​From a mock parent-teacher conference to unique learning environments, students, teachers, administrators and school board members from local schools throughout Ohio demonstrated innovations in education Monday at a statewide conference near Columbus. More than 500 educators from throughout the Ohio attended the 5th Annual Ohio Quality in education Conference co-sponsored by Honda of America Mfg., Inc. and the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). The conference featured top educators, along with students and local teachers and administrators who presented classroom innovations that are taking education to new levels. Sessions included team activities and collaboration in quality tools that are designed to make education more effective. The sessions included panel discussions on new roles for school board members and school administrators to support teaching in the classrooms. Students from Kenton City Schools helped open the conference with a mock parent-teacher’s conference. In addition to taking responsibility to present to their parents and teacher what they accomplished, the students used their unique new-world electronic tools to convey the information. In addition, teachers, administrators and students from Marysville, Tecumseh, Lake, West Liberty-Salem, Liberty-Benton and Mad River schools participated in the workshops and other sessions, along with the Butler Technology and Career Development School District. A key theme at the conference this year was to look for ways to strengthen collaboration among parents, teachers and students, and to include participation of school administrators and school board members in this partnership. For the first time, a panel of school board members discussed their involvement in implementing quality-based initiatives. When considering how a company could best support public education, Honda started by looking at its own strengths, said Lynn Dennison, Honda of America Mfg. vice president of Company Services. The initiative focused on the quality tools Honda uses to assess a situation and then come up with the best path forward. Importantly, these tools also encourage students, school administrators and teachers to take additional responsibility to plan and develop their own learning. “At Honda of America, we believe that quality schools are just as important as quality products,” Dennison, said. “As a member of our communities, we have a responsibility to support our schools in ways to make them more effective at teaching critical life skills.” Honda of America’s Education Outreach Program started in 1999 to provide Total Quality Management (TQM) training and continuous improvement planning to public schools in west central Ohio. The program has expanded to enrich student achievement in the classrooms, where the same tools encourage students to plan and take responsibility for their own learning. Since 1999, more than 16,500 administrators, teachers and students have received quality-based training through Honda’s education outreach programs. The program continues to evolve and add new initiatives as Honda works with local schools in partnerships to strengthen educational initiatives. Honda and the Ohio Department of Education sponsored the first Ohio Quality in Education Conference in 2003 to further support development of quality initiatives in schools throughout Ohio.