The Ohio Department of Education & Workforce is seeking proposals from Educational Services Centers (ESCs) for the provision of Speech-Language Pathology Consultants (SLPC) & School Psychology Consultants (SPC) in FY25. The Regional Speech-Language Pathology/School Psychology Consultant Grant will provide funds through the Office for Exceptional Children to selected ESCs for six regional speech-language pathology consultants (SLPC) and six regional school psychology consultants in six regions of Ohio.
The primary duties of the speech-language pathology consultant (SLPC) and the school psychology consultant (SPC) will be to support those districts without regional State Support Team ongoing comprehensive support. When there is a district lead therapist or psychologist, supervisor, or coordinator, the ESC SLPC and SPC will collaborate with these individuals and work with the Department of Education and Workforce to disseminate professional learning and guidance, provide supervision of interns upon request, assist districts with corrective action plan development and implementation addressing indicators 9 and 10 (disproportionality in special education).
Application: The application and additional information are available in the CCIP Document Library under Financial Information/Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) at https://ccip.ode.state.oh.us/DocumentLibrary/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentKey=92576.
Deadline: Applications are due by April 5, 2024. Please direct questions to Molly.Cairney@education.ohio.gov.
Attendance is a priority in Ohio. Attendance studies routinely show the connection between regular attendance and critical school measures such as reading proficiently, performing well academically, and graduating from high school.
Chronic absence is defined in Ohio as a student missing 10% or more of the school year for any reason – excused, medically excused, unexcused and suspensions. Chronic absenteeism is part of Ohio’s report card as part of Ohio’s Every Student Succeeds Act Plan. Ohio, along with 35 other states, uses chronic absenteeism as a measurement of student success under the Gap Closing Component.
There are several initiatives focused on attendance and chronic absenteeism:
Stay in the Game! Network - Stay in the Game! connects districts and education leaders to the resources and tools that can meaningfully improve attendance
Attendance Works - As a non-profit initiative, Attendance Works collaborates with schools, districts, states, communities and organizations to ensure that everyone recognizes that chronic absence is a serious issue that can be addressed using a positive, problem-solving approach grounded in an understanding of educational inequities.
The Ohio Department of Education & Workforce and Attendance Works are offer free 90 minute sessions designed for ESCs and SSTs on core attendance strategies and addressing the rising rates of chronic absence. Each session will include 45-minutes with ESCs and SSTs together, breakout sessions tailored for ESC and SST staff, and collective sharing of best practices and learnings. Additional consultation sessions available for participants after each regional training. All ESC and SST staff are welcome including Family and Community Partner liaisons, family engagement staff, attendance support staff, social workers, attendance officers, PBIS- and SEL-focused staff, One Plan staff, leadership consultants and more. [Get more information on sessions, including registration links]
Resources:
Learning Blade is a free, fully-funded supplemental curriculum provided by the Ohio STEM Learning Network for STEM/Computer Science/Career Tech career exploration. It provides interactive and engaging lessons on various STEM topics for students in grades 5-9, and can help teachers foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and understanding of careers.
Resources in Learning Blade are organized around “Missions” covering topics including advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, cybersecurity, and much more. In total, Ohio teachers can choose from more than 400 lessons, helping connect lessons to real-world applications in careers. Each Mission includes interactive online lessons for students, lesson plans for teachers, and take-home activities. These resources have been aligned to Ohio’s Learning Standards for grades 5-9 in Math, English Language Arts, Science, and Technology as well as applicable standards from the Computer Science Teachers Association.
Free Learning Blade Info Session
Friday, February 16, 11am-Noon
Explore how Learning Blade can support your middle grades integrating career exploration, while reinforcing interdisciplinary standards. [REGISTER NOW]
One-on-one sessions also available - schedule a meeting at a time convenient for your team.
The Ohio General Assembly established the Ohio Grow Your Own (GYO) Teacher Scholarship Program to encourage school employees and low-income students to become licensed teachers and to work for their home district after graduation from a teacher training program.
The Ohio Department of Higher Education will grant scholarships to qualifying individuals who are accepted into the GYO program and who enroll in a teacher training program. In exchange for receiving scholarship funds (up to $7,500/year for four years), awardees will commit to teaching for four years in their home district within six years of graduation.
Leadership staff at qualifying schools are expected to pro-actively recruit their own students and employees to participate in this program. Each school district interested in participating in the Ohio GYO Teacher Scholarship Program must attest that it has difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified classroom teachers.
The district in which GYO Scholarship applicants are employed or enrolled must attest an intent to hire the GYO Scholarship recipient as a teacher after his or her graduation. The scholarship application will be open to the following:
NOTE: Those employed by an ESC but assigned to a qualifying school building may receive a GYO scholarship if the qualifying school will endorse the application. An ESC cannot endorse a GYO scholarship recipient.
RESOURCES:
aiEDU and the Ohio Educational Service Center Association (OESCA) invite educators from across the state of Ohio to come together, find inspiration, and share their expertise and ideas around AI literacy and innovation! [Download Flyer]
All AI Summits are FREE to Ohio ESC employees, district leaders, building leaders, and K-12 teachers and will take place from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM on the following dates:
Southwest Ohio AI Summit - Thursday, May 2, 2024 - Dayton, OH
Northwest Ohio AI Summit - Thursday, May 9, 2024 - Sandusky, OH
Northeast Ohio AI Summit - Thursday, May 23, 2024 - Independence, OH
Southeast Ohio AI Summit - Tuesday, August 13, 2024 - Cambridge, OH
Capacity is limited for each AI Summit - Register today!
NEW! Two conferences in one - the OESCA Spring Conference 2024 OESCA Spring Conference: Let's Connect |
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All Ohio educational service center (ESC) staff are invited for professional learning, regional and job-alike networking, and updates on statewide initiatives. This year we are combining OESCA's annual Spring Conference with the Let's Connect conference that debuted last year for ESC service providers. This enables ESCs to send teams to the conference and allows attendees a wider variety of sessions from which to choose. 67 breakout tracks over three days include sessions on Curriculum and Instruction, Data Assessment and Equity, Integrated Student Supports, Special Services, State Initiatives and Partners, Tech Integration, Executive Leadership, and Finance and Operations. The combined conference is hosted by the Ohio ESC Association and the OESCA Regional Coordinators. May 6-7 focused content for district-facing ESC service providers Cost: $250 per person for 2 days and $400 per person for all three days. This represents a 30-40% savings over typical OESCA conferences! Breakfast, lunch and snacks are included in the price. Hotel: Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center, Contact: Ken Bernacki, ESC Network Regional Coordinator, kbernacki@escwr.org |
The Franklin B. Walter All-Scholastic Award Program was established by the Ohio Educational Service Center Association (OESCA) to promote and recognize outstanding academic achievement. One senior from each Ohio county who is nominated by an ESC is eligible to receive this honor each spring.
2024 Franklin B. Walter All Scholastic Awards
April 15, 2024
Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center, Lewis Center, OH
ESCs:
OESCA provides:
HOW IT WORKS:
December 2023 | OESCA sends ESCs the award information. |
January 12, 2024 | Deadline for participating ESCs send the application (and award information) to client districts. |
March 1, 2024 | Students applications from districts/schools are due to the ESC. Three ESC staff members review the applications and choose one student winner for each of the counties it serves. If your ESC serves students in three different counties, you may nominate one student for each county. If more than one ESC serves a particular county, each ESC may nominate a student in the county, then OESCA will select one winner for the county from those submissions. |
March 17, 2024 | The ESC submits student winners for each county served to OESCA online. When all winners are confirmed, the ESC notifies all applicants and invites the winner to the award program and lunch in Columbus. |
April 8, 2024 | ESCs register student award winner, ESC rep and guests for the recognition program/lunch in Columbus. |
April 15, 2024 | ESCs, students and guests attend the award program/lunch where the student winners will be recognized, presented with an award and ESC rep and student will be photographed. |
April 17, 2024 (approx) | OESCA sends ESCs promotional materials (i.e. sample press release, social media posts, photo files). OESCA will also mail students hard copies of the professional photographs when printed. |
ELIGIBILITY:
Applicant must be a high school senior enrolled in a public school district (local, city, exempted village, Joint Vocational School District/Career Technical Center or STEM) - within the ESC’s service region. Recipients should demonstrate outstanding academic achievement as indicated by high school grades, test scores, community service, and school activities and awards. Educational Service Centers shall select one awardee per ESC (multi-county ESCs may select one awardee per county for local recognition but only one awardee per county will be recognized at the state-level event).
AWARD PROGRAM & LUNCHEON:
Award winners will be invited, along with guests, to attend a special recognition luncheon. Students will be recognized by their peers and state education leaders. Each ESC is limited to 5 attendees per ESC recipient, which includes the award recipient, the ESC superintendent or designee, and up to 3 guests. There are no exceptions due to space limitations and a return to recognizing EACH county versus one recipient per ESC. Deadline for registration is April 4, 2024. Any cancellations must be in writing and be received no later than April 8, 2024. There will be a processing fee charge equal to 6% of refund for any refund checks issued. Registration begins at 11:15 a.m. An award recipient group photo will take place at 11:45 a.m., followed by the luncheon at noon and the awards program at approximately 12:45 p.m. Costs: $55 per recipient for the engraved award and $55 per luncheon attendee.
HISTORY:
OESCA created the Franklin B. Walter All-Scholastic Award in 1990 to honor Franklin B. Walter one of our past Ohio State Superintendents, and to recognize one top student scholar from each county in Ohio. Franklin B. Walter served as state superintendent from March 1977 until August 1991. Throughout his career, Dr. Walter exemplified concern for young people and dedicated his life to the improvement of education in Ohio.
Each of Ohio’s 51 Educational Service Centers (ESCs) applied for and received the High Performing ESC designation from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW). To achieve the High Performing Educational Service Center (ESC) designation, an ESC must generate total cost savings of at least 5% across five core service areas for its client school districts as compared to the district providing the services themselves or from another third party provider. The percentage of savings for Ohio’s ESCs far exceeds this 5% benchmark, averaging 40% savings in 2023.
“Ohio’s educational service centers provide exceptional cost savings to their school districts in addition to all of the other high-quality services and support they offer,” says Craig Burford, Executive Director of the Ohio ESC Association (OESCA). “Over the past seven years, Ohio ESCs have averaged 36% savings to districts per year, for a total of nearly $587.6 million in savings statewide for primary services since 2016. Policy makers should take notice of the return on their investment and find additional ways to leverage the ESC network.”
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce evaluated each application based on the total percentage of cost savings the ESC generated for its client districts calculated based on the price charged to the client by the ESC for a primary service.
Ohio’s Educational Service Centers (ESCs) provide school districts with professional development, technology, support, planning, and administrative services that help improve student learning, enhance the quality of instruction, expand access to resources, and maximize operating/fiscal efficiencies. The Ohio ESC Association (OESCA) supports, educates and advocates for Ohio’s ESCs.
All ESC staff invited to new monthly ESC Regional Meetings that complement current ESC Network Reframing Education meetings by offering more in-depth looks at important initiatives and allowing for discussion between ESC staff in the region. Each session will focus on a State priority, include a detailed update from ODE/DEW, and open discussion by region in breakout rooms. The ESC Network Regional Coordinators will share feedback with the ODE/DEW on what is going well, challenges and needs.
Next Regional Meeting:
Chronic Absence and Attendance
Friday, October 27, 2023, 9:00-10:00am
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/98189596657