Online Learning Day 2021

The Ohio Council of Community Schools celebrated their 7th Annual Online Learning Day on November 9th, 2021. Online Learning Day is a special occasion for e-school families to add to their online learning toolkits, connect with other families and friends, and advocate for online learning.

In previous years, Online Learning Day involved a trip to the Ohio Statehouse. To accommodate students, families, and partners in attendance, this year’s event was virtual (via Zoom). The virtual sessions gave families access to resources, an opportunity to hear from an Ohio legislator, tools and action items for advocacy, and some interactive fun!

Session highlights (recordings are available here):

• Legislative Update. Ohio State Senator Louis Blessing, in an interview with the Ohio eSchool Coalition’s Mark Weaver, gave an update on what's happening in education in the State Legislature.
• Support & Resources for Online Learning. Tillie Elvrum, Admin & Moderator of the Parent Support for Online Learning Facebook Group, outlined what her Facebook Group is all about and shared resources we guarantee you will find helpful.
• P-EBT Benefits Issue Briefing. Fulltime public eSchool families are the only public school families not eligible to receive P-EBT Benefits through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Despite inconsistencies, this means that children are not receiving free lunch during the pandemic like all other public school children. Christopher Mohrman of the National Coalition for Public School Options (NCPSO) led the conversation, explaining why and what we can do about the issue.
• Tips for Family Advocacy. Cynthia Williams is an expert who has advocated, often with her daughters, at every level from local government up to Congress. She applied what she has learned as a parent, an Ohio eSchool Coalition Board member, and NCPSO Board Vice President. Cynthia impassioned families to get involved in advocating for online schools by writing to their legislators.
• School Clubs & Activities. Four OCCS-sponsored eSchools presented information about clubs and activities available through their school. The panel included representatives from Ohio Connections Academy, Ohio Virtual Academy, Ohio Digital Learning School, and Ohio Distance and Electronic Learning Academy.
• Stress Reduction. Families joined Mindfulness Educator, Yoga Teacher & Interactive Health Coach, Angie Corogin for a session about reducing the stress in our lives. Angie provided different tools for coping with stress and practical approaches to healthier living.

We’d like to say a special Thank You to our partners, the Ohio eSchool Families and Friends Coalition, who planned an excellent virtual experience again this year. Additionally, we are thankful for the Online Learning Day session speakers who shared their online learning expertise with our families.

We hope you join us next year in 2022! Stay tuned for more info by following us on social media.