The mission of the Ohio Fair Schools Campaign is to organize and advocate for high quality public education opportunities for all Ohio children wherever they live, whatever their race and whatever their family background.
To:      LWVO
From:      Joan Platz
Education Update for September 24, 2007

1)  127th General Assembly: 
The Ohio House and Senate are not scheduled to hold sessions until October 2007.  Some House and Senate committees are meeting this week, but the House and Senate Education Committees are not meeting.

2) 110th Congress:
*Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. continue to work on the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program known as SCHIP, which, without an extension, will expire on September 30, 2007.  This program was created ten years ago as a state and federal partnership to provide health care for children from low-income families who do not qualify for Medicaid.  Approximately 6.6 million children have been covered.

The U.S. House and Senate approved different versions of SCHIP bills in August 2007, and are working on compromise legislation that would expand the program to include four million more children.  A vote on a compromise bill may come this week.  However, the Bush administration issued in August new eligibility guidelines that limit who the program can serve, and President Bush has indicated that he would veto a costly expansion of the program, especially if it intrudes into private health care plans.  For information about the proposed legislation please visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's web site. http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=47541

*Congress has approved one (Homeland Security) out of twelve FY08 appropriations bills that fund the federal government.  As the September 30, 2007 end of the fiscal year approaches, lawmakers are considering approving temporary extensions of current FY07 spending levels so that the government can keep operating while compromise legislation is worked out.  The U.S. House has approved all of the FY08 appropriations, but the Senate has approved only four so far. The approved House and Senate versions increase discretionary spending, which President Bush has threatened to veto.  It may not be until December when all of the appropriations bills are finally approved and signed into law.  For information about the appropriations bills visit http://www.earmarks.omb.gov/by-tracking/summary.html and http://www.ombwatch.org/article/archive/86, and http://www.senate.gov/reference/Legislation/Appropriations/2008.htm.

3)  Policy Matters Ohio Report:  
Policy Matters Ohio, Amy Hanauer president, released a report on September 9, 2007 called "The State of Working Ohio".  Over the past 18 years Ohio's workers have experienced "...staggering increases in inequity; low job growth; rising productivity, hours and education; slight wage increases; modest progress on disparities; and slight unemployment declines." For example, households in the bottom 60 percent income level experienced few real income gains, while those in the 95th to 99th percentile experienced income gains of nearly 24 percent ($40,000). Households in the top one percent income level experienced more than 40 percent increase, from $698,000 in 1988 to $986,000 in 2006, earning over 26 times what middle-income households earned in 2006. There has also been a 21 percent loss in manufacturing jobs since 2001 and a 2.8 percent decrease in available jobs over the past six years.  The report includes the following recommendations that have helped other states become more competitive:

-Invest in the future by enacting a renewable portfolio standard and putting in place universal pre-kindergarten and statewide all-day kindergarten.
-Create more opportunity by targeting economic development dollars wisely and getting a handle on development spending through a unified development budget.
-Construct on-ramps to the middle class by working with neighboring states to establish universal health care and giving all workers in Ohio the ability to earn paid sick days.
-Build and protect people's assets by blocking exploitative payday lending; restoring the non-economic damages provisions in the consumer sales practices act; and enacting a state Earned Income Tax Credit.
-Retain strong public structures by restoring the income tax cuts for Ohio's most affluent taxpayers and keeping public services public.

The report is available at http://www.policymattersohio.org/sowo_07.htm.

4)  News from the ODE:

*The Ohio Department of Education urges teachers to register online at toolsforteachers@ode.state.oh.us. to receive "Tools for Teachers". This is an electronic mailing list that provides announcements and information on licensure, awards, recognition programs, scholarships, professional development, study opportunities, and classroom tools such as model lesson plans aligned to the academic content standards.

*The Ohio Department of Education in collaboration with the Educator Standards Board and the State Board of Education has produced "Standards for Ohio Educators".  This book includes background information about the development of the educator standards, and sections on the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession, Ohio Standards for Principals, Ohio Standards for Professional Development, and tools for individual educators to become aware of how the standards can enhance their professional practice.  For more information please visit the ODE web site on Ohio's Educator Standards at http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?Page=3&TopicRelationID=513&ContentID=8561&Content=36775

5)  Upcoming Events and Conferences:

*October is National Arts and Humanities Month 2007:  Americans for the Arts is once again coordinating activities for October's National Arts and Humanities Month.  This is the largest nationwide celebration of the arts and humanities in America. To learn more about events and how to become involved, please visit http://www.americansforthearts.org/get_involved/visibility/visibility_002.asp

The fourth season of Art21 (Art in the 21st Century) premieres on PBS October 28, 2007.  A sneak preview is available at http://www.pbs.org/art21/ The showing of the work of featured artist An-My Le called "Small Wars" will be held at the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH on May 23 through August 10, 2008.

*Value Added Conference:  Battelle for Kids is sponsoring the National Value-Added Conference "The Power of Two: Progress and Achievement" October 14-16, 2007, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.  The conference will provide information about value-added analysis and how this data can be used to improve teaching and learning. For more information visit http://www.battelleforkids.org/home/Events/Value_add2007.

*October 19, 2007 Organize! Ohio Statewide Gathering:  On October 19, 2007 Organize! Ohio will sponsor a statewide gathering in Columbus, Ohio.  Organize! Ohio is a statewide organization working to advance and encourage community organizing as a strategy for progressive change in Ohio.  The event will be held at Broad Street Presbyterian Church at 760 East Broad Street from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and focus on issues and priorities in education, health care, human services, housing, consumer protection, social justice, and more.  For information please visit  http://www.organizeohio.org/

*The Ohio Art Education Association will hold its annual convention on November 1-3, 2007 in Dayton, at the Crowne Plaza Dayton, OH. This year's conference theme is "Art Speaks, from the Past, to the Present, for the Future."  For more information please visit http://www.oaea.org/convention.html.

*NAEP Arts Assessment:  The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) will conduct a national assessment of selected eighth-grade students in music or visual arts January 28 through March 7, 2008.  The last assessment of student achievement in the arts was conducted ten years ago.   For more information please visit the NAEP home page at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/


6)  PTA Start the Art Week:
The National PTA is sponsoring a campaign to advocate for arts education in schools called "Start the Art" - Embrace the Arts! Celebrate the Arts! Advocate for the Arts!"  The PTA is urging students, parents, educators, and community members on October 8-12, 2007 to take part in a weeklong celebration of the arts.  Information and ideas for each day of the week can be found on the http://www.pta.org/local_leadership_subprogram_1181754612156.html>PTA Web site.

The importance and value of arts education in our public schools is also featured in the recent issue of PTA's bimonthly publication called "Our Children".  Articles from this magazine are available at http://www.pta.org/pr_magazine_issue_details_1187298849687.html. Listed below are some of the ways suggested by the National PTA to bring parents into schools through the arts:

-Showcase students' talents in performances and art exhibitions. Post fliers and send e-mails, invitations, and letters inviting families to attend.
-Work with the school's art teacher to display student artwork throughout the school (in halls, offices, classrooms, etc.); then invite parents to tour the school and see the artwork. Ask teachers to talk to the visiting parents about how the art projects tie in with the children's learning in other subjects.
-Tap into the power of parents. Ask parents to serve as volunteers on PTA Start the Art Week committees and in arts classes.
-Organize productions and publications (plays, musicals, literary magazines, etc.) that employ the talents of both students and parents.
-Set up a volunteer-run arts resource center to provide families with information on available arts programs, volunteer opportunities in the arts, and arts advocacy efforts.
-The arts also offer opportunities to promote the value of all cultures in the school. Organize folklife and folk arts activities that allow students and families to share their cultures.
-Host a schoolwide international night. Set up booths for families to display artifacts, pictures, and books from and about their native countries. Also incorporate families' native foods, dance, music, and dress into the evening.
-Create a mural to celebrate your school's diversity. Provide the paints and banner paper, and invite all students and families to illustrate some aspect of their heritage for the mural.
-Translate invitations and informational materials into parents' primary languages.


Ohio Fair Schools Campaign, 94 Columbus Road
Athens, Ohio 45701
Tel. (740)592-2866 Fax (740)593-5451