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Congratulations on filing to be a candidate in the upcoming elections. Thank you for your willingness to serve your community and state. By engaging in this process, you have taken the first step in demonstrating your commitment to children in Ohio and your potential as a leader in education.

Below is the OhioKidsCAN Candidate Questionnaire. OhioKidsCAN is an advocacy organization that works to support leaders who will champion the bold education policies Ohio’s students urgently need. Our goal is to create an education system in Ohio that is world-class and excellent for all students. This organization will endorse Ohio candidates aligned with this mission.

These questions were created to understand the values of your campaign and how you align with the issues on the minds of our advocates. Completing this survey is a requirement to be considered for an endorsement.

If you have any questions, issues with the form, or are unsure about the policies detailed here do not hesitate to contact Amber Keener at 614-842-3298 or amber.keener@ohiokidscan.org. We look forward to meeting and talking with you.

Legislative Candidate Questionnaire

Updates

Contact Information

First Name

Last Name

Phone/Mobile

Party Affiliation

Name of Candidate Committee

Office you are seeking

District

Campaign Manager or Point of Contact

Campaign Website

Campaign Address

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State

Zip Code

Facebook

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Tell Us More

Ohio Schools

1. Do you think the State of Ohio is moving in the right direction with regard to K-12 education?

Yes

Please explain why or why not?

2. In what areas do you believe the State of Ohio must do better with regard to K-12 education?

3. Please choose up to top five issues you think are the most essential areas of focus for the legislature in order to provide a high quality education to Ohio K-12 students:

K-3 literacy and math screeners for students

Accountability of schools using an A-F grading scale

Increased pay across the board for teachers

Performance-based pay that rewards high quality teachers

High-level student testing to gauge the progress of schools

Increased school funding

Charter school oversight

More education options and choice selecting a school

High academic standards that will allow students to compete nationally

Create statewide high school graduation requirements

Literacy and math professional development for teachers

Career connected learning that focuses on real world experiences like work-based learning

Career connected learning that focuses on career exposures, planning and coaching to prepare students for high-demand, high-wage jobs

Utilize AI and technology in our classrooms

Other

Literacy

Ohio has made significant investments in early literacy, including the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, the use of literacy instruction coaches for teachers, and the recent transition to the “Science of Reading” approach built on phonics.

1. Do you support Ohio continuing to require the use of phonetics focused reading curricula and maintaining investments in the literacy coaches statewide?

Yes

2. Do you think students who are not reading on grade level in third grade should be retained instead of moving on to fourth grade?

Yes

Mathematics

Ohio students have, in recent years, seen a decline in their math scores, which reflect trends seen across the United States. Some other states have made policy and legislative changes to increase math proficiency scores. Ohio is starting on this path with bills such as Senate Bill 19.

1. Do you support requiring at least 60 minutes of math instruction per school day in K-8 classrooms, which is what top competing nations are doing?

Yes

2. Do you believe Ohio should guarantee access to Algebra I for high achieving middle school students, overriding potential discrepancies with district policy, to ensure all high-achieving students have access to advanced math work?

Yes

3. Do you support the state requiring math screening tests in early grades to identify which students are on track and which students need intervention?

Yes

Teacher Quality, Staffing and Compensation

1. Do you support paying teachers based on seniority rather than linking their pay to classroom effectiveness?

Yes

2. Should Ohio help address the need for teachers by expanding “Earn While You Learn” teacher pathways? This allows aspiring educators who have experience in their field but have not yet finished their certifications to begin working in schools while completing those certifications.

Yes

3. Are you in support of Ohio creating an Educator Preparation Report Card to help show which Ohio Colleges are the best at preparing Ohio teachers?

Yes

4. Should Ohio encourage strategic staffing models that place the most effective teachers in higher need schools and pay them more for that added responsibility?

Yes

5. In this same way, do you think that Ohio should support more teaching incentives that reward teachers who take on tougher assignments and perform well in the classroom?

Yes

6. Should it be easier to remove low-performing teachers from the classroom?

Yes

Education Options and School Choice

1. Do you support continuing to fund education options for parents through open enrollment, public charter schools, and private school scholarships (such as the Ohio EdChoice Expansion Program)?

Yes

2. Ohio’s public charter schools serve over 130,000 students, but they only receive about 52% of the facility funding of a traditional school district. Do you support providing equitable facility funding for quality public charter schools?

Yes

3. Do you believe Ohio should make it easier for successful public charter schools to replicate and expand?

Yes

State Testing and Accountability

Ohio has made significant changes to its school accountability system in recent years. The A-F grading scale was replaced in 2023 with a 5-star rating system and the Ohio School Report Cards which include performance, progress, and graduation metrics.

1. Do you support publishing school and district performance results in a format that is easily accessible and allows families to compare schools statewide?

Yes

2. Do you believe Ohio’s current system balances accountability and instructional flexibility?

Yes

Education and Workforce

1. Do you support expanding Ohio’s ability to link education data with workforce outcomes - such as tracking whether graduates obtain in-demand jobs so we can judge whether our education policies and investments are working?

Yes

2. If the state enhances data sharing between schools, colleges, and employers, do you believe proper safeguards are in place currently to ensure data security?

3. What information would you like the data system to provide for decision making purposes? What policies should be driven by long-term student outcome data?

4. Over the years, the State has aimed to make education and employment data more transparent and readily available to parents, educators, employers and policymakers. But gaps in data reporting remain. Do you think Ohio should invest more resources into these types of systems to guide decisions about workforce readiness and career pathways?

Yes

If you have any additional comments about the issues discussed in this survey please feel free to leave them here:

Checkbox Selection (must select to send the survey)

I understand that the OhioKidsCAN will use my answers to the questions above as one of several factors in consideration for endorsement of my candidacy. In general, OhioKidsCAN does not release the answers of the survey to the public; however, we reserve the right to do so.

Name

Date

If you have any questions about this survey, please do not hesitate to contact Amber Keener at 614-842-3298 or amber.keener@ohiokidscan.org.

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Your donation will help us provide more educational opportunities for the students of Ohio.

Contributions or gifts to OhioKidsCAN are not tax deductible as charitable contributions or as business expenses under IRS Section 162(e).

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