Testimony on House Bill 597
September 4, 2014
House Rules and Reference Committee
Representative Huffman, Chairman
Suzanne Allen, Ph.D., President, Philanthropy Ohio
Good morning Chairman Huffman, Ranking Member Heard and members of the House Rules and Reference Committee. My name is Suzanne Allen, and I am the President of Philanthropy Ohio. I am here today to talk about Philanthropy Ohio’s support for Ohio’s New Learning Standards, including our strong support for the Common Core State Standards.
Firsta bit about who we are. Philanthropy Ohio is a statewide association that provides the network, tools and knowledge to help those engaged in philanthropy become more effective, powerful change agents in their communities. Our members are private and community foundations, corporate giving programs, United Ways, individuals and others who together hold assets of nearly $11 billion and who contribute more than$700 million each year to nonprofit organizations. The most significant investments are in the area of education, roughly $350 million per year.
Philanthropy Ohio maintains a long-term commitment to preparing students for success in life. In 2005, we launched an Education Advisory Committeefocused on helping philanthropy better understand and address education challenges in Ohio. Ohio’s philanthropies are working with partners in local communities across the state to ensure that all Ohioans have access to high-quality education opportunities,from our state’s youngest and most vulnerable to those entering post-secondary institutions.
Since we began this work, our members have been strong supporters of improving Ohio’s learning standards to ensure our students are well prepared for success after high school. We advocated for and strongly support the decision to adopt the Common Core State Standards and aligned assessments. After thorough analysis, it is clear these standards are much superior to the math and English language arts standards that Ohio had been using and the Massachusetts standards currently being proposed in HB 597. We ask you not to derail the work Ohio has done over the past four years to help ensure our students are well-prepared for life after high school, whatever they choose to do.
Our members are working and investing in their local communities to support this important work. Helping to provide vital resources and professional development opportunities to ensure our teachers are adequately prepared to ensure our students success. In fact one Ohio-based foundation alone has already invested over $20 million to support successful implementation in the state.
In making this transition to the new standards and assessments, we know there will be challengesand concerns, but we urge lawmakers to continue to support this work to ensure our students are prepared for success in whatever they choose to pursue.
Ultimately, Ohio’s New Learning Standards, which many school districts have been implementing for more than four years, present opportunities and possibilities for educators and students across the state. Please do not pull the rug out from under them. It would be reckless and irresponsible.
Chairman Huffman, Ranking Member Heard and members of the committee,this concludes my remarks. Thank you for your time today. I am happy to answer any questions you might have about the philanthropic community’s support for this important work and the future success of Ohio’s students.
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