Valley residents discuss ideas to fix state education system

A local group prioritized the challenges and solutions regarding education.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- As part of a Northeast Ohio initiative to improve the area, groups of concerned residents are meeting to propose solutions to various concerns.
One such "community conversation," held as part of the Voices & amp; Choices initiative, attracted 25 Mahoning Valley residents Friday to the Printz Mansion, a 91-year-old North Side house that is home to a five-room bed and breakfast.
The topic of discussion: How to improve the state's education system.
Top challenges
While the issue has been debated for decades, the group decided during a two-hour meeting that the top three challenges to improving education are:
Attendance accountability and increased parental involvement.
Encouraging economic development so students can find jobs when they leave school.
Making sure children have career goals while they are in school.
The "community conversation" attracted people from all walks of life, including politicians, educators, business owners and retirees.
This conversation is among dozens being held by residents of 15 Northeast Ohio counties -- including Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana -- to discuss ways to improve the area.
Voices & amp; Choices, created by about 70 philanthropic organizations, encourages citizens to work together that will lead to regional cooperation. The goal is to identify the most important challenges and develop solutions in the areas of education, job growth, government cooperation, equity and fairness, and improving quality of life.
Friday's conversation in Youngstown focused on education.
Solutions
The group also identified the top solutions to combat the education challenges it identified. They are:
Making sure the local press focuses on positives and not dwell on the negative. There were numerous complaints at the conversation that the local press is too negative and that's hurting the region.
Working to force the state to develop an equitable funding system.
Using successful educational practices from various school districts and providing more "real world" teaching and hands-on experience for children.
"We need to get away from current teaching methods and teach in a different way with a focus on technology," said Youngstown Councilman Richard Atkinson, R-3rd, who attended the conversation.
Last year, Voices & amp; Choices had similar meetings in northeast Ohio communities and then a regional meeting in November in Akron.
Prioritizing the most important challenges is what is happening on the local level. A final action plan will be developed later this year.
skolnick@vindy.com