Public Education Matters

Transcribed by https://otter.ai. Please excuse any errors.

Intro 0:07
This is Education Matters, brought to you by the Ohio Education Association.

Katie Olmsted 0:15
Thank you for joining us for this episode of Education Matters. I'm your host, Katie Olmsted. And I'm part of the communications team for the Ohio Education Association and its 120,000 members. Our members include K through 12 teachers, education support professionals, and higher ed faculty members in just about every part of the state. So since late February, OES officers have been visiting just about every part of the state on a journey that's a bit like a Johnny Cash song at this point. I've been everywhere man, I've been everywhere, man. Now, the music may be in fun here, but the ongoing officers listening tour is serious business. This is the chance for OEA leaders to really hear from members about the issues that matter most to them. We wanted to find out more about what OEA is officers have learned from members so far on this tour. So as we mark Teacher Appreciation Week, we're sitting down with OEA President Scott DiMauro, Vice President, Jeff wincing, and Secretary Treasurer Mark Hill for a full report.

Intro 1:26
Amanda balls to Charleston, Louisiana, Washington, Houston games,

Katie Olmsted 1:30
Scott, Jeff, Mark, thank you so much for taking some time out of your busy schedules, schedules made even busier by the fact that I think as of today, you will have visited 25 Different locals on your officers listening tour. How's it been going?

Scott DiMauro 1:48
So this is Scott. Katie, thanks for taking the time to have this conversation. I will just say it has been exhilarating, I think after two years of, you know, feeling kind of isolated because of the pandemic. And last year, even as schools were starting to open up for in person instruction, a lot of districts had very strict no visitor policies. And, and, you know, we've spent so much time on remote meetings, you know, I think we were all just feeling really antsy to get out and see firsthand what's happening with our students and, and, you know, the work that our members are doing in schools and to have direct conversations with members about how they're doing. And it has been awesome to see the incredible work that our members do every day with kids and also to be with students. You know, I've been out of the classroom myself for a couple of years, and, and I really miss that day to day interaction with kids. And so just the chance to be in school buildings and interacting with students and interacting with teachers and interacting with ESPs has been really awesome.

Katie Olmsted 2:57
I've been following along on social media. You guys have been posting a lot of pictures to your pages, and it's on the OEA page. And my favorite photo so far is have Jeff, in a classroom with students. You had to clarify that you were not scowling at students. You were growling like a bear? Do you want to set the record straight on this one? Why were you grumbling like a bear?

Jeff Wensing 3:19
Well, thanks for the opportunity, Katie to set the record straight. Yes, I was students in Riverdale, I believe. And I was reading a book that contain you know, a lot of animals. And one of those was a bear. And I was growling like a bear after the students requested me to add some sound effects. So that was, that was a fun thing to do that day. And the students in Riverdale were great, I had opportunity to read to a couple of the groups of students. One group in Columbus as well. And it is just like Scott mentioned is really invigorating to get back out to be with members to see the great work that they're doing with their students. And to actually talk with the students as well. You know, students are pretty good at being honest. I remember it wasn't that long ago. I was in the classroom just a couple years ago, two and a half years ago, and they are honest, and they'll tell you their actual experiences, how they're feeling, and overwhelmingly, they are enjoying being back with our members back at school, in interacting with our members. They like being there. They like being with our members, and they appreciate the efforts of our members to

Katie Olmsted 4:32
and one of the stops involved the brownie bake off so I'm pretty sure it's easy to bribe students and staff into saying nice things if you give them chocolate, but it's an it is a very serious thing you guys are doing out there. We're hearing a lot from our members about some of the challenges they've been facing over the last year or so. What are they telling you?

Jeff Wensing 4:55
Okay, this is Jeff. Number one thing is time. When there's no, there's no perfect situation out there, all of our members are working through these couple of years of COVID. But the one discerning thing that I've taken away is that our members that feel supported by their administration, by parents, by community, are having a far better time or better time of it as they navigate their way through these last couple of years. So the amount of support that our educators are receiving is directly correlating to job satisfaction, and how they're feeling valued by their administration. And they're making their way through this, these times a little bit easier than those that are struggling with getting the support that they need.

Katie Olmsted 5:49
What does that support actually mean, though, we're, you know, it's Teacher Appreciation Week. And one of the big things we're talking about is saying, Thank you was great, saying I like you is great. But that's not the support that our educators really need to give our students what they need in the classroom, and to really stay in this career field and thrive. What do our teachers need? What do our educators need?

Mark Hill 6:13
At this is Mark, thanks for doing this. So what I found is similar to what Jeff described, you know, how our educators feel about their profession, and their work situation is really dependent upon the relationship that they have with their administration. And I would say the two key elements, to answer your question are agency and voice agency and how you are able to conduct yourself as professional in the classroom decisions made in the district in general and your voice in that in that situation. And the educators that I've met, that don't have agency and voice and either one part of whether it be negotiations or policy decisions by administration that really drags down the morale overall. And I would say, to just point, it really does color, how our members react to what's going on within their local and whether they're as resilient to the myriad challenges they're facing this year.

Scott DiMauro 7:17
And I'll add this, Scott, you know, that it is a sense of, you know, when people don't have agency when they don't have voice. And that's reflected in a number of ways when they see that their administration and their building isn't backing them up in terms of their expectations and the structure that they know that their students need. And then the other thing is when they see attacks from politicians in Columbus or Washington who have zero clue about the, you know, what it takes to be successful in education, you know, making policies that restrict the freedom of educators to teach a full and honest education that really has a demoralizing impact, because that also is about taking away agency and taking away voice. But then the other thing that I that I throw in into the mix is that some of the most heart wrenching stories that I've been hearing from members is when they know that their kids deserve more when when their students deserve more support themselves. And sometimes it's it's access to nutrition, it's access to mental health support, it's access to counselors. It's it's recognizing that that for a lot of our students they come to school with with school being like the only reliable source of support that they have, and so much being piled on the plates of the classroom teacher, that they feel like they're just they're, they're, they're drowning, because they know that their students need and deserve more, yet they themselves can't give those kids all they need. And in some cases, the school itself can't give kids what they need. And that's really frustrating for them.

Katie Olmsted 9:13
Do you think you had a true sense of that feeling of drowning for them or or really their feelings and their emotions about this until you are able to get into their workspace and see what they're seeing day in and day

Scott DiMauro 9:26
out? You know, for me, we've been hearing voices and members, you know, throughout this process, we haven't been in the classroom. And you know, every time our board comes together, every time we're attending a UNICEF council meeting, we have regular conversations with local leaders, but I will say a lot of those stories are secondhand. So seeing it and hearing it firsthand, really does have a huge impact. There's so many times where we're I'm I'm listening to a story from a member and and Boy, I wish that their state representative was hearing the same story. I wish, I wish the superintendent was hearing the same story. Because when you are there in person witnessing what's going on, and when you can see the eyes of the students that they're that they're talking about, and that they really care deeply about, that really does make a big impact.

Katie Olmsted 10:19
And it seems to make a very big impact on the members to have you there hearing from them directly. I want to play you a soundbite from an interview that we did with Jason Sigerson. He was at the Lima stop Scott that you were at. He's an intervention specialist at Lyman North Middle School. And he says one of the things that really was important to him is that he was able to tell that what matters to the educators is what mattered to you. So take a listen to this.

Unknown Speaker 10:50
You know, I feel like his willingness to travel to a small town in a small part of Ohio to a small group of teachers really shows the dedication that the OEA has to making sure that we're you know, represented and learning and developing. Well.

Katie Olmsted 11:09
And that was something we heard from members, really, it's several different steps is that sense of making sure they're doing well and offering them that chance to develop in the future, are they able to really help set some of the goals for our organization moving forward when they're having these conversations with you?

Scott DiMauro 11:29
Well, I want to tell you a little bit more about the conversation with Jason, because when I met with Jason, it was with several other members from Lima. And Lima is part of a pilot program that we have been supporting. And we help to design and create called educators leading the profession. And this is an opportunity to provide mentoring to early career educators, with union members who who support their work in their schools that they have relationships with, and also using the wonders of technology to provide virtual instructional coaches, who can give them feedback in a completely non threatening way, focused on pedagogy focused on on best practices, you know, in terms of teaching and learning. And, and so hearing Jason as a first year educator, he's a second career educator. And understanding kind of what motivated him to go into teaching and understanding what he appreciates about that program, is, is really critical, because that feedback goes directly into our decision making about how to make that program even better, you know, how do we sustain the program? How do we expand the program, without hearing directly from him wouldn't be able to do that. So it was I think I learned way more from him than then he possibly could learn from me, but it was so good to meet him and meet his colleagues from line on that day.

Katie Olmsted 12:56
Are there other actionable items that have come out of these stops for you guys?

Scott DiMauro 13:01
Well, I'll I'll say that, that, you know, one of the things that has come out and is a recurring theme is that we're hearing from a lot of members who are really concerned about student behavior, and that one of the impacts of the pandemic has been, because so many students didn't have the socialization support, and, and didn't really have structure at home and didn't have the kind of parental support that they needed, that you're seeing a lot of students like really acting out. And we have a number of of members who have been studying this issue, our collective bargaining member advocacy committee has been really looking into the issue and has made some recommendations to our board and to our staff in terms of things that we can do. I will say, seeing and hearing those stories directly, at least for me, just gives a lot more urgency to say, you know, there's enough time to talk about an issue and to study an issue. We really need to take action so that our members know that OEA has their back and that we really are about their well being and their students well being and so yeah, I think I think you're gonna see some action in the very near future on that issue because of those conversations.

Katie Olmsted 14:16
And I liked that you said OEA has your back. I want to play a soundbite from Raylene pol Chow. She's a preschool teacher, a pre K teacher in Columbus City Schools. And that's really what she took away from the officers listening tour stop there.

Unknown Speaker 14:31
And I think, you know, both ca and OEA Are you know, there to listen to the concerns and they're always you know, willing to help and solve whatever

Katie Olmsted 14:44
we need help with. Have you heard anything that surprised you that people need help with?

Jeff Wensing 14:50
Well, for me, Katie, Jeff, is number one. I appreciate that our members have kept it real. You know whether I've gone to meet with them. A group of ESP educators in Brunswick for a wall to wall local like Mansfield or in Columbus. They've kept it real. You've seen what actually happens in our schools. And sometimes, you know, I've seen runners I've seen, educators tried to deescalate a situation with students, I've seen a CPI hold, I've seen those things that go on in our schools, in addition to many of the positives I've mentioned. And really, some of the questions that our educators have, are trying to clear up some misconceptions that maybe they're hearing from administration and administration tells them, it's this certain way, and our hands are tied, and they have to do it this way. So they ask, they've asked me, and I try to get back to them, I do get back to them after our staff has weighed in if I don't know the answer on any specifics that are actually going on. In their local that, maybe not exactly in accordance with the law, or or, or things of that nature.

Mark Hill 16:05
Okay, this is Mark. So, you know, most of the conversations you have with, with our members out in the field are and they're really focused on their issues and their local. So what kind of surprised me and what triggered this thought was was Scott talking about student safety and, and, and behavior in the classroom, having safe schools for everyone, students, and staff. But overarching that I had a lot of questions that wanted one of the locals kind of focused on something that's really important. And I think, you know, when you're in the trenches, you it's hard to see its its overall effect. But school funding is certainly a huge, huge overlying issue. On this summer, there was some dissatisfaction from the local, that I was in out in Northwest Ohio, that with how the fair school funding Act actually had treated their district because of open enrollment students and how that was counted in the formula against them. But overall, just funding the school formula, when you think about the stuff that Scott was talking about, which is the supports our students need, in order to be successful in school, you know, that takes two things that are in short abundance in schools, and that's time and money. And for both of those things, it's it's a fuses a lot of things that affect our members lives when they are resourceful enough to be able to do their jobs.

Katie Olmsted 17:35
So I want to talk about the future. And it's a two part question. What's the future for this officers listening to her? What's next? And what do you think the future is for the education profession? Having this experience in these classrooms with our educators right now and the way they're feeling the burnout is high, so much on their plates? Is there a way out of this? Is there a way forward and better in the future?

Scott DiMauro 18:00
Well, I'll start with the short term, and that is, we're not done. You know, actually, it was, it's been interesting, like trying to deal with schedule issues. And, and, you know, we have listening toward visits all the way to the end of the year, and we're already starting to schedule, new visits for the fall, we always appreciate the opportunity to be, you know, in our schools and supporting our locals, talking with with new members and potential members at the beginning of the school year, but but one thing that we've talked about as a team is, is we it's not just about a listening to her for an intense period of time. And that was important, and that was valuable, but but we're going to continue to be in in our schools and interacting with members as much as we can. Moving forward, I just think that's really critical. And also pointing out that it's, it's not just in our traditional elementary or middle school, high school buildings, you know, with with classroom teachers, we're, we're in our ESP locals, I was in one of our higher ed locals a couple of weeks ago, and having conversation with faculty and staff, it's a wall to wall unit there. And by the way, a big takeaway there is that, boy, we really need the union and the power of our educators working together to maintain quality to stand because they're the ones that have the professionalism and have the expertise to ensure that students are getting a quality education that they deserve. So so all different kinds of settings. Also, we've we've all been to some career tech programs to which was another thing that I'll just lift up and celebrate. And this is one of the great things that we do. In our state, we need to do more of it. It's talking about individualizing opportunities for students that have a direct impact and engage them in learning in a hands on way and provide an array of opportunities that directly build future and connect Do this to communities and, and prepare people for the workforce that that kind of thing we need to see more of in, in academic, you know, traditional academic settings too. So all of these things are things that we're going to learn from what I hope will come out of this in the long run is that this way of organizing through having conversations through listening is not something that's not just something that we do as officers and interacting with members. It's something that our members I hope, are getting in the habit of saying, you know, what, in order to be taken seriously, in order to not just have gratitude, this teacher appreciation week but but really have respect and support. You do have to raise your voice and raising your voice together, and making sure that you know, from your superintendent to your state representative to your state senator, to the people in your community, and parents and so forth all need to like be listening to the voices of educators. We hope we're modeling something for other people who are in decision making roles to emulate as well.

Katie Olmsted 21:00
We President Scott DiMauro OEA Vice President Jeff wensing OEA secretary treasurer Mark Hill, thank you. As Scott mentioned, the officer's listening tour will continue through the end of this new year and beyond. So OEA leaders can continue hearing from more educators. But we also want OEA members to hear from the communities they serve. About how much they are appreciated for all they do for Ohio students. We encourage everyone to go to OH oea.org/thank a teacher for more information about how they can show their support for Ohio's dedicated educators. And while you're online, make sure you subscribe to Education Matters wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss an episode in the future. Until next time, stay well

Transcribed by https://otter.ai