1) 127th General Assembly: The Ohio House and Senate are not
scheduled to hold sessions until October 2007. Some House and Senate
committees are meeting this week, but the House and Senate Education
Committees are not meeting.
2) 110th Congress:
*Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. continue to work on the
reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program
known as SCHIP, which, without an extension, will expire on September
30, 2007. This program was created ten years ago as a state and
federal partnership to provide health care for children from
low-income families who do not qualify for Medicaid. Approximately
6.6 million children have been covered.
The U.S. House and Senate approved different versions of SCHIP bills
in August 2007, and are working on compromise legislation that would
expand the program to include four million more children. A vote on
a compromise bill may come this week. However, the Bush
administration issued in August new eligibility guidelines that limit
who the program can serve, and President Bush has indicated that he
would veto a costly expansion of the program, especially if it
intrudes into private health care plans. For information about the
proposed legislation please visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's web
site.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=47541
*Congress has approved one (Homeland Security) out of twelve FY08
appropriations bills that fund the federal government. As the
September 30, 2007 end of the fiscal year approaches, lawmakers are
considering approving temporary extensions of current FY07 spending
levels so that the government can keep operating while compromise
legislation is worked out. The U.S. House has approved all of the
FY08 appropriations, but the Senate has approved only four so far.
The approved House and Senate versions increase discretionary
spending, which President Bush has threatened to veto. It may not be
until December when all of the appropriations bills are finally
approved and signed into law. For information about the
appropriations bills visit
http://www.earmarks.omb.gov/by-tracking/summary.html and
http://www.ombwatch.org/article/archive/86, and
http://www.senate.gov/reference/Legislation/Appropriations/2008.htm.
3) Policy Matters Ohio Report: Policy Matters Ohio, Amy Hanauer
president, released a report on September 9, 2007 called "The State
of Working Ohio". Over the past 18 years Ohio's workers have
experienced "...staggering increases in inequity; low job growth;
rising productivity, hours and education; slight wage increases;
modest progress on disparities; and slight unemployment declines."
For example, households in the bottom 60 percent income level
experienced few real income gains, while those in the 95th to 99th
percentile experienced income gains of nearly 24 percent ($40,000).
Households in the top one percent income level experienced more than
40 percent increase, from $698,000 in 1988 to $986,000 in 2006,
earning over 26 times what middle-income households earned in 2006.
There has also been a 21 percent loss in manufacturing jobs since
2001 and a 2.8 percent decrease in available jobs over the past six
years. The report includes the following recommendations that have
helped other states become more competitive:
-Invest in the future by enacting a renewable portfolio standard and
putting in place universal pre-kindergarten and statewide all-day
kindergarten.
-Create more opportunity by targeting economic development dollars
wisely and getting a handle on development spending through a unified
development budget.
-Construct on-ramps to the middle class by working with neighboring
states to establish universal health care and giving all workers in
Ohio the ability to earn paid sick days.
-Build and protect people's assets by blocking exploitative payday
lending; restoring the non-economic damages provisions in the
consumer sales practices act; and enacting a state Earned Income Tax
Credit.
-Retain strong public structures by restoring the income tax cuts for
Ohio's most affluent taxpayers and keeping public services public.
The report is available at http://www.policymattersohio.org/sowo_07.htm.
4) News from the ODE:
*The Ohio Department of Education urges teachers to register online
at toolsforteachers@ode.state.oh.us. to receive "Tools for Teachers".
This is an electronic mailing list that provides announcements and
information on licensure, awards, recognition programs, scholarships,
professional development, study opportunities, and classroom tools
such as model lesson plans aligned to the academic content standards.
*The Ohio Department of Education in collaboration with the Educator
Standards Board and the State Board of Education has produced
"Standards for Ohio Educators". This book includes background
information about the development of the educator standards, and
sections on the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession, Ohio
Standards for Principals, Ohio Standards for Professional
Development, and tools for individual educators to become aware of
how the standards can enhance their professional practice. For more
information please visit the ODE web site on Ohio's Educator
Standards at
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?
Page=3&TopicRelationID=513&ContentID=8561&Content=36775
5) Upcoming Events and Conferences:
*October is National Arts and Humanities Month 2007: Americans for
the Arts is once again coordinating activities for October's National
Arts and Humanities Month. This is the largest nationwide
celebration of the arts and humanities in America. To learn more
about events and how to become involved, please visit
http://www.americansforthearts.org/get_involved/visibility/visibility_002.asp
The fourth season of Art21 (Art in the 21st Century) premieres on PBS
October 28, 2007. A sneak preview is available at
http://www.pbs.org/art21/ The showing of the work of featured artist
An-My Le called "Small Wars" will be held at the Contemporary Arts
Center, Cincinnati, OH on May 23 through August 10, 2008.
*Value Added Conference: Battelle for Kids is sponsoring the
National Value-Added Conference "The Power of Two: Progress and
Achievement" October 14-16, 2007, at the Greater Columbus Convention
Center. The conference will provide information about value-added
analysis and how this data can be used to improve teaching and
learning. For more information visit
http://www.battelleforkids.org/home/Events/Value_add2007.
*October 19, 2007 Organize! Ohio Statewide Gathering: On October 19,
2007 Organize! Ohio will sponsor a statewide gathering in Columbus,
Ohio. Organize! Ohio is a statewide organization working to advance
and encourage community organizing as a strategy for progressive
change in Ohio. The event will be held at Broad Street Presbyterian
Church at 760 East Broad Street from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and focus
on issues and priorities in education, health care, human services,
housing, consumer protection, social justice, and more. For
information please visit http://www.organizeohio.org/
*The Ohio Art Education Association will hold its annual convention
on November 1-3, 2007 in Dayton, at the Crowne Plaza Dayton, OH.
This year's conference theme is "Art Speaks, from the Past, to the
Present, for the Future." For more information please visit
http://www.oaea.org/convention.html.
*NAEP Arts Assessment: The National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) will conduct a national assessment of selected
eighth-grade students in music or visual arts January 28 through
March 7, 2008. The last assessment of student achievement in the
arts was conducted ten years ago. For more information please visit
the NAEP home page at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
6) PTA Start the Art Week: The National PTA is sponsoring a campaign
to advocate for arts education in schools called "Start the Art" -
Embrace the Arts! Celebrate the Arts! Advocate for the Arts!" The
PTA is urging students, parents, educators, and community members on
October 8-12, 2007 to take part in a weeklong celebration of the
arts. Information and ideas for each day of the week can be found on
the
http://www.pta.org/local_leadership_subprogram_1181754612156.html>PTA
Web site.
The importance and value of arts education in our public schools is
also featured in the recent issue of PTA's bimonthly publication
called "Our Children". Articles from this magazine are available at
http://www.pta.org/pr_magazine_issue_details_1187298849687.html.
Listed below are some of the ways suggested by the National PTA to
bring parents into schools through the arts:
-Showcase students' talents in performances and art exhibitions. Post
fliers and send e-mails, invitations, and letters inviting families
to attend.
-Work with the school's art teacher to display student artwork
throughout the school (in halls, offices, classrooms, etc.); then
invite parents to tour the school and see the artwork. Ask teachers
to talk to the visiting parents about how the art projects tie in
with the children's learning in other subjects.
-Tap into the power of parents. Ask parents to serve as volunteers on
PTA Start the Art Week committees and in arts classes.
-Organize productions and publications (plays, musicals, literary
magazines, etc.) that employ the talents of both students and parents.
-Set up a volunteer-run arts resource center to provide families with
information on available arts programs, volunteer opportunities in
the arts, and arts advocacy efforts.
-The arts also offer opportunities to promote the value of all
cultures in the school. Organize folklife and folk arts activities
that allow students and families to share their cultures.
-Host a schoolwide international night. Set up booths for families to
display artifacts, pictures, and books from and about their native
countries. Also incorporate families' native foods, dance, music, and
dress into the evening.
-Create a mural to celebrate your school's diversity. Provide the
paints and banner paper, and invite all students and families to
illustrate some aspect of their heritage for the mural.
-Translate invitations and informational materials into parents'
primary languages.
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