September 15, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Neil Bhaerman, 412-266-4899, nbhaerman@oft-aft.org
School Report Cards Demonstrate Need for Whole Child Approach
COLUMBUS — OFT President Melissa Cropper released the following statement on the Ohio Department of Education’s 2022 Report Cards:
“These report cards demonstrate something that teachers and school staff have observed: our students need more support to fully bounce back from the pandemic and remote learning disruptions in the last few years. While we believe the report cards could be more useful if they were less dependent on standardized test scores, they are helpful in determining where there are gaps that need to be addressed.
The results however are not indicative of the hard work that is happening every day in Ohio’s public schools by dedicated teachers, counselors, paraprofessionals, and other educators.
In order to address academic challenges, schools must be ready and equipped to help students deal with trauma and a deficit in social emotional learning. As we’ve seen in some school districts in Ohio and across the country, one way to achieve this is by turning schools into Community Learning Centers, which bring community resources and supports into school settings.
Investing in Community Learning Centers can have a multiplying effect on school resources, because they can be leveraged to bring other sources of funding and resources into the school. We urge school districts to explore this model of education, and we urge our state legislators to fully fund the Fair School Funding Plan, so that districts can be proactive about meeting the challenges our students face.”
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The Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) is composed of 54 local unions representing 20,000 members who are active and retired public school teachers, charter school teachers, school support staff, higher education faculty and staff, and public employees. OFT works to advance quality education and a voice in the workplace for Ohio’s education professionals. OFT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers.