Despite the overwhelming opposition of young educators, and the vote of the Ohio Legislature to eliminate the Resident Educator Program,  on June 30th, Ohio Governor John R. Kasich vetoed the elimination of the Program.  

Although the need for mentors are key to retaining teachers in the education field, the Resident Educator Program does not improve teacher performance as Governor Kasich believes. He stated that the program provides detailed, objective feedback. For anyone that has completed the Resident Educator Summative Assessment (RESA) in their third year of teaching, they could tell you that the feedback is vague and does not provide guidance for the teacher to improve their practice. In fact, many of us have been evaluated through the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES) while being considered Resident Educators. We often receive more valuable feedback during the OTES process than the RESA process. Additionally, the RESA tasks are incredibly time-consuming and that takes time away from our students.

As an educator, we completed an accredited teacher-prep program, we were immersed in several field experiences to practice our skills under the guidance of mentor teachers, and we took state-mandated assessments in our areas of expertise to earn our license. We have already jumped through hoops to start our career, we should not be required to complete tasks that do not help us become better teachers to stay in the field. Let us do our jobs and help our students succeed.

We are asking that the Legislators in Ohio override Governor Kasich's veto of the Elimination of the Resident Educator Program.