Written by a team of freelance writers who spent hours in the classrooms and hallways throughout the 2006-07 school year, read the true stories of why it’s so hard to change schools and how, despite the obstacles, change is taking place. This book, along with its companion "To a Higher Degree: Real-life stories of progress in four early college high schools" share the day-to-day struggles and triumphs of educators and students working to transform underperforming large urban high schools into small personalized schools or to pioneer schools that blend high school and college learning.

Written by a team of freelance writers who spent hours in the classrooms and hallways throughout the 2006-07 school year, read the true stories of why it’s so hard to change schools and how, despite the obstacles, change is taking place. This book, along with its companion "Most Likely to Succeed: Real-life stories of progress in five redesigned urban high schools" share the day-to-day struggles and triumphs of educators and students working to transform underperforming large urban high schools into small personalized schools or to pioneer schools that blend high school and college learning.

A statewide survey of Ohio voters shows that the public supports most K-12 school funding proposals made by Governor Ted Strickland, believing that the state system of funding public schools is broken and needs to be fixed. Voters surveyed handed this problem to state leaders as their highest priority. That contrasts to opinions held by some state leaders over the years who believed that the state has largely fixed the school funding system. In the survey, the public supported the governor's proposal to give additional property tax breaks to elderly and disabled homeowners, to direct more state aid to low-property-wealth school districts and programs that help economically disadvantaged students, and to use money from a tobacco settlement fund to help pay for more school facilities construction.

Experience a day in the life of students and teachers at Toledo Early College High School, Lorain County Early College High School, and Dayton Early College Academy.

They’re stories of triumph and frustration, progress and setbacks. Told by freelance writers who observed the schools first-hand throughout the 2005-06 school year, they capture the reality behind the statistics, reports and debate to reveal how new approaches to high school education are touching lives.

Experience a day in the life of students and teachers at Libbey High School, Brookhaven High School, Euclid High School, Cleveland Heights High School, and Lima Senior High School.

They’re stories of triumph and frustration, progress and setbacks. Told by freelance writers who observed the schools first-hand throughout the 2005-06 school year, they capture the reality behind the statistics, reports and debate to reveal how new approaches to high school education are touching lives.

Education matters. That not only is the guiding mission for KnowledgeWorks Foundation, but it is the resounding message from Ohioans in 2006. Education matters to Ohioans strongly enough that they once again placed it as their top priority for state spending, with 80 percent saying they want more of their tax dollars to go toward improving education. This year’s poll focuses on where the public stands on accountability, assessment and standards; school finance; preparedness and transition; and innovation and options – all parts of ongoing state and national reforms or proposals to transform education in this century. It probes Ohioans’ positions on how such reforms will shape public education and where they are hesitant about proposed change.

This book details how education leaders in Cincinnati formed an effective community partnership to address the need for more pertinent vocational education. It outlines the philosophical and practical lessons learned during the eight-year process of planning for and creating an innovative new career training center, from concept to construction to curriculum.

This handbook contains practical information and advice to help superintendents and teacher organization presidents manage their relationships, and provides a basis for discussion and reflection across the traditional lines of labor management. It covers the often avoidable difficulties these positions regularly have with each other, and offers explicit lessons for dealing with these difficulties and many other aspects of their relationship and of leadership in general.

The value Ohioans assign to education in the 21st century helps determine the education decisions they make for themselves, their children, and their communities. As indicated by data from our 2005 Ohio’s Education Matters Poll, public perception of both the personal and public value of education has the potential to influence voting decisions, higher education choices, and the programs and policies Ohioans choose to support within their local schools. Results show that Ohioans place such a high value on education that 80% would prefer the state spend more money on the issue, an issue that trumped both jobs and economic development and healthcare for the poor and elderly. A majority of Ohioans (83.5%) also say their aspirations for their children include an education beyond high school. Also, more than half of Ohioans say that if the state only had more college-educated workers, it could attract more businesses. In addition, nearly all Ohioans agree that raising the educational level of a community will lead to better economic and social conditions within that community.

The report identifies state policies and programs that can transform and improve the learning experience of students.

Stories shares how six urban communities chose to work differently in their planning year (2002 to 2003) through the KnowledgeWorks Foundation’s Ohio High School Transformation Initiative (OHSTI). The Centers of Strength chosen defied common notions of school district partners.

Dollars & Sense II proves that good small schools are being built and operated cost-effectively, and lays out practical strategies for cost-effectiveness that have been field-tested by schools and reports analysis of data from over 3,000 school construction projects.

The following on-the-ground stories of struggle and hope mark the one-year anniversary of 58 new, revolutionary high schools that opened in the 2004-2005 school year through the Ohio High School Transformation Initiative. One of the nation's most sweeping statewide high school reform efforts, the Transformation has already converted 18 of Ohio's large, struggling, urban high school campuses into 58 smaller, successful high schools where underserved students receive personal attention, and study academically relevant and rigorous material that inspires them to achieve.

The Foundation released it's fourth Ohio's Education Matters Poll. Topics for the poll include the state of education, high schools, college access, education funding, and community involvement. Find out how Ohioans graded their public high schools, and if they believe current funding for higher education is adequate.

KnowledgeWorks Foundation is pleased to announce our publication, Public Schools and Economic Development: What the Research Shows. Critical to our vision as an education foundation is a belief that a highly educated and skilled populace benefits both individuals and the community as a whole. As a result, we enlisted Jonathan Weiss, a nationally recognized expert in community sustainability and economic development, to review the existing research on the relationship between schools and economic development.

Topics for the 2002-2003 Poll include state of the schools, school improvement, communities & school facilities, college & career access, and funding education in Ohio. Results indicate Ohioans prefer high schools with less than 400 students over high schools with more than 1000 students. A strong majority of Ohioans believe limiting enrollment to 400 students or less would improve teacher-student relationships, student safety, graduation rates, and academic performance. Ohioans also believe that funding K-12 education is a priority, with 71% opposing a cut in K-12 education spending to balance the budget.

Dollars & Sense summarizes research on the educational and social benefits of small schools and the negative effects of large schools on students, teachers, and members of the community, as well as the "diseconomies of scale" inherent in large schools. In addition, Dollars & Sense answers two fundamental questions: can small schools be built cost effectively, and has anyone done so? Using data drawn from 489 schools submitted to design competitions in 1990-2001, Dollars and Sense answers both questions with a resounding yes, demonstrating that small schools are not prohibitively expensive. Investing tax dollars in small schools does make sense.

The 2001-2002 Poll, which include topics such as college access and higher education, state of the schools, schools as centers of community, and funding education in Ohio, makes it clear Ohioans are misinformed in a number of important ways. The Poll details misconceptions Ohioans have concerning the cost of college tuition, urban high school graduation rates, and the amount of funding spent of K-12 education.