OEA-R Advisory Council
OEA-R Advisory Council Leads Activities
In Ohio, members of the OEA-R Advisory Council guide a group of thousands of retirees. They are among the most active in the work of the Ohio Education Association – whether in support of political activity, professional development or advocacy to preserve economic security and retirement benefits.
Membership in OEA-Retired offers the opportunity for retired educators to keep informed about education and retirement issues, and to continue to be involved in OEA and NEA activities at the level the individual chooses.
The members of OEA-R Advisory Council elect by ballot are: Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, 10 district representatives, an ESP representative, a higher education representative, an at-large representative and a representative to the OEA Board of Directors. This group, along with a newsletter editor and a representative to the Fund for Children and Public Education, direct the activities of OEA-Retired.
One of the main objectives of the organization is to promote district retirement organizations so that members can participate in programs closer to home.
Retired members also elect members to represent them at the OEA Representative Assembly and the NEA Representative Assembly.
OEA-R activities each year include a fall conference in Columbus and a spring conference held in one of the five OEA regions.
Inter-Generational Mentoring
The Inter-generational Mentoring Program is a collaborative project between OEA-R and the OSEA with support from OEA and NEA. The program pairs retirees with students working toward a degree in education.
The Inter-generational Mentoring Program is designed to help student teachers and new teachers as they finish their studies and move into their first year of teaching.
Brochures
Below are the two OEA-R Mentoring Brochures. One is for OEA-R members and one is for OEA Students members. Brochures include an application form to register for the program.
OEA-R Member Brochure
OEA-R Student Brochure
Ohio School Districts Can Receive Funds For Breakfast In The Classroom
COLUMBUS – October 6, 2016 – Beginning today, Ohio school districts can apply for a grant from Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom (the Partners) to provide a much-needed healthy and nutritious morning meal to local students and help increase participation in the federally-funded School Breakfast Program. School districts will be selected based on the number of students that qualify for free or reduced priced meals, the average daily participation in the school breakfast program, as well as district and school-provided support.
The Partners, which is a consortium of national education and nutrition organizations, selected 10 states to participate in the program based on need and the potential for success. They include Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The goal is to increase access to a morning meal for 30,000 students in the 10 states.
Through a $7.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation, the Partners will offer a school breakfast to students at no charge and will move it from the cafeteria to the classroom. This is intended to improve participation in the School Breakfast Program and boost learning and health.
While most U.S. schools currently participate in the federal School Breakfast Program, nearly half of low-income children who are eligible for a free or reduced-price breakfast are not eating it, according to a 2015 analysis by the Food Research & Action Center. Barriers include school bus schedules, late arrivals to school, pressure to go directly to class, and reluctance to be labeled “low-income.”
The grants from the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom to help bring healthy morning meals into the classroom would have an invaluable impact on students and we encourage school districts across the state to apply,” said Scott DiMauro, vice-president of the Ohio Education Association. “The proven benefits of moving breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom include better attendance records, less tardiness, and fewer behavioral and discipline problems. Those benefits are what the students in Ohio deserve.”
Since 2010, 35 school districts in 18 states have been awarded a grant by the Partners to implement the Breakfast in the Classroom programs. This has resulted in more than 63,000 students starting their day off with a healthy breakfast. The Partners’ grant will provide funding to school districts to assist with the upfront costs typically associated with starting a breakfast in the classroom program. That includes assisting schools with the purchase of equipment, marketing and communication needs, staff training, and the hiring of short-term food staff.
For more information and to find out if a district is eligible, visit www.BreakfastintheClassroom.org.
# # #
About Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom
The Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom came together in 2010 in response to their shared passion for childhood nutrition and the potential to improve educational outcomes and child health. The Partners include the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Foundation, the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF), and The NEA Foundation. The Partners provide technical assistance and support to school districts to implement the Breakfast in the Classroom programs. The mission of the Partners is to increase breakfast consumption among schoolchildren and spark the academic and nutritional gains associated with the morning meal through the implementation of Breakfast in the Classroom programs.
The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 123,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities
Follow OEA @OhioEA on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Donald Trump Is ‘Clueless About What Works’ For Students, Public Education
Trump Double-Downs On Failed Education Policies At Failing, For-Profit Charter School
CLEVELAND – September 8, 2016 – With just weeks to go until Election Day, voters have been frustrated with Donald Trump’s failure to provide detailed plans on major issues such as education, the economy and foreign policy. Trump today visited a for-profit charter school in Cleveland to talk education.
“Donald Trump isn’t serious about doing what’s best for our students, and he’s clueless about what works. His silver bullet approach does nothing to help the most-vulnerable students and ignores glaring opportunity gaps while taking away money from public schools to fill private-sector coffers. No matter what you call it, vouchers take dollars away from our public schools to fund private schools at taxpayers’ expense with little to no regard for our students,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García.”
“Today we saw Donald Trump desperately throw a bunch of failed education policies against a wall to see if any of them would stick. In contrast, Hillary Clinton believes a child’s chance of success should not depend on living in the right ZIP code. And she is fully committed to supporting educators and to ensuring that they not only we have a partner in the White House but that we also have a seat at the table,” added Eskelsen García.
Decades of research have found that vouchers fail to improve student achievement in any impactful way, do not help the students most in need and ignore the real opportunity gaps that exist in public schools. And the backdrop of a failing for-profit charter school for today’s campaign stop shows just how clueless and out-of-touch Trump is from what kids need to succeed.
“Donald Trump’s campaign has been smoke-and-mirrors with no substance,” said Becky Higgins, a first-grade teacher serving as president of the Ohio Education Association. “Donald Trump has no understanding of what kids need to succeed in school or in life. He’s only concerned with his bottom line.”
A recent study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools fail at higher rates than they succeed. On the Ohio state report card, more charter schools received F grades than As, Bs and Cs combined. Last year, more than $500 million in state aid was sent to charter schools that performed the same or worse than the local school district from which students transferred, according to KnowYourCharter.com.
Trump’s lack of a real education plan isn’t the only thing that concerns educators in this highly unusual election. With his divisive campaign, Trump has taken hate mainstream.
“We teach our students to view the president as a role model, but when Donald Trump promotes a campaign built on racism, sexism and xenophobia, he’s no role model I would want for my students or my family,” said Dan Greenberg, a high school English teacher in Sylvania, Ohio. “It doesn’t matter who you are — Democrat, Republican, or Independent — we have to vote our conscious over political party. Donald Trump is not fit to be Commander-in-Chief.”
In the last days of Election 2016, Trump’s attempt to “soften” his tone can’t change how his campaign has been built on racist prejudice and paranoia.
“We’ve seen behavior from Donald Trump that we would never accept in a classroom,” added Eskelsen García who was the 1989 Utah Teacher of the Year before being elected president of the 3 million-member National Education Association. “We teach children to reject prejudice and stereotypes like the ones Donald Trump embraces every time he hurls racial slurs, insults immigrants and women, and talks about banning Muslims from entering our country. We need a president who stands up to bullies — not one who embraces their tactics.”
Follow OEA @OhioEA on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Follow NEA on twitter at @NEAmedia
Keep up with the conversation at #StrongPublicSchools
###
The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities
The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. Learn more at www.nea.org.
OEA Member Resource Guide 2016
Use this guide as an overview to help you make the most of your OEA Membership. Within, you’ll learn more about:
- Ways to Become Involved
- Fighting for Public Education
- OEA Staff, Leadership, and Board of Directors
- OEA Higher Education Benefit
- Awards and Scholarships
- Valuable NEA Member Benefits and Services
Throughout our more than 150-year history, OEA members have been involved in every struggle and effort to advance the finest of America’s dreams: a quality public education for every child.
If you have additional questions, contact us at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or send us an email to: membership@ohea.org.
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
Oh Yes, We’re Social — Join the Conversation!
Categories
Communications and Community EngagementEducation Support Professional
Higher Education Faculty
Higher Education Staff
Leadership Tools and Documents
Legal Issues
Legislative Issues and Political Action
Licensure and Certification
Local Leader
Membership
New Teacher
OEA Member
Ohio Schools Magazine
preK-12 Teacher
Representative Assembly
Retired Member
Scholarships and Awards
Student Member
September 2016 Ohio Schools
- IN THIS ISSUE
- Leaders, Advocates & Educators: OEA members demonstrate their power to take action on issues that matter to their students and their profession
- Fanfare for the Common Man
- 2015-2016 Ohio teacher salaries
- Shutting Down the School to Prison Pipeline
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
Oh Yes, We’re Social — Join the Conversation!
June 2016 Ohio Schools
- IN THIS ISSUE
- Celebrating School – Award-winning artwork for Create a Cover contest highlights what students like most about school
- Celebrating the joy of reading
- President’s Message – Here’s how we win: Connect with our members and allies, stand up, and take the lead by acting decisively and confidently
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
Oh Yes, We’re Social — Join the Conversation!
Ohio teacher Gina Daniels goes to Washington to demand vote on Supreme Court nominee
Gina Daniels: Senate needs to put students and constitution ahead of partisan politics
WASHINGTON – May 18, 2016 – Nine civics, history, and social studies teachers, including Gina Daniels from Licking Heights School District, went to Washington today to demand that Senators do their job and hold a hearing and vote on President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Chief Judge Merrick Garland. They joined a White House roundtable with senior Obama administration officials to discuss the confirmation process and how educators teach their students about the Supreme Court and its role in our national government.“Senate leaders are sending the wrong message to our students by failing to do their job and hold a hearing and a vote on a highly qualified Supreme Court nominee, Chief Judge Merrick Garland,” said Ohio Education Association President Becky Higgins. “It’s our job to teach our students lessons about the importance of the U.S. Constitution but apparently some Senators, like Rob Portman, need a lesson as well. That’s why these civics, history and social studies teachers from across the country came to Washington to tell Senate Republicans to stop playing political games. It’s time for elected officials to put their constitutional duty ahead of partisan politics.”
“Senator Portman should just do his job, and take action on a Supreme Court nomination,” said Gina Daniels, a history teacher in Licking Heights. “It would be like me refusing to teach the Revolutionary War to my students. That’s unacceptable.”
Keep up with the conversation at #WeNeedNine #DoYourJob
Follow OEA @OhioEA on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
###
The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 123,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities
Ohio Education Association Re-Elects President And Vice President
COLUMBUS – May 16, 2016 – Members of the Ohio Education Association, the state’s largest public employee union, have re-elected Becky Higgins to a second three-year term as President, and Scott DiMauro to a second three-year term as Vice President. OEA represents 123,000 teachers, education support professionals and higher education faculty.
Higgins ran unopposed and was re-elected by acclamation at the OEA’s Representative Assembly (RA), the governing body of the organization, over the past weekend. Nearly 1,000 member delegates from OEA local affiliates throughout Ohio participated in the RA.Higgins will begin her new term on September 1, 2016. An active OEA member throughout her career, Higgins was a first-grade teacher for the Copley-Fairlawn Schools before being elected OEA’s president in 2013.
OEA Vice President Scott DiMauro also ran unopposed and was re-elected by acclamation. Prior to his election as vice-president, DiMauro was a social studies teacher at Worthington Kilbourne High School.
Follow OEA @OhioEA on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
###
The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities
OEA Statement On Ohio’s New State Superintendent Of Public Instruction
COLUMBUS – May 11, 2016 – The State Board of Education voted today to hire Paolo DeMaria as Ohio’s new superintendent of public instruction.
“The Ohio Education Association congratulates the new superintendent on his hiring,” said OEA President, Becky Higgins. “We look forward to working together for the benefit of all of Ohio’s students.”
DeMaria has worked recently as an education consultant and was an adviser to former Gov. Bob Taft.
Follow OEA @OhioEA on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
###
The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities