Northeast Ohio educators discuss the impact of student mobility on their schools

February 6, 2013

Educators and community leaders from northeastern Ohio gathered this morning to discuss the impact of student mobility on schools, families, and the community. Roberta Garber, former executive director of Community Research Partners (CRP) presented findings from CRP and Fordham's statewide study of student mobility. Responding to the research were panel members Eric Gordon, CEO of Cleveland Metropolitan Schools; Alan Rosskamm, CEO of Breakthrough Schools; Bob Mengerink, Superintendent of the Cuyahoga County ESC; and John Begala, Executive Director of Center for Community Solutions. The local panel added a human dimension to the study's data and discussed the many ways schools, social services, and other agencies are working in partnership to better serve mobile families and students.

A video of the event, held at the Ideacenter's Westfield Insurance Studio Theater and sponsored by the Nord Family Foundation, will be available on our website soon. To read the study, Student Nomads: Mobility in Ohio's Schools, go here. 

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Northeast Ohio educators discuss the impact of student mobility on their schools

Ohio's charter law remains a laggard

Terry Ryan / February 6, 2013

Ohio’s charter law remains mediocre despite numerous reform efforts over the last decade. According to the latest “Measuring Up to the Model: A Ranking of the State Charter School Laws” produced by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) the Buckeye State’s charter school law ranks 27 out of 43 states and the District of Columbia.

NAPCS ranks state laws based on two primary factors: 1) the freedoms and flexibilities state laws provide charter operators; and 2) the quality of accountability provisions for both charter school operators and authorizers. There are 20 Essential Components of the NAPCS rankings and these range from freedoms such as “No Caps on Charters,” “Automatic Collective Bargaining Exemptions,” and “Equitable Operational Funding” to accountability measures such as “Authorizer and Overall Program Accountability” and “Clear Processes for Renewal, Nonrenewal and Revocation Decisions.”

Ohio has made some progress – and this is reflected in the NAPCS state rating of Ohio inching up from #28 last year to #27 this year. But, other states are making progress faster. Big charter states, those that have at least 4.5 percent of their students enrolled in public charter schools, that have made steady progress and improvements to their laws in recent years include number one ranked Minnesota (with 4.7 percent of students in charters), number four Colorado (with 9.8 percent of students in charters), number five Florida (with 6.8 percent of students in charters), number six Louisiana (with 6.4 percent of

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Ohio's charter law remains a laggard

The implication of CREDO's research: Strong charter authorizing is vital

Aaron Churchill / February 6, 2013

Growing quality charter schools requires strong charter school authorizers. That’s a key takeaway from Stanford University’s CREDO study, Charter School Growth and Replication, released last week. To assess charter school quality in 23 states (including Ohio) and the District of Columbia, CREDO examined over 2 million charter student records from 2005-06 to 2009-10.

A charter school authorizer, of which Fordham is one, has four primary responsibilities: (1) review charter applications, (2) contract with the charter school, (3) ensure compliance, and (4) renew or not renew the charter school’s contract based on school performance, especially academic performance. In each area of responsibility, except compliance, CREDO’s findings suggest that charter school authorizers must strengthen its practices to ensure a growing supply of high-quality charters. Three of CREDO’s findings, in particular, have relevance to charter authorizer practices.

First, CREDO found significant variation in the quality of charter school management networks, or CMOs (e.g., KIPP). Authorizers must be persnickety in the educational organizations with whom they contract—there are sour lemons as well as delicious apples in the CMO barrel. CREDO’s analysis discovered that the finest CMO networks (e.g. KIPP and Uncommon Schools) have large positive effects on students’ learning growth, while the lowest performing networks (e.g. White Hat and Responsive Education Solutions) have far less favorable effects on student learning.[1] They also noted that charters that were supported by the Charter School Growth Fund “had significantly higher learning gains than other CMOs or independent charters.”

Second, CREDO found that

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The implication of CREDO's research: Strong charter authorizing is vital

Authors provide insights about education’s most debated issues

Jeff Murray / February 6, 2013

SAGE Publishing’s recently released reference set Debating Issues in American Education is a 10-volume deep dive into many of the most salient issues regarding the state of PreK-12 education in the United States today. A stellar roster of contributors appears in each issue, recruited by the editors for their knowledge and insight into the topics at hand.

The ten volumes are:

• Alternative Schooling & School Choice
• Curriculum & Instruction
• Diversity in Schools
• Religion in Schools
• School Discipline & Safety
• School Finance
• School Governance
• School Law
• Standards & Accountability in Schools
• Technology in Schools

Within each volume, a dozen or more specific questions are put forward and argued in point/counterpoint essays by contributing authors. The variety of approaches and areas of focus brought to the series by the wide array of authors is a particular strength of the set. I found myself wondering before I sat down to review a volume if interest could be sustained in the topic overall when there were literally hundreds of pages spent on what seems from the outside to be subtle variations in the questions being debated. I found on more than one occasion that what had been meant to be a review of the essays ended up being an in-depth reading of more than half the volume. It is also rewarding when discussion of one particularly important study or Supreme Court Case is echoed or reinforced in another essay by another contributor. There is a real sense that the volumes are geared to build knowledge

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Authors provide insights about education’s most debated issues

High-performer turnover and firm performance: The moderating role of human capital investment and firm reputation

Angel Gonzalez / February 6, 2013

What can Ohio schools learn from South Korean businesses? In a study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Kiwook Kwon and Deborah E. Rupp examine the impact on firms when their high-performing employees leave their jobs.  Specifically, Kwon and Rupp analyze employee and performance data for 155 Korean firms, finding that organizations that invest in extensive selection practices, provide intensive training and development, and implement incentive-based pay suffer less when they lose high-performing employees. The researchers explain that firms focusing on human resources initiatives have staff that is more capable of filling the void left behind when a high-performing employee leaves their organization.

School can potentially learn from the experiences of these firms. Losing a high-performing teacher is difficult for any school. To mitigate the cost of losing a great teacher or administrator, school leaders must think about how to effectively implement human resources initiatives with their staff. As Governor Kasich has proposed a $300 million Straight-A-Fund to incentivize innovation, school leaders should consider applying for grants to develop better processes for hiring new teachers, effectively delivering in-service training, and implementing innovative human resources initiatives. While it will not have the wow factor of a new school building or high-tech equipment, developing a strong workforce can go a long way toward improving a school’s—and its students—chances for success.

SOURCE: Kwon, Kiwook, Deborah E. Rupp. “High-performer turnover and firm performance: The moderating role of human capital investment and firm reputation.” 

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High-performer turnover and firm performance: The moderating role of human capital investment and firm reputation