Practical guidance for building positive family engagement. Plus, bringing OEA's Aspiring Educators together.

From addressing issues with chronic absenteeism and classroom behavior problems to help students achieve their full potential and plan for their futures, family engagement with educators is crucial. In this episode of Public Education Matters, the director of the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center at the Ohio State University offers practical advice for building positive relationships with families and students and outlines resources available to help educators in this work. OEA UniServ Organizer Rachel Grabowski dives into OEA's Aspiring Educators division and outlines upcoming opportunities for AEs to use their united voices to strengthen their leadership skills and their future profession.

CHECK OUT THE RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS | The Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center offers more than 500 resources to support professional learning and help educators build strong, constructive relationships with families and community partners around everything from math and literacy topics to behavioral supports and mental health. Click here to check them out.
 
LEARN MORE ABOUT OEA'S ASPIRING EDUCATORS | Click here to learn more about joining OEA's division for undergrad and graduate students who are preparing for careers in education.

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Featured Public Education Matters guests: 

Barbara Boone, Ph.D., Principal Investigator & Director, Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center at the Ohio State University Dr. Boone leads a team conducting family engagement initiatives creating professional development, tools, and processes for families, school personnel, and organizations.A sought-after trainer and speaker, Barbara’s past experiences as a Director at the Ohio Department of Education, education consultant, program evaluator, college instructor, parent educator, and early childhood educator allow her to leverage skills and understanding from multiple perspectives. Her work has focused on improving partnerships between home, school and communities for children of all ages through research, developing tools and resources, facilitating professional development, and leading state and local initiatives. Barbara has enjoyed helping thousands of families and educational professionals grow, and her own family of five, and local schools too. A New Jersey native, Barbara is an avid hiker and beekeeper.

Rachel Grabowski, UniServ OrganizerRachel Grabowski is an Organizer with the Ohio Education Association in the Organizing and Member Engagement Department. Her background in organizing comes from her leadership roles in her local association while employed as an intervention specialist and family and consumer sciences teacher in Northeast Ohio for 8 years. She earned a B.S in Education with an Intervention Specialist concentration and worked towards a minor in American Sign Language from Kent State University. Rachel has been a tireless advocate for special needs students, serving as an at large member of the Ohio Association of Special Needs Professionals. She has also served as a ONE (Ohio’s New Educators) member ambassador for 4 years where she began her journey supporting Aspiring Educators. Over the last year she has served as the AE State Organizer supporting the vision and work of Aspiring Educators and advisors throughout the state. 

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About 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, and producer. Katie comes from a family of educators and is passionate about telling educators' stories and advocating for Ohio's students. She lives in Central Ohio with her husband and two young children.

This episode was recorded on November 28 and 30, 2023.