Lewis Center, Ohio – On Monday, April 15, 2024, the Ohio Educational Service Center Association (OESCA) recognized Ohio’s top students statewide during the annual Franklin B. Walter All-Scholastic Awards Program. Nominated by one of the 51 Ohio educational service centers (ESCs), eligible applicants are high school seniors that demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and community service as indicated by high school grades, test scores, school and community activities, and awards.
“In order to achieve this level of success, these students have demonstrated a commitment to excellence, resilience and grit,” stated OESCA Executive Director Craig Burford. For nearly four decades, OESCA has recognized nearly over 2,600 scholars and student leaders during this event. “Ohio’s ESCs have over a century of service in providing technical assistance and support to Ohio’s schools and students, and during this event we get to see the impact of that work,” added Burford. “We look forward to our continued partnership with students and families, school district leadership, and state policymakers to ensure students have equal access to high quality educational opportunities and experiences regardless of where they live and attend school.”
The award program, named in honor of Ohio’s thirty first State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Franklin B. Walter, was established by OESCA in 1989 to promote and recognize outstanding student leaders for their academic achievement and service to their schools and communities. One senior from each county in Ohio is eligible to receive this annual honor.
Effectively align and use all your resources—time, money, people, political capital, and partnerships—to accelerate learning and improve student performance. Project Evident, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce and OESCA, have developed workshops to help Ohio school districts develop plans for strategic resource allocation. Strategic resource allocation (or strategic budgeting) is the process of applying resources—money, time, people, political capital, and partnerships—in the best way possible to achieve your district’s goal of improving student outcomes.
Regional and statewide FREE workshops will support Ohio districts and schools in identifying and using evidence to make trade-off decisions and better utilize resources. The workshops will include a mix of presentations, facilitated team work sessions, breakout sessions with regional and national experts, and opportunities for peer learning and networking.
Who Should Attend?
We invite district leaders from across the state to come together at our regional workshops and statewide convening to learn and connect. All workshops are FREE. Districts benefit most from these workshops if they attend as teams (3-5 members). At minimum, we recommend that your team include members that have:
“[This work provides a] relevant way of mapping-out how to articulate ROI of initiatives and to separate what we feel is working with what we know is working.” – Superintendent, NY
“This training is the spine and backbone for transparent, coherent, data/evidence-based decision making, and student-centered systems planning.” – Director, Office of School Support and Well-being, MD
“This was an excellent first step in learning about concrete budget planning related to academics—great structure to get specific about the intersection between budget development and academics.” – Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, NY
“This work will grow your capacity to lead and make the work impactful.” – Chief Academic Officer, OH
“[Project Evident is] a wealth of information, support, and passion for the process of strategic planning and budgeting.” – Director of State and Federal Programs, OH
REGIONAL WORKSHOPS
While the core content will be the same across all regional workshops, breakout sessions will vary [Regional Workshop Flyer]. Participants will learn how to:
Get details on Regional Workshops (Regional Workshop Flyer) and register for Regional Workshops
Region | Date & Time | Location | Priority Areas | Recordings |
Central |
Wed, May 1, 8:30am–4:30pm |
ESC of Central Ohio |
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Southwest |
Fri, May 10, 8:30am–4:30pm |
Great Oaks ASPIRE Building (IRC) 100 Scarlet Oaks Drive Sharonville, OH 45241 |
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Northwest |
Tue, May 14, 8:30am–4:30pm |
University of Findlay 1000 N. Main Street Findlay, OH 45840 |
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Southeast |
Fri, May 17, 8:30am–4:30pm |
Athens-Meigs ESC 21 Birge Drive Chauncey, OH 45719 |
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Northeast |
Tue, May 21, 8:30am–4:30pm |
Mentor Paradigm 6465 Center Street Mentor, OH 44060 |
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STATEWIDE CONFERENCE
While you may attend the Statewide Conference if you did not attend a Regional Workshop, the convening will build upon the Regional Workshop content and work so it is most effective to send the same core team to the two-day Statewide Conference.
Statewide Conference
June 3-4, 2024, 8:30am-4:30pm each day
Nationwide Conference Center, 100 Green Meadows Dr S, Lewis Center, OH 43035
Registration Deadline: May 21, 2024
Register for Statewide Conference
CONTACT
Attendance is a priority in Ohio. Attendance studies routinely show the connection between regular attendance and critical school measures such as reading proficiently, performing well academically, and graduating from high school.
Chronic absence is defined in Ohio as a student missing 10% or more of the school year for any reason – excused, medically excused, unexcused and suspensions. Chronic absenteeism is part of Ohio’s report card as part of Ohio’s Every Student Succeeds Act Plan. Ohio, along with 35 other states, uses chronic absenteeism as a measurement of student success under the Gap Closing Component.
There are several initiatives focused on attendance and chronic absenteeism:
Stay in the Game! Network - Stay in the Game! connects districts and education leaders to the resources and tools that can meaningfully improve attendance
Attendance Works - As a non-profit initiative, Attendance Works collaborates with schools, districts, states, communities and organizations to ensure that everyone recognizes that chronic absence is a serious issue that can be addressed using a positive, problem-solving approach grounded in an understanding of educational inequities.
The Ohio Department of Education & Workforce and Attendance Works are offer free 90 minute sessions designed for ESCs and SSTs on core attendance strategies and addressing the rising rates of chronic absence. Each session will include 45-minutes with ESCs and SSTs together, breakout sessions tailored for ESC and SST staff, and collective sharing of best practices and learnings. Additional consultation sessions available for participants after each regional training. All ESC and SST staff are welcome including Family and Community Partner liaisons, family engagement staff, attendance support staff, social workers, attendance officers, PBIS- and SEL-focused staff, One Plan staff, leadership consultants and more. [Get more information on sessions, including registration links]
Resources:
Learning Blade is a free, fully-funded supplemental curriculum provided by the Ohio STEM Learning Network for STEM/Computer Science/Career Tech career exploration. It provides interactive and engaging lessons on various STEM topics for students in grades 5-9, and can help teachers foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and understanding of careers.
Resources in Learning Blade are organized around “Missions” covering topics including advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, cybersecurity, and much more. In total, Ohio teachers can choose from more than 400 lessons, helping connect lessons to real-world applications in careers. Each Mission includes interactive online lessons for students, lesson plans for teachers, and take-home activities. These resources have been aligned to Ohio’s Learning Standards for grades 5-9 in Math, English Language Arts, Science, and Technology as well as applicable standards from the Computer Science Teachers Association.
Free Learning Blade Info Session
Friday, February 16, 11am-Noon
Explore how Learning Blade can support your middle grades integrating career exploration, while reinforcing interdisciplinary standards. [REGISTER NOW]
One-on-one sessions also available - schedule a meeting at a time convenient for your team.
The Ohio General Assembly established the Ohio Grow Your Own (GYO) Teacher Scholarship Program to encourage school employees and low-income students to become licensed teachers and to work for their home district after graduation from a teacher training program.
The Ohio Department of Higher Education will grant scholarships to qualifying individuals who are accepted into the GYO program and who enroll in a teacher training program. In exchange for receiving scholarship funds (up to $7,500/year for four years), awardees will commit to teaching for four years in their home district within six years of graduation.
Leadership staff at qualifying schools are expected to pro-actively recruit their own students and employees to participate in this program. Each school district interested in participating in the Ohio GYO Teacher Scholarship Program must attest that it has difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified classroom teachers.
The district in which GYO Scholarship applicants are employed or enrolled must attest an intent to hire the GYO Scholarship recipient as a teacher after his or her graduation. The scholarship application will be open to the following:
NOTE: Those employed by an ESC but assigned to a qualifying school building may receive a GYO scholarship if the qualifying school will endorse the application. An ESC cannot endorse a GYO scholarship recipient.
RESOURCES:
aiEDU and the Ohio Educational Service Center Association (OESCA) invite educators from across the state of Ohio to come together, find inspiration, and share their expertise and ideas around AI literacy and innovation! [Download Flyer]
All AI Summits are FREE to Ohio ESC employees, district leaders, building leaders, and K-12 teachers and will take place from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM on the following dates:
Southwest Ohio AI Summit - Thursday, May 2, 2024 - Dayton, OH
Northwest Ohio AI Summit - Thursday, May 9, 2024 - Sandusky, OH
Northeast Ohio AI Summit - Thursday, May 23, 2024 - Independence, OH
Southeast Ohio AI Summit - Tuesday, August 13, 2024 - Cambridge, OH
Capacity is limited for each AI Summit - Register today!
NEW! Two conferences in one - the OESCA Spring Conference 2024 OESCA Spring Conference: Let's Connect |
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All Ohio educational service center (ESC) staff are invited for professional learning, regional and job-alike networking, and updates on statewide initiatives. This year we are combining OESCA's annual Spring Conference with the Let's Connect conference that debuted last year for ESC service providers. This enables ESCs to send teams to the conference and allows attendees a wider variety of sessions from which to choose. 67 breakout tracks over three days include sessions on Curriculum and Instruction, Data Assessment and Equity, Integrated Student Supports, Special Services, State Initiatives and Partners, Tech Integration, Executive Leadership, and Finance and Operations. The combined conference is hosted by the Ohio ESC Association and the OESCA Regional Coordinators. May 6-7 focused content for district-facing ESC service providers Cost: $250 per person for 2 days and $400 per person for all three days. This represents a 30-40% savings over typical OESCA conferences! Breakfast, lunch and snacks are included in the price. Hotel: Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center, Contact: Ken Bernacki, ESC Network Regional Coordinator, kbernacki@escwr.org |