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State and Local Education News

Ohio is investing hundreds of millions to strengthen and expand access to CTE Thomas B. Fordham Institute - Ohio Gadfly Daily Blog
... In November, Governor DeWine and Lieutenant Governor Husted announced which districts would be awarded funding under the Career-Technical Construction Program. Of the fifty-nine districts that applied, thirty-five were awarded funds. The majority (twenty-four) were Joint Vocational School Districts (JVSDs), which are independent school districts that primarily offer CTE programming. Four comprehensive districts (traditional districts that provide CTE programming at schools or career centers within their boundaries) and seven compact districts (groups of districts that collaborate and combine resources to offer students CTE programming) also received awards... More recently, the administration announced the recipients of the first round of funding[1] for the $100 million Career-Technical Education Equipment Grant Program. This program is designed to award competitive grants to schools for equipment, instructional materials, facilities, and operational costs. To be eligible, schools must plan to offer a qualifying CTE program that supports a career on Ohio’s Top Jobs list or a qualifying credential program from the Innovative Workforce Incentive Program list. Under the first round of funding, fifty-six schools will receive grants that total more than $67.7 million. The state estimates that this funding should expand CTE access to an additional 10,345 students. The following seven schools received awards of $2.5 million, the highest amount provided to recipients in this round.

Grant to boost Lakewood career technical education, STEM learning
Newark Advocate
Lakewood Local Schools will be able to upgrade its Career Technical Education (CTE) equipment and curriculum, thanks to over a half-million dollar grant received recently from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Development. The district was one of 56 statewide, out of the 174 which applied, to be awarded the money. Lakewood received $530,916 and those chosen received grants totaling more than $67.7 million to help them purchase up to date equipment, to better prepare students to be career-ready upon graduation and meet the workforce needs of their community.

Steubenville Schools gain overall 5-star rating
Steubenville Herald-Star
The Steubenville City School District and three of its buildings have achieved overall 5-star ratings for their performance from state education officials. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce recently recognized exceptional performances in Ohio’s districts and buildings on 2022-2023 Report Card, and the Steubenville City School District is one of 75 districts across the state to be recognized as an overall 5-Star district. Additionally, Harding Middle School, Pugliese West Elementary and Wells Academy achieved an overall 5-star rating and were among 362 school buildings across the state to earn the distinction.

Schools compete in virtual battle
Toledo Blade
Many don’t know it, but there are battles brewing in northwest Ohio’s high school computer labs. On April 13-14, Esports Ohio’s upcoming state championship will pit students from around the state against each other in Valorant, Overwatch 2, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Of the dozens of teams who register and compete in competitive multiplayer video gaming, several area schools have won their way to the finals organized by Esports Ohio. An educational nonprofit dedicated to coordinating middle and high school esports tournaments, Esports Ohio touts competitive video games as a way for students to develop problem-solving skills, facilitate communication and collaboration, and build student relationships and confidence.

Will Dublin City Schools turn a Cardinal Health building into a fourth high school?
Columbus NBC-4
Dublin City Schools is weighing whether to transform a central Ohio healthcare provider’s headquarters into a new high school for the district. The school district signed a nonbinding letter of intent with Cardinal Health to assess the feasibility of buying the company’s west campus headquarters at 7200 Cardinal Place. The letter allows the district more than a year to determine if the building can be effectively configured to serve as a school.

Healthy eating trending
Findlay Courier
When returning home from school, kids often sprint to the pantry for an after-school snack. It’s often the most prominent bag of chips, or those sweet and savory cookies. Actually, there are probably several boxes of Girl Scout cookies sitting in cabinets right now. Unless they have already been eaten. There's one public schools food director — Natalie Winkle of the Boardman schools district — who is out to change that trend, and she must be commended for her effort. Winkle’s Tot Chef program, which teaches students good nutrition, kitchen safety and other basics, started about 10 years ago. It was paused for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic and was restarted recently after Winkle received a $2,500 grant she was awarded last May.

Year-long planning to culminate in day-long fund-raising event
Toledo Blade
For a few teachers and advisers at Sylvania Southview High School, helping students plan and organize a huge fund-raising event is an exhausting endeavor. Thankfully, after 21 years, the blood, sweat, and tears of the teachers and students usually pay off in a big way. Southview will hold its annual Dance for a Chance fund-raiser Saturday. Students will spend 10 hours on their feet in order to raise money for one lucky organization. Last year, students raised $14,132 for the Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit environmental engineering organization based in the Netherlands. The organization develops technology to extract plastic pollution from rivers and oceans.