Recent legislative changes (Section 3319.223 – Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws) will shift the Resident Educator Program from a four-year program to a two-year program and the Resident Educator license from a four-year license to a two-year license. The teacher performance assessment, also known as RESA, will remain a requirement of the two-year program, as will two years of mentoring by a state trained mentor. These changes will become effective in the 2023-2024 school year.
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) hosted a workgroup of Ohio educators, including OEA members, representing diverse regions, roles and demographics to propose a new, two-year Resident Educator Program Framework. A document outlining the proposed changes to the Resident Educator Program Framework, along with proposed program requirements and considerations, is available for public comment now. OEA President Scott DiMauro offered comments which can be read here. Public comments will be collected by ODE using this survey. The survey closes April 29.
Take Action
As educators, your voice and advocacy is important. We encourage you to read the proposed changes and to share your thoughts about the proposed Resident Educator program changes. Comments can be submitted through this survey. If you submit after the comment period has ended on April 29, 2022, please submit your comments to REProgram@education.ohio.gov. Please consider also sharing comments with your State Board of Education (SBOE) representative. Contact information can be found at https://education.ohio.gov/State-Board/State-Board-Members.
ODE and the Resident Educator workgroup will consider all comments as they complete the requirements for the new, two-year Ohio Resident Educator Program.
To assist with the writing of your comments and your State Board of Education representative, OEA suggests the following talking points:
- Thank you for including OEA members as part of the workgroup that was convened to develop the proposed two-year Resident Educator Program Framework.
- We appreciate the continued inclusion of two years of mentoring for new educators as mentors provide essential support and feedback without evaluating teachers. This support is critical to the growth and skill development of new educators. Continuing to support state training for mentors is also appreciated, as this provides consistency of mentoring support for new educators.
- It is disappointing that the Resident Educator Summative Assessment (RESA) and the high-stakes expectations remain in place. This assessment creates an unnecessary level of stress for new educators, as preparation and submission detracts from lesson planning and instructional time. The need to pass the RESA to remain employed as an educator in the state of Ohio is an unnecessary barrier to the profession, particularly when districts are struggling to find teachers to hire. The RESA should be eliminated.
