KnowledgeWorks created Ohio Education Matters in 2009 to focus on transforming education in Ohio from a system of schooling to a world of learning. The subsidiary was formed on the success of the School Funding Matters initiative, which provided leadership on solving Ohio’s school funding crisis.

Building on 10 years of investments in Ohio, Ohio Education Matters is a statewide public policy think tank focused on connecting the dots between great innovations and those in local communities who can propel change. As a non-partisan research organization, OEM acts as a catalyst of education transformation - conducting research, advocacy, engagement and policy development that inspire others to make the system changes needed today to prepare Ohio’s children for the future.

As it pursues education change, Ohio Education Matters draws insights from the 2020 Forecast: Creating the Future of Learning for direction. As the forecast indicates, over the next decade, the most vibrant innovations in education are likely to take place outside traditional institutions. These institutions face a critical dilemma: How to reconcile bottom-up developments in education with the traditional top-down hierarchy that is currently in place.

With that, Ohio Education Matters is building on the success of KnowledgeWorks in Ohio.

A globally competitive job market that requires workers to be creative, flexible problem-solvers threatens to leave many Ohioans behind, especially low-wage workers. We are helping ensure that Ohio and its workforce are prepared to thrive in tomorrow’s workplace by connecting workforce training to employers’ needs and supporting public policies that make it easier for adult learners to master 21st-century skills.

Whole new ways of teaching are needed to engage today’s students and prepare them for a world that will demand entirely different kinds of abilities and skills. With experience gained from one of the country’s most ambitious high school reform efforts behind us, we are helping establish new models for high school in Ohio.

Despite the difficult economy, Ohio has started down the path to resolving nearly 20 years of controversy over its school funding system and establishing a sustainable approach for adequately financing its public schools. We give Ohioans a voice in that process, inform policymakers’ efforts and support an approach that directs dollars to proven teaching strategies.

We support community ownership and participation in setting a direction for schools. Based on our own experience with school reform in Ohio as well as the best ideas from research, we provide tools and structures for community engagement that truly empowers communities to have a say in their children’s future.