Subject: House Representatives Morgan & Lehner

both working to ‘fix’ Governor’s education plan

In today’s Dayton Daily News, staff writer William Hershey notes that while Rep. Morgan and Rep. Lehner may be freshman members of the House of Representatives  they certainly understand the legislative process and both are making their voices heard during the bienium budget process.   

March 29, 2009

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Phone: 937.239.7969

Email:  Grassroots@ocqe.org

Website: www.ocqe.org  

Dayton Daily News

GOP's Morgan, Lehner adjust to life in the minority

By William Hershey

Staff Writer

Sunday, March 29, 2009

COLUMBUS — In politics, bad timing is something to overcome, not gripe about.

That's what Republicans Seth Morgan and Peggy Lehner are learning here in the Ohio House.

Morgan, from Huber Heights, and Lehner, from Kettering, were elected to their first terms last year. Neither was a greenhorn. Both served on city councils and knew the difference between a fiscal year and physical education, for starters.

Their timing, however, was not great.

Democrats gained control of the House in 2008 for the first time in 14 years. That meant when Morgan, 31, and Lehner, 58, arrived in January they were on the outside looking in.

Two years ago when Republicans still ran things, they'd have been at the center of putting together the state's operating budget, the most important job the legislature and governor have. It ranks the state's priorities – how lawmakers and the governor believe they should spend the billions of tax dollars paid by the voters who elected them.

With the economy in the tank, unemployment soaring and state revenue sinking, putting the budget together is even more important than usual this year.

Location also matters in politics and that's where Morgan so far has an advantage over Lehner.

He's on the House Finance Committee, the place where the budget process starts and the center of activity so far this year.

Morgan, who doesn't favor a low profile, has done his best to put a few burrs under Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland's saddle. He's made two so-far unanswered public records request for the materials that form the basis for Strickland's "evidence-based model" for schools and school funding.

Since the model remains a mystery even to some Democrats, the requests don't seem unreasonable.

"We're just asking some common sense questions," Morgan said.

Lehner, who's not on the Finance Committee, has questions about Strickland's education plan, too, and thinks the Education Committee, where she sits, should get the answers.

She found out, however, that Strickland's plan for how schools should operate, not just the proposal for funding them, is the business of the Finance Committee, not the Education Committee.

Lehner, joined by 24 other House Republicans, wrote a letter to Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, on Monday, March 23, asking him to at least put Strickland's education plan before the Education Committee for a hearing before it's voted on.

"Given the complexity of these issues, it seems that it would make sense to assure that the budget language pertaining to education receive adequate hearings and legislative debate outside of the context of the budget process," she wrote.

She learned through news reports — not a formal response from Budish — that the speaker wasn't interested.

Lehner had sampled life in the majority when she was appointed to the Senate last November to briefly replace Jeff Jacobson, who resigned.

She has no regrets about where she is now.

"This is the seat that I sought," Lehner said. "The Senate experience was just kind of nice for a one-month period."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ####

Community Schools are highly regulated

and are accountable to Ohio taxpayers".

OCQE Interviews Senator Jon A. Husted 

Senator Jon Husted was first elected to the legislature in 2000, representing Ohio's 37th House District.

In 2005 and again in 2007, Husted's colleagues honored him by electing him Speaker of the Ohio House.

As speaker, Husted was responsible for all of the functions of the Ohio House. In addition, he also served

as the chair of the House Rules and Reference Committee and of the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.
 
Serving his fourth term in the Ohio House, Speaker Husted continued to remain focused on growing the

Ohio economy by enacting a fiscally responsible budget that lowers the tax burden on earning and

investing in Ohio. During the 127th General Assembly, Husted hoped to strengthen education in Ohio

by setting high standards and focusing educational investments on improving math, science and technology

skills. 
 
In the House, Husted led the legislative effort to reform the tax code and the passage of the most fiscally

conservative budget in more than 40 years that included a 21 percent income tax cut - the largest income

tax cut in Ohio history.
 
Additionally, he has championed efforts to improve education by expanding school choice options for

Ohio children and families. Husted furthered these efforts in the 126th General Assembly with the unveiling

of the Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Program - a nationally recognized initiative that provides

educational

options to children and families.
 
An Ohio native, Husted attended the University of Dayton, where he earned All-American Defensive Back

honors as a member of the 1989 Division III National Championship football team. After receiving his

Bachelor's and Master's degree at UD, Husted stayed in the Dayton area and worked for the Montgomery

County Commissioners and later as Vice-President of Business and Economic Development at the Dayton

Area Chamber of Commerce. It was while serving in this position that he decided to run for political office.
 
Husted represents the 37th Ohio House district. With all of his responsibilities, however, Speaker Husted

considers his most important roles as that of husband to his wife Tina and father to his children, Alex

and Katie.
 

                                                           ####

Interview with Senator Jon A. Husted
 
Subject: Accountability of Public Community Schools
 
 
OCQE: Wasn't the original intent to make community schools part of Ohio's public education system

having

them accepting higher levels of accountability in exchange for greater flexibility in educating students?
 
Husted: That is my intent. We want to measure results and allow for innovation and flexibility for

achieving

those results. Choice is the best form of accountability, because parents can seek the best setting

for their

child. Monopolies result in higher prices and lower quality, even in education, that is why educational

choice

represents accountability.
 
OCQE: Public community school operators believe that their schools are highly regulated and very

accountable

to Ohio and taxpayers. 
 
Can you comment on the additional levels of accountability of community schools that you supported

beginning

in 2005 with HB-66?
 
Husted: Community schools have more stringent accountability standards than any public or private

school

in the state. Community schools are closed if they do not meet stringent requirements for academic

progress

and if they fail to meet those standards they lose their charter. That is the toughest accountability in

the Ohio

education system. 
 
OCQE: In June of 2006, HB-530 was passed developing new penalties for community schools reporting

inaccurate

data on EMIS or CSADM reports and also tightened control of Sponsors.  Was this legislation designed to

continue elevating the levels of accountability?
 
Husted: Yes, we wanted to elevate the standards and eliminate any intentional misuse of data. This

once again,

is an added layer of accountability that dispels the myth that community schools do not operate under

strong

measures of accountability. 
 
 
QCQE: In December of 2006, HB-79 was enacted which outlined conditions for the closing of community

schools

that fail to meet prescribed academic goals.  That sets the academic bar rather high.  What was the origin

of that legislation? 
 
Husted: We want high, but achievable standards and this was the goal. We should also recognize that

community

schools serve some of the most difficult to educate students in the state and that should not be forgotten

as we

set and evaluate their success.
 
 
OCQE: The level of fiscal accountability was elevated in 2007 with the passage
of HB-119.  Didn't you and State Auditor Taylor support an amendment that would allow the ODE to

withhold state funds if a community school was found to be unaduitable? 
 
Husted: Auditor Taylor was very helpful in explaining the need and how we could establish adequate

standards of financial accountability. The new standard ensures that we can monitor the expenditure

of the state funds we invest in community schools.
 
 
OCQE: Do you feel that the current accountability standards for community schools are adequate to assure

maximum accountability for Ohio taxpayers?
 
Husted: I believe it is as good of an accountability system as exists in the nation and better than the

system our traditional public schools operate under. We can always do better and that could include removing

regulations that have been put in place that serve no purpose and could be eliminated to reduce compliance

costs and time lost.
 
 
OCQE:What do you see as the future for school choice in Ohio and specifically community schools?
 
Husted: It depends on what happens in the budget. Governor Strickland's budget would end charter schools

in Ohio by starving them to death. He eliminates the resources they need to survive. For him to say he supports

charter schools and do what he has done to them is offensive. The fate of charter schools is now in the hands

of the schools, parents and children to persuade the legislature to commute the death sentence that Governor

Strickland has served them. I will do what I can to save their schools, but I need the families to help make the case. 
 
                                                  ####

 OCQE Summary: 
 
Ohio public community schools are highly regulated and more accountable to the state and taxpayers than

public district schools. 
 
Enrollment Standards: Public community schools are required to report their ADM student attendance to

the Department of Education monthly, unlike district schools that are only required to report their student

enrollment two times a year. 
 
Sponsor Oversight: Every community school is required to have a state regulated sponsor to assure that

state standards are being maintained.  Sponsor representatives monitor board meetings, review financial

statements and conduct regular site visits to community schools.
 
Fiscal Oversight: Community schools undergo comprehensive audits by
the Department of Education, yearly audits by the sponsor, and also financial audits by the State Auditor of Ohio

as well as Special Education Audits.
 
Parental Accountability: Parents freely choose public community schools for their children.  Perhaps the ultimate

in accountability is the fact that if community schools do not provide a safe environment and superior educational

option, parents are free to take their child elsewhere.  
 
                                                   ####

To: Ohio ‘Public’ Community Schools & Supporters

Subject: Update of House Subcommittee Hearings

The House Subcommittee hearings lasted 2 ½ weeks and after nearly 50 hours of testimony from 319 witnesses, this phase of the budget process is completed.  The subcommittee heard testimony in Akron, Marietta, Columbus, Dayton and back to Columbus.  Scores of community school leaders, staff and parents….many with their children told compelling stories of how their community schools made a difference in children’s lives. 

There were far too many wonderful individuals to mention, but schools like Constellation and EdVantages brought buses filled with passionate teachers and parents.  Horizon Science and Noble Academies, Life Skills Centers, Toledo School for the Arts, DECA, and a seemingly endless line of parents from Ohio Virtual Academy and the gifted community were very determined and powerful.  Parents like Erica Thomas/Oakstone Academy, Rick Darvas/West Park Community School and Roscoe Thompson who spoke about his seven children – five of which attend OHDELA distance learning.     

I attended every minute of each hearing and, while the battle is far from being won, I believe that the force of your personal stories and voices had a major impact.  But we cannot stop now.

It’s expected that the Budget Bill will continue to be debated in the House of Representatives for another 30 days before it goes to the Senate. We still need you to write letters….send emails, postcards….and phone legislators in the House of Representatives.

When you contact your legislators do not use the word….please.   Many of you voted for these legislators.  Your taxes pay their salary and they are there to represent your interests….not Governor Strickland’s.  Remind them of that – EVERY DAY.  Do not let the governor ‘cut funding for your school’.

For details on how to contact your legislator go to the OCQE website: www.ocqe.org.

Should you have questions email me at: Grassroots@ocqe.org  

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Phone: 937.239.7969

Email:  radler@ocqe.org

Website: www.ocqe.org

To: Supporters of ‘Public’ Community Schools

Subject: Monday, March 30th / Cleveland

Discussion of Governor Strickland’s Education & Funding Proposals

State Senator Shirley Smith, representing Cleveland’s 21st District is hosting an open forum to gather the thoughts of her constituents about Governor Strickland’s proposed funding and education plan and its impact on ‘public’ community schools.

The notice of this forum is attached.  Senator Smith has asked State Superintendent Deborah Delisle and Governor Strickland’s chief education advisor, John Stanford, to join her and help answer questions.  FYI, below is the link to Senator Smith’s state website page.  

http://www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/bios/sd_21.html  

I encourage school leaders, parents and supporters of community shcools to attend this event and voice your opinion and concerns.  Be armed with these facts:

• The governor’s plan cuts funding over 20% for most brick-and-mortar community schools and over 70% for E-Schools.

• Ohio policymakers demand that community schools be fiscally responsible and state law requires that community schools have a treasurer.  However, the governor’s education plan

  does not fund treasurers or superintendents for our schools in his budget proposal.

• The governor’s plan creates a new category of funding called the Ohio Instructional Quality Index (OIQI) which provides additoinal funding for low-income, high need at-risk students. 

  That’s exactly the student population of most community schools, but his plan only makes those funds available to district schools.  He denies OIQI funding to commuunity schools.

• Governor Strickland proposes to split the funding for community schools away from the funding stream for district schools and create a separate category for our schools. 

  The danger is that is that the governor could easily, with the stroke of his pen, further reduce our funding or eliminate all funding to community schools -- without consulting

  members of the General Assembly.

•Governor Strickland calls his Education Plan – Evidence Based.  Legislators have demanded for weeks to see the governor’s ‘evidence’ and as of today, his office has only produced an

  extensive list of references to various books and researach studies.  But he has failed to produce the 4,100 pages of detailed evidence that his staff boasted about in earlier testimony.

• Governor Strickland’s funding cuts for community schools sends the message that -- “the children in public community schools are worth less than the children in public district schools”.

Tell Senator Smith to vote against Governor Strickland’s plan that cuts community school funding.

‘The lives of over 80,000 communtiy school children are at risk’

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Phone: 937.239.7969

Email:  radler@ocqe.org

Website: www.ocqe.org

To: Supporters of Ohio ‘Public’ Community Schools

Subject: Fordham Guest Column

Terry Ryan, V.P. of the Fordham Institute is not only a very smart guy, but obviously he took the time to disengage his emotions and calculate the true cost of human devastation behind Governor Strickland’s Education Plan and Budget proposal.

By now, many believe that the governor’s education plan is more of a gift to the teachers’ unions than reforming Ohio’s public education system.

Take a moment to read Terry’s column and draw your own conclusions.

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Phone: 937.239.7969

Email:  radler@ocqe.org

Website: www.ocqe.org

Guest Column: ‘If charter schools go down, expect chaos’

By Ellen Belcher, Dayton Daily News  | Wednesday, March 25, 2009, 02:54 PM

We’re being inundated by folks going to bat for charter schools, which would lose up to a third of their funding under Gov. Ted Strickland’s proposed budget.

Here’s a take from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, which has been a big backer of charter schools in the state and in Dayton. One interesting statistic the authors point to that I haven’t seen before is how many Dayton teachers and support personnel would be affected if the local charters go under.

Charters are a big business in Dayton.

From: Terry Ryan and Kathryn Mullen Upton:

It’s common knowledge that the current budget bill (H.B. 1) proposed by Gov. Ted Strickland would cut charter school funding to levels that would likely kill off a sizeable percentage of the state’s charters.

Ohio has more than 330 charters that serve more than 82,000 children. The sudden demise of 150, 200 or more schools would likely result in chaos for the children involved, their families, the teachers and administrators in the schools, and in the communities they serve.

First, let’s say H.B. 1 becomes effective this July, and the proposed funding cuts render financial viability for charter schools impossible for 50 percent of them in August.

This would mean roughly 41,000 children and their families statewide would suddenly be looking for new schools for the 2009-2010 school year. As most children in charters are in cities, the impact would be extreme in places like Dayton (6,200 charter students), Cleveland (10,000 charter students), Columbus (8,000 charter students) and Cincinnati (6,800 charter students).

In Dayton, if half of the 6,200 children in charters were tossed out of their schools, this would result in roughly 3,100 students looking for new schools. Many, if not all, would likely flood the Dayton Public Schools.

Imagine the challenge for Dayton, with a student enrollment of about 15,500 students, facing a sudden influx of more than 3,000 new students.

Simply registering and placing these students into classrooms would be a monumental challenge. A nearly 20 percent influx of new students would require the district to find classroom space for all these students. Teachers also would have to be identified and hired in a matter of a couple of weeks.

The district also would have to, among other things, figure out how to provide lunches to all these new students, and quickly arrange how to transport them around town to their new schools.

All this, remember, would be happening in a school district that has struggled mightily to educate the current group of kids under its charge. Consider that 75 percent of district students in Dayton last year attended a school rated “academic emergency” (an F) or “academic watch” (a D) by the state.

Second, there are about 4,500 teachers working statewide in Ohio’s charter schools.

In Dayton, there are roughly 465 teachers working in charters, and another 435 support staffers and administrators. These folks, and the thousands of other adults statewide who service charter schools, would be tossed into a brutal job market.

Some would end up in traditional district schools, but many would simply swell Ohio’s unemployment rate of 9.5 percent.

Third, closing Ohio’s charter schools en masse would further litter the state’s already blighted urban landscape.

In Dayton, the nicest and most modern buildings in neighborhoods like Dayton View are charter schools. Does Dayton, a city Forbes magazine recently rated as being the “fifth emptiest city” in America, really need more empty buildings, especially in its poorest neighborhoods?

Finally, abruptly closing hundreds of charter schools would involve so much extra work, the operations of the Ohio Department of Education, the state auditor’s office, and the attorney general’s office would likely grind to a halt.

They’d be overwhelmed trying to figure out things like tracking and confirming student records (for example, how many high school credits do various students actually have?); figuring out who is responsible for unemployment payments for laid-off teachers; and determining the status of millions of dollars in federal grants, federal special education dollars, and federal food program dollars for charter schools.

Additionally, there would surely be dozens, if not hundreds, of lawsuits filed by angry parents, disgruntled employees, upset landlords, and vendors. It would be a legal mess of massive proportions.

It is true that Ohio, and Dayton, still have too many academically underperforming charter schools. State lawmakers have dealt with this in recent years by putting into place an academic death penalty for the most chronically underperforming schools.

Two schools were forced to close in 2008 and 23 more are at risk of closure in 2009 because of poor academic performance. More can and should be done, however, and proposals to tighten up the academic performance requirements for charters should be supported.

But, seeking to go after a significant proportion of all charter schools (the good, bad and ugly alike) — by starving them of money — in one year would create serious problems for children, families, communities and the state.

At times like these, let’s hope that cooler heads will prevail and that the focus is on supporting those schools that work.

March 23, 2009

Good morning.

Last week was slightly less hectic than the previous month has been, as testimony on House Bill 1 (HB 1) wrapped up for ODE staff. In the coming weeks, the Ohio House of Representatives will release an amended version of HB 1. ODE will be examining the amendments, and we will make every effort to provide updated information on the budget bill as it becomes available.

Many questions have been asked about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which was recently signed into law by President Obama. Those interested in applying for stimulus funds for specific projects can visit www.recovery.ohio.gov and submit their projects proposals. The information provided will be evaluated by a team of individuals, and those who submitted projects selected to receive stimulus finding will be notified.

The ARRA also made funds available for education. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) issued four documents on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), including fact sheets on the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

This information was sent out through ODE’s CCIP communication, but in case some of you missed it, you may find the documents here. The USDOE will be issuing more detailed guidelines on the specific programs as they are developed, and we will keep you informed as they become available. In addition, we encourage you to review updated information that is posted at www.ed.gov/recovery/. ODE will continue to work with the Governor’s office and stakeholders on the implementation of the federal stimulus programs.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Sincerely,

Hi, Cindy Harris here…

Earlier this school year, we sent you two articles on Scott Gallagher's work with kids. The first was The Top 12 Teen Addictions, about the different kinds of destructive habits that students are facing today. The second was The Root Causes of Destructive Habits, Bullying and Addictions, which explored one root cause that's common to all problem behaviours. (To read these articles, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/scottarticles

The article below – called Nothing's Wrong, Something's Right – doesn't just focus on the problems. (We all get enough of that.) It looks at the root solutions or answers to addictive and destructive behaviours – based on Scott's Healthy Habits program & workshops that he teaches in schools across Canada and the U.S.

If you can find a few minutes, please read this article, and/or pass it on to those who most work with your "at-risk" kids.

I think the article will give you some useful new insights into how to begin working with your highest risk kids - particularly those struggling with severely low self-esteem, compulsively engaged in habits like over-eating, bulimia, anorexia, under-eating, caffeine, sugar, internet, video games, TV, gambling, sex and relationships, theft, crime, violence, choking, cutting/slashing, other forms of self-harm, giving and/or receiving abuse – the list goes on.

We're also here to help, so please see our Web site, or call/email me for more information or about how to bring Scott into your school.

Thank you for caring,

Cindy Harris
Assistant to Scott Gallagher
905-771-5771
ask@integritychoices.com


For more on our work, go to: www.integritychoices.com
_____________________________________________

Nothing's Wrong, Something's Right:
Root Solutions to Addictions and Bullying
By Scott Gallagher

"Choose to listen to another human being for "what's right" in them, and acknowledge it. When I do that for someone, I experience love. And that's what I teach kids in schools."

There are many viewpoints on what causes addictions. Some say it's hereditary. Others say it's our environment. Yet the reality is that we don't know exactly what causes them and other destructive behaviours. So the question must be asked: Is there another root cause?

In my last article, I suggested one possibility: that the root of our destructive behaviours lies in our self-destructive thinking. More specifically that, for those of us who become addicts or bullies, something happened early in our lives that made us think "something was wrong" with us. From then on, our minds focused on this. We began looking for "what's wrong" in ourselves, in others and the world, hoping that the "answer" would bring us peace. But the result was just the opposite. Focusing on these thoughts brought us even more negative feelings. And to escape the growing pain inside, we turned to behaviours and substances that would give us at least some kind of temporary relief.

Is There Another Way to Feel Better?
If our negative thoughts and feelings are a major cause of our destructive behaviours, then the root solution becomes very, very obvious. It too lies in our thinking. That's why my school workshops and programs teach kids to develop a new habit of thought: "What's right with me?"

It sounds simple. But this new habit is a real challenge to develop. Think about it: How many of us look for what's wrong in ourselves, someone else or in the world around us? How many of us blame, criticize or try to correct, fix or motivate others? It's a habit pattern we've developed and strengthened over many years – and shifting or breaking out of it is easier said than done.

Simple Actions that Get Results
When I go into a school, I set up a 28-day healthy habits program in which kids are assigned a buddy – someone they must talk with daily, for less than five minutes. One of the core questions they ask each other is: "What is one thing you LIKE about your life – or you could like about your life, if you really wanted to?"

The reason we do this is to help kids interrupt their normal "default" patterns of thinking and feeling. Most have pretty negative thoughts in their heads – complaining, blaming and criticizing themselves, and others. What we do is consciously shift that pattern, by having them ask a question that will make them feel a tiny bit better, and begin seeing "what's right" in their lives.

No Fixing or Motivating
Another thing we do is instruct kids not to give advice, fix or motivate their buddies or others in the group. That may sound a bit strange, but here's the logic. These kids have had years of others trying to "fix" them. They know that most people mean well – like their parents, counsellors, teachers and friends – when they try to help, give advice or encourage them. Yet the kids I talk to all admit that they HATE it!

So why is that? Because when we treat them this way, WE come from the belief that something is wrong with them. Not only does our well-meaning behaviour not work (and we've all seen that). It actually focuses kids more on their problem. The more they focus on it, the more they end up repeating their destructive behaviours – to avoid the thoughts and feelings that they are bad or wrong.

Shift from Seeing "Something's Wrong" to "Something's Right"
A third part of the program that's quite powerful is that we tell kids: "No matter what your buddy does, don't focus on what they did 'wrong.' Focus on what they did 'right.' "

For example, suppose their buddy says he'll do something, but doesn't. Their natural reaction is, "There's something wrong here," and then they try to fix it. Instead, what we teach kids is that, as soon as they notice their mind going down that path, they need to interrupt or stop it.

"When you focus on what's wrong with someone else," I say to them, "it's only causing YOU to have bad feelings and discomfort inside. That's what's driving you to want relief and comfort. So, as soon as you notice your mind focusing on what's wrong, tell yourself: 'Nothing's wrong.' Repeat it a few times, and then say, "Something's right. Something's right."

"When you're ready, then ask yourself, 'So what's right? What's right here?' It may take a few moments, but you WILL come up with an answer. 'Hey, my buddy just told me the truth! Or, he didn't skip. He showed up or called me.' Then acknowledge him for that. You could say, 'Thank you for staying in the program or for meeting me today. I know the courage it must have taken.'"

It sounds simple. But for those of us who habitually think about what's wrong, it is very difficult. It's also very powerful. It trains kids to see themselves and others differently. It generates good feelings. And it gives them practice at changing their root thought habits, towards becoming free.

Not Just the Kids, but Adults Too
Sometimes after my workshops, the adult facilitators challenge me. They point out that there IS something wrong when kids don't do what they promise, or when they do drugs, bully or don't do their homework. What I say to them is, "I'm NOT saying those are right. What I'm demonstrating is how hard it is to shift from seeing 'something's wrong' to 'something's right.'"

"To the extent that you (the adults) really develop this muscle of seeing 'what's right' in your kids is the extent to which they are going to stay in the program. Because you are the role models. If you're a complainer and a blamer, that's what kids will see. If you're addicted to something, kids will feel that. So you have to do the program too, as equals with them. That doesn't mean you have to be perfect. You just have to be willing to practice and grow the way they do."

So What Can YOU Do, Right Now…?
If you're a teacher or educator, what's one thing can you take away from this article to help your kids who are most at-risk? Start by focusing on what's right with them. Intentionally don't look at what's wrong that needs to be fixed. Look for what they're doing right and only give energy to that. Because whatever you acknowledge gets repeated – and brings results.

This is what we're finding in schools using our Healthy Habits program. Teachers are reporting improvements (sometimes in just a week) where kids who were sad and depressed are happier and showing higher self esteem and better energy. They're connecting more with other kids, becoming more trusting and accountable, and their "bad" behaviours are beginning to decline.

They're Actually Looking for Love…
Most experts agree that one reason why people become addicts is that they are trying to find love. For those of us who become bullies or addicts, our experience as kids is that we didn't get much of it. Feeling love's absence, we try to get that feeling (or something that resembles it) in any way we can. So we turn to substances and behaviours to "replace" the love that wasn't there. (Note: That doesn't mean our parents were bad. They just didn't receive all the love they needed either, so they couldn't give us what they didn't fully have.)

So ultimately what this program is about is giving kids the love they've never had before. What I learned from my own 17 years with addictions is that, all that time, I was really looking for love. I expected it to come from "out there" – from parents, teachers or friends, then from my crack pipe, alcohol or bullying. But what I discovered is that love was something within me to give, and that I just needed a way to do it.

Change is Hard for Adults Too
When I listen to someone, my mind also criticizes and complains. Yup, I'm just like everybody else. But when I intentionally ask myself "What's right?" about others, I start to really listen and get fascinated by what they're talking about. I call it active listening: Choosing to listen to another human being for what's right in them, and then acknowledging it. When I do that for someone, I experience love. But there's also another side to that. When someone else does that for me, I also experience love. And that's what I now teach kids: Both ways work.

What I tell the adults who facilitate our school program is: Kids are looking up to you. When you practise these four steps – Nothing's wrong. Something's right. Ask "what's right?" And then acknowledge it – kids will start experiencing the love they've never felt in their lives. They will get how committed you are to them. They'll feel better inside. And they will stay in the program. Yes they might screw up and break their word – just like all human beings do – but they won't quit. Why? Because they know that by coming here, they won't get judged. They'll get loved.

So that's what I'd say to you. The biggest contribution you can make to your kids is: Listen to them for who they are, and who you know they want to be. Actively listen for what's right and what's great about them. And when you see it, acknowledge it. Because when you do, they're going to repeat that behaviour. And you will both get more of what you really want.

For me, one of the root answers to all addictions is love. And these are some very practical ways you can cause it for yourself – and for your kids.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Scott Gallagher is a keynote speaker and workshop leader in schools across Canada and the U.S. He teaches kids practical skills to replace addictive and destructive behaviours with healthy habits. For more information, see www.integritychoices.com, or call Cindy Harris at 905-771-5771.

For the full/complete version of this article, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/scottarticles

Early bird Registration   Kansas City

PLEASE SEE ATTACHMENTS REGARDING MATERIALS AND REGISTRATION FOR THE TRAINING ON MAY 27th “SECONDARY TRANSITION PLANNING:  PROCESS TO IEP DEVELOPMENT TRAINING.”

This training is targeted for schools and individuals teaching students ages 14 and older with disabilities and developing individual transition plans.

Here are 2 news items from OCALI.  Please pass this information along to anyone in your district that might be interested.

1.  OCALI will be hiring an autism and low incidence coach for the  
Northwest Region of Ohio.  A complete job description is available on  
our website at www.ocali.org

The expected start date is August, 2009.

Please direct questions to Sheila Smith at sheila_smith@ocali.org

2.  OCALI now has a mechanism in place to consider requests for the following areas of service:

Professional Development
Technical Assistance
AT Assistance
Curriculum and Instruction
• OCALI Resources

Requests will be prioritized based on identified need and alignment to OCALI's mission.  If you are interested in submitting a request, please print and fill out the "OCALI Services Intake Form" and mail or fax it to our central office.  You can find information about this form on our web page at www.ocali.org <http://www.ocali.org>

Heather J. Bridgman, MS Assistive Technology Regional Coach
Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence
470 Glenmont Avenue | Columbus, OH | 43214
614.410.0343
[ heather_bridgman@ocali.org ]

****** SAVE THE DATE ******
2009 OCALI Conference and Exposition
November 17-19, 2009
Greater Columbus Convention Center | Columbus, OH USA
[ www.ocali.org ]

Sent for Sharon Rieke, HCESC School Psych./Supervisor
By: Terri Densford, Support Staff
Hamilton County Center for Regional Educational Services (CRES)
State Support Team Region 13 (Bonnell Location)
513-674-4278
terri.densford@hcesc.org

This email and any attachments contain information that is, or may be, covered by electronic communication privacy laws and is also confidential and proprietary in nature. This email and any response to it may constitute a public record, and therefore may be made available upon request in accordance with Ohio public records law (ORC 149.43).

To: Ohio ‘Public’ Community Schools & Supporters

Subject: School Superintendent Calls Governor Strickland

Budget Bill “A Bunch of Unfunded Mandates”

Today’s daily critisim of Governor Strickland’s plan comes from a district school superintendent.

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Phone: 937.239.7969

Email:  Grassroots@ocqe.org

Website: www.ocqe.org

Dayton Daily News

Unfunded mandates don't help schools

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Unfunded mandates don't help schools

In our small school district of 903 students (K-12), Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed budget for the next two years indicates we will receive a 0 percent and 2 percent increase. Nearly 50 percent of school districts are projected to receive these minimal increases (or decreases), while the remaining 50 percent receive significantly more percentage increases; many are double-digit increases.

Is this what fixing the school funding formula and equity funding is all about?

Based on the governor's proposed educational reforms, next year's estimated cost alone for us will be $3.5 million. Nobody at any level of government has yet to indicate where this funding is coming from.

Much of this $3.5 million needs to be budgeted to pay for hiring additional staff to comply with the reform mandates. The vast majority of these required hires have little or no impact on student learning in the classrooms, such as adding nurses, nurse's aides, social workers, building managers, family and community engagement teams, etc.

All-day kindergarten and extended school year sound great. Now be responsible and show us where the money is coming from.

I am one superintendent tired of dealing with unfunded mandates.

John Scheu

Sidney

Mr. Scheu is superintendent of Hardin-Houston Local Schools.

To: Ohio Community Schools & Supporters

Subject: “More Losers Than Winners”

Akron Beacon Journal BLASTS Governor Strickland

OCQE Comments: In a daily pounding it seems as though every important news media outlet in Ohio has criticized Governor Strickland’s school bill.

Three years ago, candidate Ted Strickland was running for governor of Ohio and made two important promises. 1) In 2006 he made a speech to the teachers union and promised to, “support their issues come hell or high water”. 2) His second promise was to ‘fix’ school funding. In fact, he said that, “if he didn’t fix education he would consider himself a failure as a governor. Well, one out of two isn’t bad.

Over the last couple weeks, I’ve attended every minute of every House Finance Subcommittee hearings from Akron to Marietta to Columbus to Dayton and now back to Columbus. I’ve listened to hours and hours of testimony from parents, students, school leaders and the only folks that seem to be happy are the unions. Everyone else is seeing cuts – Rural schools, Career Tech, Gifted, STEM schools, College Preparatory, Special Ed schools. And let’s not forget those 330 ‘public’ community schools that are facing 20-38% funding cuts for brick-n-mortar schools and a whopping 70% funding reduction for E-Schools. (I suppose that it really doesn’t matter if the cuts are 20%, 38% or 70%. Those kinds of massive cuts will ruin the education of 88,000 community school children).

Last evening the hearings were held at Strivers School for the Arts in Dayton. This is truly a high performing public school. As the hearings began, Committee Chair, Rep. Dyer said that, “he applauds the governor’s attempt to fix education and now the legislature will listen to the people and make a few adjustments”.

With all due respect, I don’t think that Johnson & Johnson has enough Band-Aids to patch all the holes in the governor’s school bill. It’s a terrible bill and must be stopped before it impacts the lives of 1.1 million public school students.

Parents, you need to Voice you opinion to your legislator today and demand that they vote NO on Governor Strickland’s education bill that cuts school funding. For instructions on how to reach your legislator go to our website: www.ocqe.org

If you have questions email us at: Grassroots@ocqe.org

March 17, 2009

(See Editorial Below)

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Phone: 937.239.7969

Email: Grassroots@ocqe.org

Website: www.ocqe.org

Akron Beacon Journal

Strickland steals from poor, gives to rich schools

State Rep. Dyer tries to tinker with formula

Published on Tuesday, Mar 17, 2009

COLUMBUS: Gov. Ted Strickland, like a bizarre-world Robin Hood, is stealing from the poor and giving to the rich with his school funding plan.

It is hard to believe that someone from rural Duck Run in Appalachian Scioto County would do such a thing, but it is true.

Strickland is also taking federal funds aimed at poor and special-education children and giving many of those dollars to the wealthy too.

It boggles the mind that the man who ran promising to fix school funding would create a new funding formula that seems to reward the wealthy and punish the poor.

You don't believe it?

Keep reading, because the governor's intentions are well-meaning, but the money is flowing to wealthy districts because Strickland is genuinely trying to fix a severe problem in the way Ohio pays for schools.

Under Strickland's two-year budget proposal, the increases in funding for 140 school districts are capped at 15 percent in the first year while 90 school districts would receive 15 percent and 16 percent increases in the second year.

These districts with double-digit windfalls are among the wealthiest in the state when it comes to local property taxes.

In Summit County, Copley-Fairlawn, Twinsburg and Woodridge are winners under the governor's plan, with each receiving at least a 15 percent increase in state funding in both years of the proposed budget.

Akron City Schools would receive a 12.3 percent increase of $15.4 million in the first year and a 2 percent decrease in funding of $2.5
million the second year.

There are poor districts that are far worse off than Akron, including many of the schools that served as poster children when a coalition successfully sued the state and won four decisions before the Ohio Supreme Court.

Trimble Local in Athens County receives no increase in state funding the first year and loses 2 percent in the second.

Nearby Federal Hocking and Nelsonville-York are in the same financial sinking boat.

Locally, Canton City schools, Revere, Manchester and Nordonia Hills also stand to lose.

These numbers are found in the ''runs'' produced for each district to show how much money local schools would receive under the governor's new evidence-based model for funding.

It has been a public relations nightmare for Strickland and Democrats in the Ohio House. State Rep. Stephen Dyer, D-Green, who chairs the finance subcommittee on funding and represents a district that is one of the losers under the plan, has been attempting to find ways to tinker with the new formula.

The news, however, has worsened rather than improved for the governor in recent days.

The federal government recently released a list of the Title I and IDEA money scheduled to flow to each school district under the stimulus plan signed by President Barack Obama known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Title I and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) monies are supposed to be used to aid impoverished children and students with special education needs, respectively.

Strickland's budget pools the federal stimulus money slated for education into the overall state funding that will flow to schools, and the new formula redirects the money to wealthy districts, in many cases.

Akron, for example, is slated to receive $17.5 million from the stimulus package for Title I and IDEA programs, but as noted earlier, the district will receive only $15.4 million more in the first year of Strickland's budget and take a $2.5 million reduction in the second.

In essence, Akron is receiving $2.1 million less than the federal government is earmarking for the district and then taking another financial hit in the second year.

Canton City schools are supposed to receive $3.8 million in federal stimulus money.

The district receives no increase in state funding in the first year of Strickland's budget and takes an $809,000 reduction in the second year.

Where is the money going?

Much of it will end up in the coffers of wealthy districts.

On Monday, House Minority Leader William Batchelder, R-Medina, called for the resignation of Strickland's embattled budget director, Pari Sabety.

Batchelder noted State Auditor Mary Taylor recently announced that an audit of the state could not be completed because Sabety's budget and management office was not supplying the necessary financial information for the review.

The minority leader also questioned the legality of pooling and distributing Title I and IDEA funds through the evidence-based model formula.

Sabety told the Beacon Journal on Monday she was not resigning, and the partisan attack by Batchelder was part of a growing tradition in which the minority leader in the Ohio House called for the budget director's resignation during tough economic times.

She said the Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, John Carey of Wellston, assured her he would work with the Strickland budget in the upper chamber.

Sabety said the federal stimulus money must be accounted for in a transparent manner, and the budget meets those requirements.

So why has a sane governor introduced a budget and funding formula that appears to be crazy, with more money going toward wealthy and less to poor districts?

The answer is now 16 years and eight two-year budgets old.

Watch for the explanation in Wednesday's column.

This is a reminder that the Hamilton County Task Force Meeting will be held Thursday, March 19th at CRES.  Coffee and Networking at 8:00 am program at 8:30 am.

Sent for Bill Bogdan
By: Terri Densford, Support Staff
Hamilton County Center for Regional Educational Services (CRES)
State Support Team Region 13 (Bonnell Location)
513-674-4278
terri.densford@hcesc.org

This email and any attachments contain information that is, or may be, covered by electronic communication privacy laws and is also confidential and proprietary in nature. This email and any response to it may constitute a public record, and therefore may be made available upon request in accordance with Ohio public records law (ORC 149.43).

To: Ohio Community Schools & Supporters

Subject: Canton Repository Editorial Calls For

Governor Strickland To Produce The Evidence!

If you also want to see Governor Strickland’s evidence contact your legislator and demand answers.  Why isn’t the governor responding?  For details of how to locate and contact your legislator go to our webisite:  www.ocqe.org

Email us should you have questions at: Grassroots@ocqe.org

March 16, 2009

(See editorial below)

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Phone: 937.239.7969

Email:  Grassroots@ocqe.org

Website: www.ocqe.org

Canton Repository

Where's the evidence, governor?

Repository Editorial

Posted Mar 15, 2009 @ 09:29 AM

When is too much information too much of a good thing? When the goal is not sharing information but obscuring it. Reporters, often on the receiving end of thick reports when thin reports will do, know how this works.

We hope that’s not what is going on in Columbus. A member of the House Finance committee says he can’t seem to uncover the evidence in Gov. Ted Strickland’s new “evidence-based” approach to school reform.

Republican Seth Morgan of Montgomery has filed two public records requests with Strickland’s office. He wants to learn more about the research that led Strickland to propose a longer school year, residency programs for new teachers, annual audits of school districts and other innovations in his State of the State address earlier this year.

According to The Associated Press, after Morgan made his first request, he received a bibliography of almost 400 studies and reports. “Providing a bibliography is not full transparency, and we remain unsatisfied,” Morgan said. And no wonder.

When Strickland announced that his reforms would be based on practices that have been shown to work, we looked forward to hearing about these models that Stark Countians might see one day in their schools. To date, those specifics have not been forthcoming.

AP also reported this: “The administration indicated to Morgan that there is only one copy of the documentation behind Strickland’s landmark evidence-based system and that it is in the home of a state employee.”

What? Is this the same governor who regularly gave the media lists of applicants for state jobs even before he took office? That irony dwarfs even the fact that Morgan’s frustrations came to light just as the media around Ohio were preparing to mark the start of  Sunshine Week. What has happened to the sunshine in Columbus?

# # # #

NOTE: Amended schedule to both attend hearings and provide testimony. All modifications shown in blue. 3-7-09)

To: Ohio Community Schools & Parents

Subject: Schedule of House Finance Subcommittee Hearings

Attached are three schedules of opportunities to provide testimony with a list of locations below.

■ Marietta, OH  

March 9th / 4:00 p.m. /Testimony Topic: ‘Biennial Budget, Education Plan’

Graham Auditorium

Washington State Community College

710 Colegate Drive

Marietta, OH 45750

740-374-8716

(When you enter the campus, turn left toward the parking area.  Graham Auditorium is inside the Arts & Science Building)

■ Columbus, OH

March 10th /        1:00 p.m. / Testimony Topic: ‘Community Engagement/Business and Economic Development’

                             2:30 p.m. / Testimony Topic: ‘Community Schools/E-Schools

March 11th  /       2:30 p.m. / Testimony Topic: ‘Teacher Licensing’

                             4:00 p.m. / Testimony Topic: ‘Administration/Accountability/Testing’

March 12th /        9:30 a.m. / Testimony Topic: ‘Special Education Initiatives ‘

Testimony for these dates will be at the Statehouse on High Street, Columbus, OH.  Finance Hearing Room #313.

Enter the Statehouse, go to the Rotunda and ask the guard to direct you to the elevator.

■ Columbus, OH

March 17th & 18th / Topic should be ‘Public’ testimony in Columbus but times have not been confirmed.  

■ Dayton, OH

March 16th Dayton, OH / 4:00 p.m. / Testimony Topic: ‘Biennial Budget, Education Plan’

Dayton Culture Center

40 So. Edwin C. Moses Drive

Dayton, OH 45407

937-333-2489

If you have questions contact us at: Grassroots@ocqe.org

We need a ‘major’ turnout at each of these hearings!

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Phone: 937.239.7969

Email:  radler@ocqe.org

Website: www.ocqe.org

To: Ohio ‘Public’ Community Schools

NOTICE: Location Change for Dayton Hearings

The House Finance Subcommittee just announced a change in location for their Dayton hearings next Monday, March 16th.  The location has been rescheduled to Stivers School for the Arts located at 1313 E. 5th Street.  See the notice below.

The hearings begin at 4:00 pm. but I suggest that you try to arrive at 3:30 pm.  Call should you have questions.

It’s important that supporters of ‘public’ community schools have strong showing.

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Phone: 937-239-7969

Email: GrassRoots@ocqe.org

Mentoring In Bloom
Cultivate | Expand | Succeed

National School-Based Mentoring and
Volunteerism Conference - 4th Edition
When: June 16-18, 2009
Where: Kansas City Marriott Downtown
Kansas City, Missouri

Marching On

Don't get caught up in March Madness and forget to register early for the June National School-Based Mentoring and Volunteerism Conference.  Spring is on the way and so is the conference dedicated to school-based mentoring.  Take advantage of the early bird rate and come to Kansas City June 16-18, where all things mentoring will be in full bloom.

Check out the conference website
www.askusa.com/youthfriends for our exciting speaker line up and watch for coming announcements of energizing breakout sessions and special activities. Deadline for early registration is April 24.

The only conference dedicated solely to mentoring in schools.

To: Ohio ‘Public’ Community Schools & Parents

Subject: State Rep. Seth Morgan Asks An Important Question – “Where is the evidence behind the Governor’s proposal”

REPUBLICANS, CHARTER SCHOOL BACKERS INTENSIFY OPPOSITION TO STRICKLAND EDUCATION PLAN

House Republicans and charter school proponents have been turning up the volume on their criticism of Gov. Ted Strickland's education plan lately.

Rep. Seth Morgan (R-Huber Heights) blasted the administration on Wednesday for failing to provide the evidence behind his proposed "evidence-based model" for school funding contained in the biennium budget.

"This information should be made available to the committee as we work to make the best, most informed decisions for the citizens of Ohio," Rep. Morgan said in a news release. The GOP House caucus has repeatedly requested the research that provided the basis for the plan.

"It is unfair to the people of Ohio for the governor to move forward with an education reform plan and keep the basis for his recommendations secret," he said. "It is high time the governor be open and transparent as we together work to improve our public education system."

Strickland spokeswoman Amanda Wurst contested the notion that the governor was withholding information used to generate his education proposal, saying it was based largely on feedback gathered during the 17 public forums he held statewide.

"It's disappointing that some in the legislature seem to be willing to play partisan politics with one of the most important issues before us," she added. "The governor won't allow that to distract him from his commitment to work with the legislature in a bipartisan way, like he has in the past."

Ms. Wurst said the administration was working to compile the requested information "without delay."

Meanwhile, charter school supporters blasted Gov. Strickland's plan during Monday's House Finance & Appropriations Primary & Secondary Education Committee hearing in Akron, according to the Ohio Coalition for Quality Education.

Ron Adler, the group's president, said in an email to members that most of the estimated 500 attendees were concerned with provisions that would negatively impact community schools.

He singled out Rep. Morgan, who he quoted saying, "It would seem to me that Gov. Strickland's plan will create a new sub-class of public school students."

The coalition also observed that some of the pointed questioning drew a rebuke from Chairman Steve Dyer (D-Green). He advised the Republican lawmaker that he had stepped out of order. "We are not going to allow those kinds of comments," the coalition quoted Rep. Dyer as saying.

Reported by Gongwer News Service, March 4, 2009

OCQE Summary:  Rep. Seth Morgan from Dayton’s 36th District is a ‘very patient man’.  Several weeks ago, during a House Finance Subcommittee hearing, Rep. Morgan asked ODE Superintendent Deborah Delisle to see the research supporting Governor Strickland’s newly proposed Evidence Based Education Plan.  Apparently he is still waiting because, as reported in Gongwer New Service, he asked Superintendent Delisle that same question in Wednesday’s hearing.

There seems to be a growing concern throughout Ohio that Governor Strickland’s Education Plan may not work.  It appears to be over-bloated, over-priced and supported with massive amounts of ‘one-time’ money.   And it’s ‘chock-full’ of complicated regulations, unfunded mandates and blended with ‘newly-created’ ratios and business models to support the Governor’s desired outcome.  And, it greatly expands both the size and ‘reach’ of the Department of Education.  (That is not good.)

This ‘child-centered’ plan should be called -- ‘staffing-centered’.  It tightly regulates and controls ‘inputs’ while ignoring student ‘outcomes’.

The Governor’s office is saying that the Education Plan is the result of his 17 public forums held statewide.  (Most of these forums were by ‘invitation only’ media events – again to produce the desired outcome.) 

There are rumors that neither the House or Senate nor the Department of Education participated in the drafting of this plan and that it was pieced together behind closed doors.  Does anyone really question that the OEA teachers union had a significant role in the design?

That’s not a good blueprint for an Education Plan that will dramatically impact the lives of 1.1 million public school students throughout Ohio.

Every member of the House and Senate should remind Governor Strickland of the old Wendy’s commercial and ask the question, “where’s the beef?”

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Phone: 937.239.7969

Email:  radler@ocqe.org

Website: www.ocqe.org

The Compliance Team of State Support Team, Region 13 has created some extra opportunities for related service providers to receive training on the new IEP/ETR forms.  Please see the attached flyer for dates.   The added April trainings will cover the same material as covered in March.  Our examples will be related service provider specific.  It is NOT necessary to participate in two trainings.

Lastest Related Service Providers flyer1

Susan C. Burns, Ed. D.
State Support Team, Region 13
1301 Bonnell, 3rd Floor Suite
Cincinnati, OH 45215
513-674-4266
Susan.burns@hcesc.org

Gov. Ted Strickland

Cleveland Plain Dealer

‘Strickland is taking a needed second try at equitable Ohio school funding’

Posted by The editors March 05, 2009 04:23AM

Categories: Editorial

Gov. Ted Strickland is discovering how hard it is to get out of Ohio's school-funding briar patch.

In 2003, then-Congressman Strickland and his fellow Democratic legislators sent a strident friend-of-the-court brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in vain on behalf of Ohio's landmark school-funding case.

The Ohio Supreme Court had declared Ohio's school funding unconstitutional four times, but the Republican legislature hadn't budged.

The brief cited the "disastrous effects" of funding disparities between rich and poor school districts. Affluent Beachwood and poor East Cleveland were the examples chosen to highlight the disparity.

Now, under the budget Strickland himself has proposed, 14 of Ohio's 20 poor school districts -- including East Cleveland -- would lose state money in the next two years.

And the governor unfairly slashes charter schools, many of which serve the poor, by 20 percent.

His cuts are inequitable. His cuts are unconscionable.

The governor is said to be taking the long view. When his plan is fully funded in 2017, it will meet poor schools' needs and diminish reliance on property taxes, a spokesman claimed.

Nevertheless, Strickland has whisked his wobbly plan back to the drawing board, which is exactly where it belongs.

# # # #

To Parents:  Last Monday, members of the House Finance Subcommittee went to a high school in Akron to conduct Public Hearings.  When several parents offered testimony about their community school they told members of the subcommittee that their schools were already operating at funding levels 30% below local district schools.  They asked, “why is the Governor’s Plan reducing funding another 20%”? 

One legislator on the committee attempted to convince some parents that the Governor’s Plan would not reduce their schools funding.  THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE.  Our OCQE Fiscal Roundtable ran the numbers and funding for ‘brick-n-mortar’ schools would be cut by approximately 20% and e-Schools are looking at a massive 70% reduction. 

I plan to attend every hearing.  Any parent or school operator that wants to offer testimony, if it would make you feel more comfortable, I’m permitted to ask me to stand by their side to offer support.  If any member of the committee member misrepresents any details of the plan you ask me to respond.  Remember, I’m there to support you and your school.

‘New’ Questions For Legislators:  ‘Why would you support an Education Plan that will hurt our community school and reward failing district schools’?  ‘Are you choose Governor Strickland’s Education Plan even though it will hurt our children’?

Want to know how to fight back?  Go to our website: www.ocqe.org

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Email: Grassroots@ocqe.org

Dear Lisa,

We Need your Help to Protect Charter Schools in Ohio

Across the country states like Ohio are determining what services they can cut back on and what services are essential. In his speech to the Joint Session of Congress, President Obama called for an expansion of public charters as an essential part in improving education to restore and sustain a successful American economy.

Unfortunately, Governor Strickland and House Democrats are proposing deep and harmful cuts to public charter schools. These cuts threaten schools that are providing innovative education options for some of the most disadvantaged and hardest to teach students in Ohio.

Tell Gov. Strickland and your House member to restore funding for public charters!

All schools, including public charter schools, require accountability. But Gov. Strickland’s budget punishes all charter schools especially those that have been the most successful in improving the lives of our children.

We need your help to protect charter schools that are working hard to reform education in our State. Please take a moment to tell Gov. Strickland and your Ohio House member that you support the important role that public charters play in Ohio.

Nothing happens without you so, please, help improve education in Ohio today.

Thank you very much,

Bill Sims
President and CEO, Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Greetings All,

I forgot to attach the schedule to my previous e-mail dated 2/27/09.  Here it is.

I am attaching the tentative schedule of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee’s Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee meetings.  It is imperative that we have as many students/parents and other interested parties at these public testimony committee meetings.  This is an opportunity for you to share you stories on how CHOICE (Edchoice Scholarship or otherwise) has made a difference in your child and your family.  

Once the location has been confirmed I will share that information too.  If you need additional information please do not hesitate to contact me at the number listed below.

Have a great week,

Tracie F. Craft, State Director
Ohio BAEO
Black Alliance for Educational Options
P. O. Box 5699
Dayton, OH  45405

Tel.     937-222-7990
Fax.    937-558-0744

The planning team for State Support Team 13’s training on the new IEP form and Evaluation Team Report (ETR) form has designated a particular training for people who need a more basic understanding of these forms and processes.  The attached flyer describes a training scheduled for March 20th, from 8:30 AM until 3:30 PM.   This training is especially designed for families of kids with disabilities, for educators and agency personnel who are less experienced with the IEP and ETR forms and processes.   There are still openings for this training but seats are limited so please register as soon as possible.  Registration information is on the flyer attached.

Sue Bitsko, Consultant
State Support Team 13
CRES
1301 Bonnell St.
Reading OH 45215
(513) 674-4261
sue.bitsko@hcesc.org

To: Ohio Community Schools, Teachers & Parents

Subject:  Website Call-To-Action

              ‘Help Stop Gov. Strickland’s Education Plan for Community Schools’

We can stop his Education Plan if we work together.  Every member of all of our schools – principals, teachers, board members, parents and any adult that values ‘school choice’ and a parent’s right to choose their child’s school.  Legislators can be influenced when we collectively make ‘lots of noise’. 

We are going to help by telling you exactly what to do.  Our OCQE website has been reconstructed into a, Call-To-Action Center with step-by-step details.

■ Why this Education Plan would devastate ‘public’ community schools.

■ How to organize parent/teacher ‘advocacy committees’.

■ What to tell legislators in your letters, postcards, emails and phone calls.

■ Lists of legislators, their mailing address and email, phone and fax numbers.  (Attached is an updated list that includes their home addresses.)

Go to the OCQE website for complete instructions: www.ocqe.org

Contact your school or email me should you have questions.  Remember, we have the power of our ‘Voices & Votes’

Ron F. Adler

President

Ohio Coalition for Quality Education

Website: www.ocqe.org