We want to thank you for making Education a high priority on your State of Ohio agenda. We are requesting that you, as the Governor, look at the difference in regulations and requirements, between Ohio Public Schools and Ohio Community Schools. The most glaring inequities include the “72 Hour Rule”, graduation calculations and the automatic closure law based solely on report card results.
Please consider these discrepancies:
72-Hour Rule
- Community Schools are required to withdraw students for the 72-hour rule which has become more prevalent during the pandemic.
- The 72-hour rule affects graduation rates, funding, and a school’s ability to “find” the student and get them back in school because of limited resources.
- It is difficult to plan for a school year because all funding is based upon student enrollment which in an urban area can fluctuate significantly throughout the school year.
Report Card Metrics and At-Risk for closure
- Our education system and the state report card rank schools based upon the abilities of the student population. Community Schools who willingly take on the most difficult to educate are labeled as failures.
- Being at risk to close makes it more difficult, than it already is, to attract teachers to raise test scores for the report card. For example, The Maritime Academy of Toledo starts at 6th grade and works with some of the most vulnerable students in Toledo. With no control over their elementary education it takes years to bring them to grade level.
- There is no reward or even understanding for community schools that work with the most vulnerable and marginalized students.
- No other type of school, except community schools, worry about being shut down because of what the report card states.
Graduation Rate
- Community Schools that work with the most vulnerable students consistently have a graduation rate, on the report card, that does not accurately reflect the true graduation rate of the school.
- For example, the class of 2019, at The Maritime Academy of Toledo, had an average of 24 credits with many students coming close to 40. In that class, 29% of the students had at least 3 college credits. On our report card we still had an “F” and were on the at-risk for closure list with our 2nd The difference between earning a “C” and an “F” was because of 1 student that was marked incorrectly in EMIS.
Governor, the reason the above is unfair is because both Community Schools and Public Schools are funded by the State of Ohio while serving the same population of students. To have different requirements is inequitable to the families and students who chose a Community School. We agree that requirements are needed to protect the interest of the students; however, the requirements should be the same for both sectors given that in many cases statistics do not tell the entire story. Also, in general Public Schools and Community Schools work together in many situations and have realized that the most vulnerable children have suffered the most from the pandemic.
In addition, we would like to see a Conflict Resolution Program adopted in Ohio with a model curriculum available to all schools.
Governor DeWine:
Thank you for your time and we would be glad to work with your staff on the concerns listed above.
Sincerely,
Paul L. Hubbard- Board Chairman
James Hartung- Board Vice-Chairman
Aaron Lusk- Superintendent