The Urban Network is open to all board members, superintendents, treasurers and other staff of Ohio urban school districts. The Urban Network is the premier advisory voice to OSBA in helping urban school boards of education effectively prepare all students to be globally competitive and successful in college and/or career.
Leaders representing Ohio's urban school districts are active in the meetings, seminars and other activities of the network. Through sharing ideas and best practices, all urban school districts can benefit.
The Ohio School Boards Association began working closely with Ohio's urban school districts in 1967, when the state's seven largest districts came together to form the Large City Commission.
The group established itself as a strong force for Ohio's urban districts through the 1980s. In the 1990s, district representation was expanded from the original seven to 15, and the group's name was changed to the Urban Commission. In 2010, the commission expanded to 24 districts and its name was changed to the Urban School District Advisory Network.
In 2014, the Ohio Department of Education designated 54 districts as large or small urban school districts. Now, more than ever, urban school districts can benefit from the good work being done across the state. The OSBA Urban Network is continually working to benefit urban school districts through:
- collaboration, communication, sharing and publishing information and current promising practices
- training geared toward relevant educational opportunities and common issues
- legislative advocacy and leveraging collective assets to benefit urban school districts
For inquiries about upcoming meetings or more information on the Urban Network, please contact either Legislative Services Consultant Malania Birney (mbirney@ohioschoolboards.org) or Board and Management Services Consultant Quinn Maceyko (qmaceyko@ohioschoolboards.org).