Schools Reimagined during conference at MOESC
More than 140 educators from Ohio converged on the Mid-Ohio Conference Center for the Schools Reimagined Reboot Leadership Conference Tuesday, April 30.
The event, organized by Amanda Mahon from Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center, Amy Palermo from WOSU and Stephanie Donofe Meeks from the Ohio Department of Education, focused on the State of Ohio’s strategic plan for education.
“We had been planning this conference since the fall and we’re very pleased with the feedback we’ve received,” Mahon said. “We matched the four learning domains from the state’s strategic plan with quotes from the movie Shawshank Redemption.”
After attendees were welcomed to the conference by Ohio Department of Education Superintendent Paolo DeMaria, the event moved to the historic Ohio State Reformatory. The Mansfield City Schools provided transportation for attendees to and from the Mid-Ohio Conference Center.
“Attendees visited seven key locations at the Ohio State Reformatory from the movie during the tour,” Mahon said. “Four of the locations provided an opportunity for attendees to engage in educational conversations about the relationship between the movie quotes, the state plan and what’s going on in classrooms today.”
Jimmy Casas of J. Casas and Associates served as the keynote speaker during the morning tour at the Ohio State Reformatory. Kevin Honeycutt from ESSDACK delivered the keynote for the afternoon session at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center.
“Taking the conference attendees to the prison completely changed the focus of the event,” Mahon said. “The purpose of tying the material to the movie was to break the old cycle of shackles we feel in education and to bring new ideas and life to impact and reach all students every single day!”
“It was great to join dedicated educators at the Schools Reimagined Reboot Leadership Conference,” State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria said. “This is an exciting concept, and I hope the conference attendees found great ideas to bring back to their districts!”
Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center provides specialized academic and support services to 15 school districts and over 22,000 students in Crawford, Morrow and Richland Counties. Client Districts receive services from curriculum, gifted and special education consultants, speech pathologists, psychologists, special education teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists.