RIO GRANDE — The Gallia-Vinton Educational Service Center (ESC) has been awarded a competitive $100,000 pilot grant by the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Board of Regents in response to House Bill 1 that created the Resident Educator license, which will be issued beginning January 2011.

For the next two years, a cohort of 20 beginning teachers will participate in the Transition Resident Educator Program designed to offer beginning teachers a yearlong program of mentoring and support aligned to the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession. In addition, veteran teachers will serve as mentors based on Ohio Department of Education criteria.

A consortium of nine school districts (Gallia County Local, Gallipolis City, Vinton County Local, Wellston City, Jackson City, Chesapeake Union Exempted Village, Jackson County Board of DD, Ohio Valley Christian, and Christian Life Academy) and the University of Rio Grande collaborated with the Gallia-Vinton ESC to develop the grant proposal that includes seven components of a high impact induction program.

Consortium members reflected on past accomplishments and best practices of mentoring programs to identify elements that needed further development. The “Rio Connection: Center of Practice” pilot program will focus on: 1) Orientation, 2) Professional Development Goals and Action Plan, 3) Mentoring by Veteran Teachers, 4) Classroom Observation, 5) Workshops and Training, 6) Professional Development Portfolios, and 7) Peer Support Activities.

“I was thrilled to have received one of the five Center of Practice grants awarded in Ohio,” said Dr. Denise Shockley, ESC superintendent. “The ESC has provided entry-year teacher mentoring programs for the past seven years. This opportunity will take us to the next level in providing professional development to new teachers. We have a strong relationship with the University of Rio Grande and are appreciative of the collaboration with our area school districts.”

Goals of the pilot program are intended to help new teachers focus on orientation to job and local setting, provide induction into the teaching profession, and bring about an entry into a professional learning community. Based on recent research, the program is designed for new teachers to meet monthly with their mentors and a Center of Practice consultant to address identified training modules. Selected workshops are being developed by the University of Rio Grande to provide advanced training for the mentors.

Another requirement of the pilot grant is to design a comprehensive plan for evaluation that includes collection of data to document the effectiveness of partnerships, systems of support for beginning teachers, training of both beginning teachers and mentors, tools and protocols. The Voinovich Center of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University has been contracted to conduct the evaluation of the project. The evaluation design (CIPP) is a decision-oriented evaluation approach structured to help administrators make policy-level decisions and determine practical action steps for improving planning processes.

At the conclusion of the grant period, the Gallia-Vinton ESC has pledged to deliver a sustainable mentor training module to the Ohio Department of Education. Included in the module will be a framework for resident educator induction, portfolio guidelines, peer review process rubric, and professional learning community strategies. A final deliverable will be recommendations on a networking system among the Centers of Practice that is technology based.

For information, contact Dr. Shockley or Karen Johnson at (740) 245-0593.