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About P-12

• Why P-12
• Mission and Goals
• Guiding Principles
• P-12 Activities
• P-12 History
• Project Staff
• Contact P12

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About P-12

Why P-12?

The P-12 Project is a university-wide partnership created to assist in improving Ohio's schools with a special focus on the education of Ohio's underserved children and youth. Our primary goal is simple: increase success for all students. Our name reflects our focus: preschool through 12th grade. We develop strong partnerships and foster effective research and practice in P-12 education.

Mission and Goals

The mission of the P-12 Project is to assist in the improvement of Ohio’s schools, particularly in districts that serve children and youths from lower socioeconomic families. In order to develop, implement, and nurture a coherent strategic P-12 outreach plan, we have the following goals:

• To initiate, incubate, and support projects closely aligned with school improvement and increased student performance.
• To provide a single, initial point of contact for those interested in P-12 activities.
• To provide an organizing structure to relate OSU’s P-12 activities into a consistent campus-wide outreach program.
• To develop and sustain an ongoing relationship with the thirteen university-area schools to improve the educational opportunities for the students and families in Ohio State’s immediate neighborhood.
• To link initiatives, people, and projects in order to increase impact and avoid redundancy.

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Guiding Principles

• Engaging the P-12 educational community means working with the community, not working on it.
• Service, as well as research and teaching, are important ways for a university to engage in outreach.
• Outreach is more powerful when collaborations and partnerships include benefits for all parties.
• To be effective in assisting in school improvement, outreach partnerships and activities must be sustainable.
• All outreach activities should be regularly assessed to judge their efficacy and to improve their impact.
• Improving schools requires the engagement of families, agencies, and communities throughout the school years and beyond the 8:00AM to 3:00PM school day.

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P-12 Activities

P-12 Project links Ohio schools and communities with the OSU community to identify and meet the needs of children, young people, and the institutions that serve them. Our activities include researching and facilitating potential partnerships, consulting with and convening partners, developing specific research, teaching, and service initiatives, and finding ways to sustain and house successful efforts. A brief profile of The P-12 Project activities includes:

• Working with University Neighborhood Schools to provide academic and social services to schools, students and families.
• Partnering with Columbus City Schools and local higher education institutions to assist the students of the greater metropolitan area.
• Hosting a clearinghouse of all of OSU’s outreach to the P-12 community.
• Supporting Community Connection to link OSU faculty and students with volunteer opportunities in schools and community service organizations.
• Initiating and incubating new programs and initiatives that benefit P-12 students and facilitating their permanent placement in the university.

For more information about our outreach and engagement activities, please visit P-12 Initiatives page

P-12 Project Four-Year Retrospective (2000-2004)

This document is a history report of the P-12 Project's first four years. The report attempts to categorize and consider the effectiveness of P-12 Project activities. It is organized by efforts, impacts, and implementation, and describes various ways that the mission of the P-12 Project and the goals of the University's Academic Plan are met. The document is in downloadable PDF format and is 54 pages long.

Download Report

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Project Staff

Project Director Nancy Nestor-Baker was Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Educational Administration Program at the University of Cincinnati. She holds three degrees from Ohio State: a Bachelor’s degree in English Education, a Master’s degree in gifted education, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration. With extensive involvement in the Ohio education community, including 12 years on the Westerville Board of Education and a stint as Community Development Director for Ohio’s BEST, Nancy brings a wealth of understanding and experience in building partnerships. Her numerous papers, publications, and presentations include topics such as trust development, school/community partnerships,high school redesign, school district governance, and tacit knowledge. Nancy lives in Old Westerville with her husband and children and a multitude of cats and dogs.

Assistant Director Cynthia Overly has more than 20 years experience as a teacher and an administrator in the field of education. As an administrator, she was accommodations coordinator at Hackett Catholic Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and director of the Academic Skills Center at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. In addition, she taught high school special needs English, as well as college success classes, college reading, freshman writing, GED preparation, and freshman year experience courses at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and Columbus State Community College. She has a BA in English from Wittenberg University and a master’s degree in the teaching of reading from Western Michigan University. Cynthia lives in Dublin with her husband and two children.

Communications Manager Sandra Kerka serves the P-12 Project, University Outreach and Engagement, and Service-Learning Initiative. She formerly worked with the ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education at Ohio State as an editor, writer, and coordinator of database processing. She was also a writer and editor for LearningWork Connection, an Ohio State project that provides training and technical assistance to youth development programs. She has a BA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Ohio State and a Master’s degree in library science from Case Western Reserve University. As a student of dance and the arts, she refers to her professional work as “Dances with Words” and nourishes the right side of her brain with quilting, gardening, and working with the Spirituality Network.

Graduate Assistant Kathy Cameron is a D.M.A. student in Flute Performance, with a career goal of teaching flute at the university level. After growing up in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, Kathy earned her B.S. in Music Education with a minor in Special Education from Slippery Rock University of PA, a Master of Music degree in Flute Performance from the University of Northern Iowa, and a Master of Arts degree in Ministry from Loras College. She has taught K-8 music for St. Vitus School in New Castle, Pennsylvania, served as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Northern Iowa, served as youth ministry coordinator for the Church of the Resurrection in Dubuque, Iowa, and was on faculty at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa. Kathy enjoys being outside, playing flute, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Office Assistant Darik Andersen

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Contact P-12 Project

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