Ohio is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the west, and Michigan to the northwest. Of the 50 U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area. With a population of nearly 11.8 million, Ohio is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated state. Its capital and most populous city is Columbus, with other large population centers including Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron, and Toledo. Ohio is nicknamed the "Buckeye State" after its Ohio buckeye trees, and Ohioans are also known as "Buckeyes". Its flag is the only non-rectangular flag of all U.S. states.
The history of Jews in Ohio dates back to 1817, when Joseph Jonas, a pioneer, came from England and made his home in Cincinnati. He drew after him a number of English Jews, who held Orthodox-style divine service for the first time in Ohio in 1819, and, as the community grew, organized themselves in 1824 into the first Jewish congregation of the Ohio Valley, the B'ne Israel. This English immigration was followed in the next two decades by the coming of German immigrants who, in contrast, were mostly Reform Jews. A Bavarian, Simson Thorman, settled in 1837 in Cleveland, then a considerable town, which thus became the second place in the state where Jews settled. Thorman was soon followed by countrymen of his, who in 1839 organized themselves into a congregation called the Israelitish Society. The same decade saw an influx of German Jews into Cincinnati, and these in 1841 founded the Bene Yeshurun congregation. To these two communities the Jewish history of Ohio was confined for the first half of the 19th century. In 1850 Ohio had six congregations: four in Cincinnati and two in Cleveland.
These congregations are affiliated with one of the five associations comprising the Heartland Conference of the United Church of Christ. They are listed in order of association.
Education in Ohio is provided by both public and private schools, colleges, and universities. Ohio's system of public education is outlined in Article VI of the state constitution, and in Title XXXIII of the Ohio Revised Code. Ohio University, the first university in the Northwest Territory, was also the first public institution in Ohio. Substantively, Ohio's system is similar to those found in other states. At the State level, the Ohio Department of Education, which is overseen by the Ohio State Board of Education, governs primary and secondary educational institutions. At the municipal level, there are approximately 700 school districts statewide. The Ohio Board of Regents coordinates and assists with Ohio's institutions of higher education which have recently been reorganized into the University System of Ohio under Governor Strickland. The system averages an annual enrollment of more than 400,000 students, making it one of the five largest state university systems in the U.S.
The 7th Reserve Officers' Training Corps Brigade is an Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps brigade based in Fort Knox, Kentucky. It provides training support and oversight to all Army ROTC and Junior ROTC units in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee.
Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO) is a nonprofit campus ministry headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. CCO was officially incorporated on March 23, 1971. As of September 2012, the CCO employs 225 staff members on 104 campuses and universities, primarily in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Activities at the campuses can include Bible study, working for humanitarian causes such as Habitat for Humanity, etc. For nine consecutive years, the CCO has been named a Best Christian Workplace in the US by the Best Christian Workplace Institute.
Spectrum Sports was a regional sports network serving Ohio and parts of northern Kentucky, southern Michigan and western Pennsylvania operated by Charter Communications through its acquisition of Time Warner Cable in May 2016. It was broadcast on Channel 311 and 1311 exclusively on Time Warner Cable/Charter systems.
Ohio is home to many professional and college sports teams. The metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus are home to major league professional sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer.
Accel Schools, styled ACCEL Schools, is a for-profit education management organization that operates 77 charter schools and 15 online schools primarily in Ohio. Accel schools have operated on significantly lower budgets than other Cleveland schools.
