Ohio Superintendent For Public Instruction Discusses Back To School Issues

President Donald Trump will deliver his speech tonight accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for president.

The Republican National Convention in Charlotte has been largely a virtual gathering due to the coronavirus pandemic.  President Trump will deliver his speech remotely from the White House.

With President Trump’s acceptance speech, the race will be set for the final few push in these last weeks before the November election.

What messages are voters hoping to hear from the President on this last day of the convention?  What are the issues that may play the strongest here in Ohio and how much will the coronavirus pandemic potentially impact the election?

The coronavirus pandemic continues to impact education for Ohio students and families.  Governor Mike DeWine gave schools best recommendations to hold down the spread of the coronavirus and protect the health and safety of students and staff.  Those recommendations have included distancing, sanitization protocols and masks.  The governor let each district decide how to manage the start to the school year.

Earlier this month DeWine indicated that roughly forty-percent of Ohio's school districts planned to restart the year with in-person learning in combination with the increased safety measures.  About a quarter of the districts--especially those in higher-population counties-- plan to stick to remote learning at least to start.  A third group of districts, plan to use both remote and in-person learning as a blended model to start the school year.

Paolo DeMaria the Superintendent for Public Instruction for the State of Ohio discusses the start of the new school year and how the Ohio Department of Education can assist schools and students.

While most of our focus has been on how schools are dealing with how to teach students whether in person or remotely, as classes resume, what about educators who teach after the final bell rings? 

Since 2010, Akron's Open Tone Music, which is affiliated with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio, has been providing after- school music lessons to children.  Many of the kids in the program attends schools where music education has either been eliminated or severely curtailed.

Ideastream's Dan Polletta spoke with Open Tone's founder and executive director, Chris Anderson about how they've been dealing with teaching students during the pandemic, including trying something they'd never before done. 

Ideastream has been tackling many of the issues raised by the return to school amidst the pandemic this week across all of our platforms. You will find our complete coverage at the link below.

For More Ideastream Coverage:

Homeroom: A Return To Learning

Thomas Sutton, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, Director, Community Research Institute, 
Baldwin Wallace University  
Matt Cox, Founder, President, Capitol Partners  
Shay Hawkins, President, Opportunity Funds Association 
Paolo DeMaria, Superintendent of Public Instruction, State of Ohio  
Chris Anderson, Founder, Executive Director, Open Tone Music