The Ohio State Student Leadership CollaborativeResearch 2021-2022 - Empowering Student Leadership For Change
The current climate of social justice advocacy and energy has been evident in each school especially during the last two years. Students have wanted to talk about things and act and if not given some type of structure, they create their own potentially dividing communities and schools. We believe it is important to be proactive not reactive to this change. The collaborative is an opportunity for school districts to bring students together in an interactive way to positively support these ideas.
The Ohio State University Student Research Leadership Collaborative has been the conduit to bring students together from multiple school districts, representing a diverse population of learners working together in a structured format to produce real change. Student teams of five each (up to 100) representing multiple Central Ohio school districts, will come together monthly beginning in the fall to explore leadership qualities, quantitative/qualitative measurement, and advocacy strategies consistent with change. Through support from our collaborative partners, students will become "voices of change" for their respective schools and communities and present their results in early May.
What makes this project unique is the research component attached to advocacy. Student participants are not only supported in their individual school districts by a staff member but are also mentored by doctoral students at The Ohio State University to identify an issue or problem in their respective communities and/ or school. Through their hypotheses students will learn leadership skills that are consistent with that of a truly educated young advocate. After collecting and interpreting data, students will present their findings through both a poster and oral presentation virtually to district administrators in early May. In summary the anticipated outcomes for student participants is growth in: Leadership * Advocacy * Research We are excited to bring this opportunity to the students of Central Ohio and appreciate the work of our support partners in making this happen. Real change begins by authentically educating and supporting young minds!
Dr. Keith M. Bell, Sr. College of Education and Human Ecology
Introduction
I have always believed student voice is imperative to both hope and real change. This belief drove my work as coach, principal, and superintendent in six Ohio school districts. Often, we discovered students wanted a platform to discuss change but did not know how to go about making these changes into reality.
New Albany James McCann
Katie- Bexley - BexleySubramanianJames- Charles - Bexley - Bexley Keith
Olentangy Berlin Harini
Thomas Worthington Braylen
Abby Thompson
From 2, 2022.
Caroline Kuiken
The only high school team to present their research.
the Quantitative Methodologies Conference: June
O'Shaughnessy
Groveport Andrew Huffman
Bell, Program Facilitator
Conference
the
Precious Okoroafor
Nicholas Minkin
From Left to Right Dr. Beverly Vandiver, Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology, Director/Director of OSU Kirwan Institute on Race and Ethnicity
St.
Joy Luh- Bexley Dr.
Holly M Griffin, Assistant Principal Eastland Career Center Lefttoright:Sha'NiaHaynes,HannahSandlin,MoussaNikiema
Since we are a career and technical school, we wanted to focus our project to push for more collaboration and integration within our labs. We believe that having collaborative projects and competitions between our various labs will begin to create a sense of community within all of Eastland Career Center. Our school is comprised of students from 16 different school districts, and as a result, we have to be more creative in finding ways to build camaraderie.
PROJECT HowRESEARCHDESCRIPTION:QUESTION:canwemakeourlabsatEastland Career Center more collaborative?
Our research idea is rooted in the ongoing struggle the student body faces when it comes to our school’s dress code. Our school doesn’t have a true definition of the dress code, it isn’t a uniform but we also have a strict set of items we are allowed to wear. This leads to much confusion come school time so we set out to answer the question “What would it take for the school board to either fully abolish or restrict the dress code?” We collected data from our fellow classmates and learned that many students are against the dress code and find that it gets in the way of their school day regularly. This proved to us that others shared our own thoughts and feelings and that this was an issue worth addressing."
High School Whitehall
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: girottfelmorFht:BrooklynShepard10,BrooklynReese 11, Cira Wo o d e n 11 , FranklinWard11,JordiHernandez10,FranklinRodriguez11
Henry K. Lee, Principal Whitehall Yearling
PROJECT RESEARCHDESCRIPTION:QUESTION:Health&howwecanimprovethe
Scott Bennett, ReynoldsburgPrincipal
Lefttoright:LexiMoses,ChavelAndoh,ParkerBailey,VaskarAdhikari
As a result of the covid-19 pandemic and returning to in person school, health has been a big concern for everyone, whether they thought about it before or not. Even before the pandemic hit, some students would struggle with health and it would cause them to come to school feeling ill, underperform, and spread the sickness to others versus staying home and missing out on important informa tion at school, resulting in a harder time performing well academically. Due to this, we decided to do research on how we can help keep the students of Livingston and Summit campus more physically healthy. We sent out a survey to the students asking about how their health impacts their performance, what methods they might appreciate being implemented to help with their physical health, and other questions on the matter. health of students at Reynoldsburg high school.
Michael
e F il lman
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Fromlefttoright:CarterMinor, EdinKebede,
Bohman,RichardGilchrist.All11thgraders
Carr, Principal New Albany
We tailored our presentation to focus on the Academic Inequality that is present in the New Albany Plain-Local School District. Throughout our presentation we plan to give solutions to better engage our schools students and teachers to create a more inclusive and productive environment. Rees , Tom
As a group, we chose to address specific parts of the learning environment at Saint Charles so students may excel further in their College Preparatory experience. To determine what potential obstacles challenge students, we conducted multiple interviews with the teachers and composed a survey for our student body. We conducted 14 interviews with teachers and had a 75% turnout rate on our survey. From these results, we formulated three potential solutions. In our first proposal, we suggest a board composed of students and teachers to advise the administration on how to structure learning. Because the teacher wanted specific classroom opportunities that the students disagreed with and vice versa, we believe it would be in the best interest of all parties to create an opportunity for both faculty and staff to converse over classroom policy. Expanding upon this idea, students could also learn to take more active roles in their environments and, at the same time, help shape the environment to better help them learn. Another significant factor from our findings in the survey is that we need time for teachers to explore more professional development opportunities with teachers from other schools and leaders within the teaching industry. We believe this would greatly benefit the school community because 56% of students said they wanted to be exposed to more learning formats and instruction styles. Lastly, incorporating different test formats would also greatly benefit the Saint Charles community. From our survey, 48% of students said they feel multiple-choice tests do not necessarily represent their mastery of content
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Lefttoright:AidenSilva,DerekLyons,Jack Price, Nate Edon, George Mosholder, Tyler Ferris Kristen Dickerson, College and Career Counselor
St Charles
Lefttoright:SandraKome,Mrs.DakiaWashington,AlyssaValentine,MassarYade
Fairfield Career Center
PROJECT RESEARCHDESCRIPTION:QUESTION:Howdoweincreasestudentengagement between labs? Dakia
Assistant Principal
Our school by nature is built by labs which makes students naturally be separated within the school building during labs. This causes a lot of students to not know people from different labs. This makes little to no engagement among our student body. We would like kids from different labs to work together and interact. Washington,
How can we improve College and Career readiness amongst Licking Heights High School students?
RESEARCH QUESTION:
Lefttoright:HemenAwedew,Samira Jama, Fatima Camara, Lily Johnston, Cerita Todd
LickingCounselorHeights
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Cerita Todd, Student advisor School
The Licking Heights High School student leaders decided to conduct research regarding college and career readiness by answering the following research question “How can we improve College and Career readiness amongst Licking Heights High School students?” We noticed our student body had a lack of awareness about the college search process and/or selecting a career. Our goal is to see how we can improve in this area and what interactive activities can be disseminated to our peers in order to help them feel more prepared once they reach high school graduation. Therefore, we conducted two research surveys to both upperclassmen and underclassmen in order to analyze the extent of our students’ knowledge and gauge their interest in opportunities to learn more. While reviewing the research data, we noticed a trend of upperclassmen wanting to receive college and career information after school hours and through email, whereas, underclassmen preferred to get this information during school hours. As a team, we have decided to create a student-led group that will work with school staff to implement various college and career activities (college fairs, newsletter, workshops, etc.) throughout the school year.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: girottfeLht:TriandousKirkman-Kelly,Mrs. CrystalBragg, Xavier St i r t mire , Drea Watson,DeseanWalker,TyjanaeMccarrel,Ms.SusieMazur
Crystal Bragg, Principal Suzie Mazur, McKinley
The students at Linden-Mckinley Stem have been working on analyzing how to improve relationships with staff and students at the school. The students were concerned about the climate and culture at the school. These students created a survey to gain insights from the students and staff in the buildings. Their findings were powerful and insightful. They are now looking to provide monthly team building events for staff and students, as well as bring in a nationally renowned organization to provide additional empathy training to our teachers.
Social Emotional Practitioner Linden
RESEARCHDESCRIPTION:QUESTION:BelonginginaPredominatelyWhite
The research question we used to guide our project is, “How can we make Bexley High School more comfortable for racial and ethnic minorities so they can speak up about issues and their experiences?” We sent out a survey to the 149 students who identify as non-white. We got responses from just over 20% of those students. We’re also collecting narratives from people who responded to our survey saying they would be interested in telling their stories. From the survey, we found that 42% of minorities don’t feel comfortable in Bexley, based on their definition of “comfortable.” Just over 50% of students said they don’t feel respected by their peers. Our main goal is to spread awareness about discrimination within Bexley and make those who have encountered discrimination more comfortable speaking up about their experiences in hopes that all studens can feel a sense of belonging.
Experiential Learning
Studies Teacher Bexley Team One Lefttoright:AdvisorSteveShapiro,JoyLuh,AbbyThompson,andAaliyahAgnew
PROJECT School.
Steve Shapiro, Coordinator/Social
Bexley Team Two Steve Shapiro, Experiential Learning Coordinator/Social Studies Teacher
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
RESEARCH Student-DirectedQUESTION:Learning
Lefttoright:AdvisorSteveShapiro, James McCann, Maggie Simonton, Nicholas Minkin
The guiding question for our project is, “Do students benefit from participating in non-traditional experiential learning within a typical school day?” We wanted to research the impact of giving students an opportunity to explore their personal and potential career interests, along with generally providing students with an alternative to the typical school day. In order to gather our data we hosted a pilot event on March 2nd which gave students the chance to engage in experiential learning including career shadowing and class sessions presented by 12th graders. Our qualitative data includes interviews with students and faculty about their experiences on March 2nd. Our quantitative data includes a survey completed by 80% of the BHS student body. Of the students who participated on March 2nd, 95% indicated that they would be interested in having more days like this. Our proposal in response to this data is to offer a day of student-directed, choice-based learning once each quarter.
PROJECT RESEARCHDESCRIPTION:QUESTION:AddressingAchievementCulture BeBexleyTxleyTeeamam Three
For our research project, we were curious about the degree to which achievement culture stress impacts students’ mental health and overall well-being at Bexley High School. Our research question is, “How is the current school environment affecting student well-being?” We began our research gathering process by creating and distributing two surveys- one for students and one for teachers. We got responses from nearly half of the student body and almost the entire high school staff. In addition to our surveys, we conducted interviews with individual students to gain some qualitative data. We found very high levels of stress amongst students and staff alike. The levels of stress are alarming to us; they exceeded our expectations. We were especially surprised to learn that the staff may be even more stressed out than the students! As we confront this troubling data, we are left pondering how to address such a deeply-rooted cultural issue. Steve Shapiro, Experiential Learning Coordina
Lefttoright:AdvisorSteveShapiro, Caroline Kuiken, Celeste Nunez, Olivia Lybarger
Heather Cole,
Through growing up in the Olentangy District, we have recog nized the stigma surrounding mental health inhibiting students from speaking up about the state of their mental health. Our goal is to educate and empower students to open up about the state of their well-being and encourage them to ask for help. We distributed surveys to both staff and students and overall found an immense need to improve students' mental health. Our ultimate aim of this research project is to make a lasting impact on the quality of life of Olentangy students.
Lefttoright:DurgaKarthik,Precious
Okoroafor, L o n don
Michel,Nana-ammaAmparbeng,NishitaSharna
Coordinator of Equity and Inclusion
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: 1 2 3 4 5 Kathy
Row 2 - Darius Sanders-Richardson, Devyn Miller, Jacob Speights
Counselor
During this school year, 21-22, the leadership group chose to examine the mental health and wellness of the teaching staff at Thomas Worthington. Once again, the leadership students conducted surveys and individually interviewed a variety of teachers. The students also presented their findings during a staff meeting in February. The findings indicated that 84% of the teachers are overwhelmed with their workload. The majority of the teachers also commented that the lack of a universal building cell phone policy or dress code have also caused more stress.
Through the surveys and interviews that were conducted , the students also discovered that some students were uncomfortable coming to speak with their counselor because individuals walking by the counseling office could see anyone who was waiting to speak with their counselor. As a result of this information, a clear film was placed over the windows leading into the counseling office.
Thomas Worthington
Row 1 - Michaela Sershen, Aneesh Vankara, Grace Pflaum
Row 5 - Jeremiah Smith, not pictured Francia Parra Starks,
Row 3 - Nan Amaning, Harini Subramanian, Ruth Owusu
During the 20-21 school year, the Thomas Worthington High school group chose to examine mental health awareness among the student population. Their premise was the idea that many of the Thomas Worthington students were not aware of the mental health services available to the school population. Through a series of interviews and surveys, the group discovered that in fact, many of the Thomas students were not aware of exactly what their school counselor could help them with, and they were not aware that there are two mental health counselors available for them to consult with.
Row 4 - Mykela Sater, Audrey Wingerter, Mary Ndoinjeh
Lydia
After a year of fights and disruptions in our education, we realized that students in our high school were not okay. We surveyed our student body: “How has school affected your mental health?” “Is your mental health important to you?” “Where do you feel the most stressed?” We had over 700 responses to our survey. The information was staggering. Our administrator paired us with another small group of students who were working on a similar project, and our combined efforts brought to fruition “Wellness Week,” the first week in May. This week is a pilot as we plan wellness initiatives for next school year. We presented our research and solutions to our CWHS Staff SEL team. We are collaborating on creating a sensory room and hygiene bags for students in need of either as well. We are excited about this work and look forward to continuing it next year.
HowRESEARCHDESCRIPTION:QUESTION:hasschoolaffectedyourmental
Tokarz, Teacher Advisor Canal WinchesterfLettoright:LydiaTokarz-TeacherAdvisor,MaleaCobb,GwynnethMichael,AudreyTaft,ZanderCarter,DylanHenkel,(notpictured)WaniLatio
PROJECT health?
Lefttoright:SelinBoztepe,TionnaCome,BraylanJames,Milani
Groveport-Madison students collaborated together to help students feel more connected to Groveport-Madison High School. The GMHS Cohort felt that our school was focusing on too much negativity and needed to promote the students displaying positive behavior. The GMHS Cohort surveyed 894 students at school during the first period to analyze how students were feeling about their high school experience. 31.2% of surveyors did not feel a connection to Groveport-Madison High School and 53.1% of surveyors do not look forward to coming to school. Through their survey, the Groveport-Madison cohort held conversations with their building principal, district superintendent, and Board of Education to get support for their initiatives. The first initiative took place in April with a Cruiser Social gathering. Over 600 students were on-time to class and school for an entire week. These students earned a gathering with dilly bars from Dairy Queen, indoor and outdoor games, a movie, and board games. Before Spring Break, the cohort initiated the first ever Student vs. Staff Basketball game. The basketball game was well attended and will continue for many years to come. To kick off the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, the GMHS cohort will be providing color-coded class t-shirts to every student at Groveport-Madison High School. Our cohort wants every student to feel connected and a sense of belonging to Groveport-Madison High School.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Groveport Madison
Epps, Peyton Gibbs, Trokon Gogovan, Celina Hang, Mirelle Wall Melanie Reed, Counselor
Lefttoright:MorganErdmann,GraceHoelscher,AlyssaHartman,DustinHe,TuckerGroomes
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The team from Dublin Jerome High School features Morgan Erdmann, Grace Hoelscher, Alyssa Hartman, Dustin He, and Tucker Groomes. Throughout the course of the school year, the Dublin Jerome team researched the topic of high-stress levels as a result of the intense academic culture of Dublin Jerome. Hypothesizing that Dublin Jerome's culture of academic success had negative consequences for students, the team conducted research aimed at addressing these concerns. After randomly interviewing and surveying a large portion of the Jerome student body, the team was able to pinpoint the causes and implications of academic stress. They were then able to craft solutions that addressed these issues: mental health and uncertainty about career paths. They have presented their findings and solutions to Jerome administrators and are currently in the process of beginning the implementation of their solutions.
Jennifer Rodgers, School Counselor
Dublin Jerome
Dublin Coffman
After identifying the prevalent issue of student apathy and school-related anxiety and stress, this team has taken a wide scope of data to better understand the extent of this issue. Through research and analysis of student enthusiasm and mental health, as well as a reflection of the current school-day structure, it was hypothesized that there is a lack of opportunity for students to seek out what they needed during school hours: talking to a counselor, extra time to finish homework, attending club meetings, etc. To address this issue, the team has collected their findings and has created a plan to implement their solution. The Dublin Coffman team is currently in the planning and implementation stage and they are optimistic for its positive results!
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Lefttoright:OliviaAilabouni, Abel Binyam, Shraddha Krishnan, Andy Liu and Emily Pinto
Valerie Lawrensen, Assistant Principal
Our goal is to improve the overall mental health of students by increasing mental health awareness and resources, breaking the stigmas surrounding the discussion of mental health, and creating a time and space for students to feel genuinely com fortable among their peers.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Bell,ChrisJohnson,AbigailHeck
Westerville North Brandon Allen, Advisor
Fromlefttoright:Brandon Allen, A u r ora
Lefttoright:AmeirFoster,Janelle Harris, Jayla Jackson, Kha lee Curtis, Chris Gibson
Our research question and problem of practice is to determine how we show our peers more effective ways to diffuse altercations and situations among each other. It is an issue because the methods currently used to handle or resolve these confrontations are detrimental to the individuals involved. This issue is serious enough to research as it has more of society involved outside of the school scene. Benefits of furthering this research would be the methods discovered that lead to potentially more effective ways to resolve conflict. The pandemic has exacerbated this issue as people have become more detached from each other.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Ada V Nicholson-Burley, Teacher/Activities Coordinator
Africentric Early College (K-12)
Dr. Dustin Miller, The Ohio State University, College of Education and Human Ecology
Dr. Dennis Kowalski is currently an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University and Concordia Universities. In addition to teaching courses in learning and leadership Dr. Kowalski facilitates workshops and retreats on topics such as team building, the change process, understanding poverty, enriching practice, and transformational leadership. He has been director of the Greater Cleveland Educational Development Center at Cleveland State and worked in public schools as a teacher, principal, and superintendent.
Dr. Adam Voight is Director of the Center for Urban Education at Cleveland State University where he partners with urban schools, communities, and youth to create environments conducive to the learning and well-being of young people, particularly those affected by poverty and racism. Adam’s community-engaged research and action has been supported by organizations such as the U.S. Department of Education and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adam has a Ph.D. in Community Psychology from Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Noelle Arnold, The Ohio State University, College of Education and Human Ecology
Xiaona Jin is a research assistant at the Center for Urban Education at Cleveland State University. She earned her Master of Arts in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at Yangzhou University in China and is a third-year student in Cleveland State’s Urban Education doctoral program. Ms. Jin’s research interests include school climate, Chinese language teaching and learning, and online teaching and learning. She has worked in the education field in both China and the U.S. as a college Chinese instructor, international culture exchange program manager, and pre-K Chinese teacher.
The Ohio State Student Leadership Research Collaborative Instructional Support Team
Special Thanks Dian Stultz – Consultant Joanne Blake Williams – Consultant Columbus State Community College
Wendy Jovan is a Program Manager at the Educational Service Center (ESC) of Northeast Ohio where she coordinates grant-funded projects. She developed and manages the operations of the First Ring Student Leadership Institute. Previously, Wendy managed the Virtual Intervention Project and worked as a Special Education Supervisor and School Psychologist. Wendy has undergraduate degrees in business and psychology and completed her Psy.S.in School Psychology at Cleveland State University.
Dr. Alexandrea Golden is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Urban Education at Cleveland State University. Alex’s research focuses on factors (e.g., peer support, school contextual factors, etc.) that directly and indirectly contribute to the positive adjustment of youth experience contexts of risk. Additionally, she has a strong interest in prevention science and identifying ways to bridge the gap between research and practice for underresourced populations. Dr. Golden completed her doctorate in Clinical-Community Psychology at the University of South Carolina.
Dean Dr. Donald Pope-Davis, The Ohio State University, College of Education and Human Ecology Dean Alicia Bertone, The Graduate School, The Ohio State University
Harvey Alston has based his philosophy on being the Best and his book titled “Be the Best.” He is the Coordinator for the Ohio High School Athletic Association-Student Leadership Conference (the Largest in the Country), serves on the advisory board to the National Federation of High Schools- NSLS, the Upper Valley Joint Vocational School. He is a contributing writer and photographer for the N2 Publishing Monthly Magazines, member of the National Speakers Association, and many civic boards, panels, and commissions.
Mr. Warren Moon, NFL/CFL Hall of Fame Quarterback/Founder Crescent Moon Foundation
Cleveland State University Department of Urban Education Educational Service Center of Central Ohio Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio
The Kirwan Institute for The Study of Race and Ethnicity @ The Ohio State University
Ms. Jordan Davis, CEO Smart Columbus
Mr. Harvey Alston, National Student Leadership Speaker and Author of “Be The Best”
Collaborative Leadership Speakers
Columbus State Community College Ohio High School Athletic Association
Collaborative Partners
Mr. Butch Reynolds, Olympic Gold Medalist, Former World Record Holder
Ohio State University – College of Education and Human Ecology
UXO Sports Phil Mallott Family Foundation Moody Nolan Architecture U.S.JostensDepartment of Education
Ms. Erin Gruwell, Movie & Top Ten Best Selling Book “The Freedom Writers”
Mr. Curt Moody, CEO Moody/Nolan Architecture
Mr. Jim Cleamons, OSU, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Ten NBA Championship Rings
Ms. Glennon Sweeny, OSU Kirwan Institute for The Study of Race and Ethnicity
Mr. Clark Kellogg, CBS Sports, Former NBA, and OSU Basketball
The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation
“Education is the conduit to independence,” he said. “That’s been really a driving force for me.”
Bell is working with Ohio State’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity to secure funding for more research “looking at the space between high school and college.”
“I looked behind me; I thought someone else was in the room,” Bell said. “I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, that’s me.’” Believing and achieving As a teacher, principal and superintendent, he drummed one mantra into his students: Believe, achieve and behave. Repeating messages of three suits (and doctoral robe) of a graduate
“Keith’s dissertation in practice was important and was educative to many people,” said Noelle Arnold, associate professor of educational studies and associate dean for equity diversity and global engagement. “He translated a personal passion into an area of inquiry that he can continue to build upon for the college and the university.”
Deconstructing barriers means asking tough questions: Why since 2009 have enrollment rates decreased for first-year black males at Ohio State, even though diversity overall has increased? And why do some black males choose not to attend college at all, even though they’ve been accepted at Ohio State?
“I went in to get a better look,” he said. Back in the boat, the other divers thought he was nuts. “People said, ‘Aren’t you afraid?’ No. I’m not in control. I give up control. If he wanted me, he had me.”
The
He’s hoping to work with the College of Education and Human Ecology to drive up enrollment of black males, who are underrepresented — and desperately needed — in the teaching field. He’s a dream-big kind of guy; he seeks to dissect the reasons too few young black males apply and ultimately choose to come to Ohio State. He hopes his recommendations to the college will become a model for the university.
That core of courageousness bleeds into everything Bell does. Lifelong learning: He went back to college in his fifties. Inequity in education: He’s tackling the “unsolvable” problem. Tough moral dilemmas: His motto is to do the right thing, then let the chips fall where they may. “It’s not the situation, it’s what we make the situation to be,” he said. The night before he defended his thesis, his wife, Toni, fretted. He slept like a baby. Toni, his parents and brother attended his dissertation defense the next day. When they walked back into the room after the committee had deliberated, James L. Moore III, Ohio State’s vice provost for diversity and inclusion, said, “Congratulations, Doctor.”
nontraditional
“You have to know what the barriers are,” he said, “to understand how to undo them.”
Courageous in the pursuit for education equity, a former superintendent gets his EdD
So, in the college uniform of sweats and athletic shoes, Bell for two years schlepped a backpack and hobnobbed with students, coaches, data miners and professors. His dissertation research centered on university admission rates of firstyear black male students.
Shedding light on problems and finding solutions involves taking risks — which can happen only after people learn to face fear, Bell said. And he seems to relish situations that others back away from. Which explains another type of suit that he wears.
No control and zero fear Bell is an accomplished scuba diver — not exactly a pastime that attracts a lot of black males, he said. “It separates me from what’s typical,” he said. His last big dive off the coast of Jamaica brought him frighteningly close to a 12-foot shark.
“Panic will kill you in the water. You’ll kill yourself because of the fear that you start to embrace.”
The Doctor of Education program he chose, with an emphasis on educational administration, puts to use professional experience while allowing students to do research normally associated with getting a PhD. But with the EdD, the emphasis is on thoroughly understanding an educational problem.
“Here you have a historically marginalized group of people who are continually not having the opportunity to get what college has to offer,” he said. “For me that’s a problem.” His second suit The students he interviewed might not know he also wears business suits and runs an education leadership consulting company. In fact, he has been a school administrator throughout Ohio: a district superintendent in Euclid; a deputy superintendent in Columbus and Westerville; a principal in Westerville, Groveport and Gahanna; and was lately a finalist for the superintendent job in Columbus City Schools. (Doing research is more his bag, he’s decided.)
He’s not afraid of sharks, starting over or getting a degree at age 62. What concerns him is first-year, black male enrollment.
November 27, 2018 Education Never Ends
His choice to pursue a doctorate in education came after many positive — and some not-soideal — career situations. In 2016, after working for six different Ohio school districts, Bell could have retired. Instead, he retooled.
By Robin Chenoweth, The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology
Consider Keith Bell. At 62, he will be the second oldest doctoral student to graduate at Ohio State’s autumn commencement on Dec. 16.
Some people seem to “outlive” others — not necessarily longer or more trouble-free lives, but with a fuller, more buoyant existence.
“When death catches me,” he said, “I want to be completely out of breath.”
Others who’ve achieved his success might be sitting on a beach tipping back frozen cocktails. But Bell’s journey of bringing others to higher education is just kicking into gear. And he’s suited for the challenge.
“These kids drove me. I always told them to never stop your education — always be about education and never stop learning,” he said. “I want to be a model of that. I just want to give back to them so that other kids can get the same opportunity.”
promise, and emulating that hope, he said, is critical to their success.
So the night before he puts on his doctoral cap and gown, he’s inviting scores of his former students to a celebratory bash at the Ohio Union. The guest list includes Smart Columbus Director Jordan Davis, New Orleans Saints player John Hughes and EHE student recruiter Ari Toles. Bell has invited current students, and his neighbor’s band, Blue Spectrum, will play. Admission will be a donation to the schools where he’s worked. “I have so many stories of how (Bell) transformed our school with his leadership and countless memories of all the small and big things he did for me that changed the trajectory of my life forever,” said Davis, who heads the city’s multi-million-dollar initiative to make transportation more efficient. She attended Westerville South High School when Bell was principal. “He has devoted his life to empowering young people to do more and be more. He has always been the first to set the example for others by how he lives his own life.” Bell plans to dance until the Ohio Union staff kicks him out. And then, he’ll put on that cap and gown.
