Resident Educator Program
Program Overview
The Ohio Resident Educator Program began in 2011, and has evolved to a comprehensive multi-year induction program, resulting in Professional Licensure with successful completion of the program and the Resident Educator Summative Assessment (RESA). The Ohio Resident Educator Program can be envisioned as the first years of a journey or the first steps on a path of continued professional learning, leading educators to more effective practices and excellence in teaching. While the purposes of each continue to differ: licensure (RE) and evaluation (OTES) the teacher residency program is designed to fit alongside with the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES), making with clear linkages and connections between the two.
Resident educators can be most successful when the entire school takes responsibility for their success and embraces participation in the teacher residency program as an opportunity to increase teacher effectiveness. The residency provides resident educators with formal and informal professional development opportunities that are responsive to both the developmental needs of beginning teachers and district priorities. Individualized and differentiated professional development occurs between mentors and resident educators through regular, ongoing interactions.
The Ohio Resident Educator Program is built upon the foundation of
Local organizations implementing the Ohio Resident Educator Program may also find the Program Standards Planning Tool to be a valuable resource in measuring their progress toward meeting program standards. This tool may also be completed in the Connected Ohio Records for Educators (CORE) system by Program Coordinators.
Resident Educator Program Standards Planning Tool
Resident Educator Program Orientation
The following presentation provides an orientation to the Ohio Resident Educator Program. It includes important information about the roles and responsibilities of all program participants such as Resident Educators, instructional mentors, program coordinators, principals, and RESA facilitators.
Ohio Resident Educator Program Orientation Presentation 2015-2016
We’ve heard that:
- The program has value and is a critical investment for schools.
- Resident Educators and Mentors develop supportive relationships.
- Program tools, like the Collaborative Logs, are helpful to Resident Educators and Mentors.
- Both Resident Educators and Mentors feel that their practice improves as a result of the program.
- Program Coordinator support correlates with success on the performance-based summative assessment.
But, we have also heard that:
- The program might look different in different places.
- Too many resources and tools can make it confusing to determine what is recommended.
- Participants would like to see more clearly how the Resident Educator program (vision, goals, and processes) links with other critical state education initiatives (like the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System).
As a result, beginning in 2015-2016, participants and stakeholders in the Resident Educator Program will see updates such as:
A flexible program that allows for more local decision making
Clearer and streamlined set of tools and resources outlined in the Mentor Tool Kit
Clear alignment between the Resident Educator Program and the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System. For a comparison of the REP and the OTES click
here.
Resident Educator Program External Evaluation
Ohio has made a key investment in evaluating Ohio’s -- first in the nation -- four-year teacher residency program. An External Evaluation Team comprised of personnel from Miami University, the University of Cincinnati, and Ohio University has conducted extensive evaluation of the Ohio Resident Educator Program focused on four primary foci (1) Fidelity and compliance, (2) Quality and effectiveness, (3) Influence and impact and (4) Scale-up and sustainability. Findings from the evaluation identify areas of program strength and recommendations for program improvements. The following links provide the Executive Summary, Year 4 Final Summative Report and Year 4 Final Report Attachments of the Year 4 Annual Resident Educator Program Evaluation Report.