OTRM General Information

Project Goals & Objectives
The Oregon Teacher Recruitment and Mentoring (OTRM) project is a statewide initiative to support the recruitment and retention of highly qualified mid-career professionals, school paraprofessionals, and recent college graduates as teachers in high-need schools through enhanced alternative pathways to certification. The project, a partnership among the Oregon University System (OUS), Oregon Department of Education (ODE), and five Oregon public universities, is designed to enable high-need school districts in Oregon, many of them rural, to address their teacher shortages by enabling them to hire and retain highly talented skilled individuals who desire to make a career move into teaching.

OTRM focuses on two objectives:

• Teacher Shortages: During the first four years, the project will expand the state's capacity to address critical teacher shortages through new recruitment strategies and alternative pathways to teaching by enrolling 50-60 teachers per year for four years into the five universities' various pathways to licensure, for a total of 200-240 by the end of the project. ($5,000 tuition assistance scholarships will be provided to students who agree to teach in a high-need school for at least three years.)
  
• Retention Through Mentoring/Induction: During 2002-2007, the project will expand the state's capacity to address critical teacher attrition through new induction/mentoring programs for beginning and student teachers in high-need schools. About 110 teachers per year will be trained to serve as mentors to these teachers.
  

Partner Universities
Five public universities that prepare teachers in Oregon will enter into partnerships with high-need school districts in teacher recruitment and mentorship initiatives. The partner universities include:

Eastern Oregon University
Oregon State University
Portland State University
Southern Oregon University
Western Oregon University

Project Staff
OTRM project staff include:

Meredith Brodsky, Project Director
Bonnie Morihara, OTRM Coordinator

University Coordinators include:

Richard Mack, Eastern Oregon University
Michael Dalton, Oregon State University
Rick Hardt, Portland State University
Gregg Gassman, Southern Oregon University
Mark Girod and Lynne Lindsay , Western Oregon University

Committees

Education Deans Advisory Committee

Education Deans from five participating universities and additional campus representatives serve on the project advisory committee, chaired by the OTRM Project Director.

Interagency Management Team

Representatives from key educational agencies and professional associations serve on the IMT to provide advisory guidance and assist in coordinating other key cross-sector projects and activities. (representative from Governor's Office, Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, Oregon Education Association, Confederation of School Administrators, Oregon Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development, and two representatives from teacher preparation institutions - one public, one private).

Listserv
OTRM staff and partners are part of an internal listserv used for communication and conducting OTRM business. To add/remove names or make other changes to the listserv, please contact Bonnie Morihara, OTRM Project Coordinator, at 503-838-8413.

Grant Invoice
The OTRM invoice (Word PDF) is for the use of universities in requesting reimbursement for OTRM activities. The invoice should be submitted on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Meetings

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