Governor and First Lady DeWine Visit Dayton to Highlight Ohio’s Regional Education Partnerships
Learn to Earn Dayton hosts roundtable discussion about the initiative with local community leaders
 (Facing camera, pictured L-R) State Rep. Tom Young (R- Washington Township), State Rep. Andrea White (R-Kettering), Learn to Earn Dayton CEO Stacy Wall Schweikhart, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine take part in Thursday’s roundtable discussion about Ohio’s new Regional Education Partnerships initiative.
(DAYTON, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine today joined education leaders, local officials, and community organizations at Learn to Earn Dayton for a roundtable discussion highlighting Ohio’s new Regional Education Partnerships initiative and how collaboration among local organizations can help more young people succeed in school and in life.
Announced in September, the initiative established 12 regional partnerships across Ohio to bring together schools, employers, workforce organizations, and community partners to identify and address challenges facing Ohio students as they progress from early childhood, through school, and into the workforce.
Learn to Earn Dayton, whose longstanding work in the Miami Valley helped inspire the statewide initiative, hosted Thursday’s discussion to demonstrate how this approach works in practice and provide an update on efforts to establish similar partnerships across Ohio.
“Every Ohio child deserves the opportunity to get a strong start in life, succeed in school, and reach their full potential,” said Governor DeWine. “What we’re seeing here in Dayton is a great example of how communities can come together, identify the challenges facing their young people, and find solutions. That’s exactly why we’ve launched Regional Education Partnerships across Ohio. We want to take what is working here and give more communities the opportunity to make that same difference for children and families.”
 Governor DeWine joined Learn to Earn Dayton CEO Stacy Wall Schweikhart and other community leaders to learn about local efforts to help more young people succeed in school and in life.
During the roundtable, Learn to Earn Dayton leaders provided an update on the organization’s work as the statewide technical assistance provider for Regional Education Partnerships, helping the other 11 designated partnerships in communities across Ohio build local networks, establish shared priorities, and develop strategies to improve outcomes for young people.
Roundtable participants also highlighted several examples of the collaborative work that Learn to Earn Dayton has coordinated for years. A key focus of the discussion was Learn to Earn Dayton’s ongoing work to improve student attendance by helping families avoid eviction.
After identifying housing instability as a significant barrier to consistent school attendance, Learn to Earn Dayton worked with local partners – including Dayton Municipal Court, Dayton Public Schools, and Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE) – to develop a coordinated approach to identify families facing eviction and connect them with assistance before housing instability disrupts their child’s education.
“Regional Education Partnerships reflect what we’ve learned in Montgomery County: lasting change for students happens when a whole community works toward the same goals and measures progress together,” said Stacy Schweikhart, CEO of Learn to Earn Dayton. “In the first few months of this work, we’ve helped these regions strengthen the capacity and durability of their partnerships: hiring dedicated leadership, bringing their communities together around local data, and committing to shared milestones. Our role is to meet every partnership where it is, with the data, coaching, and peer network to turn strategy into real results for Ohio students.”
The Regional Education Partnerships initiative builds on the DeWine Administration’s ongoing efforts to support children from their earliest years through successful careers.
 Announced by Governor DeWine in September, Ohio’s Regional Education Partnerships initiative has established 12 regional partnerships across Ohio to bring together schools, employers, workforce organizations, and community partners to identify and address challenges facing Ohio students as they progress from early childhood, through school, and into the workforce.
Since 2019, the DeWine Administration has expanded access to early childhood supports, strengthened literacy instruction through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio and the statewide implementation of the Science of Reading, increased opportunities for career-connected learning – including historic investments to expand career-technical education programs across Ohio – and created the WorkOhio initiative to connect young people with local career and training opportunities.
Learn more about Ohio's Regional Education Partnerships:
Additional Media Contact:
Ohio Department of Education and Workforce
Lacey Snoke, Chief Communications Officer
614-995-1855
Lacey.Snoke@education.ohio.gov
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