January 17, 2021

Public Education Partners (PEP) is a statewide nonprofit that was created to connect and unite advocates that support public school districts and the children and families they serve. The Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding (OCEASF) was organized to challenge the constitutionality of the Ohio school funding system and to secure high quality educational opportunities for all Ohio school children.

PEP and OCEASF request that all Ohioans join state, county, city, and school district leaders across Ohio in officially recognizing February 22 – February 26, 2021 as PUBLIC SCHOOLS WEEK, which will bring together educators, parents, business and community leaders, and many others across the state to show the strength—and potential—of our public schools and our students’ futures.

Issuing proclamations provides an opportunity for all to shine a positive spotlight on the K-12 public education available for children and families in Ohio. Participants should then GO PUBLIC, and proudly (and loudly) proclaim this celebration of public education with the traditional, as well as social, media!

For everyone’s convenience, PEP and OCEASF have provided some suggested proclamation language found below.

GO PUBLIC, and share the following template with state, county, city, township, and school district leaders:

WHEREAS, Ohio’s 610 public school districts serve more than 1.8 million students and employ more than 250,000 Ohioans; and

WHEREAS, the Ohio Constitution guarantees all children a free public education of high quality; and

WHEREAS, an education citizenry is essential to our democracy; and

WHEREAS, Ohio citizens recognize the important role that an effective education plays in preparing all students to be successful adults; and

WHEREAS, public education contributes to the economic vitality of the Buckeye State and to vibrant communities; and

WHEREAS, Ohio’s public school district administrators, teaching professionals, and support staff are committed to educating all of our children; and

WHEREAS, public education is celebrated across the country by millions of students, parents, educators, schools, and organizations to raise awareness of the need for effective public schools;

THEREFORE, I (or WE), ______________, do hereby recognize February 22-February 26, 2021 as PUBLIC SCHOOLS WEEK and call this observance to the attention of all Ohioans.

It “takes a village” to create strong schools, and we know our PUBLIC SCHOOLS are our children’s second homes. In addition to passing the official resolutions, school districts can use these excellent resources from Learning First Alliance for  their celebrations of Public Schools Week 2021.

#PublicSchoolProud