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Educators Train To Identify At-Risk Students And Enlist Partners To Help

COLUMBUS — November 17, 2008 — Members and leaders of the Ohio Education Association are hoping to share with participants at a statewide drop-out prevention summit what works and doesn’t work when it comes to helping students to stay in school. The summit, Supporting Student Success, sponsored by the Ohio State Board of Regents, will take place on Monday, November 17, 2008, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

“When thousands of Ohio’s young people drop out of high school, it’s more than a crisis, it’s a catastrophe,” said Patricia Frost-Brooks, president of the Ohio Education Association. “It’s important for other leaders in our community join forces with teachers and parents to help students find their way and to ensure our schools are places where every student can achieve.”

The Ohio Education Association is just one of many NEA affiliates participating in and helping shape 50 state drop-out prevention summits occurring across the country this year and in 2009.

NEA and its affiliates have developed a 12-point plan to address the nation’s drop-out crisis, which includes the following:

• Mandating high school graduation or equivalency as compulsory for everyone below the age of 21
• Establishing high school graduation centers for students 19–21 years old
• Ensuring students receive individual attention
• Expanding students’ graduation options through partnerships with community colleges in career and technical fields and with alternative schools
• Increasing career education and workforce readiness programs
• Acting early so students do not drop out
• Involving families in students’ learning at school and at home in new and creative ways so that all families can support their children’s academic achievement
• Monitoring students’ academic progress in school through a variety of measures during the school year
• Gathering accurate data for key student groups and adopting the standardized reporting method developed by the National Governors Association
• Involving the entire community in dropout prevention
• Ensuring educators have the training and resources they need to prevent students from dropping out
• Making high school graduation a federal priority.

Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org

COLUMBUS — October 9, 2008 — The Ohio Education Association (OEA) Fund for Children and Public Education (FCPE) State Convention announced its endorsements of State Board of Education Candidates for the November 4, 2008, statewide ballot.

“Our candidates have demonstrated that they support public education and working with teachers and public school students.  We believe these candidates will support our effort to create great public schools in Ohio,” said OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks.

OEA Recommended State Board of Education Candidates

District 1 (Northwest Ohio)           Tracey Smith
District 5 (Exurban Cleveland)           Richard Javorek
District 6 (Columbus Metro)           Kristen McKinley
District 7 (Northeastern Ohio)         Heather Heslop Licata
District 9 (Southeastern Ohio)            Michael Collins
District 10 (Southern Ohio)                Jane Sonenshein
District 11 (Cleveland)                      Martha Harris

The State Board of Education is a crucial body, setting many policies around school curriculum, professional development, educational licenses and much more.  Of the 19 members of the board, 11 are elected, and eight are appointed by the Governor.  The elections and appointments are for four-year terms. According to Frost-Brooks, “Educators will be well served by OEA’s endorsement of these candidates based upon their vision for public education in Ohio.”

Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org

COLUMBUS — September 29, 2008 — The Ohio Education Association, representing 130,000 teachers and school support personnel, today said it will oppose legislation being introduced by Senator John Carey, R-Wellston, that would eliminate the right of educators to strike from the Ohio public employees collective bargaining statute.

In a statement, OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks outlined why OEA opposes the no-strike bill as a threat to balanced collective bargaining for education employees in Ohio. She said:

“The OEA strongly opposes any weakening of Ohio’s longstanding collective bargaining law, which has empowered teachers to advocate for many improvements in teaching and learning conditions that have benefited students.

“The so-called reform proposal to eliminate the right to strike would undermine a carefully balanced law that has proven successful in helping educators and school boards resolve issues to their mutual benefit in a way that also helps Ohio students.

“Ohio’s collective bargaining law has created a framework for problem-solving that has made strikes rare and short in duration.  When strikes do occur, the issues at stake have a direct impact on teaching and learning conditions.

“Collective bargaining itself, including the right to strike, came about as a labor reform intended to help educators and school boards develop consensus on key education issues and the terms and conditions of employment.

“We agree that binding arbitration and mediation are important tools to resolve specific contractual disputes, and we have negotiated arbitration and mediation procedures within local collective bargaining agreements. Strikes are a last resort after other dispute resolution processes fail. We cannot support the elimination of the right of employees to withhold their services.”

Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

###

The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org

URBANA — May 22, 2008 — The Urbana City Schools Board of Education and the Urbana Association of Classroom Teachers (UACT) declared impasse on May 22, 2008.

The parties’ current collective bargaining agreement required the parties to re-open the contract to negotiate limited issues affecting working conditions. Declaring impasse effectively brought any further discussion to a screeching halt until a federal mediator’s assistance is available.

UACT’s Bargaining Chair Mary Binegar said, “The community sacrificially passed the levy in March so that the school system could move forward. It’s disheartening that negotiations have broken down while issues dealing with the quality of education available to the children of Urbana, as well as financial concerns, are still on the table.

Since the passage of the March levy, six elementary classrooms, an elementary counseling position, and an elementary art position have been eliminated. At the High School, industrial arts and graphic arts programs have been eliminated.

UACT President Janet Hains also fears the District is moving backward by “failing to support [our] teachers by not maintaining reasonable class size, by not providing an enriched curriculum for our students, and by not providing support for our students.”

The Board declared impasse in November 2007 during the parties’ initial attempt to negotiate this Agreement. Binegar added, “To me, going to impasse twice in one year epitomizes the lack of communication and respect within the Urbana school system. UACT’s goal is to create a work place that will recruit and retain quality teachers in order to provide the best education possible within the financial limitations of this community. Our teachers have worked faithfully throughout the past year without a raise in their base pay, in hopes of completing the bargaining process this spring and ending the year on a positive, promising note. Instead we’re left questioning what the future holds.”

Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org

COLUMBUS — January 27, 2010 — Today, Ohio Education Association President Patricia Frost-Brooks issued the following statement in response to Governor Ted Strickland’s State of the State address:

“Governor Strickland continues his strong leadership and his commitment to public education while balancing the budget in tough economic times. A strong public education system lays the foundation for a strong economy and more job opportunities for Ohioans.

The Governor has set in motion bold ideas on preparing students for the 21st century, and a comprehensive and responsible approach to funding public education. Despite our economic challenges, Governor Strickland has embraced the connection between revitalizing Ohio’s communities and energizing our public schools. He is working in the best interests of our students by equipping them with the skills necessary for the jobs of the future and freezing college tuitions to expand higher education opportunities.”

Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation

###

The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities.

CONTACT: Michele Prater
614-227-3071; cell 614-378-0469, praterm@ohea.org