Area P-16 coalition receives 6 grants

Staff report

warren

The Eastern Ohio P-16 Partnership for Education is the recent recipient of six grants totaling more than $44,000.

The Youngstown Foundation, which supports local charitable and educational agencies for the betterment of the community, awarded the partnership $25,000 to assist with capacity building.

The partnership will use the resources to identify and assist with needs surrounding education.

The partnership is a coalition of educators, businesspeople and civic and nonprofit leaders from Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Ashtabula counties dedicated to fostering significantly better outcomes for students from preschool to post-secondary education.

Stephanie Shaw was named the first executive director in May of 2010.

The Warren Area Chamber of Commerce’s Education, Civic and Cultural Foundation awarded P-16 $9,060 to implement ACT Explore in eighth-grade classrooms across Trumbull County.

“Our vision is to make an impact at all grade levels. The ACT Explore was selected for our middle-school students for several reasons; it provides a clear post-evaluation tool that will assist the students when preparing their high school schedule and the ACT Explore also highlights areas within the district where focus should be applied. For example, the test will help decipher if the majority of the students are unable to do, let’s say — ‘fractions,’” Shaw said.

The district can then take that information and provide professional development geared toward that particular skill set,” she said.

During 2010-11 academic year, the partnership will provide ACT Explore testing to more than 2,300 students across 19 school districts in the four-county region.

The county educational service centers in Ashtabula, Columbiana, Trumbull and Mahoning counties also made a combined contribution of $10,000.

“We recognize the positive work that can come out of collaboration,” said Ron Iarussi, superintendent of the Mahoning County Educational Service Center.

“We also recognize the type of success that can come from a P-16 initiative like the one in our four counties. The partnership will prove invaluable to our students,” he said.