Action Group #2 – Placement of Teachers within School Districts and STEMM Graduates within the Region

It is critically important that all students are taught by highly qualified teachers who are placed in their licensure/content areas. However, operational demands of school districts and hard to fill positions sometimes make this not possible. Additionally as important is the challenge to find positions in the region for our highly talented STEMM graduates from UT, Owens Community College, and other institutions of higher education. This action group will devise a plan to ensure that more classrooms are staffed with appropriate teachers and that the future talent pool does not leave the area.

Action Group #3 – Accountability for Learning

This action group will address the need for increased accountability for student learning of science and mathematics – beginning in elementary school and continuing through post-secondary work. Many students are not provided daily science instruction until the middle/junior high school in the metropolitan Toledo area. Therefore, students enter high school unprepared for the science and/or mathematics content they encounter. Over 70% of freshman at UT have to take remedial mathematics and/or science courses to get up to speed to be successful in college. This action group will strategize how to hold stakeholders in Metropolitan Toledo accountable for student learning. Specifically, this group will discuss accountability through:

Action Group #4 – Increasing the Impact of Instruction

Effective teaching is an art. Today, teachers in Ohio are required to have a master’s degree within a few short years after beginning teaching. Teaching is truly a highly-skilled profession. Like any other profession – without a supportive working environment with resources, high expectations, supportive and knowledgeable leaders, teachers are not as effective in their job performance. Times change, the need for further training and skills are warranted – just as a physician would learn new procedures. This action group will develop a plan for increasing the effectiveness of the science and mathematics instruction in schools through focusing specifically on:

Action Group #5 – Generating Awareness and Advocacy

As the economy of Metropolitan Toledo has gone through a transformation from industrial to knowledge-based (that continues to evolve), there has been a gap between the changing needs of the future workforce and the present status quo. There is a huge need to embark upon a public awareness strategy to bring the area up to speed in order to be competitive and ensure that the future talent pool is ready for the changes inherently on the way. This action group will delve into constructing an action plan for Metropolitan Toledo which will provide resources, generate awareness, and impact policy to ensure our area is ready and has the means necessary to continue to progress. Specifically, this group will focus on:

Action Group #6 – Recruitment and Retention of a Talented STEMM and STEMM Education Pipeline

Incentives and support are needed to attract students into pursing STEMM career pathways and to place graduates in these fields, as well as science and mathematics teachers, in positions in our area. This action group will determine what strategies are needed to support students in the pipeline (K-20) so that students are successful in completing their program of study, as well as develop a plan to keep graduates here instead of being lured away to other areas. Specifically, this action group will target: