BY CHRISTINE WOLFF
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Eight local educational programs have received 1998 Ohio's BEST Practices awards, for innovative plans ranging from strengthening writing skills of high school seniors to teaching leadership to sixth-graders.
Local school districts winning include Cincinnati, Mount Healthy, Indian Hill, Oak Hills and Reading.
The local awards are among 38 given statewide by BEST (Building Excellent Schools for Today & the 21st Century), a non-profit consortium of education, business and community organizations.
Winners, selected from among 294 nominations received from 52 counties, receive a terra-cotta sculpture.
BEST's goals are to provide "much-deserved recognition for schools, school districts and communities that are achieving excellent results," said John Goff, BEST's co-chairman and superintendent of the Ohio Department of Education.
Sharing successful programs with other schools also is a goal, said Bob Boltz, a BEST spokesman.
"There's an underlying belief that somewhere in Ohio somebody is doing something to address problems all educators face," Mr. Boltz said. "We want to encourage people to customize and modify the BEST Practices to fit their schools."
Local school winners:
Hyde Park School (Cincinnati Public Schools) -- "Expeditionary Learning: A Model for Parental and Community Involvement," which teaches how to use community sources to research an unfamiliar subject. Students started their own businesses after interviewing local small-business owners and their parents, and using the Internet.
Indian Hill Exempted Village School District -- "School Planning Teams," composed of parents, faculty, staff and students who set long-range goals and short-term objectives for school improvements. Mount Healthy City School District and Raymond Walters College of the University of Cincinnati -- "Shrinking the Margins: Writing Portfolios and Senior Writing Intervention," aimed at reducing the number of students needing remedial English in their freshman college year.
Oakdale Elementary School (Oak Hills Local School District) -- "TOTAL -- Teaching Oakdale to Achieve Leadership," funded by a $5,000 grant from AT&T that covered training for staff on teaching leadership skills to sixth-graders. Oakdale's incoming sixth-graders were treated last summer to a sleep-over night at school, with activities aimed at developing leadership.
Reading Community City School District -- "Early Identification Program: Trained Volunteers Helping At-risk Kindergarten and First-grade Students," in such areas as reading, hand-to-eye coordination and developmental skills.
Local community winners:
Cincinnati Youth Collaborative -- "Volunteer Project -- Mentoring Program," which trains people to work with students to keep them in school, serving as academic coaches and role models.
Resources and Instruction for Staff Excellence Inc. (RISE) -- "Winning Teams for Young Children," a training series for adults who work with children via videos and satellite hook-ups.
Clermont County Educational Service Center -- "Changing the Way We Teach: An Integrated Approach."
