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.
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
Ohio Educators Give Senator Portman A Civics Lesson On Judicial Appointment Process
Mounting Pressure In Ohio And Across The Country For Hearing And Vote On Supreme Court Nominee
COLUMBUS – March 29, 2016 – Ohio educators, who teach students every day about the U.S. Constitution, joined the growing number of citizens who want Senator Portman to #DoYourJob at events in Cincinnati and Columbus on Tuesday.
“Supreme Court nominees deserve a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote. Both parties have always provided that respect to nominees,” said Maria Mueller, an AP Government teacher in the Mason City School District. “It’s what I teach my students every day, and we should expect the same from our elected officials.”
Events are taking place, in Ohio and across the country, nearly every day to apply pressure to members of the U.S. Senate to hold a hearing and vote on Judge Garland’s nomination.
“Senators should just do their jobs, instead of playing political games and delaying 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.”
Polling has found that the majority of Ohio voters think that the vacant seat on the Supreme Court should be filled this year. Editorial boards across the state, including the Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and the Cleveland Plain Dealer – which called Portman’s stance “a mistake” – have criticized Senator Portman’s refusal to do his job and fulfill his constitutional duty.” The Toledo Blade recently called Portman’s stance on the Supreme Court nomination “indefensible.”
“I agree with the 58 percent of the American public, who want President Obama to nominate someone to the Court rather than leave it vacant. It’s disheartening to think the entire justice system could come to an impasse because Republican Senators want to shape future decisions based on politics. Let’s tell the Republican Senators to do their job,” said U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-3rd District).
Last week, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) became the third Republican Senator to buck party leadership and support hearings for Garland: “I would rather have you (constituents) complaining to me that I voted wrong on nominating somebody than saying I’m not doing my job. … I can’t imagine the president has or will nominate somebody that meets my criteria, but I have my job to do. I think the process ought to go forward.”
“We need more people to stand up and speak out about the obstructionism that is all too common in Washington,” said Columbus City Council President Zach Klein. “It’s right and fair for the U.S. Senate to hold a hearing on the president’s nominee to the highest court in the land.”
Already more than 350 law professors warned Congressional leaders that, ”A long-term vacancy jeopardizes the Supreme Court’s ability to resolve disputed questions of federal law, causing uncertainty and hampering the administration of justice across the country.”
“There are too many issues at stake – from education to voting to clean energy – for the Supreme Court to be down a member,” said Cincinnati Councilmember Wendell Young. “There are very real, very significant consequences for the American people if Senator Portman manages to leave the high court in limbo.”
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 Applauds Supreme Court Decision To Reaffirm Collective Bargaining
WASHINGTON – March 29, 2016 – The U.S. Supreme Court today affirmed that public employers have a compelling interest in having strong and effective collective bargaining. The 4-4 decision in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association leaves intact the sound law of Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that has been working for nearly four decades.
At issue in Friedrichs was whether non-union members could share the wages, benefits and protections negotiated in a collectively bargained contract without needing to pay their fair share for the cost of those negotiations. The case was brought by the Center for Individual Rights, an organization funded by corporate special interests that are pushing their own agenda. The National Education Association, the nation’s largest union with more than 3 million members, and the California Teachers Association, are two of the union respondents in the case in addition to the state of California. The Ohio Education Association (OEA) is NEA’s Ohio affiliate.
“We welcome today’s decision,” said OEA President Becky Higgins. “But we’re under no illusion that the threat posed by Friedrichs is over. There are some 30 similar cases making their way through the courts and any one of them could well make its way to the US Supreme Court. All of this underscores the importance of this year’s elections for President and the US Senate, and the resulting ability to fill the current and any future vacancy on the Supreme Court.”
“The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a political ploy to silence public employees like teachers, school bus drivers, cafeteria workers, higher education faculty and other educators to work together to shape their profession,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García. “In Friedrichs, the court saw through the political attacks on the workplace rights of teachers, educators and other public employees. This decision recognizes that stripping public employees of their voices in the workplace is not what our country needs.”
The case was thinly veiled attempt to weaken collective bargaining and silence educators’ voices. In response, hundreds of amici curiae or “friends of the court” briefs weighed in to support the union respondents. Twenty-one states, dozens of cities, nearly 50 Republican lawmakers, school districts and public hospitals rose in support of the value fair share fees provide in terms of the effective management of public services. During oral arguments, lawyers for the respondents argued that the current fair share system is a good compromise and common sense solution. Ohio is a fair share fee state. The court’s decision today left that system in place nationwide.
“I’m thrilled millions of educators like me can continue to work together through their unions to advocate for the best teaching and learning conditions of their students,” said HaSheen Wilson, a network administrator at Youngstown State University and OEA member. “In an era when the rich just get richer while the poor seem to fall through the cracks, we need to come together and speak out for change — whether it’s smaller class sizes, training for educators, fair pay and benefits, healthcare or safer work environments.”
The Friedrichs case provided a vivid illustration of what’s at stake when it comes to the highest court in the land. It also was an example of how special interests are using the Supreme Court for political agendas rather than what the court was intended: interpreting and upholding the Constitution.
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
Award-Winning Author Drew Daywalt To Join OEA In Celebrating Reading At Central Ohio Schools March 16 And 17
OLUMBUS – March 14, 2016 – Drew Daywalt, author of the bestseller The Day the Crayons Quit and its sequel The Day the Crayons Came Home, will visit two central Ohio schools as part of the Ohio Education Association’s (OEA) 2016 celebration of Read Across America Day and National Reading Awareness Month.
On March 16, Daywalt will join the OEA at Worthington Estates Elementary School, located at 6760 Rieber Street in Worthington, where he will share his latest book and visit with K-3 students between noon and 3 pm.
On March 17, beginning at 8:45 am, Daywalt will visit Whitehall’s Beechwood Elementary School located at 455 Beechwood Rd. The visit will include two reading sessions with students in grades K-3.
Both events are open to the media.
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
Students, Teachers Rev Up For Read Across America
COLUMBUS – February 29, 2016 – Students across Ohio will join millions of their peers around the country to celebrate the National Education Association’s (NEA) eighteenth annual Read Across America Day on March 2, 2016.
It’s expected that more than 45 million people, both young and old, will pick up a book and read on NEA’s Read Across America Day, which celebrates Dr. Seuss’s birthday and the joys of reading.
The Ohio Education Association (OEA) urges all who understand and appreciate the value of reading to get together with young people under one of the red-and-white stovepipe hats made famous by the Cat in the Hat-for a flurry (or furry) of reading excitement!
For more information on NEA’s Read Across America, please visit www.nea.org/readacross and www.readacrossamerica.org and learn of other reading celebrations that are happening from coast to coast.
Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation
###
The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities
The Ohio Education Association Says State Report Cards Should Be Seen In Context
COLUMBUS – February 25, 2016 – In response to the release today of the Ohio School Report Cards by the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Education Association (OEA) urged state policy makers to take further steps to reduce the use of standardized tests to measure student achievement and evaluate teacher performance.
“Ohio’s 2014-15 report cards should be interpreted with considerable caution,” said OEA President Becky Higgins. “The drop in test scores was anticipated as local schools and students were adjusting to the substantial changes made to Ohio’s testing system. Among these changes was the use of the more rigorous and controversial PARRC tests that have since been replaced. Without more time and support for teachers and students to adjust to the implementation of a new testing system, it was always likely that Ohio and other states would see a drop in scores.”
“School districts, parents, and policy makers should be leery about putting much emphasis on the report card data or using it to make decisions or comparisons'” said Higgins. “We encourage the state’s policy makers to find more ways to limit the role of standardized tests so that our students get more genuine teaching and spend less time preparing for and taking tests.”
Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation
###
The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities