OMSC is the only statewide coalition in Ohio comprising individuals from the education, business, and public sectors, whose mission is to facilitate collaboration for continuous, systemic, and sustainable improvement in mathematics, science, and technology education from pre-school beyond graduate school.

Vision

EVERY OHIO HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE WILL BE SUFFICIENTLY COMPETENT IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE TO BE ABLE TO:

• Be a productive worker and a contributing citizen in the 21st Century,
• Gain entrance to an institute of higher learning of choice if desired, and,
• Be globally competitive.

Mission

OMSC WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS VISION BY:

• Fostering information sharing and facilitating communication among all mathematics and science stakeholders,
• Facilitating the definition of a continuous improvement plan for K-16 mathematics and science education and disseminating the plan,
• Supporting necessary changes in teacher pre-service training,
• Supporting necessary changes in K-12 curricula and supporting instructional materials,
• Supporting necessary changes in the manner in which student performance is assessed such that Ohio's citizens will know where its students, schools, and districts stand relative to others in Ohio, the nation, and the world, and
• Supporting legislative actions necessary to finance and accomplish the above.

Objective

OMSC WILL ACTIVELY WORK TO BUILD A STATE-WIDE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT SUPPORTS SYSTEMIC AND SUSTAINABLE IMPROVEMENTS TO OHIO'S K-16 MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION SYSTEM.

2006 Highlights

• Delivered 'Leadership in Mathematics and Science' workshops to administrators at Ohio's NASA Explorer Schools.    
• Delivered 'Resources for Sustaining Improvement in Mathematics and Science Education' workshops to teachers at the four Ohio NASA Explorer Schools.    
• Worked closely with NASA Glenn Research Center to provide support to their Explorer Schools and AESP educational outreach programs within Ohio.    
• Partnered with INFOhio, the state library system, to distribute 200,000 'Why Study Mathematics and Science' bookmarks to 7th and 8th grade students, including their matheematics and science teachers.    
• In progress - Distributing Executive Summaries of 'Beyond Crossroads' to all high school mathematics, science and counseling departments in Ohio. Packet will also include a letter explaining OMSC's mission, and membership information from several of our partner groups: Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Science Education Council of Ohio, Ohio Mathematics Education Leadership Council, Ohio Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, Ohio Resource Center, Building a Presence for Science in Ohio.    
• Added 5 new member organizations to the statewide coalition.    
• Held membership on the governor's Science and Mathematics Education Policy Advisory Council.     Hold membership on the Battelle/Ohio Dominican University STEM Teacher Program planning team.    
• Provided review and feedback to the governor and legislature regarding mathematics, engineering and science components of the Ohio Core bill, which became law in December 2006.    
• Began partnerships with Project Lead the Way Ohio, MAGNET (National Association of Manufacturing advocacy group for northern Ohio), and INFOhio, the state library system.    
• Recommended to the governor by the SAMEPAC council to coordinate a sustained public awareness campaign related to improvements in Ohio's STEM education system.    
• Held 3 statewide coalition meetings in Columbus designed to inform coalition membership of STEM activities and proposals occurring nationally and within Ohio.    

OMSC facilitates collaboration among Ohio stakeholders to create a shared statewide vision for improving the mathematics and science education system for all students. OMSC, acting as an umbrella statewide organization, assists in the alignment of mathematics and science improvement efforts across the state with the Ohio mathematics and science content standards. OMSC bridges the efforts from the policy makers, the Governor's office, the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Board of Regents to the policy implementers, the Ohio TIMSS consortia, school systems and other mathematics and science focused organizations. This approach enhances both local and statewide efforts in mathematics and science improvement while leveraging the resources of people and finances.

Additionally, OMSC leads the effort to develop a statewide communication campaign for the advocacy of mathematics and science education in Ohio. OMSC works with business, educational organizations whose focus is mathematics and science, the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Board of Regents, the Ohio Resource Center, the TIMSS Consortia and other interested stakeholders to create a multi-media campaign directed at the general public about the importance of mathematics and science education to Ohio's students and future workforce.

Ohio is one of the states featured in the Linking Leaders Community for Change Book. Click the image to go to the Linking Leaders book main page and learn more about Ohio's Linking Leaders program activities.

NES Partnerships for Sustainability: The NES Partnerships for Sustainability Program was launched in 2003 as a pilot to gauge the effectiveness of state-based coalitions working in active collaboration with the NASA Explorer Schools. As part of this pilot funding was awarded to Ohio Mathematics and Science Coalition (OMSC) in partnership with Lorain Middle School, to implement an approach to sustainability that focuses on optimization of resources, leadership building, and community outreach. In 2005-2006, OMSC extended its support to three more Explorer Schools in Cleveland, Youngstown and Warrensville Heights.

Linking Leaders: The Ohio Mathematics and Science Coalition was one of three states to participate in the first NASA Linking Leaders Workshop in Cleveland, Ohio in 1996. OMSC continues to facilitate collaboration among Ohio stakeholders to create a shared statewide vision for continuous, systemic, and sustainable improvement. A carefully planned sequence of activities was designed to achieve broad consensus on the goals and attributes of a world-class system of mathematics and science education in Ohio.

Notable Accomplishments

• Supported the Ohio Department of Education in its efforts to have Ohio become a National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) state by sending over 600 supportive letters to principals, superintendents, and school board presidents.
  Provided the Ohio Department of Education with an in-depth review of the mathematics standards at several stages in the drafting process.
• Worked in cooperation with INFOhio to distribute more than 100,000 "Why Study Mathematics and Science?" bookmarks to 9 th grade students and their teachers throughout the state.
• Partnered with NASA and Paragon-TEC to conduct workshops with middle school students and their families from Cleveland and Lorain Explorer Schools. OMSC provided resources and information about the Ohio Achievement Tests and Ohio Graduation Tests.
• Continues to support Ohio's NASA Explorer Schools program by providing funding for resources and professional development to administrators, teachers, and community groups.
• Organized regional consortia and similar mathematics and science advocacy groups into a "virtual" organization for statewide implementation and change.
• Continues to build a network of relationships at the policy level through meetings and presentations to policy level stakeholders including Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Board of Regents, Ohio Business Roundtable, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Governor's office, and key legislators, as well as with professional organizations such as the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Science Education Council of Ohio, and the Ohio Academy of Sciences.   Further, members have been invited to sit on boards of key organizations such as the Ohio Resource Center.
• Continues to develop a database of organizations and individuals that have an interest or stake in mathematics and science education.
• We are represented on the Ohio Governor's Science and Mathematics Education Advisory Council
• Held three "Legislative Statehouse Receptions" to familiarize legislators with the breadth of OMSC and the number of organizations which fall under its umbrella, and to familiarize legislators with the need for collaborative and aligned efforts.
• OMSC will conduct another Statehouse Day meeting in early 2007 that will allow members of the Ohio legislature to visit with representatives from OMSC's Coalition membership and discuss the need for systemic improvement of mathematics and science opportunities for Ohio's education and economic sectors.
• OMSC continues to plan toward a mathematics and science summit conference to be held in early 2007.

Products

OMSC's bookmarks, "Why Study Mathematics and Science?", and a companion set of classroom posters are available to Ohio schools to help communicate the importance of continuing studies in STEM-related areas.   (http://www.OhioMSC.org/omsc/Documents.html)

OMSC prepared Curriculum Materials Evaluation Tools to assist school districts in the selection of standards-based textbooks and supplemental materials to support mathematics and science instruction. (http://www.OhioMSC.org/omsc/Resource.html)

OMSC'S vision document "Finding The Solution: A Call for Collaboration" was published in late 2001 in an effort to bring mathematics and science education in Ohio into the 21st century; the OMSC PLAYBOOK© presents a process for developing and implementing a 10-year state-level plan for the continuous improvement of mathematics and science education.

OMSC has commissioned and produced the following efforts which can be located on our web site:

• "Addressing Public Opinion and Awareness of Ohio's Education System in Mathematics and Science - Final Report," University of Cincinnati College of Education and Evaluation Services Center, March 2001.
• "The OMSC Teacher Colloquium: An Interpretive Synthesis," North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2000.
• "K-12 Mathematics in Ohio: What districts Intend to Teach, What Teachers Teach," A. J. Van Der Ploeg, North Central Educational Laboratory, 2001.
• "K-12 Science in Ohio: What Districts Intend to Teach, What Teachers Teach," A. J. Van Der Ploeg, North Central Educational Laboratory, 2001.
• "Mathematics Education Vision Document for Ohio," M.T. Battista, 2001.
• "Ohio's Vision for Science Education in the Twenty-First Century," P.W. Hewson, 2001.