About the Collaborative:

With support from a grant provided by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, West Wind Education Policy organized the Teacher Development Collaborative in southeast Ohio during the academic year 2007-08. The purpose of this collaborative was to engage representatives of institutions of higher education (IHEs) and practitioners within local educational agencies in action planning to improve teacher preparation and professional development for teachers. Already the Collaborative has made strides toward increasing high-quality math and science education in the region by securing an Ohio Board of Regents Choose Ohio First grant, titled Choose Appalachian Teaching: Building a Community of Mathematics and Science Teachers for Southeastern Ohio. By creating a focus on four key points of impact, we will provide the support needed to be successful from the point of recruitment until the teacher leaves the profession.

The points of teacher impact are:

1. RECRUITMENT
2. PRE-SERVICE
3. NOVICE, APPRENTICE AND PROFESSIONAL CLASSROOM TEACHER’S DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT
4. RETENTION

Goals are to:

• RECRUIT more candidates into Teacher Education programs in the Southeast Ohio Teacher Development Collaborative member institutions.

• RETAIN high quality teachers in rural Appalachian schools Continue to re-align our curriculum with the current research-based best practices in standards-based education, differentiated instruction, data driven decision-making, 21st-century teaching skills, and collaborative teaching to effectively address the needs of K-12 students.

• IDENTIFY shared resources that provide field experiences for candidates in diverse geographic rural and urban low-resourced economic areas.

• LEAD and encourage faculty responsiveness to the effects that poverty and cultural influences have on student success and to align curriculum appropriately Work collaboratively to help districts develop expertise to advance teacher skills and knowledge.

• SUPPORT the transition from pre-service teacher education to the two-year induction period and the graduate residency program Collaborate to create and provide opportunities for veteran teachers to learn about the latest research and policy changes, as well as to enrich and expand their content knowledge
  provide and support opportunities for teachers to network.

• PROMOTE and increase access to graduate level preparation and training while not duplicating services unnecessarily.

• ENCOURAGE and facilitate the hiring of quality teachers in rural Appalachian schools Involve members of the Southeast Ohio Teacher Development Collaborative in all state and regional committees to influence policy
  direction in pre-service teacher preparation.

• INVOLVE members of the Southeast Ohio Teacher Development Collaborative in all state and regional committees to influence policy direction in pre-service teacher preparation.