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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > February > 06 > Entry
Strickland: Say goodbye to the Ohio Board of Education
In his state of the state address today, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland proposed blowing up the Ohio Board of Education by stripping its power, making it an advisory board only and creating a governor-appointed job of Director of the Department of Education.
Strickland persuaded the legislature to go along with a similar plan last year when he named Eric Fingerhut the new chancellor of the board of regents, empowering him with decision-making authority and making the regents simply advisers. State Superintendent of Instruction Susan Zelman — appointed by Gov. Bob Taft — would report to the director, too.
In his speech, Strickland said called the state education department “unweildy” and said it had “splintered accountability.” Not kind words for Zelman and her crew.
Strickland also promised a plan to overhaul education in Ohio to be delivered next year and that will be guided by six principles — a stronger commitment to public education, instruction linked to future economic prosperity, identifying and building on strengths of the current system, top teachers guiding instructional change, personalized instruction for every student and comprehensive and ongoing assessment, including testing.
My colleague covering higher education, Stephanie Gottschlich, has the details on a Strickland proposal to allow more high school seniors to earn college credit at her new blog called On Campus.
I’ve clipped the key sections of the speech that address these issues below.
Here’s Strickland comments proposing the new position of director of the department of education:
Last year this legislature - led by Speaker Husted - advanced legislation that gave the governor the authority to appoint the Chancellor of Higher Education. By doing so, you provided a clear line of accountability. You enabled me and future governors and legislatures to pursue a vision of higher education on behalf of all Ohioans. I believe the time has come to do the same for primary and secondary education. The governor and the legislature are responsible for the success of our schools. The voters will rightly hold us accountable for the education results we produce. Therefore, we should have authority over the management of the Department of Education. Today I am calling for the creation of a new position: the director of the Department of Education. This office would be appointed by the governor, subject to approval by the Senate. The director would have oversight over all Department of Education efforts. The existing structure, including the State Board of Education and the State Superintendent of Schools, would remain in place in advisory and additional roles as determined by the director. The most important duty of the state should not be overseen by an unwieldy department with splintered accountability. This change in organizational structure will ensure, like higher education, that there is a direct line of responsibility and accountability in K through 12 education. It will ensure that our elected and appointed leaders are working together to strengthen education in Ohio. Education is the central issue I face as governor. I am determined to bring real change and real results. But I am also determined to find the best answers. We are creating a blueprint for the future of our schools and our state. And we will take the time to get it right. The director and I will take all the best ideas and evidence available from those that care about education in Ohio, and I will put my plan for Ohio’s schools before the people of Ohio next year.
Here he talks about the education reform plan he is working on:
I have listened to educators, business leaders, researchers, parents, and many others. I have considered their experiences and the evidence they have marshaled, and taken heed of a lifetime of observations the First Lady and I have made. All these discussions have led me to embrace the following vision for our schools: we must create learning environments that foster and nurture creativity, innovation and global competency. And I have developed six core principles that will guide our efforts to achieve that vision. First, we cannot address our education challenges without strengthening our commitment to public education. As a practical matter, the vast majority of Ohio children are and always will be educated in the public school system. Second, a modern education must be directly linked to economic prosperity. Ohio cannot thrive without understanding that world class schools will produce a talented workforce, and a talented workforce will attract and create jobs. Third, we need to identify the great strengths of our schools. There are features in our education system that the rest of the world seeks to emulate, and we must build on these triumphs. We excel internationally in our ability to foster creativity and innovation. These skills fuel a lifetime of success, especially in an evolving global economy. Ohio schools produced the minds that created Superman, with his fictional X-Ray vision, and the mind that invented the MRI, giving doctors the very real ability to painlessly view inside the human body. Ohioans are visionaries, but practical as well. It wasn’t long after a pair of Ohioans invented the airplane that another Ohioan invented the parachute. Our schools must teach students to think past the limits of what’s been done, and imagine what could be done. Fourth, our best teachers can show us what works best in the classroom. We need to consult them and follow their lead. Great teachers can be a resource not only for their students but for their fellow educators. We should support these teachers by giving them the freedom to stay in the classroom and still be rewarded for sharing their expertise with their peers. We lose a lot of new teachers - as many as half of all new teachers leave the profession in the first 5 years - but we can help keep these talented people by giving them better access to senior colleagues. Fifth, we must strive to develop a specific, personalized education program that identifies how each individual student learns and use the teaching methods appropriate to that student’s needs and abilities. The great educator and philosopher John Dewey described this idea many years ago. He wrote that we must shift “the center of gravity” in schools. It’s a “revolution, not unlike that introduced by Copernicus when the astronomical center shifted from the Earth to the sun. In this case, the child becomes the sun around which the appliances of education revolve.” And sixth, testing and assessment will continue to answer accountability questions. But their most important role will be to guide personalized and individualized education through a comprehensive and ongoing understanding of a student’s capabilities and weaknesses and growth in the educational process. I will be guided by these principles as I draft my plan not only for funding, but also for reforming our schools. I will follow these principles in pursuit of a clear standard: schools that rank among the best in the world and meet the needs of every Ohio child.
The full text of the entire speech can be found here.
(image credit: The Ohio Channel)
Permalink | Comments (8) | Categories: Schools and Politics
Comments
By Teacher
February 7, 2008 4:15 PM | Link to this
The ODE is incompetent. They have screwed up every single application for licensure that I’ve ever submitted. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing and the information they provide is usually flat out wrong. These mistakes can cost decent men and women their jobs! Good riddance to a bloated and mismanaged bureaucracy.By Scott Elliott
February 7, 2008 2:51 PM | Link to this
Cathy, the big education plan Strickland promised to deliver is supposed to address funding too.By Skeptic
February 7, 2008 11:13 AM | Link to this
It’s about time! I was starting to think the Governor was dropping the ball on his campaign promises. I hope this new vision moves forward and breeds success for our schools. Kudos to him. Reform is way overdue. As a side note, I enjoyed the the Superman/MRI analogy!By Cathy
February 7, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this
I’m glad he is talking about improving education. But we really need to look at funding the K - 12 schools first. Ohio is almost the worst State for funding! The State’s system has been found unfair several times and been told to fix it. When will that happen?By Jonah
February 7, 2008 9:13 AM | Link to this
I sure hope the proposed new organization would be tasked with developing a funding scheme that works (and doesn’t just count on selling more lottery tickets or raising property taxes!). And what about a plan to get the parents more involved and hold them, in addition to the teachers, accountable for their kids education?By School Supporter
February 7, 2008 5:22 AM | Link to this
“The director and I will take all the best ideas and evidence available from those that care about education in Ohio” … “The great educator and philosopher John Dewey…” Not the first person that comes to mind when crafting a “thorough and efficient system” of public schools. Has the governor given up on improving high schools?By Oldprof
February 6, 2008 10:49 PM | Link to this
I’m favorably impressed by Strickland’s taking the reins of higher ed. and imposing some authority for a change. I say, bring on his changes at OBE, you can’t get much worse than you’ve got now, and if the new director is of the quality of Eric Fingerhut, Ohio might have a bright future.By Mary
February 6, 2008 7:27 PM | Link to this
Wow! Wow, and wow again. It sounds as if we finally have some visionary and determined leadership on education issues.. These words give me some hope that something might actually be done to change and improve our edcucation system. If I had a bottle of champagne, I would open it.