About Ohio Excels

Our Vision

All Ohio students have access to and are supported to excel in early childhood, K-12 and postsecondary experiences that prepare them for life and success in a changing economy.

Our MissIon

To provide an informed business perspective to help improve and transform Ohio’s education system so that it better prepares students to meet the demands of our evolving economy.

Core Principles

ENSURE EQUITY. All students deserve the right to educational success. Too many of Ohio’s students currently do not enjoy that opportunity or the life benefits that come with a quality education.
EXPECT ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. Education is a critical foundation for life success, and our students deserve the opportunity to develop foundational skills and knowledge that will enable them to achieve in school, the workforce and life.

FOCUS ON STUDENTS. Student needs must be at the center of all policy and practice decisions.

USE DATA. Education decisions must be informed by data that honestly illuminate student, school and system performance. This data should help educators determine which educational practices are most effective for the students they serve.

STRENGTHEN IMPLEMENTATION. Leaders must create consistent, innovative policies and support crucial implementation challenges to ensure student success.

COORDINATE INVESTMENTS. The state should better coordinate all of its investments to serve students’ needs by identifying existing state resources, eliminating barriers and silos, and requiring state agency partnerships that meet the comprehensive needs of students.

OFFER QUALITY CHOICES. Families and students deserve the right to choose the school that best meets their students’ unique needs and have funding for that choice.

BUILD ON SUCCESS. Share examples of success and replicate the best educational practices, interventions and schools so that students have access to proven options at all levels of the education system.

How It Began, Why It Was Created

Believing that the unique insights and experiences of business leaders should be well represented in discussions of state education and workforce policies, a concept that grew to become Ohio Excels was born in 2018. Leading that effort were former Greater Cleveland Partnership CEO Joseph Roman, Ohio Business Roundtable President and CEO Patrick Tiberi, Cincinnati Business Committee CEO Gary Lindgren, and Columbus Partnership CEO Alex Fischer. Assembling an initially small group of business leaders, they created a non-partisan coalition committed to keeping the business community’s voice at the forefront of policy discussions of education and workforce issues. Their goal: ensuring that Ohio maintains the highest expectations for preparing students to live and succeed in the Knowledge Economy.

Ohio Excels’ initial coalition began by assembling a diverse board of business leaders from across the state, developing core principles to guide their work and attracting a growing number of others from Ohio business community to join their cause. With this strong foundation, Ohio Excels was formally launched in March 2019 and the organization has quickly emerged as a leading voice at the Statehouse, bringing an informed business perspective to improve and transform Ohio’s education system.