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To: LWVO From: Joan Platz Education Update for March 31, 2008 1) 127th General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate will meet in session and hold committee hearings this week. *On March 21, 2008 Governor Strickland signed into law HB496 (Hottinger), which makes capital reappropriations ending June 30, 2010 for state projects, departments, and agencies. *Governor Strickland signed on March 27, 2008 Executive Order 2008-05S, called "Making Ohio More Competitive in the Global Economy by Consolidating and Transitioning Ohio's Workforce Development Programs". Through this order the Governor realigned the responsibilities for certain job training and education programs administered by three agencies: the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD), the Ohio Board of Regents (OBOR), and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). The ODOD will now be responsible for workforce development relating to businesses; the OBOR will be responsible for workforce development relating to skill development and job training; and the ODJFS will be responsible for workforce development that assists Ohioans in competing in the State's evolving job market. The following changes were directed by Governor Strickland, and will be implemented by no later than July 1, 2008: -The ODJFS will transfer authority to the ODOD for employer-focused programs supported with Workforce Investment Act (WIA) discretionary funding; administration of lay-off aversion and incumbent worker services; One-Stop business support services; and business services which facilitate the efforts of employers to expand in, or relocate to, Ohio (known as Wagner-Peyser business services). -The OBOR will transfer authority for the targeted industries training grants programs to ODOD. -The ODJFS will transfer authority for the Ohio Skills Bank program to OBOR. To read the Executive Order please visit http://governor.ohio.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=912 2) This Week at the Statehouse: *The Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, chaired by Senator Carey, will meet on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 2:30 PM or after session in the Senate Finance Hearing Room. The Committee will hear testimony on several bills, including HB381 (Webster), which will increase funds available for the Ohio Research Scholars Program, and permit a nonpublic four-year Ohio university to submit a proposal for the Ohio Research Scholars Program. *The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Padgett, will meet on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 4:00 PM in the North Hearing Room. The Committee will consider the appointment by Governor Strickland of Jerome R. Brockway to the State Board of Career Colleges and Schools, and hear testimony on two bills: SB57 (Coughlin), which establishes the Special Education Scholarship Program, and SB270 (Cates), school employee misconduct. 3) Education Reform Plan Discussed: Dr. John Stanford, Governor Strickland's Education Policy Assistant, met with education and citizen advocacy groups on March 28, 2008 to discuss three documents: "Summary of Education Reform Process", "Director of Education Proposal", and the "Governor's Institute for Creativity and Innovation in Education". Dr. Stanford reviewed the process that has been followed over the past year to meet with a variety of stakeholder groups and gather ideas about the vision, principles, and goals for a P-16 education reform plan that will guide Ohio's public education system in the 21st Century. Dr. Stanford stressed that it is not enough to just fix school funding. Governor Strickland believes that it is necessary to develop an education reform plan that will tackle many education policy issues. Dr. Stanford asked participants to review the documents and respond by April. In May these ideas will be collected and shared with participants of the Institute for Creativity and Innovation in Education, which will be held in June 2008. According to Dr. Stanford, the Governor's Education Reform Plan will be rolled out in 2009, and the General Assembly will be asked to take action on any legislative recommendations. If there is no interest by the General Assembly to move on the legislative recommendations, the Governor will consider developing the recommendations into a statewide initiative, and ask voters to decide its outcome in November 2009. Legislation to create the director of education position will be introduced soon, and it is the intention of the Governor to have this legislation approved this year. The following is a summary of the contents of the documents: *"Summary of Education Reform Process": Dr. Stanford explained that the four page document reflected the education policy ideas that were collected from meetings of stakeholder groups held in 2007 in Phase I of the process. These ideas do not necessarily reflect the views of Governor Strickland, but are included to generate further conversations. The ideas are organized under the following topics: state accountability; district school board and governing authority leadership; charter school accountability; quality teaching; professional learning communities; creative, innovative, and safe learning environments; closing the achievement and graduation gaps; standards and testing; and adequate funding. Under phase two of the process to develop an education reform plan for Ohio (March - October 2008), the Governor's Office will create a committee to review education and tax policy changes since 1997, and identify potential efficiencies that may be gained by sharing services, collaboration, ESC reform, and pooled purchasing. A research and resource committee will also be created that will include organizations such as KnowledgeWorks, the Cleveland Foundation, Ohio Grantmakers Forum, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. During Phase III of the process (April 2008 - October 2008) the Governor's Office will co-host with the Governor's Institute for Creativity and Innovation an Education Reform Summit in each of the 12 economic development regions. Discussions are underway to televise these meetings. The Governor's Institute for Creativity and Innovation will also hold a summer institute in June 2008. A virtual town hall forum will also be developed for the internet. The education reform plan will be drafted during Phase IV of the process -- October 2008 to March 2009. *Director of Education Proposal: Legislation is currently being drafted to create the position of Director of Education for Ohio. At this time a sponsor for the bill has not been identified. According to the document, all of the functions currently assigned to the State Board of Education (SBE) and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, would be assigned to the Director of Education, except for the constitutionally mandated appointment by the SBE of the superintendent, who would continue to service as secretary, executive, and administrative officer of the SBE. The proposed legislation would create a cabinet level director of education similar to the chancellor of higher education. The director would be appointed by the Governor with Senate confirmation, and serve a five year term of office. All current regulations and contracts established by the SBE would be deemed promulgated by the Ohio Department of Education from the date of enactment of the legislation. The State Board of Education would operate as an independent education policy and administrative watchdog and be responsible for preparing an annual report regarding education for the Governor and Ohio General Assembly. The SBE would also review and make recommendations to the director regarding creation and chartering of schools and districts; transfer of property between districts; policies and procedures associated with the administration of voucher programs; licensing standards; and operational and academic standards. The legislation will also guarantee that all existing policy, program, and procedural requirements regarding vouchers and charter schools would be preserved. *Governor's Institute for Creativity and Innovation in Education: The purpose of the Institute for Creativity and Innovation in Education is to "...bring together educators and various community leaders to share ideas and strategies for creating a transformational vision that will personalize Ohio's public education systems and infuse creativity and innovation throughout each classroom across the state." Through this process it is hoped that best practices for a personalized, flexible, and adaptable education system for the 21st Century will be developed. Dr. Stanford and First Lady Frances Strickland have assembled a project team to explore the factors necessary for long lasting transformational change. This project team has coordinated two learning sessions for educators and community leaders. The purpose of these sessions is to design a curriculum and content for an Institute, which will be held on June 19-21, 2008 (tentative date) for approximately 700 education and community stakeholders. The Institute will provide a way to examine the link between learning environments that nurture and foster creativity, innovation, global competence, and economic resurgence, as well as identify creative and innovative educators who achieve results with no additional resources. Through this Institute the Governor's Office hopes to establish the value that "every child advances when exposed to many and varied opportunities designed to help them find and develop their deepest talent and abilities". *Discussion: After Dr. Stanford presented an overview of the documents, representatives from statewide education organizations and other groups asked questions and discussed the contents and next steps of the proposals. The following is a general summary of some of the comments and questions from participants: -The Governor's vision, goals, and principles for education should be included in future discussion documents, to clarify for the public and the media what is trying to be accomplished. -The public is not clamoring for year round school, end of course exams, or other suggested changes. How will the public be included in the process, and what strategies will be used to prepare the public for change? What strategies are being developed to counteract any backlash from the public? -What kind of specificity will the education reform plan include? How are certain constituencies such as students with disabilities and students who are gifted education included? What about per pupil ratios for nurses, counselors, and PE teachers? What about curricular areas such as Health? What about all day Kindergarten? -How does the work of the transformational dialogue and Institute for Creativity and Innovation align? -How will the education reform plan align with the requirements and restrictions of NCLB? -Will the education reform plan address school district compliance with Operating Standards? -How is the education reform plan aligned to the work of the Chancellor of Higher Education? -There is a disconnect between what the Governor is saying about charter schools and vouchers and the ideas in the proposal. It will be difficult for some constituencies to support the recommendations for vouchers and charter schools. -Many people oppose the director of education concept. -What is the purpose of our education system? What are we preparing students to be? Is it to prepare citizens or workers? How will the vision align with the curriculum? This must be decided before the education reform plan can be developed. 4) Tax Exempt Status Challenged: The Ohio Federation of Teachers, Sue Taylor President, held a news conference on March 27, 2008 to explain the action that the OFT was taking regarding the tax exempt status of certain charter schools in Ohio. The OFT is requesting that the Internal Revenue Service investigate the tax exempt status of charter schools managed by White Hat Management, Inc. and its affiliates under Section 501(c)(3) of federal law. The OFT alleges that certain charter schools run by the profit-making management company White Hat Management, Inc, do not qualify for tax exempt status. The letter notes several discrepancies between how the schools are operated and the laws/rules governing tax exempt status in the following areas: -Lack of independent governing boards to operate the schools as independent community schools, and the promotion of these schools by White Hat as its franchise -Overlapping membership of the governing authorities -Questionable compensation rates of between 95-97 percent of state and federal funds for White Hat Management as the operator of the schools -Questionable compensation for members of the board of directors, who sometimes serve on as many as 19 boards at the same time The 25 schools that are being challenged include "Life Skills Centers" and "Hope Academies", and others that have applied for tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3). Ohio law requires that charter schools be incorporated as either a non-profit corporation or a public benefit corporation. It is not certain when or if the IRS will take action on this request. For more information please visit the OFT web site at http://www.oft-aft.org/. 5) Annenberg Releases Preview of Findings: The Annenberg Institute for School Reform released on March 26, 2008 a preview of findings of a six year study called "Organized Communities, Stronger Schools" by Kavitha Mediratta, Seema Shah, Sara McAlister, Norm Fruchter, Christina Mokhtar, and Dana Lockwood. The final report will be released in the summer of 2008. The preview of findings shows that communities that organize at the grassroots level improved school-community relationships, parent involvement and engagement, teacher collegiality, teacher morale, and increased at several sites student attendance, standardized-test-score performance, graduation rates, and college-going aspirations. Participating in grassroots organizing efforts also increased the motivation and involvement of young people in civic engagement activities. The following seven organized efforts were included in the study: The Austin Interfaith (Alliance Schools Network); Chicago ACORN (Action Now is now the new organization); Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, Los Angeles, CA (South Central Youth Empowered thru Action); Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project (EPOP) Philadelphia, PA; Youth United for Change, Philadelphia; Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition; Oakland Community Organizations, Oakland, CA; and People Acting for Community Together, Miami, FL. According to the report, "Our findings suggest that organizing efforts are influencing policy and resource distribution at the system level. Officials, school administrators, and teachers in every site reported that community organizing influenced policy and resource decisions to increase equity and build capacity, particularly in historically low-performing schools." The report is available at http://www.annenberginstitute.org/pdf/OrganizedCommunities.pdf 6) Building a 21st Century U.S. Education System: The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future has released a new book called "Building a 21st Century U.S. Education System". The book is a compilation of articles written by a variety of policy makers and educators organized by topics. A list of the articles and authors follows. The book is available online at http://nctaf.org/resources/research_and_reports/nctaf_research_reports/Buildinga21stcenturyu.s.educationsystem.htm Contents: Foreword by Bob Wehling, "Building a 21st Century U.S. Education System" Voices from the Field -Rebecca Palacios, "Education and Freedom" -Arlene Ackerman, "Sustaining School District Success: An Urban Superintendent's Reflections" -David Hornbeck, "The Missing Ingredient in School Reform: A Political Base" Preparing and Supporting 21st Century Teachers -Thomas G. Carroll, "Teaching for the Future" -Arthur E. Wise, "Teaching Teams in Professional Development Schools: A 21st Century Paradigm for Organizing America's Schools and Preparing the Teachers in Them" -Linda Darling-Hammond, "Building a System of Powerful Teaching and Learning" -Barbara Kelley, "Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, Induction, Retention, and Distribution" -Ken Howey and Nancy Zimpher, "Creating P-16 Urban Systemic Partnerships to Address Core Structural Problems in the Educational Pipeline" -Carri Schneider and Ted Zigler, "View from the Trenches: Two Practitioners Reflect on the Need for a National System of Educational Leadership Preparation" Political Context of 21st Century Education -Diane Ravitch, "Ensuring Access to a World-Class Education" -Bob Sexton and Jacob Adams, "Changing the Dynamics of Educational Governance: Why Improving America's Schools Requires More than Changing Who's in Charge" -Jim Hunt, "Making Politics Work to Dramatically Improve American Education" -Richard Riley, "Charting a New Course in American Education" Education and the Global Economy -Ed Rust, "Education and the Economy" -Kent Seidel, "The World is Flat, and U.S. Education has Flat-Lined: Designing an Information Infrastructure to Support a Globally Competitive Educational System" Creating 21st Century Learning Organizations -Mary Hatwood Futrell, "A Nation of Locksmiths: Transforming Our Education System to Guarantee All of America's Children a Quality Education" -Peggy Siegel, "Transforming Education: In Search of a 21st Century Solution" -James Kelly, "Looking Back, Thinking Ahead" -Chad Wick, "The Meek Shall Inherit the Public Schools: Who Will Be Left Behind in the Learning Economy?" Conclusion - Bob Wehling, "Together We Can" 7) What's going on with all these committees and meetings? An update about some of the current statewide activities regarding education. Recently there has been a flurry of meetings at the state level that relate to education. Some of these meetings have focused on education reform, licensure, school funding, closing the achievement gap, innovation and creativity, the role of the arts in Ohio, preparing students for the future, STEM, etc. Some of these efforts are being directed by Governor Strickland and his office, while others are related to the work of the State Board of Education; the Partnership for Continued Learning; the University System of Ohio; the Ohio Department of Education; or foundations and other statewide organizations. The following is an update, to the best of my knowledge, of just some of the activities that are impacting Ohio's public education system: GOVERNOR STRICKLAND Dr. John Stanford, Education Policy Assistant *Transformational Dialogue. This is a group of stakeholders that is meeting to discuss how to create and sustain transformational change in Ohio's education system. More stakeholders are expected to be included in this dialogue through the Generative Spiral Dialogue Process that is being used. The work of this group has influenced other education initiatives, including the Governor's Institute for Creativity and Innovation in Education. *Institute for Creativity and Innovation in Education. The purpose of the Institute for Creativity and Innovation in Education is to "...bring together educators and various community leaders to share ideas and strategies for creating a transformational vision that will personalize Ohio's public education systems and infuse creativity and innovation throughout each classroom across the state." Best practices for a personalized, flexible, and adaptable education system for the 21st Century will be identified through this process. Dr. John Stanford and First Lady Frances Strickland have assembled a project team to explore the factors necessary for long lasting transformational change, and two learning sessions for educators and community leaders have been held. The purpose of these sessions was to design a curriculum and content for an Institute, which will be held on June 19-21, 2008 (tentative dates) for approximately 700 education and community stakeholders. *Education Reform Summits. These summits will be held in July-October, 2008 in each of the 12 economic development regions in Ohio. These summits will provide the public with the opportunity to discuss the proposed ideas included in Governor Strickland's Education Reform Plan. *Policy and Legislative Review Committee: This committee is being proposed to review education and tax policy changes since 1997, and identify potential efficiencies in education operations. *Research and Resource Committee: This committee is being proposed to provide support for Governor Strickland's Education Reform Plan. UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF OHIO Chancellor Eric Fingerhut *Seniors to Sophomores Program: This new program was announced during Governor Strickland's State of the State Address. It will provide eligible high school students with the opportunity to earn high school credits and college credits during their senior year. An eligible high school student is one who has passed all parts of the OGT; completed Algebra II or the equivalent with a grade of "C" or better; completed three years of high school English with a grade of "C" or better, and scored college ready on the college partner's placement assessment as currently defined by the college. Students will not have to pay tuition. The Board of Regents, Ohio Department of Education, and Partnership for Continued Learning will be working with teams composed of public high schools and colleges to develop and pilot partnership programs this year (Early Adopters), and will evaluate and expand them in 2009. Approximately $4 million has been set aside to support this program. Partnerships can receive up to $100,000 for planning, encouraging high school students to participate, and implementing the program. 47 applications have been submitted so far from those interested in participating as early adopters. According to Chancellor Fingerhut, early adopters will provide models for how partnerships between higher education and schools can overcome obstacles and develop innovative solutions to implement and financially support the Seniors to Sophomores Initiative and dual enrollment programs, such as the Post Secondary Enrollment Options Program. PARTNERSHIP FOR CONTINUED LEARNING The Ohio Partnership for Continued Learning (PCL) was established in 2005 by the Ohio General Assembly, and is chaired by the governor. The Partnership's membership includes leaders from education, business and industry, economic development, and government and local communities. The Partnership is charged in statute to make policy recommendations for improving P-16 alignment and support regional P-16 efforts. *Regional P16 Councils: According to 126-SB6 the Partnership is charged with promoting systemic approaches to education by supporting regional efforts to foster collaboration among providers of preschool through postsecondary education and identifying workforce needs. In the Fall of 2006, the KnowledgeWorks Foundation supported the formation of five Regional P-16 Councils in Ohio by offering a competitive request for proposals (RFP) for a P-16 planning grant. In 2007 the Partnership expanded Ohio's regional P-16 Councils by offering a second competitive planning grant RFP for five additional regional councils. A new request for proposal is available to support new P16 Councils or expand existing councils. This RFP seeks to serve two purposes: to continue to support the formation of regional P-16 councils in economic development regions of the state that do not currently have P-16 councils; and in economic development regions where councils already exist, to encourage expansion of coverage, and/or collaboration between Regional P-16 Councils within these regions. *Public Private Collaborative Commission (P2C2): The P2C2 is directed to submit policy and program recommendations to the Governor, Ohio General Assembly, the Partnership for Continued Learning, the State Board of Education, and Ohio Board of Regents by June 30, 2008 regarding a number of issues related to the Ohio Core legislation, SB 311. *STEM: Included in the FY08-09 budget (Am. Sub. HB 119-Dolan) are funds for institutions of higher education and school districts to provide incentives for students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), develop STEM schools, and improve teacher preparation and instruction in STEM content. A subcommittee of the Partnership for Continued Learning (PCL) recently selected the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (and partners) and Wright State University (and partners) to receive the STEM High School award. The PCL also selected Westlake City School District, New Lebanon, Fort Recovery, Cincinnati, Worthington, Miller-North Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Canton to receive the K-8 STEM Program of Excellence awards. These awards will support the creation of STEM high schools and STEM programs of excellence for the 2008-2009 school year. A total of $6 million in state funds will be allocated to these recipients. Individual grants average approximately $700,000. On January 30, 2008 the Battelle Memorial Institute announced the formation of the Ohio STEM Learning Network, funded by a $12 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This network and Battelle will support the STEM schools and programs. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION *School Funding Subcommittee: The State Board of Education's School Funding Subcommittee, chaired by Virgil Brown, has been developing "options" that the State Board of Education may select to address specific school funding issues. These options may be included in the FY 2010-2011 budget recommendations, currently being prepared by the SBE. This subcommittee is working to find the answers to school funding questions, such as how much money/resources are needed to educate students in Ohio; how should the system be funded at the state and local levels; what incentives, rewards, and consequences should there be; and how do we ensure that all money is being used effectively and efficiently to achieve the best results? *Student Knowledge and Skills for the New Global Economy: The State Board of Education's Subcommittee on Education in the New Global Economy (EDGE), chaired by Colleen Grady and Steve Millett, is gathering information to identify the knowledge and skills that Ohio's students will need to be better prepared and more productive in the highly competitive environment of the new global economy. The EDGE subcommittee is currently developing a "top ten" list of skills that students need to be competitive in the global economy. The work of this subcommittee may be incorporated into the FY 2010-2011 legislative and policy recommendations currently being prepared by the SBE. *Middle to High Schools Subcommittee: The State Board of Education's Middle to High School Subcommittee is chaired by Carl Wick. It is overseeing the implementation of recommendations developed by the High Schools Task Force, and has worked on Ohio Core legislation, requirements for the honor diploma, indicators for the Local Report Card, and the Post Secondary Enrollment Options Program. It is currently reviewing efforts to support performance based assessments and the Bridge Program for at risk students. OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION *The Committee on Arts and Innovative Thinking (CAIT): This committee was appointed by the Ohio Department of Education, and includes two members of the State Board of Education, Colleen Grady and Susan Haverkos. The purpose of this committee is to promote and advance the arts in the lives of all Ohio students through strategic actions, communications, and policy recommendations. At the March 2008 meeting committee members identified the critical needs that an education in the arts addresses in the lives of all Ohioans. *Educator License/Grade Bands: The ODE Center for the Teaching Profession is leading this effort to reexamine Ohio's educator licensure grade bands, and has appointed an advisory group of stakeholders to examine several options for a new teacher grade band system for Birth (Age 0) through grade 12. The current grade band system is almost a decade old, and some problems have been identified. A new licensure structure is needed to increase the number of highly qualified teachers, employment opportunities, and provide administrators with more hiring flexibility. *Entry-year Advisory Committee: In 2007 the ODE formed a stakeholder's group to review the educator licensure program, including teacher entry year and teacher induction. The current program was established in 1996. Stakeholders are now considering how the entry year aligns with Ohio's Educator and Professional Development Standards; how to promote best practices in teacher preservice programs; how to provide better training for teacher mentors; and how to promote a more uniform structure for the student teaching experience. HB 347 (Setzer), which calls for changes in how teachers are licensed, was introduced by Representative Setzer, chair of the House Education Committee. The ODE's stakeholders group is now working with Representative Setzer to amend HB347 to support a comprehensive teacher preservice and entry year program. The State Board of Education's Capacity Committee will hear an update on the work of this advisory committee in April 2008. |
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Ohio Fair Schools Campaign, 94 Columbus Road Athens, Ohio 45701 Tel. (740)592-2866 Fax (740)593-5451 |
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