can't keep ignoring our suffering underclass and expect this city to positively change.  Giving all kids an early educational start seems to be one of the best ways to make a dent in this huge issue.

 

This is correct, everything I've read says early education for disadvantaged families leads to better lifelong  outcomes across the board, which ultimately saves money on government services later on.

 

Also, for families deciding where to live all this urbanism and walkable neighborhood stuff is trumped by SCHOOLS SCHOOLS SCHOOLS. Especially now that Catholic school tuitions are through the roof. This is the one area Cincinnati needs to compete with the suburbs in.

My problem with this is that not all of the money is going to preschool (1/3 of it is), CPS already spends an alarmingly high amount of money per pupil with little to no results (and no signs of improvement according to state assessments), and we're talking about a lot of money - several hundred dollars per year for the average homeowner.

 

This article sums up my complaints pretty well: https://www.aei.org/publication/vote-no-on-issue-44/

 

I don't think we're going to see any significant results, I don't think this will improve CPS or any property values in the city or attract more families to choose to live in the city. Results will be negligible and I'll personally be out hundreds of dollars a year every year for the next 5 years.

The fact that CPS got the United Way involved makes this look shady because it acknowledges that the public doesn't trust the schools with its money.  So if the United Way is needed to oversee the funding of this preschool program, why not the rest of the $500~ million CPS general fund budget?

yeah, I was quite iffy on this one.  It is a lot of money with fairly mixed results on pre-school.

 

That said, it does show good results for pre-school with disadvantaged youth.  Hopefully with this passing, they actually put together a baramater of success and can follow the kids through the cycle.  Since the levy ends in 5 years, obviously these children will be around 10 so it will be hard to tell a difference at that point, which then begs the question, will they ask to update it again and say too early to tell?

 

The poverty rate is horrible in Cincinnati though, and any amount will help.  The thing is that with this tax, even the people in poverty are most likely to feel the economic ripple effect on their pockets either way, and hopefully that doesn't offset the gains with pre-school.

This won with 62% voting in favor.

Many school board candidates marched in the Northside 4th of July Parade.  I didn't know what any of these people looked like except Ryan Messer, but he wasn't there.  So I don't know if actually photographed the candidates or not. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Came upon this in a Sandusky newspaper about the dedication of the Lafayette Bloom school on April 29, 1916:

Edited January 7, 20205 yr by seicer

No spectators allowed at Taft-Woodward basketball games:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/parents-only-no-spectators-allowed-at-taft-v-woodward-basketball-game

Am I reading this correctly?  Woodward HS has *NINE* security guards????

https://www.wcpo.com/news/education/cincinnati-public-schools/cincinnati-public-schools-releases-plan-of-action-for-woodward-high-school