Public Education Matters Ohio Education Association

Our brains crave powerful narratives. Stories help us interpret new information and shape our understanding of the world. They can also motivate us into action. That's what makes storytelling such a powerful tool for organizing within a union. In this episode, Dr. Kevin Cordi and Katie Fuller continue to share their insights and their own stories to explain. Plus, we hear from the OEA endorsed STRS candidate Sandy Smith Fischer, who shares her story about what led her to run to represent active teachers on the State Teachers Retirment System board and how those experiences will shape her work, if elected.
STRS VOTING DEADLINE: May 6, 2024, by 4:30 p.m. | If you are an active teacher who did not receive a ballot in the mail, or if you've lost your ballot, contact the Election Services help desk at STRSOHHelp@electionservicescorp.com or 866-276-1506.
SUBSCRIBE | Click here to subscribe to Public Education Matters on Apple Podcasts or click here to subscribe on Google podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And don't forget you can listen to all of the previous episodes anytime on your favorite podcast platform, or by clicking here.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OEA ENDORSED STRS CANDIDATE | Click here for more information on why Sandy Smith Fischer is running to represent active teachers on the State Teachers Retirment Board and her priorities to best serve the state's teachers in that position. 
Featured Public Education Matters guests: 
Katie Fuller, Huber Heights Education Association memberMs. Katie Fuller is a 5th Social Studies Teacher at Rushmore Elementary School in the Huber Heights City Schools District. Prior to this position, she had 7 years as a Positive Behavior Expert (PSC) Coach and Educational Consultant for grades K - 12 in the Dayton Public Schools District. In PBIS, her professional focus was education reform, the scaling up of evidence-based practices, cultural proficiency and organizational systems change.Ms. Fuller is from Dayton, Ohio and has four children and a dog named Hafe’.  She is in-tune with the community, performing organizing work as one of Ohio's New Educator Member Ambassadors (ONE).  She has a profound love and passion for teaching, reaching, and inspiring people to action.Ms. Fuller is a professional motivational speaker and workshop presenter and uses her powerful voice and international speaking platform to tell her life story and her “Why”.  She strives to share with people what drives education and social activism.  She encouraged her audience to find YOUR voice and tell YOUR story!!! Dr. Kevin Cordi, Associate Professor, Ohio University LancasterDr. Kevin Cordi is an Associate Professor of Education, Literacy, and Storytelling at Ohio University Lancaster where he has the honor of serving as the Middle Childhood Coordinator and the Advisor for the Aspiring Educators OEA Chapter.  According to the National Storytelling Network, he was “the first full time ;high school storytelling teacher in the country.”    He holds a Doctorate in Storytelling and Education from The Ohio State University.  He is an internationally known professional storytelling and presenter.  He has presented and performed in over 44 states, England, Japan,  Singapore, Scotland, and Qatar.  He has written book on storytelling, most recently, You don’t know Jack: A Storyteller Goes to School by the University of Mississippi Press.  Although he has studied storytelling as a discipline, he learned the art from listening to his mother tell West Virginia stories  to him and his five brothers and sisters.   He believes that story is the way we think and we can significantly change the way students learn in a positive way by including stories and storytelling in the curriculum.   You can find out more about him and his work at www.kevincordi.com Sandy Smith Fischer, Streetsboro Education Association member and OEA-endorsed STRS candidate.A highly experienced Intervention Specialist with over 23 years of

Just about every educator has no doubt worked with "that kid." It's the student who can't sit still, who can't just focus, who seems to lash out when faced with even a minor perceived slight. Lindsay Rice was "that kid" and she knows all too well how challenging, and even sometimes traumatic, school can be for other "that kids" like her. But now, as a third grade teacher, Rice is working to share her experiences and perspectives to help other educators better support neurodiverse learners in their classes and to help bring other neurodiverse educators into the education profession.  We also hear from an Aspiring Educator who is passionate about what she's learned about the importance of play-based, strengths-based early childhood education programs. With engaging conversations and practical insights, this episode offers valuable perspectives for educators seeking to create inclusive and effective learning environments.
SUBSCRIBE | Click here to subscribe to Public Education Matters on Apple Podcasts or click here to subscribe on Google podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And don't forget you can listen to all of the previous episodes anytime on your favorite podcast platform, or by clicking here.
Featured Public Education Matters guests: 
Lindsay Rice, Columbus Education Association memberLindsay has a Bachelor's degree in Speech and Hearing Science and a Master's degree in Childhood Education from SUNY Cortland. Over 11 years, she has demonstrated exceptional growth in high-poverty schools. A devoted member of ATE and NEA, she has presented for prominent organizations and authored impactful blogs for Better Lessons. Her leadership shines through the completion of NEA's Teacher Leadership Institute and ATE's Leadership Program. Lindsay served as an observer at the National Education Summit. Her unique perspective as a person with ADHD enriches her advocacy for neurodiversity. Her scholars consistently outperform predictions by 30 to 40 percentile points. She has also crafted curriculum materials and contributed to publications on trauma-informed practices. She is currently working on a book entitled When "That Kid" Becomes the Teacher. Brittney McCarey, Aspiring Educator - Grand Canyon University After several years of experience in customer service roles and as a stay-at-home mom, Brittney McCarey decided to pursue a bachelor's degree in early childhood education at Grand Canyon University. She expects to graduate in 2026 and is seeking job opportunities in early childhood education, hoping to gain valuable experience and contribute her skills to a team. She is currently focusing on career development goals including participating in leadership conferences and networking opportunities, including those that brought her to OEA's Aspiring Educators division initially. She is also working to further self-care goals, including setting clear boundaries, identifying core values, and engaging in activities that promote relation and well-being.
Connect with OEA:
Email educationmatters@ohea.org with your feedback or ideas for future Public Education Matters topicsLike OEA on FacebookFollow OEA on TwitterFollow OEA on InstagramGet the latest news and statements from OEA hereLearn more about where OEA stands on the issues Keep up to date on the legislation affecting Ohio public schools and educators with OEA's Legislative WatchAbout us:
The Ohio Education Association represents about 120,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children. OEA members provide professional services to benefit students, schools, and the public in virtually every position needed to run Ohio’s schools.Public Education Matters host Katie Olmsted serves as Media Relations Consultant for the Ohio Education Association. She joined OEA in May 2020, after a ten-year career as an Emmy Award winning television reporter, anchor, a

From its humble beginnings in a closet at an OEA Representative Assembly to its evolution into an important resource for all educators across Ohio, there's a lot you probably don't know about the Ohio Association of Special Needs Professionals, or OASNP. In this episode, OASNP leaders Jené Wilson and Nikki Nadasky offer five surprising facts about the organization within OEA. We also hear from Medina City Teachers Association President David Hamman about how that local was empowered to take the lead in its own professional development, and why this PD Day was such a success for the MCTA's 470 members.
GET INVOLVED WITH OASNP | The Ohio Association of Special Needs Professionals is holding its annual conference April 26-27, 2024, at the Salt Fork Lodge and Conference Center. Click here to register. And, to learn more about the benefits of OASNP membership and to join OASNP by adding just $10 to your dues annually, click here. SEE THE PHOTOS FROM MCTA'S PD DAY | If you'd like to see some of the highlights from the Medina City Teachers Association's recent Professional Development Day, please click here to see MCTA's Facebook post.
SUBSCRIBE | Click here to subscribe to Public Education Matters on Apple Podcasts or click here to subscribe on Google podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And don't forget you can listen to all of the previous episodes anytime on your favorite podcast platform, or by clicking here.
Featured Public Education Matters guests: 
Nikki Nadasky, OASNP Acting ChairpersonNikki Nadasky has been a Service and Support Administrator for the Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities for 14 years, as well as Portage County Education Association for Developmental Disabilities union president and acting Chair of OASNP. Prior to acting chair, Nadasky was vice chair and also was the group's secretary. She has worked for 23 years in total serving those with developmental disabilities and has met many wonderful people, for whom she has so much respect.  They have shown Nadasky to live life with perseverance.Jené Wilson, OASNP Immediate Past Chair and Business Manager Jené Wilson was with the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities for 36 years, teaching pre-school and school-age students, and the last ten years as a Behavior Intervention Specialist. She has been actively involved in all levels of Association work since 1974 when her local, the Association of Cuyahoga County Employees for Special Students (ACCESS), went on strike just a few months after she was hired. Since retiring in 2009, she taught at Notre Dame College for nine years and is currently supervising student teachers at Cleveland State. She continues to be active in the association, serving on several statewide and NEOEA committees and as a delegate to NEOEA, OEA, and NEA Rep Assemblies. David Hammon, Medina City Teachers Association President "This is my 31st year teaching, the last 23 years at Medina High School. I teach Honors and AP Chemistry. I have served as the President of the Medina City Teachers Association since February 2017, having previously served in the position of Vice President from 2012-2017. My wife, Christina, is an OEA member and a curriculum coach at Medina High School. I have a daughter in college and a son in high school."
Connect with OEA:
Email educationmatters@ohea.org with your feedback or ideas for future Public Education Matters topicsLike OEA on FacebookFollow OEA on TwitterFollow OEA on InstagramGet the latest news and statements from OEA hereLearn more about where OEA stands on the issues Keep up to date on the legislation affecting Ohio public schools and educators with OEA's Legislative WatchAbout us:
The Ohio Education Association represents about 120,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children. OEA members provide professional services to benefit stud

Ohio's Primary Election Day is March 19, 2024, and across Ohio, voters will be deciding everything from primary races for state legislative seats to school levies. The presidential primary, though, is usually what makes the headlines. And, at the upcoming Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention, the parties' nominations for the US presidential race are usually what gets the spotlight. But as two educators who have been longtime DNC delegates tell us, their role as delegates at the national convention is much more than that. Plus, OEA Vice President Jeff Wensing gives us the details on upcoming bowling and golf events for members and their families and friends to help the OEA Fund's work supporting pro-public education, pro-labor candidates. JOIN THE FUN FOR THE FUND | Click through these links for more information about upcoming bowling events with OEA and OEA Districts across the state and an inaugural golf outing in central Ohio to benefit the OEA Fund. You can also learn more about the OEA Fund itself by clicking here or by listening to this episode from last season of this podcast.   SEE HOW OHIO'S LEGISLATORS STACK UP | Click here to explore OEA's new Legislative Scorecard and to see where your legislator, and other Ohio legislators, stand on public education and labor rights issues.
SUBSCRIBE | Click here to subscribe to Public Education Matters on Apple Podcasts or click here to subscribe on Google podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And don't forget you can listen to all of the previous episodes anytime on your favorite podcast platform, or by clicking here.
Featured Public Education Matters guests: 
Tom Moscovic, OEA-Retired member, Elected DNC Delegate"As a lifelong Democrat and Union member I know the importance of collective bargaining. I began my career as a member of Iron Worker's Local 17 and made a career change to education in my 40s. I spent 22 years in the classroom teaching Social Studies in the Willoughby-Eastlake School District in as an OEA member.  I served as President of the Willoughby Eastlake Teachers Association for 8 years. Since I retired in 2015, I have supervised student teachers at Cleveland State University in Cleveland.   I've been active in Democratic politics in Lake County for over 25 years. I am the OEA Fund State Chair for the OEA Retired members and I am currently a member of the OEA-R Advisory Council and a lifetime member of OEA-R. I have been married to my wife Paula for 53 years. We have one daughter and 3 grandsons. We have lived in Eastlake since 1972."Deloris Rome Hudson, OEA-Retired member, Elected DNC Delegate"I am a retired educator who taught in Hamilton, OH. While there, I taught Family and Consumer Sciences and served as the president of my local for almost 20 years. I am now a Director on the OEA Board, and am a member of the South Western OEA (SWOEA) Executive Committee. Additionally, I serve as the president of the Butler County Retired Teachers Association (BCRTA) and of the South Western OEA-Retires (SWOEA-R)."Jeff Wensing, OEA Vice President A high school math teacher in Parma City Schools, Jeff Wensing has been a public education advocate and leader for more than 30 years. Jeff served as President of the Parma Education Association from 2012-2018 and as President of the North Eastern Ohio Education Association (NEOEA) from 2016-2018. One of Jeff’s accomplishments as a local and district leader was organizing members and the community to elect a new Parma Board of Education majority in 2017.Jeff has served on OEA’s Constitution and Bylaws Committee and President’s Cabinet, as Vice Chair of OEA’s District Leaders Council, and as a member of the Fiscal Fitness Review Committee and Systemic Practices Committee.Since his election as OEA Vice President in 2019, Jeff has continued to emphasize the importance of organizing members throughout the state. He believes the OEA must support locals in order to both maintain and grow membe

The General Assembly's recent track record on public education issues - including efforts to attack honest education, create universal voucher schemes, and remove accountability measures for the state's charter schools - have earned Ohio a dubious distinction: We are near the bottom of the list of states when it comes to support for public schools. In fact, a new report from the national Network for Public Education gives Ohio an F. We hear from the Network for Public Education Action executive director about what led to Ohio's grade and why Ohio's charter schools should be raising big flags for everyone. We also hear from Columbus EA member Jacquia Hearn about a ONE Professional Development series empowering educators to stand up to book bans in our state and country.BEYOND THE CLASSROOM | For more information about the Ohio's New Educators (ONE) professional development sessions and to register for the next Beyond the Classroom: Banned Books session on March 12th from 6:30-8 p.m. on Zoom, click here.
SEE THE NETWORK FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION'S WORK | Click here to learn more about the Network for Public Education, a national advocacy group, and the work it does to shed light on public education issues, like the rise of charter schools and private schools in the United States. Their work also includes a recent Washington Post piece looking at a problematic federal grant awarded to the Cincinnati Classical Academy, a Hillsdale College member school. UPDATE:  Click here to read the new NPE "Public Schooling in America" report. SEE HOW OHIO'S LEGISLATORS STACK UP | Click here to explore OEA's new Legislative Scorecard and to see where your legislator, and other Ohio legislators, stand on public education and labor rights issues.
SUBSCRIBE | Click here to subscribe to Public Education Matters on Apple Podcasts or click here to subscribe on Google podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And don't forget you can listen to all of the previous episodes anytime on your favorite podcast platform, or by clicking here.
Featured Public Education Matters guests: 
Dr. Carol Burris, Executive Director, Network for Public Education Action Carol Burris, a retired public school teacher and principal, now serves as the Executive Director of the Network for Public Education and as Executive Director of the Network for Public Education Action, a national organization dedicated to supporting and improving public education. Dr. Burris, who has authored three books on educational equity, has received numerous awards for her leadership, including being named the 2013 New York State High School Principal of the Year. Jacquia Hearn, ONE Member AmbassadorJacquia Hearn is an eighth-year educator who teaches in Columbus City Schools. She is currently serving in her second year as an Ohio’s New Educator (ONE) Member Ambassador and Columbus Early Career Educators (CECE) Chair within her local. As a ONE Member Ambassador she works with the Beyond the Classroom (BTC) workgroup that provides free virtual professional development for members. Jacquia has spent the past year using her passion to get involved on a local, state and national level from becoming a active member of the Columbus Education Justice Coalition, to serving on the Human and Civil Rights Committee for OEA as a member of the Doris L Allen Minority Caucus (DLAMC) to attending her first National Education Association (NEA) Representative Assembly as a delegate.  Connect with OEA:
Email educationmatters@ohea.org with your feedback or ideas for future Public Education Matters topicsLike OEA on FacebookFollow OEA on TwitterFollow OEA on InstagramGet the latest news and statements from OEA hereLearn more about where OEA stands on the issues Keep up to date on the legislation affecting Ohio public schools and educators with OEA's Legislative WatchAbout us:
The Ohio Education Association represents about 120,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colle

Educators need to have a seat at the table when policy decisions are being made, whether that's in their local community or in our statehouse in Columbus. But, for many educators considering a run for public office, it may be difficult to know where to begin. That's where NEA's See Educators Run program comes in. On this episode of the podcast, we hear from Orange Teachers Association member Ship Collins about what he's taking away from his time in the See Educators Run program, whether he ends up running for office or not. We also check in with OEA's Manager of Government Relations Dan Ramos about where a bill that's better known as the Higher Education Destruction Act stands in the Ohio General Assembly and why OEA members cannot let up any of the pressure on their local legislators to block this dangerous legislation. LEARN MORE | For more information about the National Education Association's See Educators Run program, you can read a recent NEAToday story on it, watch a video from NEA featuring educators who have been through the program, or click here for more details about the program and how you can get involved. TAKE ACTION | Your voice is critical when it comes to fighting back against Senate Bill 83. Use this link to contact your state representative to urge them to stop this bill. SEE HOW OHIO'S LEGISLATORS STACK UP | Click here to explore OEA's new Legislative Scorecard and to see where your legislator, and other Ohio legislators, stand on public education and labor rights issues.
SUBSCRIBE | Click here to subscribe to Public Education Matters on Apple Podcasts or click here to subscribe on Google podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And don't forget you can listen to all of the previous episodes anytime on your favorite podcast platform, or by clicking here.
Featured Public Education Matters guests: 
LeShun "Ship" Collins, Orange Teachers Association MemberFor over two decades, LeShun “Ship” Collins has been empowering young minds and challenging his peers to transcend the common and accepted thought of social confines. A highly accomplished educator and innovator, Collins is leading the conversation and ultimately the transformation of social injustice by breaking down its barriers. Collins’ expertise is grounded in real-world experience. As a practitioner in health and physical education, he spent over 20 years in the school system building positive relationships and cultivating student growth. He has published two articles in the National Administrative Council Forum and The National Council of Multicultural Forum. Collins is sought after by universities and other educational institutions for his keen insight and perspective and for raising awareness of a flawed system that benefits some, but not all students. His mission to provide a voice to the marginalized and underrepresented inspired the release of “Considering Sensemaking as Artmaking in Promoting Social Justice-Oriented Work in Schools,” an article written by Collins and his colleagues and published in the University Council for Educational Administration journal.To learn more about Ship's work with the Male Minority Leadership Group at Orange High School, click here to watch the Ohio School Spotlight video featuring that program. Dan Ramos, OEA Manager of Government RelationsDan Ramos is from Lorain, Ohio, where he attended school at St. John the Baptist and Lorain Southview High School.  After graduating high school in 2003, Dan obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, International Affairs and Philosophy from Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, OH in 2007.  Through the 2008 presidential election cycle, he joined the Obama for America campaign, working to help elect President Obama in northeastern Ohio.  In 2009, Dan was hired by the Service Employees’ International Union (SEIU) District 1199 WV/OH/KY.  Initially working with SEIU as an Administrative Organizer, representing and negotiating contracts for SEIU’s state