EDUCATOR STANDARDS BOARD MONTHLY ONLINE UPDATE
October 25, 2004

Introduction
On Monday, Sept. 27, 2004, the Educator Standards Board (ESB) held its first official business meeting to commence the year-long process of developing standards for all educators in Ohio. In an effort to clearly communicate the progress of the Board to ESB stakeholders, the Office of Educator Standards will begin distributing a monthly online update, starting today, on the Monday before each regularly scheduled Board meeting.

Each monthly update will be based upon the minutes of the previous Board meeting. The following information reflects meeting minutes from Sept. 27. The next online update will be distributed Monday, Nov. 29, 2004.

The mission of the Board, recently adopted at its September meeting, follows:

“The Educator Standards Board collaboratively promotes educator quality, professionalism, and public accountability on behalf of the students and citizens of Ohio.”

The following items will be addressed in today’s first update:

• Election of officers
• Approval of ESB committees/charges of each committee
• Length of member terms
• Approval of ESB meeting schedule

Election of Officers Approved
In the Board’s first official meeting of the year, Bill Shriver was declared chairman of the Board, and Doug Lowery vice-chairman for 2004-2005.

Shriver is a high school social studies teacher at Mount Vernon High School where he teaches freshman social studies, 11th grade 20th Century U.S. History, and the Kenyon Academic Partnership (KAP) U.S. History class.

Lowery is the middle school principal at Hilliard Memorial Middle School, as well as adjunct supervisor/lecturer for The Ohio State University, Ashland University, and in the past, the University of Dayton.

Higher Education, Standards, and Professional Policies Committees Adopted
Three sub-committees were formed and the charges of each were reported to the Board by various ESB members. The committees include the Higher Education Committee; the Standards Committee; and the Professional Policies Committee.

Higher Education Committee
The purpose of the Higher Education Committee is to provide a forum for the higher education community to make recommendations to the Board on issues related to this specific community. Karen Wells will serve as chair of this committee.

It will be in charge of overseeing the transition of the Ohio Teacher Education and Licensure Advisory Commission (OTELAC) functions of the Board and will assume the responsibilities of OTELAC once the transition is complete. This committee also is responsible for overseeing the collaboration of higher education and the Board to ensure the alignment of educator preparation programs with the educator standards, and the academic content standards.

Standards Committee
The Standards Committee is responsible for making recommendations to the Board on issues related to core teacher standards, as well as discipline specific standards; professional development standards; and principal standards. Larry Johnson will serve as chair of this committee.

The committee will oversee facilitating and monitoring the progress of the writing teams, as well as making recommendations to the Board in areas such as licensure; highly qualified teachers; recruitment and retention; and resource needs of teacher education.

Professional Policies Committee
The purpose of the Professional Policies Committee is to oversee the efforts of the Board to research, develop and recommend policies regarding teaching and educational leadership. Mickie Sebenoler will serve as chair of this committee.

It will be responsible for developing the definition of a ‘master teacher’ and a distinct differentiation among levels of competency. Additionally, it will be collaborating with the Ohio Department of Education on recommendations for a ‘career ladder’ system for Ohio teachers.

Board Member Terms Defined
As required by Senate Bill 2, a draw was held to determine the length of initial terms for Board members. Nine members will serve two years, and the remaining eight will serve three.

Meeting Schedule Approved
The ESB meeting schedule for 2004-2005 was formally adopted. The next meeting will take place Monday, Nov. 1, 2004.