A Message from Michael Hanshaw, Superintendent
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When individuals or groups collaborate, they accomplish more than the groups’ most talented members could achieve on their own. That is why TCESC is constantly focused on collaborating for children. We strive to work with Trumbull County school districts and community partners to develop the best educational community possible for children. During the 2010-2011 school year, TCESC continued our long-standing philosophy of collaboration.
All three programs featured in this annual report incorporate some type of collaboration. The Student Therapeutic Educational Program (STEP) is a collaborative effort of the YWCA, Valley Counseling Services and TCESC that established both a program and a site to serve students with behavioral and emotional difficulties. Our two Professional Development days were a classic example of collaboration among educators from 17 school districts. On those days in November and February, approximately 2,000 teachers worked together to prepare for the future academic needs of students. Celebrating Public Education Night is another example of cooperation between TCESC, Trumbull County school districts and the local shopping mall to conduct an event that showcased the work of our talented students.
Throughout the school year, TCESC’s normal course of business involves many cooperative activities – all designed to benefit children either through direct programming or through professional development for educators.
Student Programs
In 2010-2011, Trumbull Student Assistance Consortium added a Bullying Prevention Program for students who have been reported to have displayed behaviors that violated school bullying and harassment policies. The program is designed to help students with problem solving and conflict resolution while teaching communication, decision making and anger management skills. This program is a new service for the 18 districts in the consortium.
TCESC’s annual Prep Bowl is a collaboration in which students, parents and teachers all join together in a friendly competition that allows students to excel. This annual academic competition engages students from participating districts in a contest to answer questions from all areas of study at grade level.
While we closed Trumbull Academy at the end of the 2010-2011 school year, we worked with our districts to create a new alternative education program called Trumbull Virtual Learning Academy. This hybrid educational option combines on-line and on-site academic support. It is designed to meet the educational, emotional, and social needs of general education and at-risk students in grades 7-12.
Educator Support
TCESC has partnered with Kent State University to provide educational workshops for teachers, counselors and administrators throughout the year. The workshops, which are held in our offices and conducted by a Kent State University instructor, focus on topics that benefit students such as helping students cope with grief; motivating students; and understanding students’ various emotional difficulties.
Last year, TCESC began offering online opportunities for teacher professional development. One online workshop allows teachers to meet the NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher criteria in a specific content area. This course provides 45 hours of effective professional development that teachers base upon their own data-driven needs and link to their daily practice in their specific content areas.
A second online workshop that TCESC instituted last year is the Safety and Violence Prevention Training that all Ohio educators are required to have completed. TCESC created an online version of this training as an alternative to the face-to-face training that our office also conducts. The workshop focuses on child abuse detection, substance abuse detection and prevention, dating violence
prevention and mental and behavioral health issues.
The Resident Educator Transition Program is another program TCESC conducts in cooperation with the school districts. Last year, TCESC continued its work with new and mentor teachers while implementing new requirements from the Ohio Department of Education. This program is just one example of a requirement that our districts depend upon TCESC to implement for them cooperatively.
The 2010-2011 Administrative Leadership Series was titled Moving the OIP Forward. The four professional development sessions helped building administrators deepen their knowledge of instructional leadership. As part of this series, the administrators were trained to conduct walk-through observations of
classroom instruction.
TCESC values community service and collaboration with various community agencies. Many of our employees serve on the boards of local non-profit organizations. Our employees pledge funds to the United Way campaign and, during the holiday season, collect for various charities.
Future Opportunities
As we plan for the future, TCESC continues to look for collaborative opportunities. Change happens every day and all of our partners bring different strengths to the table. We are aware of the changes in Ohio’s standards and assessment systems that will impact all educators in grades K-12. TCESC is continuing its coordination of professional development to help educators examine and discuss the content standards so that they will be able to effectively implement them in their classrooms.
Legislative changes also impact TCESC and the districts that we serve. There are several mandates we will be assisting the districts with in the upcoming year. Certainly, budget restraints impact all educational organizations and we will be challenged to find ways to face those financial difficulties.
Now, more than ever, we will be exploring opportunities to share services and work with other educational entities, government agencies and potential community partners. If we can share the goal of creating better educational opportunities for our children, we will have the foundation of great collaboration. |
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