About Us:

The Ohio Department of Education is a diverse team of passionate, education-focused professionals dedicated to fulfilling the vision established in Each Child, Our Future, Ohio’s strategic plan for education. The vision is, “In Ohio, each child is challenged to discover and learn, prepared to pursue a fulfilling post-high school path and empowered to become a resilient, lifelong learner who contributes to society.” Ensuring this vision for each of Ohio’s 1.7 million students, in partnership with more than 240,000 educators across the state, is no small feat. Under the leadership of the superintendent of public instruction and governed by the State Board of Education, Department team members, in collaboration with a wide range of partners, are sharply focused on helping schools and districts continually improve to be the best they can be for each child. Equity and impact are core to every program, service and action. The Department’s work is well regarded both in Ohio and nationally for its innovative, leading-edge and forward-looking approach. When the Department succeeds, students succeed, communities succeed and Ohio succeeds.

Culture and Values:

Ohio Department of Education is mission driven, values a culture of feedback and places a premium on growth mindset among all its team members. Together the enterprise is building a continuous learning and improvement community.

Overview:

Strong relationship building skills including superb communication skills make you a great candidate for this position. The opportunity is to serve as the state coordinator between state agencies, healthcare providers and schools to ensure the coordination of and elimination of barriers to school-based health services.

Ohio’s School-Based Health Coordinator will have an integral role in supporting the whole child, as envisioned in Each Child, Our Future, Ohio’s five-year strategic plan. The School-Based Health Coordinator will be regarded as the Department’s leading expert in policies, practices and partnerships specific to school health initiatives.  

Serving within the Department’s Office of Integrated Student Supports, the School-Based Health Coordinator will collaborate closely with a dedicated team of professionals who collectively support Ohio’s schools and districts in areas essential to student wellness and whole child success. Specifically, those areas include attendance, nutrition, prevention education, school safety, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), trauma-informed schools, school-based health care, family and community engagement and social-emotional learning. The Office of Integrated Student Supports leads the implementation of Ohio’s Whole Child Framework.

The School-Based Health Coordinator will work at the direction of the Director of the Office of Integrated Student Supports. By design, the position will uphold a partnership approach that seeks to drive coherence and maximize impact. This means the School-Based Health Coordinator will collaborate almost daily with cross-state and regional partners and experts to assist schools in providing physical and mental health services.

Major Responsibilities and Duties:

Under the direction of the Director of the Office of Integrated Student Supports, collaborates with state and local agencies to ensure the coordination of and elimination of barriers to school-based health (physical and behavioral) services:

• Serves as the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) liaison and point of contact related to school-based health for the Ohio Departments of Medicaid, Health, Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Governor’s office, local service providers, local education agencies (LEAs) and healthcare providers;
• Supports cross-agency and Governor’s office in developing and administering school-based health policies, guidance, resources and supports;
• Serves as the lead program administrator of the Student Wellness and Success Funds Initiative including developing policy and guidance for schools; responding to questions and providing support; reviewing and evaluating use of funds; developing reporting tools; writing reports; and collecting and sharing innovative use of funds;
• Co-leads Ohio Healthy Student Profile development, promotion and alignment to school improvement and whole child framework;
• Builds relationships with key stakeholders, local community organizations, associations, boards and state agencies and organizations to expand the range and deepen relationships with entities focused on school-based health services;
• Coordinates with office staff to align school-based health with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, trauma-informed care, social-emotional learning standards, and other whole child supports. 
• Develops, leads and manages school-based health policies, initiatives, communication and implementation strategies aligned to the agency strategic plan, Ohio’s Whole Child Framework and other agency priorities;
• Develops, leads, manages and evaluates state and federal grants related to school-based health including the federal School-Based Mental Health Professional Grant;
• Ensures school-based healthcare initiatives are aligned to agency strategic plan, Ohio’s Whole Child Framework and other agency priorities;

• Facilitates alignment and supports related to the implementation of evidence-based strategies to support school-based healthcare, including telehealth and behavioral health care services.

Supports partnerships and ensures local agency stakeholders provide ongoing input and support to the school-based health:

• Supports regional teams (e.g. State Support Teams, Educational Service Centers) across the state as they work with school-provider partnerships;
• Supports local school-based health teams through professional development, technical assistance, fostering peer-to-peer connections, use of resources, including the school-based health toolkit, and developing a plan for sustainability;
• Collects and shares success stories of districts’ school-based health initiatives and other student wellness programs.
• Uses available state and local data to evaluate the effectiveness of school-based health initiatives; to conduct needs assessments and gaps analysis; and to inform changes to policies and practices.