State Superintendent to visit, Toledo charter school closing

Last night at the regular monthly meeting of the LCESC board, several items of real interest were raised: first of all, Deb DeLisle, Ohio Superintendent of Schools, will be spending the entire day with the LCESC staff - this is a wonderful opportunity for a member of the state administration to see what an ESC "really does" - and, like most people who aren't immersed in the world of the ESC, she might be pleasantly surprised at the diversity and strength of the programs here in Lucas County.
In other news, as a result of new legislation, Englewood Peace Academy (http://englewoodpeace.org/Site/EPA.html) will close its doors at the end of this school year. Two years of academic emergency put this k-8 charter school under fire from the state, and as a sponsor we are obligated to comply.
Overall, the community schools we sponsor have increased in performance over the past year: 11% are Excellent, 6% are Effective, 35% rate Continuous Improvement (the same category at Toledo Public Schools), 10% are Academic Watch, and 30% are Academic Emergency. As a sponsor, we comply with legislation from the state and will not hesitate to follow the protocol to close schools which don't meet the new minimum state standards, which can be found here: http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3314.35.
October 1, 2009, is the date of the Northwest Region fall conference for school boards - this year it will be held at Penta County, with tours of the new facility provided, along with a dinner presented by Penta's culinary students.
November 8-11 is the Ohio School Board Association annual conference in Columbus.
I will attend both of these events and report back on interesting developments.
I hope to hear from readers, publicly or privately - I am here to serve you, and I thank you for that opportunity!