Summary: The Policy Analyst is responsible for supporting KidsOhio.org’s nonpartisan education policy agenda. The Analyst researches and analyzes key data that affect children in Central Ohio and statewide, with an emphasis on disadvantaged students. The Analyst assists in the development of recommendations for solutions based on proven and promising practices.  The Analyst shares responsibility for educating key stakeholders about the needs of Ohio’s children through publications, presentations, participation in community partnerships, and the KidsOhio.org website.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform all aspects of the position, as described below, satisfactorily. The information listed below is representative of the characteristics of the position and the knowledge, skills, and abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education / Experience:

Bachelor’s degree – required; Graduate/Professional degree – preferred

Experience in education, public administration, public policy, or advocacy – required

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following; other duties may be assigned:

• Documents students’ needs and identifies strategies and priorities for addressing those needs.

• Effectively communicates information to key stakeholders, including public officials, community leaders, foundations, and education and youth-aligned organizations.

• Works closely with other data-generating organizations, e.g., The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Columbus City Schools, Ohio Department of Education, etc.

• Responds to inquiries from colleagues and the general public.

• Keeps abreast of current research in the field and identifies emerging issues.

• Participates in special programs and manages projects, as directed.

• Assists with the organization’s ongoing grant writing and other development efforts.

• Assists with operational tasks, such as event planning, as needed.

• Works with the President and acts as part of a policy team on efforts related to state and local education policy, including but not limited to the following: 1) Engages in research and works with school districts, state personnel, and policymakers to produce publications; 2) Creates and updates presentations on a variety of education issues to be used with community leaders, business leaders, and neighborhood organizations; and 3) Develops literature detailing school district and state budget processes, requiring discussions with state and school district personnel, data analysis, comparative research involving large urban school districts, and best-practices research.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Language Skills:
  • Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, and or governmental regulations.  Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and policy briefs.  Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of colleagues, clients, customers, and the general public.

• Reasoning Ability:
  • Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of information and deal with several abstract and concrete variables at once.

• Computer Skills:
  • Microsoft Office proficiency (in particular, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
  • Familiarity with SPSS and geographic information system (GIS) concepts and software preferred.

• Strong analytic, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate and summarize technical issues into objective language easily understood by the public.

• Ability to accept constructive criticism.

• Ability to work with diverse groups of people.

• Must be comfortable communicating with a wide range of public and private agencies.  Represent KidsOhio.org at policy and community events.

• Ability to research and locate information quickly.

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and take independent initiative to perform tasks that serve to advance a nonpartisan public policy agenda.

• Understanding of public education issues.

• Commitment to improving urban schools.

• Ability to travel and to work occasional evenings and weekends.  Will be expected to attend Columbus City School Board meetings and other community meetings.

• Ability to effectively use listening, observation, reading, verbal, nonverbal, and writing skills.

• Ability to react appropriately to interruptions, changing conditions, and a fast-paced environment.

• Ability to demonstrate professionalism and contribute to a positive work environment.

• Ability to identify and implement procedures that improve productivity.

• Ability to uphold the organization’s policies and follow guidelines and procedures.

• Ability to maintain an acceptable attendance record and punctuality.

• Ability to accept personal responsibility for decisions and conduct.

• Ability to wear appropriate work attire and maintain a professional demeanor.

• Ability to develop rapport and serve as a positive role model for others.

• Ability to respect personal privacy.

• Ability to maintain the confidentiality of privileged information.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, talk, and hear. The employee is frequently required to use hands to handle, or feel. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, or crouch. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and distance vision.

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Statement:

KidsOhio.org does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, genetic information, or age in its programs and activities, including employment opportunities.

This job description summary does not imply that these are the only duties to be performed. This job description is subject to change in response to funding variables, emerging technologies, improved operating procedures, productivity factors, and unforeseen events.

To apply for this position, please e-mail your résumé with cover letter to:

Mary Hopmann

mhopmann@kidsohio.org
(Please attach your documents as MS Word or PDF files)

Applications are due by noon, Monday, February 13, 2012

Salary is based on experience

KidsOhio.org is an equal opportunity employer.

The growing diversity of central Ohio’s population means that schools continue to change. It’s up to families and school officials to take advantage of the opportunities this presents, even as they deal with the challenges.

The change is especially noticeable in suburban districts, where the percentage of nonwhite students has doubled, or something close to it, in most districts. Much of the change is because of immigration. While black students still are the largest nonwhite group, their percentage countywide is smaller than it was 10 years ago.

Percentages of Asian, Latino and multiracial students are up. The changes are detailed in a new report by KidsOhio.org, a nonprofit organization that studies education issues.

Click here to read full editorial from the Columbus Dispatch.

WASHINGTON — Ohio will get up to $70 million from the federal government as one of nine states awarded ”Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge” grants.

The winners will share $500 million to better prepare disadvantaged youngsters for kindergarten.

“This is a huge win for the children of Ohio and it is a major step towards achieving the goal of having all students enter school ready to learn,” said State Superintendent Stan Heffner in a prepared statement.

Thirty-five states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico competed for the money.

In 2010, Ohio won $400 million for school improvement initiatives in the main Race to the Top competition.

Click here to read the full article.

Its 29.3 percent rate would have qualified Dublin as most diverse among 17 suburban Columbus districts 10 years ago. Now, it ranks seventh.

Whitehall topped the list a decade ago, when 29.7 percent of its students were not white. Today, white students are in the minority.

In every Franklin County school district, the percentage of white students has dropped while minority-student populations have grown, according to a study being released today by KidsOhio.org, a nonpartisan research group based in Columbus.

Click here to read the full Dispatch article.

Click here to read the full KidsOhio/Columbus Urban League report.

• 43 percent of students in Franklin County school districts were children of color in 2011 – up from 34 percent in 2001;
• All 16 Franklin County school districts had a higher rate of students of color in 2011 than in 2001; and
• 63 percent of the 18,518 public charter school students in Franklin County were children of color.

Moreover, nearly half (47.6 percent) of students of color in the 16 Franklin County school districts attend a suburban school, thus dispelling the myth that most minorities live in Columbus.

Growing diversity is one of the great strengths of Franklin County. While we work to close educational and economic achievement gaps, diversity can enrich our students’ educational experiences, promote personal growth, and help connect the Columbus region to the international economy.  Understanding and taking advantage of our community’s demographic shift is key to strengthening Central Ohio’s schools, colleges, and economic competitiveness.  We hope this report educates community leaders about the need to prepare our students for citizenship in an increasingly diverse workplace and global community.

Click here to read the full report.

In the 2000-01 school year, when charters still were new in Ohio, 87 percent of the 748 Franklin County charter students were members of minorities. In the 2010-11 school year, roughly 33,000 students attended local charters, and 63 percent were nonwhite.

The local shift mirrors one statewide, where the total percentage of black, Latino, Asian, American Indian and multiracial students has dropped from 86 percent to about 60 percent in the past 10 years.

The reason for the shift, experts say, is twofold: Parents now have more charter schools from which to choose, which makes the option attractive to a wider range of parents. And many schools now are marketing to suburban families instead of focusing on students from urban districts such as Columbus.

“Charters are starting to look somewhat like the districts,” said Mark Real, president and CEO of KidsOhio, a Columbus nonprofit group that studies education issues.

A KidsOhio report to be made public today discusses enrollment trends in county public schools. It notes that all 16 Franklin County districts have more students of color than they did a decade ago.

Click here to read the full article.

The Columbus Dispatch Sunday November 27, 2011 front page

More than 23,000 central Ohio students chose charters last school year, including more than 10,300 from suburban and rural districts.

And all 49 of the region’s school districts have some students in charters, a fact that defies the early view that charter schools were an escape for poor kids trapped in troubled schools — something that the Columbus City Schools had to contend with.

“We’re moving into the second generation of school choice. The first generation was about helping kids in failing schools and giving them a safety valve. The second generation of school choice is now actually about middle-class parents,” said Terry Ryan, vice president for Ohio programs and policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. The institute, based in Dayton, oversees several Ohio charter schools.

School districts traditionally have said that charters, which are publicly funded but often privately run, are a financial drain.

Click here to read full article.

Click here to review charter enrollment by school district.

KidsOhio recently chatted with six of these leaders, each representing a different sector of Ohio’s public education system: Stan Heffner, State Superintendent of Public Instruction; Rhonda Johnson, President of Ohio’s largest local teacher union; Eric Gordon, CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District; Kyle Newton, Superintendent of Crooksville City Schools, a rural district in Southeastern Ohio; and Chad Carr and Brian Carlton, Principal and Assistant Principal of Columbus Preparatory Academy, a highly- rated charter school.

We talked about the challenges, successes, and lessons learned in year-one of the RttT grant. We also talked about what is in store for year-two. Lessons learned: Common goals, strategic planning, consistent monitoring of success, and quick adjustments to what is not working are essential to making headway in four-years’ time.

Click here to read the report.