September 2015 issue of Inside OESCA

Inside OESCA
INNOVATE. EDUCATE. ADVOCATE.
ESC Spotlight: Warren County ESC
This quarter, OESCA is highlighting the
Warren County Educational Service
Center (ESC).
Headquartered in
Lebanon, Ohio, the Warren County ESC
serves 20 districts in Warren County and
across Southwest Ohio, with 8 districts
aligned to the ESC under section
3313.843 of the Ohio Revised Code.
The mission of the Warren County ESC is
to:
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

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“Promote excellence in education
through quality services;
Provide the most efficient and
economical means to deliver
specialized services;
Promote
innovation
and
education change; and
Meet
established
mandates
required in providing services to
local school districts.”
Recognizing that each district is unique
and diverse, the ESC, like all ESCs,
customizes programs and services to
enhance learning and meet the specific,
individualized needs of each client district
and the students they serve. According to
the ESC, “Our ultimate goal is for all
students to have positive learning
opportunities which we strive to achieve
through teamwork, effective leadership
and mutual support.”
To follow are just a few facts about the
ESC, its staff, and the schools and
students it serves:
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Warren County ESC employs
approximately 350 personnel.
The ESC is aligned to 8 “client
districts” with over 31,100
students; the ESC, however,
serves a total of 65,150 students in
20 districts in Southwest Ohio
through
various
contracted
programs and services.
The Warren County ESC
provides a wide variety of student
services including, but not limited
to, ACT Test Prep, Coordinated
Care, School and Community
Mental Health Services, Work
Study Coordination, Alternative
Schools, and the Transition
Living Classroom.
September 2015
What’s Inside
1 ESC Spotlight
2 Geauga County ESC’s
Straight-A Grant
4 ESC of Central Ohio
Engages Achieve
5 Tackling Truancy:
Liaison Aims to Keep
Students in School
6 Gaming? In School?
7 OESCA Reveals New
Logo
8 Missi Zender-Sakach
Earns Hall of Honor
Award
9 OESCA Welcomes
New Superintendents
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The Warren County ESC is one of
6 ESCs as well as a JVSD to serve
as statewide preservice bus driver
trainers. The instruction is
provided by preservice instructors
who are assigned to certain
counties in eight geographic
regions of Ohio. Warren County
ESC serves Butler, Clermont,
Clinton, Fayette, Hamilton, and
Warren counties.
In the 2013-2014 school year, the
ESC hosted approximately 30
professional
development

activities attended by over 800
teachers and administrators.
For every one dollar in state
funding the Warren County ESC
received in FY 2014, it leveraged
an additional $2.37 in state and
federal grants on behalf of its
client school districts – this is a
great return on investment.
For More Information
On the Warren County ESC,
go to:
http://www.warrencountyes
c.com/.
Geauga County ESC Uses a Straight-A Grant to Open a
STEM School in Northeast Ohio
By Trista Linden-Warren, CEO/Superintendent, iSTEM
County ESC Assistant Superintendent
Suzanne Allen, and iSTEM
CEO/Superintendent Dr. Trista LindenWarren.
Abstract
This article shares the development of a
STEM school and Quest Lab in northeast
Ohio, which was supported through a
$5.9 million Straight A grant and uses a
shared services model.
On Wednesday, August 12, 2015,
iSTEM Geauga Early College High
School opened its doors to its first class
of students. 44 students from Geauga,
Lake and surrounding counties embarked
on a STEM education journey that will
lead them to college credit, real world
experiences, and prepare them for a
variety of postsecondary options after
graduation. STEM stands for Science,
Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics yet it is about the
techniques used to actively engage
minds. The iSTEM journey is the
brainchild of Geauga County ESC
leadership, including GCESC
Superintendent Matt Galemmo, Geauga
“We must be sure that all of today’s
students are prepared and ready for the
opportunities of tomorrow,” said Geauga
ESC Assistant Superintendent Suzanne
Allen. “STEM education is a hands-on
approach to learning that makes the
classroom to come to life, allowing
minds to grow. We are collaborating
with school districts in Geauga County to
ensure our students get an exceptional
educational experience that will prepare
them for 21st century careers.”
Not Your Traditional School
iSTEM students experience school
differently than students in a traditional
school. In a STEM school, academics
are taught to mastery, which means
students do not move on until they have
mastered course content. The learning
environment is personalized to
accommodate each student’s interests
and preferences, and content is taught
through problem and project based
learning. Students will work in teams on
design challenges, interact with local
business partners, and collaborate with
students in other schools across the
globe. iSTEM students own their
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learning. Each student received a Mac
Air book on August 12, and they will use
them to collaborate with each other and
globally with partner schools. Students
also have access to a Fab Lab, which will
give them opportunities to work with
cutting edge technology, such as 3D
printers, engravers, and CNC machines.
To ensure a high quality program within
the new high school, iSTEM leaders
visited a number of successful STEM
schools and programs in Ohio and
worked with their leaders to design a
school that is best suited for students in
northeast Ohio. We then applied for
STEM designation from the state and
were awarded the credential from The
Ohio Department of Education in the
spring. This designation makes the
school part of the Ohio STEM Learning
Network (OSLN). The application
process for STEM designation was
rigorous and competitive, and of the 30
total applications, only nine were
selected for the final round of review,
where four reviewers scored each
application on a rubric. iSTEM received
55/65 possible points and became one of
only 5 schools that were approved
without conditions for the STEM
designation.
“We were very pleased to be recognized
as a school with a high quality STEM
program for students in Geauga and
surrounding counties. We are doing
everything we can to ensure we deliver a
high quality and engaging educational
experience and opportunity to our
students, one in which they own the
learning. Our teachers have spent part of
their summer in intensive professional
development where they learned to use
and apply the technology we have
available. They also used this summer
for collaboration to create project-based
lessons and design challenges. The
learning never ends,” said Trista LindenWarren, CEO/Superintendent of iSTEM.
The state will implement a monitoring
process to ensure iSTEM retains a STEM
focus, and school leaders will regularly
work with OSLN and other STEM
schools to design and build competitive
and rigorous programming. iSTEM
Geauga Early College High School
leaders built courses for freshmen and
sophomores and plan to expand the
curriculum as these students progress
through high school. This year, students
are taking English, Biology, Algebra 1,
Algebra 2, Geometry, Art, exploring
computer science, environmental
science, and an elective. The school also
offers a J-Term (in January) and a May
Term, which are two week terms offered
for remediation and enrichment
opportunities. A partnership with
Lakeland Community College has been
established and other local universities
will be established this year to ensure
students have access to college credit
while they are still in high school.
Evolving business partnerships will also
lend themselves to opportunities for
mentoring, internships and job
shadowing experiences for iSTEM
students in the future.
iSTEM Geauga Early College High
School was made possible through a $5.9
million Straight A grant. The school is
housed on Auburn Career Center’s
Campus in Concord Township.
Renovations started in January 2015 to
transform two key spaces into high tech
learning environments. iSTEM
classrooms feature movable furniture,
and adjustable spaces to accommodate a
creative and flexible learning atmosphere
and an expansive range of technology.
“We want iSTEM to provide students
with a very personalized experience.
Our facility’s design will enable teachers
to be very creative in how they set up
and use the classroom spaces. We will
also have a variety of shared spaces for
students to use as they collaborate
around real world problems,” says
Geauga ESC Assistant Superintendent
Suzanne Allen.
Collaboration and Shared
Services Keys to Success
The new STEM school was the key focus
of the Straight A grant. Using a shared
services model and remodeling space at
Auburn Career Center, the partners were
able to reduce costs for the planning,
renovations and technology needed for
iSTEM Early College High School, so
grant dollars could also be used to
support the development of the
classroom of tomorrow – today. In
addition, significant resources were
devoted to staff professional
development allowing them to offer
students the high quality teaching
professionals these types of schools
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require. The Fab Lab (Quest Lab) is
shared with Auburn Career Center and
offers students from both schools the
opportunity to work with state-of-the-art
3-D printers, a laser engraver, printer
cutter, flatbed printer, and CNC
machines. iSTEM teachers and students
will have direct access to these resources
for students to create and design
solutions for real world problems and
demonstrate their learning of academic
content.. In addition, a second Fab Lab,
one that is mobile, was developed so that
other school districts in Geauga County
can request to use it. The grant also
provided funds for middle school career
development programming and
technology to enable iSTEM teachers to
collaborate with teachers in surrounding
districts, including Berkshire, Cardinal,
and Kenston and Ledgemont (now part
of Berkshire Local School District).
Preparing Students for the
Global Workforce
“It is clear that STEM education is
essential in preparing our students for
successful careers in the global
workforce,” said Superintendent Matt
Galemmo. “iSTEM Geauga Early
College High School will be the
educational center for high school
students. Our teachers will lead the way
in Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math education. It is because of the
dedication and unprecedented
commitment of our educators and
business leaders that this vision is
becoming a reality in Geauga County.”
When fully operational, iSTEM Geauga
Early College High School will be able
to serve approximately 400 students from
area school districts across Ohio. The
school’s curriculum will be aligned to
STEM educational standards as defined
by the Ohio Department of Education
and key university and corporate partners
will provide valuable experiences to
ensure the region develops students who
are ready to contribute and lead in the
21st Century workplace.
Enrollment is still open and anyone
interested in learning more can contact
iSTEM at 440.358.8038 or online at
www.istemghs.org. For regular updates,
photos and information, follow
@istemghs on Twitter and like our page
on Facebook.
Trista Linden-Warren is the
CEO/Superintendent of iSTEM and has
been instrumental in guiding the various
projects within the grant.
ESC of Central Ohio Engages Achieve to Collaborate
and Review the Use of the Student Assessment
Inventory Process
By Educational Service Center of Central Ohio
The Educational Service Center of
Central Ohio is one of four sites in the
nation (others are in Connecticut,
Illinois, and Tennessee) that have
engaged with Achieve to collaborate on
and review the use of the Student
Assessment Inventory process. Through
the project, with the advice of partnering
districts, the ESC has been consulting
with and providing feedback to Achieve
representatives.
Achieve is an independent, non-partisan,
nonprofit education reform organization
dedicated to working with states to raise
academic standards and graduation
requirements, improve assessments and
strengthen accountability.
The purpose of the Student Assessment
Inventory is to review all diagnostic,
instructional (formative), and
accountability (summative) assessments
that are administered in grades K-12, to
identify their intended purposes, and to
determine if these assessments are still
being used in a manner that aligns with
original intentions.
“The ESC of Central Ohio is committed
to this pilot project. With student
assessment prevalent in the national
spotlight, it is critical that we determine
if these assessments are still being used
in a manner that aligns with original
intentions. The inventory process does
not presuppose that tests will be
necessarily eliminated,” said ESC of
Central Ohio Superintendent Tom
Goodney. “However, together with our
partner districts, we hope to provide
feedback that will create a coherent and
aligned district assessment system that
serves students.”
The inventory is also available to anyone
through the Achieve website,
achieve.org, and it has been for some
time. Districts or other educational
organizations may use the tools as they
are presented or they may modify them
to suit their purposes locally. It is an
open source tool. There are sample
surveys and focus group questions for
staff members, students, and parents that
can also be used.
Districts participating with the ESC of
Central Ohio in the inventory assessment
include Buckeye Valley, Olentangy,
Westerville, and Worthington.
Superintendent of Worthington City
Schools, Trent Bowers, said, "The
Student Assessment Inventory was a
powerful tool in reviewing our
assessments for alignment to the new
standards. With the increased emphasis
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on time and resources, the inventory
provided a process to ensure we are
being intentional in the administration,
collection, and use of assessments for
student learning."
Neil Gupta, Director of Secondary
Education for Worthington City Schools,
is leading the ESC’s efforts with the
student inventory process. He said, "Our
work at the Educational Service Center
to support the pilot districts with the
Student Assessment Inventory was vital
in providing coordination and support to
the districts to follow a process and
communicate the results effectively."
At the end of the inventory process, each
district will have actionable
recommendations to share with its local
Board of Education that have the
potential to increase instructional time,
decrease assessment time and cost, and
create a coherent and aligned district
assessment system that serves students.
For More Information
About the outcome of this
pilot project, visit
http://www.achieve.org/as
sessmentinventory
Tackling Truancy: Liaison Aims to Keep Students in
School
By Amy Gareis, Public Relations Coordinator, Jefferson County Educational
Service Center
Abstract
A growing number of truancy cases in
the Jefferson County Juvenile Court
system has led to a new shared program
through the Jefferson County
Educational Service Center (JCESC) that
intends to keep students on the right
path.
School Liaison on Board
Four school districts are taking measures
to reduce absenteeism by contracting
with JCESC to add a school liaison in
collaboration with the juvenile court.
Sean Tucker, a longtime employee of the
Jefferson County Department of Job and
Family Services and local basketball
coach, was hired over the summer to fill
that role. He has been on the job since
Aug. 10 and is working with Edison
Local, Indian Creek, Jefferson County
Joint Vocational School (JCJVS), and
Toronto City Schools throughout the
year to resolve issues before students end
up in court.
“I am the truancy liaison between
schools and the court system,” he
explained. “I will try to mediate the
underlying problem to the student’s
truancy issues and follow and track
unexcused absences through the school
districts.”
Tucker will travel throughout the area
and work with an estimated 7,500
students in the participating districts. To
prepare, he has been networking with
similar officials in Harrison County,
Columbus, and Cleveland. A typical
workday entails traveling to the schools,
meeting with principals, gathering
information on unexcused absences, and
reaching out to those with cases of
chronic tardiness and absenteeism to get
to the root of the problem. He brings a
wealth of experience dealing with
children, both through his work with
DJFS and as a high school coach, and he
plans to work with students and their
families to bring forth a resolution that
will keep kids in class.
“I want to work with parents as much as
I can to right the ship a little bit. If I can’t
do that, I will go through the court
system,” he said. “My goal is to keep
them out of court.”
pronged method to help kids stay in
school and obtain a diploma so they can
become successful adults.
“Years ago, we had a social educator and
they were akin to a school liaison. In
these truancy cases, so many kids fall
through the cracks. The liaison can get to
more kids quicker because he meets with
each school district every week,” the
judge commented. “I see it as a dual
advantage, not just because we could get
quicker and better results but that we can
get to the reasons for it. We can serve
children in Jefferson County better and
get them an education. The goal of this is
to improve the education and the quality
of education for every kid. The idea also
is to nip it in the bud so [the number of
absences] doesn’t get into the 30’s, 40’s
or 50’s. I think Sean will do a good job.
He’s passionate and committed.”
A Call to Action
The concept was the brainchild of
Jefferson County Juvenile Court Judge
Joseph Corabi, who approached
educators this past year after noticing a
significant rise in truancy cases on his
docket. Over the summer, Judge Corabi
met with school superintendents and the
JCESC to discuss details and finalize an
agreement. School leaders inked a deal
through JCESC to share Tucker’s
services and costs. JCESC hired Tucker
and will also pay a share of the amount,
while the county has provided $10,000
through the court to help cover expenses.
Judge Corabi said hundreds of cases
have come before him with some
students having in excess of 50 absences.
He sees the liaison as part of a two-
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School liaison Sean Tucker is working with four
districts to help curb truancy issues in collaboration
with the Jefferson County Educational Service
Center and the county juvenile court system.
The ESC’s Role
Jeff Oblak, director of special
education/preschool supervisor for
JCESC, said the concept basically carries
on the tasks of the previous social
educator’s program.
“This was a collaboration that Judge
Corabi brought up to the superintendents
to help reduce truancy in the school
districts,” Oblak said. “[The Harrison
Hills City School District] has a similar
program. Each district tracks students’
attendance and Mr. Tucker will talk to
the parents and students to see if he can
improve attendance. This would be the
first step in trying to reduce students’
absences from school. If the absences
persist, truancy charges would be filed
against the child and the parents would
have to go to court-appointed
mediation.”
He said JCESC had a similar program six
years ago with social educators, but state
grant funding lapsed. However, the
formation of the school liaison would
basically pick up where the other
program left off.
JCESC Superintendent Dr. George Ash
said the collective goal is to give all
students every opportunity to obtain an
education.
“It’s been a pleasure working with the
districts and juvenile court on this issue,
and we look forward Sean’s contribution
to the program,” added Dr. Ash. “He
wants to help families and particularly
the students. We’re also grateful to the
court and the JCESC Governing Board
for allowing us to meet the needs of the
districts.”
Conclusion
School leaders agreed that the liaison
would give students the extra help they
need to succeed.
“I think it’s great that we’ll have
someone to support students in school
and help keep them in the classroom
where they will be more successful,” said
JCJVS Superintendent Dr. Todd
Phillipson. “I think Mr. Tucker will be an
asset to the schools he’s working with.”
Edison Local Superintendent Bill Beattie
said Tucker will be a significant resource
between the students, parents, and school
system, while his background would also
prove vital.
“Sean’s been involved with kids as a
coach. He’ll be able to relate to students
and parents and his experience will bring
a lot to the table,” Beattie added. “We’re
excited to have him come in and work
between the court and our school.”
Meanwhile, Tucker is taking an
ambitious stance as he delves into his
new role.
“My goal for the first year is not only to
learn the job but to cut the truancy
number in half,” he said. “If I only cut a
quarter of that, then I will have exceeded
what we did last year.”
Amy Gareis handles public relations for
the Jefferson County Educational Service
Center and six school districts through a
shared services program.
Gaming? In School?
By Cheryl Cronbaugh, Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center
part of our education world, we don’t
stop learning just because it is foreign to
us. Let’s take a look at some of these
words and aspects of gaming.
Glitching. Not too far off from saying
“there is a glitch in our plans”, glitching
refers to problems in a game cause by a
bug that got past quality assurance. The
game character may get stuck in a loop
or the door that was supposed to open,
just won’t.
Glitching. Grinding. Clan. MMORPG.
FPS. XP. NPC. OMG! If you have
trouble just keeping up with education
lingo and abbreviations, these terms may
be beyond your comfortable zone. With
the advent of gaming we introduced a
whole new “language” used by
experienced gamers. As in every other
Grinding. Get you minds out of the
gutter, this is persevering at a certain
element of a game to raise your
experience level. The game might have
extra points for grabbing all of a certain
symbol or defeating extra characters.
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Clan. Just what you would assume, this
is a group of people but in gaming they
may not be made of people who know
each other. They come together to form a
team. It really is a cool aspect of gaming
because they learn to work together.
MMORPG. This stands for Massively
Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
You might not know any of them but
people all around the world may be
playing the same game with you online.
An example would be World of
Warcraft. FPS. First Person Shooter.
Games that have the player managing a
weapon or work tool in front of them as
if they were holding the item. They
typically don’t see their own character in
this scenario. Call of Duty would be a
good example of this type of game.
XP. Experience Points. As you progress
through a game you are earning points
and these points allow you to add new
abilities or weapons. You might hear
students saying how many experience
points thy have in a particular game.
education was on the right track, we just
didn’t move as quickly as those who
didn’t care about reality. There are many
educational games sold by vendors for
the classroom but their focus has been on
elementary students.
NPC. Non-Player Character. In many
games there are characters that are not
managed by the player or an opponent
but rather by the computer or artificial
intelligence.
Minecraft has probably made the biggest
impact to date with the K-12 crowd. It
was little hard for me to understand the
appeal at first. The graphics are rough
compared to today’s high tech options
but there many choices and tools and
very little rules. Just build. It seems kids
like the freedom of building things any
way they want. The bonus factors, they
can work with a friend online and they
can chat. Yes, there are a host of things
that could go wrong with those options
but many kids seem to self-monitor.
Building elaborate home networks that
they share keeps them off the whole web
and they set their own rules about
destroying each other’s work.
OMG. Oh my “gosh”. How will we keep
up with all of this? It seems
overwhelming but the best way is to
listen. Whether it is classroom students,
or your own children or grandchildren,
watch them play, listen to them talk. You
will be surprised at the level of
collaboration, higher level thinking, and
problem solving going on. You might
even consider trying to play them
yourself, it will be a great way to connect
and possibly humble yourself with your
students.
So what is the educational application to
knowing about gaming? Probably, the
first observation is, games have captured
the interest and perseverance of students.
Game designers have managed to “get
users to master challenging material that
requires practice and persistence.” (Greg
Toppo quoting James Paul Gee, The
Game Believes in You, 2015) What can
educator do to achieve that same level of
interest and perseverance? The answer is
still being discovered but for those who
recall “The Oregon Trail”, “Lemonade
Stand” and “Number Munchers”
So what about educational gains in
gaming? In his book, The Game Believes
in You, Greg Toppo suggest there are
some research based benefits. For
starters, visual acuity, attention control
and emotional regulation have been seen
as a side effect. Depending on the games,
he points out that decision making skills,
mental rotation and the ability to switch
rapidly between competing tasks are
some positive effects. Additionally,
research has shown these skills are
developed after a few times playing
games and have long term life spans up
to months and years. Lastly, he notes that
researchers have compared gamers to
gurus because games help regulate one’s
attention, allowing them to use less effort
to stay focused. Now that is a gain we
need in the classroom.
Check Out These
Resources!
For more gaming and the
impact it is having and
going to have on
education:
Gee, James Paul. What Video
Games Have to Teach Us
about Learning and Literacy.
New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2003. Print.
McGonigal, Jane. Reality Is
Broken: Why Games Make Us
Better and How They Can
Change the World. New York:
Penguin, 2011. Print.
Toppo, Greg. The Game
Believes in You: How Digital
Play Can Make Our Kids
Smarter. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2015. Print.
OESCA Unveils New Logo as Part of Branding
Campaign
By Craig Burford, Executive Director, Ohio ESC Association
At the dawn of a new century of service,
OESCA has developed a branding and
marketing campaign to establish a new
brand identity for the association and to
reintroduce Ohio’s Educational Service
Centers (ESCs) to key stakeholders.
This strategic and targeted effort includes
a new, clean revised logo design, which
is revealed on the cover, for the first
time, of this edition of Inside OESCA.
What does the logo represent?
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
The colors and design are an
homage to Ohio’s state flag – the
Ohio burgee designed by John
Eisemann and adopted in 1902.

The “O” in OESCA’s new logo
stands for “Ohio” but also serves
a greater purpose.
committee and membership want the
association to become – “Innovate.
Educate. Advocate.”

The “O” is a circle, with no
beginning
and
no
end,
symbolizing the infinite number
of customized, student-focused
and customer-driven products and
services offered by Ohio’s ESCs
to their client districts.
What does OESCA do?

The blue corner arrows represent
the active branching out of ESCs
into their respective communities
reflecting the numerous “touch
points” that ESCs have from
birth-to-3, from pre-K to grade
12, from college into the adult
workforce, and with broader
community stakeholders.
These values are embodied in the state
association, OESCA, established to
represent the interests of Ohio’s Network
of ESCs and articulated in our mission
to, “…provide leadership and services
that enable school districts to increase
student achievement and improve Ohio’s
educational system.”
Accompanying the new logo is a new,
aspirational tagline reflecting what
OESCA does and what the executive

Innovate. OESCA seeks to be
service-oriented,
pioneering
education
thought
leaders
providing
superior
member
services
that
support
the
development
of
innovative
educational products and services
by Ohio’s ESCs.

Educate.
OESCA seeks to
identify best practices in service
design,
operations,
fiscal
performance,
and
academic
outcomes and transfer that
knowledge through professional
development
offerings
and
research to build the capacity of
our member ESCs.

Advocate. OESCA advocates for
Ohio’s network of ESCs by
providing legislative updates,
coordinating member lobbying
efforts
and
organizing
communications
among
its
member organizations.
OESCA’s New Tagline reflects our
vision that, “OESCA will be recognized
at state and national levels for
educational leadership and superior
member services.”
While the name, purpose and mission of
OESCA has not changed, by building a
new and enhanced brand identity we
seek to generate increased recognition
for the association and our member
ESCs.
People develop relationships with the
brands they trust, and the best brands
reinforce trust while building
connections and driving the desired
outcomes. This is what OESCA aspires
to be. This is what drives OESCA to
innovate, educate, and advocate for
Ohio’s largest and longest serving
regional education service providers –
ESCs!
OESCA’s branding campaign was led by
Jeff Weir, Clermont County ESC, and
the OESCA PR & Marketing Committee
with designs by James Kuty with
KutyKreative. James Kuty is a
creative/art director specializing in
athletic branding and graphic design.
KutyKreative is based in Cuyahoga
Falls, Ohio.
Missi Zender-Sakach Earns Plastics Hall of Honor Award
By Summit County Educational Service Center
The Summit County Educational Service
Center (SCESC) is pleased to announce
that SCESC Science Consultant Missi
Zender-Sakach, Ph.D., of Stow, was
recently presented the Plastics Hall of
Honor Award by the Society of Plastics
Engineers during an awards ceremony at
Firestone Country Club.
“I was completely honored, and it was
wonderful to have that feeling of being so
supported,” Dr. Zender-Sakach said. “It
was especially gratifying to have a
professional organization made up of
professional scientists support an
educational initiative in STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math).”
Dr. Zender-Sakach, a former elementary
and middle school science teacher, joined
the SCESC in 1998 after spending 8 years
in the classroom. In order to bring
opportunities to local school districts, she
established a partnership with the Society
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of Plastics Engineers along with local
corporations and universities to help
broaden science instruction for students.
“There has always been a need for
schools, businesses and industries to work
together to promote the sciences in
schools. STEM is a buzz word to say what
we’ve always been doing. It’s always
been there. I think there is definitely a
switch in how we’re teaching kids, but the
basis of the philosophy is still there. We
should always be working with
businesses and industries to help students
with career choices and job placement and
to learn engineering and practices. The
focus is more prevalent now,” she said.
Her passion for creating excitement for
science education is a result of her own
self-described “horrible” experiences as
an elementary student. She believes
science should be engaging and
encourage teachers to allow their students
to explore and learn.
“Science is everywhere. It affects nearly
everything in life, from breathing to
medicine,” she said.
Dr. Zender-Sakach earned a bachelor’s
degree from Miami University. She holds
a master’s degree and a doctorate from
The University of Akron.
She has been involved in other
educational opportunities with the Akron
Council of Engineering and Scientific
Societies, American Nuclear Society and
American Chemical Society, Rubber
Division. She is currently a board member
of the Science Education Council-Ohio
and a member of the National Science
Education Leadership Association and the
National Science Teachers Association.
For More Information
On the Summit County ESC,
call 330.945.5600, ext.
511239 or visit
www.cybersummit.org.
To learn more about news
and events, follow the
SCESC on Facebook, Twitter
and LinkedIn.
OESCA Welcomes New Superintendents to Ohio’s ESCs
By Craig Burford, Executive Director, Ohio ESC Association
The Ohio ESC Association welcomes six
new superintendents this year. The list
includes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Dan Bennett, Clark County
ESC;
Terry Graves-Strieter, Greene
County ESC;
Shelly Vaughn, Mercer County
ESC;
Sandy Mers, South Central
Ohio ESC;
5.
6.
Joe Chaddock, Stark County
ESC; and
Joe Iacano, Summit County
ESC.
On average, over the past decade, ESCs
have experienced roughly 10 percent
turnover statewide in the superintendent
position in any given academic year.
With the closing of Portage County ESC
on July 1, 2015, and Mike Gray serving as
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superintendent of both Darke County and
Preble County ESCs, Ohio’s ESCs
currently employ 51 superintendents.
We welcome the new superintendents,
new treasurers, and other new ESC
personnel to the OESCA family and look
forward to our continued work in
supporting Ohio’s students and schools.
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A Special Thank You
WANT THE LATEST OESCA
NEWS? DOWNLOAD THE OESCA
APP ON iTUNES AND GOOGLE
PLAY!
To the
International Center for
Leadership in Education
For sponsoring
Eric Sheninger as an OESCA & OTESCA 2015 Fall
Conference Keynote Speaker!
Your dedication to OESCA and Ohio’s network of
ESCs does not go unappreciated!
Dates to Remember
(Check out the Master Calendar to plan ahead!)
September 29-Oct 1
ESC Leadership Series Online Course
Attracting and Retaining Talent
November 19
Grant Writer’s Workshop
October 8
Social Media Workshop for Educators
Presented by The Social Firm
November 25-27, December 24-25, 31
OESCA Observed Holidays; OECSA Office Closed
October 15-17
AMLE Conference
December 2-5
AESA Conference
November 5
Quarterly ODE Meeting
December 7
Legislative Workshop
November 9
Capital Conference Awards Banquet at the
Hilton Downtown Columbus
December 11
Business Member Appreciation Luncheon
Executive and PR & Marketing Committee Meetings
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Are You Registered?
For the
AESA 30th Annual Conference
Get Rid of the Noise and Listen to the Music!
December 2-5, 2015
Online Registration Now Available!
Check out the details with AESA’s Conference Registration Brochure
Keynote Speakers
Brandon Busteed
Thursday, December 3 we will feature Brandon Busteed, Executive Director, Gallup Education.
Dana Mortenson
Friday, December 4th, we will feature Dana Mortenson, Co-Founder and Executive Director of World Savvy. Dana’s
passion is working in partnership with educators to close the global competence gap in American education.
John Almarode
Saturday, December 5th we will feature Author of Captivate, Activate & Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and
Math, Grades 6-12, published by Corwin Press.
Breakout Session Strands
College and Career Readiness
ESA Board Leadership
STEM
Other
Inside OESCA Article Submission Guidelines




Article maximum length is 1500 words. Exceptions can be granted at the discretion of the editor.
Write about a timely and relevant topic of interest to Ohio ESCs and the Ohio education
community (e.g., Leadership, Organizational Management, Child Nutrition, Governance,
Accountability, Curriculum & Instruction, Standards and Assessment, Gifted Education, Special
Education, Shared Services, etc.)
Include a brief abstract (approximately 40 words) and a bio (approximately 20 words) with the
article.
Attach any related electronic pictures, charts or diagrams if possible and desired.
Use headings and subheadings.
Include an introduction and concluding paragraph.
Format any relevant citations according to APA Style


Size: Max – 4.25” high by 3.75” wide.
In .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PDF format.



Inside OESCA Advertisement Guidelines
Publication Dates and Deadlines for Submission
 Inside OESCA is published in September, December, March, and June of each year.
 Submission deadlines are August 15, November 15, February 15, and May 15.
Send articles and advertisements to membersupport@oesca.org prior to the deadlines outlined above.
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OESCA Business Members
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Ohio Educational Service Center Association
2015 – 2016
OESCA Officers and Executive Committee
President: Brian Bontempo, Lake County ESC
President Elect: Doug Crooks, North Point ESC
Secretary: Chris Keylor, Ohio Valley ESC
Past-President: Heather O’Donnell, Midwest Regional ESC
Legislative Liaison: Jon Graft, Butler County ESC
ODE Liaison: Doug Crooks, North Point ESC
OTESCA: Cindy Hale, Miami County ESC
Executive Director: Craig Burford, OESCA
Region 1: Sandy Frisch, ESC of Lake Erie West
Region 2: Doug Crooks, North Point ESC
Region 3: Bob Mengerink, ESC of Cuyahoga Co
Region 4: Matt Galemmo, Geauga County ESC
Region 5: John Rubesich, Ashtabula County ESC
Region 6: Dan Kaffenbarger, Madison Champaign ESC
Region 7: Linda T. Keller, Mid-Ohio ESC
Region 8: Will Koran, ESC of Medina County
Region 9: Anna Marie Vaughn, Columbiana County ESC
Region 10: Frank DePalma, Montgomery Co ESC
Region 11: Tom Goodney, ESC of Central Ohio
Region 12: David Branch, Muskingum Valley ESC
Region 13: Jeff Weir, Clermont County ESC
Region 14: James Frazier, Brown County ESC
Region 15: Sandy Mers, South Central Ohio ESC
Region 16: Rick Edwards, Athens-Meigs ESC
About OESCA
The Ohio Educational Service Center Association (OESCA) represents the superintendents, teachers,
supervisors and other personnel of Ohio's Educational Service Centers and seeks to promote
excellence in education through the quality services provided by its member organizations.
OESCA provides legislative updates, coordinates member lobbying efforts and organizes
communications among its member organizations. OESCA also provides professional development
opportunities for service center administrators and personnel through issue-related seminars and
major conferences.
Mission
OESCA and its members provide leadership and services that enable school districts to increase
student achievement and improve Ohio’s educational system.
Vision
OESCA will be recognized at state and national levels for educational leadership and superior
member services.
www.oesca.org
www.twitter.com/oesca
www.facebook.com/OhioESCAssociation
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INNOVATE. EDUCATE. ADVOCATE.
Ohio Educational Service Center Association
8050 North High Street
Suite 150
Columbus, Ohio 43235
P (614) 846-3855
F (614) 846-4081
E info@oesca.org
W oesca.org
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