Ohio education chief outlines literacy, acceleration, workforce and wellness priorities

Director Steve Dakin of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce told the Senate Education Committee that the agency is focusing on four priorities — literacy, learning acceleration, workforce readiness and student wellness — and described work underway to implement those goals.

“The 2025–26 school year marks the first year of fully implementing the science of reading,” Dakin said, adding that the department is reviewing curriculum and instructional materials and will publish updated lists of approved materials in the spring.

Dakin told senators the department has trained more than 71,000 teachers and administrators in the science-of-reading approach and expanded its Read Ohio literacy coaches: “From fiscal year ’24 to fiscal year ’25, the number of Read Ohio coaches nearly tripled,” he said. He also described the department’s use of federal ESSER funding for high-dosage tutoring and…