After 34 years in public education, Scott DiMauro is retiring from teaching when his second term as OEA President ends in July. As he prepares to finish that chapter in his life and reflecting on the big moments and lessons learned from his years in leadership and the classroom, Scott is also looking ahead to the future. He shares his thoughts in this season finale podcast episode. SUBSCRIBE | Click here to subscribe to Public Education Matters on Apple Podcasts or click here to listen on Spotif...
May 29, 2025•25 min•Season 5Ep. 37
From the Trump administration's 'skinny budget' that aims to cut $12 billion from the US Department of Education to the latest version of the state budget which underfunds Ohio's public schools by $2.75 billion in the next two years, threats at the federal and state levels make it more important now than ever the educators stand up for the supports and resources our students need. There are also opportunities to make our schools even better, including proposed legislation to support school meals...
May 22, 2025•21 min•Season 5Ep. 36
Recently named the High School Teacher of the Year by her local Veterans of Foreign Wars post, the wider VFW district, and the state VFW organization under the VFW's Smart/Maher National Citizenship Education Teacher Program, Celina Education Association member Alicia Ball is dedicated to teaching her students be good citizens by getting them outside their classroom and building up their community, and she's always adding new projects to her list. In this episode, Ball explains why she's so pass...
May 15, 2025•20 min•Season 5Ep. 35
Books that feature diverse voices - from diverse characters and diverse authors - help students discover their own voices and write themselves into the history books of tomorrow. Across Ohio, educators are using diverse literature to prompt important discussion, create welcoming learning environments, and help young people see themselves and the world around them in new ways. In this episode, we dive into the work of two local associations to do just that! CHECK OUT THE READ-INS | Click here to ...
May 08, 2025•19 min•Season 5Ep. 34
When the Association for Cuyahoga County Employees for Special Students (ACCESS) sat down at the bargaining table a few years ago, they were told, 'if you don't like it here, you can leave.' In that moment, ACCESS leaders said, 'if we don't like it here, we can make it better.' And that's what they did - nearly going out on strike to achieve those critically important gains in their contract. In this episode, we hear from ACCESS Co-President Ky Theophanous about his journey to leadership, that 2...
May 01, 2025•29 min•Season 5Ep. 33
As the demand for Career Tech education continues to grow in Ohio, Career Tech programs continue to struggle to attract and retain educators to serve students because of problems with the way most salary schedules are structured. Career Tech educators often have years or decades of prior experience in the private sector - and the expertise they can share with their students is invaluable as a result - but many do not have the advanced degrees that other educators who took a more traditional path...
Apr 24, 2025•23 min•Season 5Ep. 32
Union membership empowers educators to improve their lives and advocate for themselves and their students to ensure Ohio's learners have the supports and resources they need to succeed. Now, thanks to a partnership between NEA Member Benefits and Edvance, OEA membership has extra value - with access to up to 50 percent off tuition for many online college and certification courses. In this episode, we hear from Ashley Kaufman about how the NEA College Benefit through Edvance is helping OEA member...
Apr 17, 2025•18 min•Season 5Ep. 31
Ohio educators want professional development opportunities that give them the tools to be the best educators possible for their students. But, too often, school districts prescribe PD that doesn't feel like a valuable use of anyone's time. Ohio's Educator Standards Board set out to change that by making the state's Professional Learning Standards more user-friendly and more useful. Educator Standards Board member Eugene Mach walks us through the process and the changes that are in the pipeline f...
Apr 10, 2025•22 min•Season 5Ep. 30
Mason High School intervention specialist Hakim Oliver believes relationships are the basis of who we are. He created his multi-session Building Bridges program to help bring people together by helping them share their own stories and learn from the stories of others. Now, he has written a book to share those lessons with others. Hakim shares his story in this episode of the podcast. GET THE BOOK | Hakim Oliver's book, "Bridging Stories," is available now on Amazon. Click here to get it . SUBSCR...
Apr 03, 2025•22 min•Season 5Ep. 29
Almost 90% of Ohio's children - in big cities, small towns, and rural communities - grow up, learn, and dream at one of our public schools. But, House Bill 96, as introduced with the governor's plan for the next state budget, doesn't use updated costs in the Fair School Funding Plan formula calculations, leaving the formula broken and threatening to cut more than $100 million from hundreds of public school districts over the next two years, while at the same time continuing to pour much more mon...
Mar 27, 2025•22 min•Season 5Ep. 28
Eight years ago, Chardon Education Association member Dan Heintz was feeling distressed by what was happening in federal politics, when he heard someone ask Michelle Obama, 'What do we do now?' She responded, "We do more," and Heintz realized he could do more by running for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school board. Now, he wants more educators to follow his path and serve on school boards in their own local communities. In this episode, Heintz highlights the importance of having edu...
Mar 20, 2025•18 min•Season 5Ep. 27
The 126 members of the Akron Association of Classified Personnel - one of five unions representing educators in Akron - have their work cut out for them when it comes to overcoming challenges in their district and community. But, they understand the power of standing together. And, they're willing to try new strategies to connect with stakeholders and build their strength. AACP Vice President Lola Booker-Brewer joins us for this episode to talk about some of the many new community and member eng...
Mar 13, 2025•19 min•Season 5Ep. 26
When students have access to music education in their schools -- taught by licensed music educators -- the impact on their lives can be huge, as they learn skills that serve them far beyond the four walls of their music classrooms. In fact, music in our schools is so important, March has been designated as Music in Our Schools month! In this episode, Margo Trinter, a music educator in Oberlin City Schools, and Jasmine Monacelli, a music educator in Sheffield-Sheffield Lake City schools, share th...
Mar 06, 2025•20 min•Season 5Ep. 25
Despite bipartisan opposition, Senate Bill 1 is being fast-tracked in the Ohio General Assembly. The re-introduced version of Senate Bill 83, known by many as the Ohio Higher Education Destruction Act, micromanages higher education classrooms and threatens academic freedom on Ohio's public university and college campuses. Moreover, by prohibiting faculty and staff from striking and limiting their ability to bargain in areas that directly affect their ability to shape the learning conditions for ...
Feb 27, 2025•14 min•Season 5Ep. 24
The Ohio Education Association is made up of about 750 Local associations across the state - each with its own elected leaders. But, when it comes to the prospect of stepping into Local leadership, some potential Local presidents may not even know where they would begin. As the presidents of the Trotwood Madison Education Association and the Northwest Teachers Association tell us, supports like trainings from the National Education Association for new presidents have been invaluable as they've e...
Feb 20, 2025•21 min•Season 5Ep. 23
What do growing enthusiasm for a hog raffle and a quest for better inter-union communication have in common? These are two of the many items on April Troup's wish list as she continues to make her mark as president of the Norwayne Educational Support Professionals local. Troup, who is in her second year of her presidency, joins us for this episode to share her perspective on how her ESP local has achieved a more than 95% membership rate, and on some of the unique challenges faced by Education Su...
Feb 13, 2025•19 min•Season 5Ep. 22
From Diane Ravitch to 2022 National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell - to a wide range of public school advocates and leaders in between - the Network for Public Education and Network for Public Education Action's 2025 national conference on April 5th and 6th in Columbus will bring together some of the biggest players in the national conversation about the future of our public schools. All Ohio educators and public school allies are invited to attend and be part of the conversation. NPE/NPE Acti...
Feb 06, 2025•18 min•Season 5Ep. 21
Whether you live in the heart of one of Ohio's big cities or in the rolling hills of Appalachia - or anywhere in between - what happens in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus make a huge difference in your life and what happens in our public school classrooms every day. That's why it's so important to have pro-public education lawmakers in the General Assembly and to hear from them about the big issues on the horizon for our public schools. OEA members were able to hear from a bipartisan panel of st...
Jan 30, 2025•26 min•Season 5Ep. 20
Marti Franks has had a front row seat to witness and be part of union history, whether that was when she helped form the first union for Catholic school teachers in Michigan, when she became part of OEA's landmark work to ensure what are now known as instructional coaches were paid fairly as the professional educators they are, or even now, in her work as an OEA-Retired member advocating for public education and public school educators. In this episode, she shares her thoughts on the importance ...
Jan 23, 2025•20 min•Season 5Ep. 19
As chair of OEA's Aspiring Educators division, Kent State University student Kyndal Mickel is a staunch advocate for the needs of other future educators. She's also passionate about making sure she can effectively meet the needs of neurodivergent learners when she becomes an early childhood educator after graduation. As Kyndal shares in this episode, it's a mission driven by the challenges she faced herself as a neurodivergent student in Ohio schools. SHARE YOUR STORY | As Ohio lawmakers conside...
Jan 16, 2025•17 min•Season 5Ep. 18
A lot of people have a lot to learn about what Career Tech Education is and the amazing opportunities it offers for students in Ohio, whether they're pursuing paths to careers, college, or the military. In this episode, the president of the Greene County Career Center Education Association gives us an education on CTE in our state, his path to becoming a Career Tech educator, and what Career Tech educators learned from each other at the first-ever OEA Career Tech Leaders Retreat in the fall. SUB...
Jan 09, 2025•22 min•Season 5Ep. 17
2024 marks 40 years since Ohio's collective bargaining law took effect. Before that, public employees, including educators, could face jail time for going on strike, and the so-called professional agreements they had been able to negotiate with school districts didn't carry much weight. All of that changed with a stroke of Gov. Richard Celeste's pen in 1983, with the law taking effect the following year. OEA-Retired member Bill Lavezzi shares his memories of working in Ohio schools before and af...
Dec 26, 2024•28 min•Season 5Ep. 16
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools like MagicSchoolAI, ChatGPT, and others can serve important roles as both a teacher's assistant and a student's personal tutor, but there are important issues like privacy laws that must be considered. Those are just a few of the takeaways from a recent "ONE Beyond the Classroom" virtual PD session on AI and Digital Tools in the Classroom, led by Julia Tilton. The former ONE Member Ambassador-turned-EdTech integration specialist joins us for this episode to off...
Dec 19, 2024•19 min•Season 5Ep. 15
Senate Bill 295, which is being rushed through the Ohio General Assembly in the final days of Lame Duck, represents a state overreach that punishes communities for their poverty and hurts public school students and educators. Ohio educators must act now to help our lawmakers understand why it must be stopped. OEA's Director of Government Relations joins us for this episode to explain what's in SB 295, and the president of the East Cleveland Education Association explains how SB 295 doubles down ...
Dec 12, 2024•30 min•Season 5Ep. 14
Twinsburg High School teacher Daneé Pinckney says she knew she wanted to be a teacher ever since she was a small child, but it wasn't that long ago that she found herself at a burnout point in her career and was considering leaving the profession. Starting an African American literature course for her students and empowering them to be engaged citizens helped reignite her passion. Now, as the 2025 Ohio Teacher of the Year, Pinckney is hoping to help other educators find their passion again while...
Dec 05, 2024•18 min•Season 5Ep. 13
As the former chair of OEA's Aspiring Educators division and as the current co-president of the Kent Student Education Association, the AE chapter at Kent State, Audrey S. works hard to give college students a voice in their current path and in their future profession. Audrey shares her thoughts about what led to her path to the teaching profession and what the future looks like as current and future educators contend with the realities of the public education field today. SHARE YOUR STORY | As ...
Nov 21, 2024•14 min•Season 5Ep. 12
Rob McFee is no stranger to leadership. Before assuming his new role as Ohio Education Association Secretary-Treasurer in July, 2024, he served in every role from president of the Willoughby-Eastlake Education Association to NEOEA president to a member of the State Teachers Retirement System Board of Directors, and many roles in between. In this episode, Rob McFee looks back at some of the pivotal moments that shaped his journey from being a math teacher in northeast Ohio to being an OEA officer...
Nov 14, 2024•16 min•Season 5Ep. 11
Public school educators are called to the profession by a dedication to serving their students. And, before their careers in the classroom, quite a few teachers served their country in the US Military. But not every veteran-turned-teacher knows their years of service in the military counts toward years of service for a higher initial placement on the salary schedule when they begin working for a school district in Ohio. That can mean missing out on a significant amount of money they should be re...
Nov 07, 2024•18 min•Season 5Ep. 10
Rep. Sean Patrick Brennan (D-Ohio District 14) says being a voice for Ohio's educators in the statehouse has been one of the greatest honors of his life. The OEA-Retired member taught in Brecksville-Broadview Heights Schools right up until went to the Ohio House after winning election in 2022. Now, as the OEA member-recommended candidate seeks another term in the General Assembly, Rep. Brennan is reminding educators across Ohio that their voices are crucial in this election. He joins us for this...
Oct 31, 2024•19 min•Season 5Ep. 9
The Ohio Education Association represents nearly 120,000 educators across the state, across a wide variety of professional paths and in every stage of their careers. One of the big benefits of membership is having OEA's assistance in bargaining the strongest contracts possible to create the best learning and working conditions possible for everyone. In this episode, OEA Collective Bargaining and Research Consultant Eric Watson-Urban offers his wisdom on the PUMP Act, continuing contracts, and 40...
Oct 24, 2024•19 min•Season 5Ep. 8
