Ohio Education News - January 11

On Wednesday, Gov.-elect Mike DeWine, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education, announced the release of Ohio’s Inauguration Toolkit, featuring activities for students at various grades and connections to Ohio’s Learning Standards for Social Studies. Find the toolkit by clicking here!

 

DeWine announces availability of Inauguration Toolkit

Sidney Daily News

Gov.-elect Mike DeWine has announced the release of Ohio’s Inauguration Toolkit, a series of fun activities educators and families can use to help students explore and discover Ohio’s gubernatorial past and present and be part of history in the making on inauguration day.

UVCC student named semi-finalist

Piqua Daily Call

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the president, to recognize and honor some of our nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 2015, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education (CTE) fields. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students. Five Ohio CTE students are selected by the ODE state superintendent as semi-finalists for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program CTE category, and 20 finalists will be honored nationwide next spring for their achievements and accomplishments in career-tech education. Ula Uluiviti Hicks, a senior in the Medical Careers Academy program at Upper Valley Career Center, is one of five Ohio semi-finalists.

 

A-C Elementary School receives momentum award

Circileville Herald

Amanda-Clearcreek Elementary School was recently honored as one of only two school districts in Fairfield County to be named a “2018 Momentum Award” recipient by the Ohio Department of Education. This is the third consecutive year that the elementary has received this award... In all, 226 of the 3,592 schools in the State of Ohio were recognized as earning the Momentum Award.

Drone-racing club takes off as fun way to learn STEM skills

Columbus Dispatch

...Meghan Thoreau likes to hear from the 13 Circleville High School students who belong to the school’s newly formed tech-sport club that will, in the spring, compete in the S3RA Drone Racing Scholastic League. Thoreau is an Ohio State University Extension educator based in Pickaway County. She focuses on community development and STEM programming and was able to secure a $5,000 OSU Extension grant to get such clubs up and running in Pickaway County schools. Circleville is the first to participate, with others to follow.

 

600 Youngstown schools kids get new coats thanks to organizations

Youngstown Vindicator

About 600 Youngstown City School District elementary school students will receive new coats thanks to Heart Reach Neighborhood Ministries and NOW Youngstown. “The goal is to make sure any student in need of a new coat this winter is provided one,” said Lori Kopp, chief of student services at the city school district. She credited a member of the Student Services staff for coordinating the effort.

 

Avon Lake hoping to expand robotics offerings

Lorain Morning Journal

A new robotics program at Avon Lake High School is making waves... Spearheaded by Avon Lake High robotics teacher Gregory Svec, students in grades nine to 12 have the opportunity to integrate skills into coding and designing VEX robotics. Svec has coached robotics since 2001 and began working with Cuyahoga Community College's FIRST robotics teams in 2006. Svec transitioned to VEX robotics in 2012 and has taken teams to the world championships in six of the past seven years in Louisville, Ky., and Anaheim, Calif.

 

Wooster High School seniors show kindness to teachers by cleaning off snow-covered cars

Cleveland FOX-8

Seniors at Wooster High School cleaned off cars for their teachers Thursday. Photos were shared on the Wooster Frontline Twitter account showing the students scraping ice and snow off of cars. The students tweeted, “just thought we would give back to our teachers on this cold and snowy day by scraping the ice off their windows.”

Absenteeism, Teacher Stress, and School Safety: School Climate Factors to Watch in 2019

Education Week

Students' ability to engage and succeed in the classroom is influenced by how safe, supported, and connected they feel at school, researchers have found. While educators around the country adopt intentional efforts and programs to improve school climates, learning environments are also influenced by a range of outside factors, from neighborhood violence to natural disasters to federal policy changes. In 2018, schools saw a convergence of those factors: public concerns about safety fueled by school shootings, a fresh wave of teacher activism, and a changing federal approach to civil rights enforcement. Here's how those issues...