What if a public school could offer more academic choices for its students and keep students in its district? What if a school could continue to offer a unique course with greater enrollment? What if a student could join a cohort of like-minded students in a unique course offering? What if a district could offer a course that keeps a talented educator in the classroom because that teacher is so deeply passionate and committed to that course and the students? With funding through Future Forward Ohio, INFOhio—a project of the Management Council—is establishing a collaborative course catalog, turning these "what ifs" into realities.

With functionality analogous to StubHub, the collaborative course catalog will give Ohio districts the ability to offer open seats in their courses to students from other schools and districts across the state via distance learning. The catalog will help educators connect learners with quality courses regardless of their Ohio address, expanding student learning opportunities wherever a student lives and enabling districts to continue to offer courses with low local enrollment, keeping teachers engaged and fulfilled. Ohio's schools will be able to offer more choices to their students while keeping those students in the safety of their local school building and in the care and supervision of educators they know.

A focus group is providing input, evaluating existing solutions, and developing training for the catalog. Anticipated initial course offerings include high school courses in English language arts, world languages, social studies, mathematics, and technology, along with IB, AP, and College Credit Plus courses. If you are interested in participating in the focus group or want to learn more about this project, contact John Mitchell at john.mitchell@managementcouncil.org.

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