Among the ways in which Ohio schools prepare students for life after their K-12 experience is implementing prevention-focused programs and supports. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, school officials are doing an excellent job, as 95 percent of Ohio schools offer such programs and supports. The Ohio Department of Education’s 2020-21 Prevention Services Data Report shows that is an increase from the 2019-2020 report, in which 70 percent of Ohio schools offered prevention-focused programs and support during the school day.

Approximately half of Ohio counties have all schools offering the programs and supports. Carroll and Harrison counties had the lowest percentage of schools offering them, at 80 percent.

Meanwhile, 81 percent of Ohio schools offer prevention-focused curricula, such as D.A.R.E., Second Step, Signs of Suicide (SOS), Start With Hello and Zones of Regulation. Muskingum County had the lowest percentage of schools offering a prevention-focused curriculum at 36.4 percent.

So there is room for improvement in some districts, but by and large Ohio schools are doing a better job of giving children the tools and support they need to focus on their mental, behavioral and physical health, in addition to their academic growth.

“This report shows how Ohio schools are supporting student wellness work through an outstanding increase of prevention programming and supports,” Interim Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Stephanie Siddens said in a news release. “Prevention education helps students build the resiliency skills needed to overcome life’s obstacles and fully engage in learning.”

So long as educators continue to have access to the resources they need to ensure students build their academic skills, too, it sounds as though Ohio schools are doing all they can to, as

Gov. Mike DeWine put it, educate “the whole child.”