Summer is almost upon us and so are thoughts of summer reading. Every year, educators look for ways to stem the tide of summer learning loss, as well as tips and tricks to keep kids and teens excited about reading.

By an overwhelming majority, the OEA Representative Assembly voted to approve a one-time dues assessment to help fund the effort to gather petition signatures and support of the Voters First initiative to amend the Ohio Constitution on redistricting and reapportionment.

The Voters First’s proposal will create an Independent Citizens Commission.  Politicians, lobbyists and political insiders are prohibited from serving on the commission. The Commission’s work will be open and it will be accountable to the public.  The Commission will empower voters to choose their politicians instead of politicians picking their voters.

Your dedication runs deep. In the classroom, you teach content so the next generation can learn. As counselors, you guide teenagers through difficult years and you help them choose the right college. As support professionals, you give students a nutritious lunch. You drive children safely to school. And in college, you help them aspire to deep understanding of our world and its possibilities. That is why we at OEA join NEA and everyone who truly values your work as educators use this week, Teacher Appreciation Week, to show our appreciation for your contribution to our communities. Thank you for everything you do!

With crucial ballot measures and a presidential election in 2012, the course for Ohio public education will be charted this year. Our goal is to go beyond sound bites and talking points with research-based information, resources and thoughtful coverage and features from a pro-public education perspective. Compare where the candidates stand on education issues. Get the facts, based on the candidates’ public statements and their own websites.

This month ACCESS is celebrating teachers! They know you work hard and think you deserve a little “me time!” Let ACCESS spoil you for all the work you do to be great at your job. May 8th is National Teacher Day and they’ve got some great ideas on how you can spend it. Take some time this month to celebrate yourself!

Our politicians are going into backrooms to draw districts which benefit themselves — to ensure their own re-elections without being accountable to the voters. In order to gain political advantage, they have created bizarre districts that zig zag across Ohio and split apart numerous cities and counties. And then within three months of adopting new congressional districts, the politicians exchanged new maps in secret, changed the districts again, and even changed the date of the election!

Instead of voters choosing their politicians,
politicians are picking their voters.

Educator evaluations in Ohio are changing. Find out what it means for you at the free Statewide Educator Evaluation Symposium May 25. Like most states, Ohio is introducing a system for evaluating educator performance that provides deeper feedback and helps improve instruction. The Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES) will be based equally on teacher classroom performance using factors such as observation, and student growth measures. Participants will learn about models of educator evaluation and promising practices for piloting and implementing the Ohio Principal Evaluation System and the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System collaboratively and systemically.

Three Ohio high schools have received grants to boost their athletics programs, thanks to the California Casualty Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant initiative. They join 56 other high schools from across the country sharing a $75,000 grants pool to assist struggling athletics programs.

A poll by the College Board of battleground states is consistent with recent NEA research among members and voters in many ways. Some seventy percent of independent women in nine swing states view education as "extremely important," as voters in those states overall put education right behind jobs and the economy as a key issue, a new private survey shows. Like this survey, NEA's research has shown that both members and the general public believe that strengthening public education is critical as we get our nation back on track and compete in the global economy. 

In aftermath of nation’s deadliest high school shooting in six years, the school district’s ongoing priority is to provide appropriate resources that students, staff and families need to deal with the recent tragedy. The critical recovery effort that began on February 27 will continue for a long time to come.

“This story has significant flaws both in the selection of data and in its overall conclusions,” said OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks. “Cheating is wrong, and individuals who cheat must be held accountable. But it is wrong for the Dayton Daily News to use questionable statistical methods to allege widespread cheating. This story is yet another example of how high-stakes testing has shortchanged students, teachers and Ohio’s public schools in too many ways for far too long,” Frost-Brooks said.

The winners have been announced for the following awards: Marilyn Cross Scholarship Award, John F. Kennedy Scholarship Award, Blue Ribbon Association Award, Media for Public Service Award, Peace and International Relations Paul Swaddling Award, ESP of the Year Award and the NEA Applegate-Dorros Peace and International Understanding Award.
 

Constantine Farmakidis of Southeast Local School District in Ravenna, Ohio and Denver Fowler of Licking Heights Central Middle School in Pataskala, Ohio have each received a $2,000 Learning & Leadership Grant from the NEA Foundation. The NEA Foundation awards two primary categories of grants to public education professionals: Student Achievement Grants for initiatives to improve academic achievement, and Learning & Leadership Grants for high-quality professional development activities.