EHE News
Nationwide Partners with College, Columbus City Schools to Boost Student Graduation Rates
In a new partnership, Columbus City Schools (CCS), Nationwide, and the College of Education and Human Ecology are working together to support student success. The Nationwide Foundation has given the college $1.3 million to support two endeavors.
David Andrews
Cynthia Buettner
A Database for Daily Decision Making
With $875,000 of the gift, David Andrews, professor, and Cynthia Buettner, assistant professor, both of human development and family science, are creating a database of proven resources and tools for the school district. The database ties to the district's All School Improvement Process, which puts data-driven decisions, based upon the individual needs of students, at the center of all actions taken by educators.
As data on individual student performance alerts educators to teaching and learning issues, they turn to the database. A decision matrix helps them choose actions based on evidence that they are the most effective and efficient methods available. They select from lesson plans, intervention strategies, programmatic approaches, and more. Promising local practices are included among the proven approaches shown to work by research.
"School personnel are more attuned today to using data to measure student progress and to identify areas needing intervention," Buettner said. "What they haven't had at their fingertips are the proven strategies to address an identified challenge. The new database is meant to fill that gap and to integrate seamlessly with existing online student data and curricular systems."
Andrews highlighted the added benefit offered by the company to the project.
"Nationwide is providing employees on loan to the district, including IT professionals. They will partner with us and Columbus City Schools administrators so that together, we will load the database with resources. We will also work together to provide online training and professional development for teachers and administrators throughout the district to ensure effective use of the database."
Andrews and Buettner will also evaluate the database project.
Project Mentor Evaluation
A total of $460,000 of the Nationwide Foundation gift supports the evaluation by Andrews and Buettner of Project Mentor, a partnership between Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio and the Columbus City Schools. Project Mentor matches adult mentors with eighth-grade students for one hour of support per week. The mentor focuses on both the academic needs and social/emotional development of the child. The goal is to increase the 2012 CCS graduation rate to 90 percent. Evaluation is an essential step to ensuring program quality.
Nationwide's generosity will help volunteers from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio, like these pictured, increase Columbus City Schools' graduation rates. (Photos courtesy Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio.)
Benefits of the Three-Way Collaboration
The collaborative work among Nationwide, Columbus City Schools, and Ohio State will enhance the effectiveness of educational systems in central Ohio and build on their strong relationships.
"This generous gift from the Nationwide Foundation strengthens Ohio State's partnerships with the Columbus City Schools and furthers our commitment to children and families in Central Ohio," said Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee. "For that, I am deeply grateful."
"Nationwide and The Ohio State University have been tremendously supportive of Columbus City Schools," said Superintendent Gene T. Harris, Ph.D. "From providing adult mentors for our students, to lending expertise and resources to our staff, this partnership demonstrates how schools, business, and communities can work together to have an impact today and into the future."
"We're pleased to partner with The Ohio State University for these important initiatives," said Chad Jester, president of the Nationwide Foundation. "The success of Columbus City School students is vital to the future of our community. Researchers at Ohio State will provide important tools for our partners, Columbus City Schools, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio, as they endeavor to enhance graduation rates in our schools."
For more information about giving to the College of Education and Human Ecology, contact Tracy Kirby, senior director of development, at (614) 292-5538 or kirby.62@osu.edu.
© 2011 The Ohio State University - College of Education and Human Ecology. All Rights Reserved.
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