[OPLINLIST] Provide Feedback On Draft of Ohio Department of Education’s New Strategic Plan

Mon Apr 9 14:14:41 EDT 2018

Please excuse multiple postings…

Dear Colleagues,

This is a request for members of the library community to provide feedback to the draft of the Ohio Department of Education’s new strategic plan and to assist the ODE in developing a truly comprehensive plan by acknowledging the important role libraries of all types play in supporting education and preparing Ohio’s students for an exciting future.  The Ohio Department of Education is currently accepting feedback on EachChild=Our Future<http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/About/Ohios-Strategic-Plan-for-Education/DRAFT-EachChild-Full-Strategic-Plan-Report.pdf.aspx?lang=en-UShttp://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/About/Ohios-Strategic-Plan-for-Education/DRAFT-EachChild-Full-Strategic-Plan-Report.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US> via survey<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OHFeedbackEachChildOurFuture>, which closes on April 13, 2018.

To assist you, here is a brief background on the draft ODE strategic plan.  The Ohio Department of Education has released a draft of a new strategic plan intended to guide the state’s Pre K-12 Education through 2024. EachChild=Our Future<http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/About/Ohios-Strategic-Plan-for-Education/DRAFT-EachChild-Full-Strategic-Plan-Report.pdf.aspx?lang=en-UShttp://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/About/Ohios-Strategic-Plan-for-Education/DRAFT-EachChild-Full-Strategic-Plan-Report.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US> represents six months of effort from the State Board of Education of Ohio, educators, and representatives of various segments of Ohio’s population.

The plan was developed by stakeholders and partners working in the following five workgroups:

  *   Early Learning and Literacy
  *   Standards, Assessment, and Accountability
  *   Student Supports, School Climate, and Culture
  *   High School Success and Postsecondary Connections
  *   Excellent Educators and Instructional Strategies

Each workgroup identified strategies for operationalizing the Four Learning Domains outlined in the plan and achieving the goal of enabling each child to reach his or her full potential.

As librarians, we are keenly aware of the important roles librarians and libraries of all types play in supporting education, not only in Ohio, but around the world. Ohio Ready to Read<https://www.ohreadytoread.org/>, a joint initiative of the Ohio Library Council and the State Library of Ohio, works to educate Ohio’s families on the importance of early childhood literacy through resources and activities available in Ohio’s public libraries. Ohio Ready to Read now includes Digital Media Literacy Training to support the role children’s librarians perform as media mentors in their communities. Ohio Ready to Read and Ohio’s public libraries provide strong support for early childhood learning and literacy, through many robust programs and resources targeted to young children and their parents/caregivers. Yet, none of this work is mentioned in the draft document from ODE.

One of the attributes the plan lists for a successful high school graduate is Gathering information and discerning that information—The high school graduate will be intentional about receiving information from multiple, reliable sources and making sense of that information. However, the document fails to acknowledge the critical role well-qualified school librarians play in teaching students to locate, evaluate, and use reliable information. There is an extensive body of research confirming the positive educational impact school librarians make on student success, including this report<http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/press-release/new-research-report-scholastic-confirms-importance-school-libraries-and-librarians> by Scholastic, which was presented at the American Association of School Librarians’ 17th National Conference in Columbus, Ohio in November 2015 and this report<http://www.kappanonline.org/lance-kachel-school-librarians-matter-years-research/> in Phi Delta Kappan, published April 2018.  John Schumacher, Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic, said, “The modern school librarian plays many roles within a school and is an invaluable resource for literacy instruction, the integration of technology, and so much more.”

Again, the Ohio Department of Education is currently accepting feedback on EachChild=Our Future<http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/About/Ohios-Strategic-Plan-for-Education/DRAFT-EachChild-Full-Strategic-Plan-Report.pdf.aspx?lang=en-UShttp://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/About/Ohios-Strategic-Plan-for-Education/DRAFT-EachChild-Full-Strategic-Plan-Report.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US> via survey<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OHFeedbackEachChildOurFuture>, which closes on April 13, 2018.   Please bear in mind that the document does not represent proposed legislation, but is instead a policy or plan drafted by a state agency to guide PreK-12 education for the next few years.  Please assist the ODE in developing a comprehensive plan by completing the survey and providing information about the important role libraries of all types play in supporting education and preparing Ohio’s students for an exciting future.

Sincerely,

Beverly L. Cain                      Nick Tepe                                                       Debra K. Logan
State Librarian                       Chair, Ohio Library Council Board             President, OELMA
[cid:image007.jpg at 01D3D00D.18288FA0]                  [cid:image008.png at 01D3D00D.18288FA0]                                            [cid:image009.png at 01D3D00D.18288FA0]

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Marsha McDevitt-Stredney, Ph.D.
Public Information Officer
Director, Marketing & Communications
274 E. 1st Avenue
Columbus, OH 43201
Tel: 614-644-6875
Fax: 614-466-3584
library.ohio.gov<http://library.ohio.gov/>

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