OHIO EDUCATION NEWS
January 2006
IN THIS ISSUE:
FAIRBORN EDUCATOR NAMED 2006 OHIO TEACHER OF THE YEAR
 
High school social studies teacher Eric Combs has been named the 2006 Ohio Teacher of the Year by the Ohio Department of Education. The announcement was made today at a surprise school assembly in front of nearly 900 students and school faculty.
 
Susan Tave Zelman, superintendent of public instruction, praised Combs for his outstanding work in the classroom.  "The most important factor in student achievement is the quality of the teacher in the classroom," Zelman said. "Eric's passion for the classroom and devotion to his students is setting the standard for teaching at Fairborn High School and throughout the state."
 
Combs has taught at Fairborn High School for three years. He began a "school within a school" initiative called the Delta Team, which focuses on the school's most at-risk students.  "When a student knows that you set high standards, and when they know you care about them, I have found them to be magnificent achievers," Combs said.
 
Combs brings to the classroom twenty years of experience in the United States Air Force (USAF) Security Forces, where he trained with some of the world's most elite soldiers and lived in communities throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Following his service in the USAF, Combs entered the teaching profession through the Ohio Troops to Teacher program and the Expanding the Pool of Qualified Teachers grant, where he was able to bring his subject area to life with experiences from his past.
 
Before becoming a World History teacher, Combs began at Fairborn High School as an instructor for the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC), where he taught American History, Military History, Customs and Courtesies, Outdoor Education and Orienteering/Land Navigation.
 
In addition to being named Ohio's 2006 Teacher of the Year, his dedication to the teaching profession was recognized last year when he was named Fairborn High School's 2004-2005 Teacher of the Year. He also has been named as a "Who's Who Among American Teachers" for the past three years.
 
Combs is continually learning outside of the classroom to improve his instruction. He received his master's degree in Education in 2005 from the University of Dayton and is currently attending Antioch University to complete a second master's degree in Educational Leadership. 
 
The review panel chose four finalists and personally interviewed each of them. The three other finalists for the 2006 Ohio Teacher of the Year were:
Eric Combs will succeed Deepa Ganschinietz, a fourth-grade teacher at Olde Orchard Elementary School, Columbus City Schools, who served as the 2005 Ohio Teacher of the Year.
 
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OEA TEACHER CONCENSUS ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM: OHIO LEGISLATORS AND SCHOOL POLICIES PERFORMING POORLY

Nearly 4,000 members of the Ohio Education Association responded in a member survey in a striking consensus that new educational policies in the Buckeye State have done more harm than good, while Ohio political leaders have continued to neglect severe funding problems of Ohio public schools. OEA members across the political spectrum—conservatives, liberals, Democrats, Republicans and independents—said they aren't optimistic that anyone is taking action to solve Ohio's school funding problems.

"This is a striking consensus across the political and ideological landscape. It reveals that teachers on the front lines feel ignored on many issues directly affecting the success of their students," said OEA President Gary L. Allen. "Our teachers told us that new federal and state education initiatives—like No Child Left Behind, tuition vouchers and some aspects of high-stakes testing—may well have done more harm than good. We need to listen to their real-world experience."
 
Allen discussed the highlights of the Member Survey:
  • Only 5% of respondents feel Ohio's school funding system gives every school district equal resources for a quality education for all students.
  • Eighty-seven percent indicated Ohio's system of funding education is fundamentally flawed.
  • Two-thirds feel that their school districts are under-funded, and 93% feel that Ohio schools overall are under-funded.
  • Eighty-nine percent feel the state legislature has failed to solve the state's education funding crisis.
  • Eighty-eight percent feel that the state legislature deserves a D or an F for its support of a quality education for every Ohio student. (56% give the legislature an F.) The grades were consistent across all political outlooks.
  • Between 85% and 95% of those surveyed feel initiatives like No Child Left Behind, tuition vouchers, and some aspects of high-stakes testing have done more harm than good.
  • An overwhelming majority rejected the use of taxpayer funds for privately run charter schools, as well as charter claims of academic performance. 
To see the full report, click here.

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OHIO BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS
 
Sixteen Ohio schools (14 public, 2 nonpublic) were designated 2005 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education. A certificate of commendation will be presented to representatives from each of the following honored schools:
The No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools program recognizes schools that make significant progress in closing achievement gaps or whose students achieve at very high levels.

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STUDY SHOWS EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT GENDER GAP GROWING—BOYS FALLING BEHIND
   
The large academic achievement gap between males and females is growing significantly decreased, according to a new study by the U.S. Department of Education.
 
In elementary school, female fourth-graders outperformed their male peers in reading (2003) and writing (2002) assessments. Gender differences in mathematics achievement have been small and fluctuated slightly between 1990 and 2003. At the secondary school level, the gap in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading achievement grew from ten points in 1992 to 16 points in 2002, with males performing lower than females. Females entering college baccalaureate programs were more likely than their male counterparts to graduate within six years. In 2001, the overall participation rate of females in adult education was higher than that of their male peers (53 percent vs. 46 percent).  Other findings are that:
"It is clear that girls are taking education very seriously and that they have made tremendous strides," said U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. "The issue now is that boys seem to be falling behind. We need to spend some time researching the problem so that we can give boys the support to succeed academically."
   
To download or view the report, please click here.
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ACCESS THE EDUCATION COUNTS DATABASE TO BUILD CUSTOM TABLES, CHARTS, AND MAPS USING "QUALITY COUNTS 2006" DATA
   
For the 10th edition of "Quality Counts," the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey, conducted a series of special analyses of NAEP scores between 1992 and 2005. The analyses highlight how each state's improvement over the past decade compares with the performance of the nation as a whole. The report also takes a much closer look than previous studies have at which states have most significantly progressed in closing achievement gaps between black and white, Hispanic and white, and poor and non-poor students. The results in mathematics are particularly encouraging. Nationally, NAEP scores in 4th-grade math have increased by 18.5 points on a 500-point scale, or nearly two grade levels, since 1992, near the start of the standards movement. Grade 8 math performance improved by 10.7 points.
 
"Quality Counts" is available free of charge for a limited time. A paid subscription will be required to view the entire report online after February 4. The online version of "Quality Counts 2006" provides features to help users navigate the report's rich content and find the data they need quickly and easily. Each feature story includes links to key sources and organizations. In addition, users can quickly access each state's policy report card using an interactive state map. A special data-analysis feature enables users to review all indicators for a single state or compare results across two or more states. Fifty-state data tables are downloadable in PDF and Excel formats.
 
"Quality Counts 2006" is located by clicking here.

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FREE STUDENT WORKBOOKS AVAILABLE FOR PREVIEW (Advertisement)
 
Queue, Inc. offers previews of its Ohio test preparation workbooks to public schools.  Queue publishes test prep books in Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, and Composition for Grades 3-high school, as well as Practice Tests in Math.
 
Queue also offers Math and Reading workbooks for grades 1 and 2, and publishes a wide variety of other workbooks in Literature, Science, History, Government, Health, and ESL.  Samples of student workbooks are available for preview.
 
For further information and to order free previews, click here to visit our Ohio Workbooks webpage.

or call: 800-232-2224
 
or fax: 800-775-2729
 
or e-mail: jdk@queueinc.com
 
or write: Queue, Inc., 1 Controls Dr., Shelton, CT 06484
 
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Queue Inc.
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(800) 232-2224
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