Public Education Matters

Various student voices 0:08
Public education matters. Public education matters. Public education matters.

Jeff Wensing 0:15
This is Public Education Matters brought to you by the Ohio Education Association.

Katie Olmsted 0:26
Welcome back to Public Education Matters. I'm your host, Katie Olmsted, and I'm part of the communications team for the Ohio Education Association and the nearly 120,000 public school educators OEA represents around the state. Public school educators have super powers. They can juggle dozens of students needs at once. They can solve problems on the fly and work well with everybody who has a stake in those solutions to boot. They can think 16 steps ahead and make sure the 1000 potential challenges they face on any given day can become opportunities for students to learn, grow and thrive in their care, like I said, super powers. And it turns out those super powers are super helpful in city government too. Just ask Shanette Strickland, she's a Columbus Education Association member who has served on the Reynoldsburg City Council since 2019 and she's running for Reynoldsburg City Auditor right now. Now I should say she is not an OEA endorsed candidate. OEA members don't make recommendations in races like this one, but Shanette has a big recommendation for her fellow educators. She says you should be at the table when decisions are made, and you should run for elected office to get there.

Shanette Strickland 1:46
Hello. I am Shanette Strickland, and I currently serve as Reynoldsburg Council President, and I'm ready to be Reynoldsburg next city auditor. I am currently a Columbus city school employee, and I'm a Career Technical educator teaching at one of the middle schools here in Columbus, teaching IT, information technology to our sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

Katie Olmsted 2:14
So you wear a heck of a lot of hats right now. Talk to me a little bit about what brought you into city government. We talk a lot about the need for educators to run for school board or the State House. We don't talk a lot to educators who are now you know the city council president. How did that happen?

Shanette Strickland 2:37
Really my journey started back in 2017 I was always heavily involved with my community, meaning being a teen mom, being on the Reynoldsburg football parent association as treasurer or just an advocate for our young people. And so that's really how I started my journey. Someone, another woman, asked me to become her campaign manager. And at first, you know, as women, we are always busy. We always doing other things. We're involved in a lot of other things. And so I said, No. I said, Absolutely not. I'm busy. And so she looked at me and said, Shanette, I really could use your help. And I thought about it. And of course, having conversations with my kids and my husband, they said, go for it, and because I was, my background is in information technology, running programs, staying on task, making sure that stuff got done. Those were some of the key skill sets that really helped me become a campaign manager that I was able to bring to this young woman's campaign.

Katie Olmsted 4:09
And from there, you then ended up throwing your own hat into the ring for leadership. Why?

Shanette Strickland 4:14
Yeah, yeah. So when you know being out in the community, people were thinking saying, Shanette, it you should run for city council in Reynoldsburg. And I said to myself, I can do this. You know, when you have the opportunity to be in the community, networking, talking to people, learning and asking a few people to be your mentors, especially in the time where, again, I'm not brought up, you know, in the political world, my background was strictly IT and and so I ended up finding some mentors to really help me gain the skill sets that I needed. And so in 2019 I ran to become Reynoldsburg's first black woman elected to Reynoldsburg City Ward One, and so given that opportunity, because I'd never forget back in 2017 being in the Yanni and sitting at city council, and another white man looked at another white man and said, discrimination doesn't happen in Reynoldsburg. And it said, I don't know what, what crowds they have been involved in, or who they've been around, but we know discrimination happens, and so I believe that that time, it really takes a community. It takes you know, people who Reynoldsburg had changed. The diversity have changed so much, and so I wanted to be a part of the change and really bring legislation that really impacts families here at Reynoldsburg. And that's how I really end up getting involved, is, again, helping someone else try to achieve their goals. And then other folks said, Hey, you'll be a great asset to Reynoldsburg, and you should run for a political seat. And so that's what happened in 2019.

Katie Olmsted 6:10
Fast forward to 2025 you are running again to be the city auditor for Reynoldsburg. Why? What? What do you bring to that role and and why make that jump?

Shanette Strickland 6:26
You know, I was appointed to council president earlier this year in January 2025, and I really thought at the time that, hey, you know, I passed more legislation that really impact families, and I wanted to do more. I end up, you know, things that were happening here in Reynoldsburg. I was part of the finance committee. I chair the public service and transportation committee back in 2020, and so that gave me the opportunity to learn more about what was going on with the finances. And at that time, Reynoldsburg was we had just built our YMCA, and I started asking questions about, why are we going over budget 1.3 million, not just once, but twice. And so I started really asking these questions. I was part of the treasurer for the Joint Economic Development District where we work hand in hand with the Aetna Township. And so we have meetings about new development that's coming to our city. Also, I sit on the as the treasurer for the city, for the TIF board. They call it the Tax Incentive Review Council Board, where it allows me to learn more what's happening across Franklin County, Lincoln County and Fairfield County about our finances. And so I was encouraged to run, and I felt with my skills as being a IT program manager, managing people, managing budgets and tasks, and also having the knowledge to understand the different platforms within the city have allowed me to run for City Auditor. And so with my skill sets and also my education background, I believe that I am the best candidate for the city auditor role.

Katie Olmsted 8:32
Well, it occurs to me that you have been on City Council since 2019 and you've been an educator for three years. So while you were serving on city council, you became an educator. Talk to me about that journey.

Shanette Strickland 8:49
I know right again, somehow my friends have ended up getting me into these positions. I wanted to give back to young people again, not realizing my heart is with our young people and how they can see someone who have came from little to nothing and still be able to succeed. And I tell my kids all the time, you do not have to be the smartest one in the room. You just have to be the most determined one in the room to make a difference and be able to strive to to be your best, not that you're going to have all the answers all the time, but surrounding yourself with good people to help you make the best decisions. And so a friend of mines, I was looking to get out to, you know, get out from being a IT program manager. And so she said, Shanette, what you think about becoming an educator? And I say, Oh girl, no, thank you. Not for me. And so here I am, right. Three years later, I started out as a substitute teacher being a building sub, and then my principal said, Shanette, do you have a background in it, right? And I say, Yes. She said, Well, I think you would be great for this position if we're a career technical educator position. I said, Well, I try it, you know, and I love math, I love science. And I was like, Okay, I could do this right in my head, I can do this and really teaching our young people about the opportunities to build web pages, right? They on all these different apps. How can you, if you have a small business? A lot of our young people have the mindset to be entrepreneurs. So how can you do hair? But you can build a website, or if you want to cut hair, or, you know, sell gym shoes online. How can you better yourself to build in a website to help you get there, just knowing the basics will allow you to actually be able to promote your business. And so having those, those conversations, and I tell my kids that what we do in this class is more than just, you know, the day to day books, right, or coding. It really has to do with life learning lessons that the things you have to do in my class meaning being able to communicate with people, being able to analyze a situation, being able to think outside the box, that everything is not just black and white. There's a little gray in between there, but those are the moments that you can really solve issues if you just have the foundation. And so that's what I try to teach my kids, is about the foundation of understanding how to communicate, how to look at things differently, and pushing my kids to do better, because I tell them that it's not about just doing A, B, C, D, E and F. It's about understanding how are you getting from point A to point B, and being able to really understand that method and analyzing the reasons why we're doing it, and our kids do it already. They're doing this already. I'm just opening them up to a different way of thinking.

Katie Olmsted 12:36
that said being an educator is hard. There's, frankly, there's a reason I'm not an educator, because that job is too hard for me.

Shanette Strickland 12:43
Middle schoolers. Oh, middle schoolers, they are no joke, let me tell you.

Katie Olmsted 12:50
And that's why we need good people and great educators serving our kids. It is a hard job, and especially those first few years, can be incredibly hard. Have you taken advantage of any of the opportunities with the Ohio New Educators, the ONE program to support you in this phase of your career?

Shanette Strickland 13:13
Yeah. Again, I am a early educator. I'm still learning right but having one there to encourage me, being able to communicate, getting advice from, you know, educators who have been in this game for a very long time is very helpful, because, again, I'm still new at this profession, and being able to soak in the do's and don'ts and maybe Shanette that you need to look at things a little bit different. ONE has really helped me with that, also giving you know me, the opportunity to represent ONE at different leadership conferences, being able to speak to other new educators that's coming in about how important one is and what they have been able to do for me, and I'm hoping that our new educators would follow up regarding if you looking to take on more leadership role, there is a program that's there for you that's able to help you maneuver, and ONE has been that opportunity for me.

Katie Olmsted 14:24
Now, the opportunities outside of the classroom. How do your skills as an educator translate to those leadership roles?

Shanette Strickland 14:35
Yeah. I mean, hey, if you can manage sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Adults are no problem, right? Like sixth, seventh and eighth graders, like they say, what they mean? You know, as adults, we try to hold in what we really are thinking. But again, it's one of those things you you're learning how to communicate with someone who see things a little bit different than you do. And for example, I was teaching some coding, and some of my sixth graders are kind of struggling with the reading portion of it. So as an educator, I had to think about, how can I help our kids do better in this class? And maybe it's not so much reading activities, but short coding that they can grasp a little easier for them to be able to learn. And so I had to change the way that I think I thought, and also, how can I teach this? Because I know they can get it. And so that fell back on me as an educator, to be able to still challenge my students but still get them where I need them to be. And so I had to go and say, okay, we need to do some things different. I had to refocus. And so as an adult, when I'm dealing as a council president, and I'm working with different directors, or our mayor or our city attorney, they may not see things the way that I see it, however, having those conversations and trying to be able to relate to them in specific way could help also solve issues and solve problems, because as Council President, I'm here to manage the meetings, making sure that the other council members have what they need to be able to make sound decisions given the information that we have and ask important questions for our citizens, to be able to provide the best service for our constituents here, and so having those tools as an educator, being able to talk to, you know, our young people and adults, is something that you know, I really didn't think connect, however it really does. It really does.

Katie Olmsted 16:58
You think other educators realize how much their skills from the classroom would be valuable in, in those kind of leadership roles?

Shanette Strickland 17:07
I don't think people really try to connect those dots, but they really do connect, because again, you're managing young people, you're you're having those conversations, those tough conversations, with the parent, if you're, if the child is, you know, having some issues with grades, or may, you know, some behavior issues. But then you realizing, hey, when we're we're working with some of our constituents or other people that's at City Hall, you're having tough conversations, you're making tough decisions. And then also, at the end of the day, as a educator, you want that child to pass a class and for them to do well, not just in class, but in life. And so as they you know, being as Council President, I have been able to link and say, Okay, well, I want my my neighbors, to do well, be prosper, be able to thrive, be able to have jobs here. How can I work with other council members to make sure that happens, or when we have, when we have discussions regarding what type of opportunities that's coming to Reynoldsburg, meaning development. What kind of jobs can we have here? How will our constituents, our neighbors, be able to thrive here in Reynoldsburg? And so those tough conversations definitely transfer, transferable skills are really relatable when you just having those simple conversations with individuals.

Katie Olmsted 18:42
And how do our communities benefit when we have educators in the room, when, when the decisions are being made with educator voices helping to shape that policy?

Shanette Strickland 18:52
Yeah, when you have educators and having someone firsthand to be at the table to making edge, you know, making decisions based off of our schools, based off of the legislation that may be coming from the state house. It's so important to have someone there who have experience those type of concerns that our kids are going that our teachers are going through. It's very important. So I will tell any educator, if they are looking to you know, really talk about leadership. Really talk about making a difference in the state of Ohio at the State House, really consider running for an elected seat. We have the tools already. You'll use those same tools to be able to communicate with somebody at the as a legislator and, you know, to be able to get stuff done, you know, because it's very vital nowadays, more than ever, having teachers at the table. Who have experienced this, you know, but having an educator there to be able to say, hey, we need to maybe spend a little more time because our kids don't even have the basic things, it's going to be useful having an educator at the helm when having those conversations.

Katie Olmsted 20:20
Well, thank you so much for having this conversation with us today, and good luck with your campaign for city auditor.

Shanette Strickland 20:27
Well, thank you. We have 15 more days to get through, and myself and my campaign team have been knocking on the doors and educating people on how important it is to you know vote, making sure that you know every vote really counts, especially during these non presidential election and how we are closest to the problem when it comes to taking care of your streets, making sure your trash is picked up, and then also working very closely with those at the State House regarding property taxes. It's very important that you have someone that's closest to the problem, because we're the ones who got the solutions.

Katie Olmsted 21:17
Shanette said in there she had 15 days to go. That was true when we spoke to her on October 21st Election Day is now less than two weeks away. Please make sure you vote on or before November 4th. There are city office races on ballots across the state, not to mention school board races and levy votes you and your students can't afford for you to sit this one out. I know it can be tempting to tune it all out and just disengage, but our students need you to stand up for them, and that's just what our guest on next week's episode did when our state lawmakers broke their promise to fully and fairly fund our public schools in the state budget. We're hearing from a Jackson City Schools educator who turned her anger into action with her community, and that's one of many conversations we're having this season with the people who are shaping our public education landscape every day, because in Ohio, public education matters.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai