Public Education Matters

On May 20, 2023, OEA is teaming up with the Hilliard Education Association, OEA-R, and many community partners in Hilliard to host a big book giveaway event for central Ohio students. Upwards of 9,000 books featuring diverse characters, written by diverse authors as part of this Read Across America event. HEA member Tiffany Thomas explains the power of diverse literature in children's lives, and e...

Throughout this school year, OEA has been recognizing exceptional educators who have been nominated by community members because of the impact they're making in students' lives. One of those Education Champions, Natasha Hurt-Hayes, is also making a big impact on how other educators are meeting students' needs by helping them re-think how their policies, practices, and perceptions are affecting the...

As the Ohio General Assembly continues to debate the education-related measures that are proposed in this year's state budget, it is imperative that every stakeholder has a full understanding of the state of education funding in our state. Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit, nonpartisan thinktank, just released a new report digging into the data. The report's author, Dr. Tanisha Pruitt, explains her...

Ohioans are witnessing an alarming rise in antisemitic incidents, while, at the same time, it is becoming clear that fewer Americans than ever have even a basic understanding of what happened during the Holocaust or why that is still pressingly relevant today. Effective Holocaust curriculum in our classrooms is crucial to changing that, and studies show bad Holocaust education is worse than none a...

Introduced in the Ohio statehouse on March 14, 2023, Senate Bill 83 is sweeping legislation that hands down one-size-fits-all mandates to Ohio's colleges and universities that would do real, irreversible damage to the institutions that we rely on to train Ohioans to be productive members of our workforce, if it were passed. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirkland), named SB 83 the Higher...

Ohio's educators are invested in their students and in their communities, and across the state, many of them are stepping into leadership roles to lead their communities to brighter futures. Sherry Vaught, an 8th grade teacher in Mansfield City Schools, is hoping to do just that this fall. She's running for Mansfield mayor, and she believes her unique skills from her decades in the classroom would...

On March 24, 1997, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in the DeRolph v. State case that Ohio's school funding system was unconstitutional and the Ohio legislature must fix it. It has now been 26 years since that decision came down, meaning two entire 13 year education cycles of kids entering kindergarten through graduating high school have gone through Ohio's public schools without lawmakers making...

On August 22, 2022, more than 4,000 Columbus teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors, psychologists and other education professionals went out on strike to win the safe, fully resourced, properly maintained schools every Columbus student deserves. The Columbus Education Association's three-day strike resulted in a contract agreement that included monumental wins for Columbus students, educators,...

Ohio's public schools serve 1.6 million students of all races, backgrounds, genders, and abilities, but unfortunately, that diversity is not reflected in our education workforce. Ohio University's Patton College of Education launched a program to help change that by recruiting Black males to become education majors and fostering their growth throughout their time on campus. Program coordinator Dr....

Arthur Lard, the OEA endorsed candidate for the STRS Board in 2023, is a Portsmouth City Schools teacher with 31 years of experience in the classroom. He is dedicated to keeping our pensions solvent and secure. All Ohio’s educators deserve a pension they cannot outlive. As a member of the STRS Board he has been dedicated to acting in the best interests of all STRS members. Arthur joins us for this...

School meals should be no different than textbooks or transportation services provided to all public school students; they are a basic need for children to learn in school. But, since the end of the pandemic-era programs that provided free school meals for all students in all districts, too many Ohio students are going without the meals they need. On February 20, the Ohio Education Association hos...

On April 22, 2023, some of the best college basketball players from around Ohio will go head-to-head against some of the best athletes from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the country on the Ohio State Campus in Columbus. But the athleticism on display during that matchup is only a small part of the purpose for this year's Classic for Columbus event, which also promotes edu...

The Ohio Children's Budget Coalition's Vision of Child Wellbeing - Season 3, Episode 23 As Ohio's lawmakers get to work molding the governor's budget outline into their plan for the state's finances for the next two years, dozens of Ohio organizations and agencies are working together to shape the conversation in the statehouse and ensure Ohio's children remain a top priority. A co-leader of the O...

Beyond the Headlines: Cleveland's Promise - Season 3, Episode 22 For an entire school year, two Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer reporters had unprecedented access to the classrooms, students, and educators in a Cleveland Metropolitan School District elementary school without publishing a word. What has followed is a groundbreaking series of stories that have revealed to the world some universal tru...

'Where there's a will, there's a way' - Canton Professional EA  members create assistive device for student to play guitar - Season 3, Episode 21 Canton McKinley High School student Nehemiah Culver was born with cerebral palsy, limiting his range of motion in his hands. That did not stop him from dreaming that he could one day play the guitar. So, three Canton educators worked together with their...

The Columbia Giving Tree - Season 3, Episode 20 Columbia Local Education Association member Susie Dunn believes in working for the common good and making the community better by working together. She was recently named an Unsung Hero of the Labor Movement for her work taking care of the people in her Columbia Local Schools community through the Columbia Giving Tree project.  DONATE | To support th...

The ABCs of CEA's Larry Carey  - Season 3, Episode 19 When he started his teaching career in a pre-K classroom, Columbus Education Association member Larry Carey started a mission to introduce robust vocabulary to his young students who otherwise would likely not have access to rich language opportunities. Although his job title has changed, that work continues with Carey's new children's book, wh...

Bringing Special Needs Professionals Together - Season 3, Episode 18 The Ohio Association of Special Needs Professionals (OASNP) has been a department in the Ohio Education Association since the early 1980's. The group has grown over the years to include those who serve people with disabilities both through county boards of developmental disabilities and in traditional public school settings. But,...

Working to repeal GPO/WEP - Season 3, Episode 17 Educators who have worked private sector jobs before or during their time as public employees – and those who are counting on survivor benefits from a spouse who worked a private sector job – are getting shortchanged. The Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision mean these educators get a fraction of the social security benefits...

Remembering OEA Awards & Scholarships namesakes - Season 3, Episode 16 Every year, deserving OEA members receive awards and scholarship money to further the work of pioneering educators and OEA staffers who have come before them. But today's active educators may not know much about the people for whom those scholarships and awards are named, who made their marks decades ago. We asked some of t...

A Legacy of Education: Jillian Majzan & Stephanie Hall - Season 3, Episode 15 As families gather for the holidays, we know there will be a wide variety of conversation topics. And, we know at least some families - where two or more generations are educators in Ohio's public schools - will be talking shop. In this special "A Legacy of Education" installment, we have a wide-ranging conversation...

Standing Together for Public Education - Season 3, Episode 14 The Ohio Education Association is committed to fighting for great public schools, a strong democracy, racial, social and economic justice in our communities, and the freedom for our students to receive the full and honest education they deserve. We cannot win those fights alone. During the OEA's Fall Representative Assembly, leaders fro...

What's next for the NEXUS pipeline school funding? - Season 3, Episode 13 Let's be real: The topic of public utilities' property tax valuations probably doesn't sound like the most exciting thing in the world. But the ongoing questions around the property tax valuation for the NEXUS pipeline is having a huge impact on school districts in more than a dozen Ohio counties along the pipeline's path. I...

Ohio Teacher of the Year Melissa Kmetz - Season 3, Episode 12 Third grade language arts teacher Melissa Kmetz will spend the next year shining the spotlight on Ohio's exceptional educators and our public schools as the 2023 Ohio Teacher of the Year. She shares her thoughts on mandatory retention under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, the importance of truly seeing students and empowering them to...

A Legacy of Education: Sandra Dowdy & Calista Altenburger - Season 3, Episode 11 Education is a family business for many of Ohio's dedicated teachers, education support professionals, and higher ed faculty members. In Part 2 of our special "A Legacy of Education" season, we meet a mother-daughter duo in Northwest Ohio who share an important teaching philosophy: People first. SUBSCRIBE | Click...