Gov. Ted Strickland is proposing a dramatic reinvention of Ohio's public schools, from classroom learning to teacher preparation to the way districts are funded.
The plan he laid out in his third State of the State speech on Wednesday is aimed at both better preparing schoolchildren for the work force and resolving the school-funding crisis that has dogged the state for more than a decade.
Strickland called for expanding the school year by 20 days, creating a universal all-day kindergarten program and making it easier to fire bad teachers.
He told a crowd of lawmakers and dignitaries that he wants to see Ohio use the latest education research to model a new generation of schools that will take Ohio to the forefront of innovation. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)