Persuading the Alphabet Organizations
I had a great meeting and discussion last week with Senator Romanchuk’s team and the Legislative Liaison at the Ohio Department of Education as we talked about the next steps for the Math Reform Initiative.
One of the most interesting points of our discussion was when we talked about which organizations we would have to persuade in order to get this proposal approved.
Based on my conversations with regular people across the state, it seems like the everyday person is in favor of the proposal, which means that the key to getting this over the line is knowing who has the real power to make this initiative a reality.
What follows is a short list of the key organizations that we need to persuade to achieve this. We jokingly called these The Alphabet Organizations because of all the acronyms that they use.
Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT)
The Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) is essentially the teachers’ union of Ohio. According to the website, it is “a union of professionals representing 20,000 members in 55 locals” across Ohio. This includes public school educators and support staff, higher education faculty and support staff, and public employees.
Like any union, OFT focuses on issues at the statewide level that affects its members including, but not limited to, political advocacy, public policy, education-specific policy, and more. They advocate for “sound, commonsense public education policies, including high academic and conduct standards for students and greater professionalism for teachers and school staff.”
It should be pretty obvious why the OFT is a key player when it comes to the Math Reform Initiative and, frankly, any education-related legislation. Any proposal that changes the curriculum, affects teachers’ jobs, or changes the day-to-day life of Ohio’s teachers will immediately be on their radar.
It’s naive to think that this proposal won’t do any of these things, if passed. Most importantly, it will directly affect teachers’ jobs. Will schools have to hire more teachers for the mental health, life skills, entrepreneurship, and media literacy classes? What about the math teachers, will they lose their jobs and/or be shifted to other jobs?
Ohio Education Association (OEA)
The Ohio Education Association (OEA) is an organization that represents more than 121,000 teachers, faculty members, and support professionals from Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities. The OEA also provides members with professional education services.
Given that both organizations represent teachers, they’ll have a big say in anything that will change the curriculum or affect teachers’ jobs.
Buckeye Association of School Administrators — Ohio’s Superintendents Association (BASA)
The Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) is a private, not-for-profit organization that represents school superintendents and other administrators in Ohio. Based on my understanding, superintendents are the highest ranking members of a given school district so anything that affects their schools will definitely grab their attention.
Board of Education (BoE)
The Board of Education (BoE) is responsible for many things, but its key responsibilities are to create educational goals and standards, approve curricula, and implement standardized tests required by state and federal law. The BoE is composed of education experts across the state, so any legislation that has their blessing has a significantly greater chance of passing than proposals that don’t.
Note: I’m aware that SB 1 of the 135th General Assembly will, if passed, essentially remove all significant tasks and responsibilities of the BoE.
Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM)
Since the Math Reform Initiative aims to cut the required math credits in half, and the vision of the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM) is “a world where everyone is enthused about mathematics, sees the value and beauty of mathematics, and is empowered by the opportunities mathematics affords”, there’s a good chance that OCTM won’t be in favor of this proposal.
You might even argue that they’re the most important organization that needs to be persuaded.
State Legislators
At the end of the day, Ohio’s Senators and House of Representatives are the ones with the final word on whether a bill passes or not. An important point, however, is that legislators represent their constituents and (in a perfect world) look to experts to consult them on the merits of a particular bill. If, for example, many teachers and other constituents in their district protest against a bill, then they’re pressed to vote against it.
Honorable Mention — Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA)
In my previous article, I touched on how this initiative might worry some people who want to see more, not less, STEM-related content in our high school curriculum. One of these people — or rather, the organization that represents them — could be the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA).
For example, with the production of electric vehicles growing every year, OMA has a huge demand for highly-skilled labor in order to fill STEM-related jobs. Also think of chip manufacturers and other such high-tech manufacturing jobs. If they can’t get a skilled labor force, the survival of their businesses is at risk.
They’re already struggling to fill job positions in their companies so they’re probably (understandably) worried that if fewer kids are exposed to math, they might be less interested in pursuing careers in these fields.
How can I support this movement?
As you can see, there’s a lot of work to do to move this initiative forward. And I can’t do it alone.
If you want to support the Math Reform Initiative, please write to your Senators, House Representatives, and Ohio Board of Education President. I made a few sample letters that you can use, just check out this link to find all that and more.
I’m the author of the books “You Say Soccer, I Say Football” and “Community Heroes: What a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA member taught me about community development”
