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Mansfield, OH (July 9, 2026) — Area educators and educational administrators are invited to the Mid-Ohio Education Service Center's Fall Administrative Conference on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. The conference will take place at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center, 890 W. 4th Street in Mansfield, for the morning session and at the Mansfield Reformatory, 100 Reformatory Road, in the afternoon. 

Damon West will serve as the keynote speaker, closing the conference with an afternoon presentation at the Mansfield Reformatory. The morning session, hosted at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center, will feature legal and legislative updates, followed by a variety of breakout sessions covering leadership, student services, instructional coaching, gifted education and career and workforce development.

West is an internationally recognized keynote speaker, college professor and bestselling author of The Coffee Bean. Known as “the Coffee Bean Guy,” he inspires audiences with a powerful message of resilience, accountability and intentional leadership, rooted in his remarkable journey from a life sentence in prison to personal transformation. Through his story, West challenges individuals and organizations to rise above adversity, create positive change in their environments and lead with purpose, character and impact.

Agenda Topics Include:

• Legislative Update  
• Legal Updates
• Leadership Structures & Supports  
• Gifted Education 
• Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment 
• College, Career and Workforce Development 

The conference is intended for superintendents, directors, central office administration, building administrators, school treasurers and educational leaders.

Members of client districts can attend for $125, and participants from non-client districts will need to pay $175. Registration closes July 12; after that date, no refunds will be given. Registration includes breakfast, lunch and all learning sessions. There will also be a book signing and reception at The Phoenix sponsored by conference sponsors. 

Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center provides specialized academic and support services to 13 school districts and over 20,000 students in Crawford, Morrow and Richland Counties. Client districts receive services from curriculum, gifted and special education consultants, speech pathologists, psychologists, special education teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

Mansfield, OH (July 7, 2026) – The Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center is offering required training sessions for those who will evaluate teachers, guidance counselors and/or principals using the OTES 2.0 and OPES 2.0 models and OSCES.

One session will be offered for the Ohio Principal Evaluation System (OPES 2.0) training: July 30-31. One session will also be available for the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES 2.0) training: July 27-29. Lastly, the Ohio School Counselor Evaluation System (OSCES) training will be offered once on August 11. All training will be held at Mid-Ohio ESC and begin at 8 a.m. and conclude at 3:30 p.m. 

The cost for OPES training will be $125 for client members and $150 for non-client members, OTES will be $150 for clients and $175 for non-clients and OSCES training will cost $100 for client members and $125 for non-client members.

To register for this event, go to https://safe.ode.state.oh.us/portal. Anyone with questions can call Mark E. Burke, Jr. at 419-774-5520 or email burke.mark@moesc.net.

Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center provides specialized academic and support services to 13 school districts and over 20,000 students in Crawford, Morrow and Richland Counties. Client districts receive services from curriculum, gifted and special education consultants, speech pathologists, psychologists, special education teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

OTES, OPES & OSCES Training Flyer

Mansfield, OH (June 24, 2026) – This summer, educators from districts in Crawford County, Morrow County and Richland County had the opportunity to participate in the fourth annual Teacher Boot Camps. Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center's Business Advisory Council and Workforce Development partners in each county organized these programs to show teachers what goes on behind the scenes in businesses and manufacturing in each county through tours of local facilities and guest speakers who provided lunch and learn sessions. Participants gained first-hand experience with the rewarding careers available in manufacturing and healthcare and the skills students need to obtain and retain these local positions. 

Educators who applied for this professional development opportunity and were selected to participate in the Boot Camp received the following benefits: 

• Three graduate credits from Ashland University with no out-of-pocket cost for the teacher (funded through the Lt. Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation and Integrated Systems Technologies). 
• Resources to guide classroom instruction based on information learned throughout the program.
• Instruction and guidance from top-level professionals at participating businesses, Mid-Ohio ESC and local Workforce Development and community partners.

In addition, IST in Richland County covered the remaining teacher tuition costs ($125 per teacher) of the fees for teachers in Richland, Crawford and Morrow counties who completed the program to earn graduate credits from Ashland University. Mid-Ohio would like to thank IST for its generosity. 

During the week-long program, educators had the opportunity to explore the workforce development needs and opportunities in their respective communities so that those educators could use the experiences to strengthen classroom career readiness connections that are embedded in core subject area instruction. All educators were required to create a lesson plan to use with students during the 2026-27 school year and present this plan to businesses and administrators on the final day of the Boot Camp. 

Amy Wood, Mid-Ohio ESC’s Director of Grants and Special Projects, stated, “Teachers are inherently our daily career readiness advisors. Mid-Ohio's Teacher Boot Camps were a meaningful way for teachers to enhance their understanding of the current landscape of local in demand career opportunities and then use that knowledge to better integrate career-connected learning into their classrooms this fall.” Due to the program's success, Wood expects Teacher Boot Camps to be offered again in Summer 2027. She added, “Next year’s Teacher Boot Camps will continue to build on the strong foundation we’ve established in advanced manufacturing. In addition, we hope to offer teacher tours in other high-demand industries, giving educators a broader view of regional opportunities they can connect back to their classrooms.”

MOESC would like to thank the following businesses, organizations and individuals for helping make this event a success: Crawford Partnership, Morrow County Development Office, Richland Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development, Richland Chamber Foundation, North Central Ohio Industrial Museum, Gorman Rupp, MK Metal Products, Inc., Jay Industries, Commercial Cutting & Graphics, Major Metals, Carter Machine, Advanced Fiber Technology, Tramec Sloan, IB-Tech, Timken, Stellar Industries, Avita Health System, Lubrication Specialties Inc., Lincoln Center Manufacturing, Baillie Lumber, Cardington Yutaka Technologies, Dollar Tree Distribution Center, Dar Pro Solutions, OSU-Mansfield and Dr. Jason Opal, North Central State College Crawford Success Center, East of Chicago Pizza of Galion and the Pickwick Place.

To learn more about the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center’s Business Advisory Council, please visit their webpage at: https://www.moesc.net/grants-and-special-projects/bac

Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center provides specialized academic and support services, including professional development, to 13 school districts and over 20,000 students in Crawford, Morrow and Richland Counties. Client districts receive services from curriculum, gifted and special education consultants, speech pathologists, psychologists, special education teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

Mansfield, OH (June 17, 2026) – Bus drivers play a critical role in the safe transportation of students to and from home and school. Because of this, the State of Ohio must meet mandates. Ohio school bus drivers must have at least four hours of annual in-service training. To fulfill this requirement, all local area bus drivers are invited to the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center on August 6, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to learn about relevant topics for school transportation. 

Presentations will be given by Trooper Jeremy Albert from the Ohio State Patrol and Jim Sullivan, Ohio School Bus Pre-Service Instructor (North Region). They will discuss defensive driving and pupil management.

To register for this in-service, go to www.moesc.net/register. There is no cost for bus drivers of Mid-Ohio ESC client districts; however, non-clients must pay a $60 fee per person. Anyone with questions can call Mid-Ohio ESC at (419) 774-5520 or email events@moesc.net.

Bus Driver In-Service Flyer

Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center provides specialized academic and support services, including professional development, to 13 school districts and over 20,000 students in Crawford, Morrow and Richland Counties. Client districts receive services from curriculum, gifted and special education consultants, speech pathologists, psychologists, special education teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

Mansfield, OH (June 11, 2026) – Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center staff have been working hard planning the student events calendar for the 2026-2027 school year with the Academic Challenge, Artapolooza art festival and local and area spelling bees all returning. Amber Clay-Mowry, Director of Leadership & Learning, said, "Mid-Ohio is proud to host opportunities that enrich students’ learning experiences through events like the Spelling Bee, Academic Challenge and Artapolooza. These events provide platforms for students to showcase their unique talents and develop essential skills that enhance their learning journey.”

Students from 4th through 12th grade look forward to the Academic Challenge every year. Students compete as teams to answer questions about various topics including literature, fine arts, geography, history, math and science. The dates for the Academic Challenge are as follows:

High School League                                                                                       

Fall Dates: October 19,

October 26, November 9

Winter Dates: February 8, 

February 22, March 1

Location: Virtual (districts host)

High School Tournaments

Dates: November 19 OR 20,

March 18 OR 19 (day)

Location: Mid-Ohio ESC

Client/Partner with Gifted Unit: Free

Client/Member/Partner: Full Series $150

Non-client: Half Series $250, Full Series $500

7th-8th grade (Middle School)

Dates: January 20, March 17 (evenings) and May 12 (day)

Location: Mid-Ohio ESC

Client/Partner with Gifted Unit: Free

Client/Members: $50

Non-client: $200

6th grade (Elementary)

Dates: January 19, March 18 (evenings) and May 11 (day)

Location: Mid-Ohio ESC

Client/Partner with Gifted Unit: Free

Client/Members: $50

Non-client: $200

5th grade (Elementary)

Dates: January 13 and March 11 (evenings)

Location: Mid-Ohio ESC

Client/Partner with Gifted Unit: Free

Client/Members: $30

Non-client: $150

4th grade (Elementary)

Dates: January 14 and March 10 (evenings)

Location: Mid-Ohio ESC

Client/Members: $30

Non-client: $150

For more information on the Academic Challenge, contact Rebecca Kidney at Kidney.Rebecca@moesc.net.

Spelling bees will be part of Mid-Ohio ESC’s mid-winter student activities, and Mid-Ohio will be hosting (virtual) two local bees and one area bee. The Crawford and Morrow County Combined Bee will take place on October 22, 2027, at 10 a.m. The Richland County Bee will also be on October 22, at 10 a.m. There is no cost for Client/Partner with Gifted Unit for either spelling bee, but Client/Member/Partner districts will have a $30 fee per district and Non-client districts will have a fee of $150. 

We are excited to expand Student Events opportunities to Knox County schools and provide more students with opportunities to showcase their talents, creativity and academic achievement. We are currently working with Knox County districts to identify the best dates and locations to serve students in our Spelling Bee and look forward to sharing more details soon.

To wrap up bee season, the Mid-Ohio Spelling Bee Final will take place on November 10, 2027 at 6:30 p.m. at Mid-Ohio ESC. For more information on Mid-Ohio’s spelling bees, contact Colleen Haynes at Haynes.Colleen@moesc.net.

The Artapolooza art festival showcases all types of visual art projects: paintings, drawings, sculptures, mixed media and digital arts from area students. The festival will take place at Mid-Ohio ESC from April 9-14, 2027. There is no cost for Client/Partner with Gifted Unit. Client/Member/Partner districts will need to pay $30 per district while Non-client participants pay a fee of $250 per district. For more information on Artapolooza, contact Jenny Pennell at Pennell.Jennifer@moesc.net.

Student Events Flyer

Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center provides specialized academic and support services, including professional development, to 13 school districts and over 20,000 students in Crawford, Morrow and Richland Counties. Client districts receive services from curriculum, gifted and special education consultants, speech pathologists, psychologists, special education teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

Mansfield, OH (June 9, 2026) – As part of Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center’s dedication to promoting professional development among area educators, administrators and other staff, a full calendar of network meetings has been scheduled for the 2026-2027 school year. All network meetings will take place on the Mid-Ohio campus, 890 W. Fourth Street in Mansfield. 

This year, MOESC has added two new networks: Transportation and Preschool. 

These meetings are designed to provide a combination of professional learning, ODE updates, networking and collaborative problem-solving. There will be networking opportunities for the following: 

• Principals
• Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment 
• District Test Coordinators
• School Counselors
• Technology Coaches 
• Student Services
• Special Education Coordinators
• Art Teachers
• Transportation (new)
• Preschool (new)

Members of client districts can attend for free while non-client participants will have a $50 fee. Registration is open now. For more information, contact Mark E. Burke, Jr. at burke.mark@moesc.net.

Network Meetings Flyer

Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center provides specialized academic and support services, including professional development, to 13 school districts and over 20,000 students in Crawford, Morrow and Richland Counties. Client districts receive services from curriculum, gifted and special education consultants, speech pathologists, psychologists, special education teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists.