Brewed Fresh Daily

Here’s an excellent opportunity for the Fund for Our Economic Future to exercise leadership across NEO: Start providing seed funding to the establishment of P-16 councils across Northeast Ohio.

Communities across Ohio have been trying to work together for years to improve education systems across their regions by identifying problems and then coordinating existing resources to address those problems. These P-16 efforts (preschool to higher education, or grade 16) are getting traction, not only as a mechanism to fix what is ailing education systems, but also as a way to link education to economic development needs in this blue-collar state. This effort is called “convergence” by researcher Dennis McGrath, who has spent time studying these P-16 initiatives in Ohio and has just released a report on the topic. In this month’s essay, we offer his thoughts on how P-16 just might help lead Ohio out of its economic slump.

Ohio Communities Linking P-16 to Economic Development