Empowered to Make a Difference
Ohio’s teachers want to be empowered to challenge and motivate their students. For years, teachers were asked to cover miles of concepts but had no time or freedom to teach in depth. Ohio’s Learning Standards focus on fewer topics, giving teachers the flexibility to ensure ALL students fully grasp the materials and to challenge advanced students.
The Common Core provides teachers with the open framework required to teach to the individual needs of our children. This is especially important in light of this research.
We also hear from teachers that they want to be creative, not teach to a test. Because Ohio is using the Common Core State Standards shared across many states, teachers can collaborate and innovate–developing creative ways to make sure real learning is taking place in their classrooms.
Principals are telling us that they are able to focus more on supporting teachers—so that in-classroom time is meeting the needs of all students. And in the process, teachers grow as professionals by learning new methods, working collaboratively, and seeing their students succeed.
Shared Support
Many are not aware of the bipartisan nature of Common Core support. A news story by Lyndsey Layton in The Washington Post (Leaders of teachers union, business group join to support Common Core standards, Dec. 18, 2013) described collaboration between education and business leaders on this front as follows:
The head of the country’s second-largest teachers union and a business leader who tried to weaken unions as a onetime governor of Michigan have made a joint plea to the nation’s governors to stand by the controversial Common Core academic standards.
Read the letter from the Business Roundtable’s John Engler and American Federation of Teachers’ Randi Weingarten here.
Teacher Supports
We are committed to supporting educators for a smooth transition to Ohio’s Learning Standards. As part of the process, we are currently collecting resources to help teachers prepare for the standards and will post them here during the coming weeks. We also want this page to help teachers connect with other teachers from across the state. If you are a teacher, please share your suggestions for what would be helpful to you and your colleagues.
Draft Overview of Ohio’s State Plan
The Ohio Department of Education has released the draft overview of Ohio’s State Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act. Your voice is important–go here to review the plan and submit your feedback.
To Share with Parents
Parent Guides to Student Success for English Language Arts and mathematics were co-developed by the National and Ohio PTAs with input from The Ohio Standard. Each guide offers parents an example of the new standards and the knowledge and skills children will gain by grade level, as well as activities they can do to reinforce learning at home.