Supporting Ohio’s Children | News, Sports, Jobs

Schools have become so much more than centers of academic learning. For some children, they are safe places. School staff serve as counselors, social workers, law enforcement liaisons and technology support. After school hours, they are social centers for hosting meetings and sporting events.

They are the hearts of our communities.

Lawmakers have begun to understand just how much schools mean to children and their communities as a whole. That is why, according to an Axios report, Ohio will allocate nearly $26 million to establish and enhance school-based health centers using American Rescue Plan Act funding.

Projects completed with the funding are expected to help schools offer services that might typically be found in a primary care physician’s office, such as screenings and vaccinations. One in the Groveport Madison school district will renovate a bus depot into a community wellness center.

Teachers and school staff have for borne the burden of caring for children in a way that goes far beyond academic education. There is no sign that will change any time soon. It is good to know there is a push on the part of state and federal officials to give them more tools to do something about it.