Interview: Our Education Agenda

Five Questions with Josh Cowen

This week, Dr. Acton visited a school in Monroe to see and hear up close the challenges our public schools are facing:

You can read about the visit here.

And earlier this week, I had a great conversation with my friend Josh Cowen, one of our nation’s leaders on creating excellent public schools.

We talked about the recent fall in Ohio’s standing when it comes to public education (thanks to a variety of statehouse schemes and systemic underfunding). This is especially tragic when public schools were once a core strength of our state.

Josh and I talked through Dr. Acton’s and my agenda on how to once again create great public schools for Ohio families and kids—connecting our young people to the jobs of the 21st century.

Here’s an excerpt:

“In Ohio we always have prided ourselves in our schools. If you go back through the history, Ohio invented public schools as much as any state could have. I mean, it was part of the founding of Ohio that we would have great public schools.

And our campaign sees it, honestly, as a unifying issue throughout the state.

Now, as in many states, there are disagreements between certain parts of the state and other parts of the state on different policy issues. Except that’s not true with public schools. You go to a rural area, that public school is the center of that community in almost every way possible. One of the most vital centers left in these communities. And they’re seeing it run down by some of these crazy, reckless schemes, just like urban and suburban school districts that are also paying the price.

So I think for Amy Acton, all this is deeply personal. But for Ohio, it’s always been a source of pride.”

Go HERE to read out whole interview.