Professional Development

Professional Development

OCLRE provides a variety of Professional Development (PD) opportunities throughout the year including program specific trainings, conferences, workshops on civic education, and authentic instruction methods across curricula! Updates about our offerings can be found on this page, or on our individual program pages.

Looking for a more customized PD experience for your PD day? OCLRE can provide customized PD sessions at your location on topics of your choosing as a benefit of membership or as a service to districts and curriculum partners. Past offerings have included how to discuss controversy in the classroom, creating C3 inquiry lesson plans, literacy and the law, and more! OCLRE members can book a custom PD session for free provided that at least five teachers will be present for the training. Nonmembers can book custom PD for a $150 honorarium. Pricing is also flexible. If you are interested in creating a PD session, contact Ryan Suskey at rsuskey@oclre.org.

Mock Trial Conference

2024 Mock Trial Conference

Mock Trial Conference
 

On September 24th & 25th*, OCLRE welcomed teachers & advisors to the 5th Annual Mock Trial Conference at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center in Columbus. The activities included sessions surrounding both High School & Middle School Mock Trial, the presentation of the Eiler Award and the premiere of the 2025 Ohio Mock Trial Case Capsule video. Thank you to all those that attended the conference, and a special thanks to the Supreme Court for hosting us! 

 

Missed the Conference? You still have the option to sign up for recordings-only which will give you access to videos of the Day 1 sessions.

 

Register HERE (Recordings-Only)

 

*September 25th (Day 2) was for the introductory track only


Mock Trial Conference Cost

 
Conference Topics: One Day: Two Days*:
Introduction to Mock Trial: $50.00 $75.00
Deep Dive into Mock Trial: $50.00 N/A
Recordings-only (Day 1 Intro + Deep Dive): Available for $25.00

 

*Day 2 is only available to Introduction to Mock Trial Attendees who also attended Day 1.


If you are interested in learning more about Ohio Mock Trial, please contact Jenna Lewis at jlewis@oclre.org

Ohio Government in Action

Ohio Government in Action is a two-day interactive program that provides educators with effective teaching tools and a renewed enthusiasm they can take back to the classroom. 

Go be­hind the scenes of our gov­ern­ment in Ohio’s state cap­i­tal where ed­u­ca­tors will in­ter­act with the movers and shak­ers in the ex­ec­u­tive, ju­di­cial and leg­isla­tive branches!

 

See the Ohio Constitution come to life

 

This an­nual work­shop gives teach­ers an in­sider’s view of state gov­ern­ment via the following:

  • Meet with Supreme Court jus­tices, state leg­is­la­tors, and cit­i­zen groups
  • Tour the award-win­ning Supreme Court Vis­i­tor Ed­u­ca­tion Cen­ter and the Ohio State­house
  • Ob­serve leg­isla­tive and court­room sim­u­la­tions
  • And more!

 

Practical classroom application

 

After you ex­pe­ri­ence first-hand how in­di­vid­u­als and groups work to­gether to make, in­ter­pret and en­force the Ohio Con­sti­tu­tion, head back to the class­room with ready-to-use les­son plans, class­room ac­tiv­i­ties and re­sources. 

 

Conference Schedule

 

Sessions each day will generally run from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and will focus on the three branches of state government. Conference agendas are subject to change and will be updated as government schedules are made publicly available.

 

Conference Pricing

 
  Member Rate: Non-Member Rate:
1 Day: $80.00 $160.00
2 Days: $130.00 $260.00

 


Hotel Accommodations

 
For registrants traveling from out of town, there are a several hotels within walking distance to the Supreme Court:
 

DoubleTree Suites Downtown (located across the street from the Court)

Sheraton Columbus (0.2 mi)

Courtyard by Marriott  (0.4 mi)

 

Testimonials

 

Teachers share their feedback about OGIA: 

 

“High energy, exciting, and engaging! Valuable data and content for the classroom!”

“Inspiring and pragmatic -- ideas to implement immediately!”

“Speakers were engaging, subject matters were relevant, and sessions were interesting!”

“I net­worked, learned a great deal, and left with solid ma­te­r­ial I can use. Quite the tri­fecta!” 

“[OGIA]def­i­nitely in­spired some new teach­ing strate­gies and fur­ther knowl­edge in the con­tent area.” 

“I was to­tally im­pressed with the con­fer­ence. I have raved about it all day with both my stu­dents and my col­leagues.” 

 “…a great time and very re­ward­ing pro­fes­sional de­vel­op­ment op­por­tu­nity…”

 

For more information about OGIA contact Ryan Suskey, rsuskey@oclre.org, 614-485-3506.

We the People Institute

Teacher Grant Opportunity: Civics That Empowers All Students (CEAS)

 

Stay tuned for more information about the 2025 We the People Institute!

 

About CEAS

This project is funded by a Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant from the USDOE with the following goals: 

  • To increase undeserved grades 4-8 students' attainment of state civics standards, related literacy standards, and social and emotional learning competencies, 
  • to create inclusive and identity-safe learning environments for underserved students in grades 4-8, 
  • to support high-quality development for diverse teachers, and 
  • to study the effectiveness of the updated and enhanced We the People blended-learning professional development program at improving teacher and student outcomes. 

Benefits

  • Free professional development! A total of 52 hours of professional development in a learning community with mentors and other teachers from Ohio and neighboring states, including a 36-hour in-person summer institute and 16 hours of online academic-year follow up.
  • Engaging pedagogy and academic content, centered on the highly effective We the People curriculum
  • A network of support and resources for engaging diverse student populations in the history, principles, and current application of the U.S. Constitution
  • Scholar guest speakers
  • Access to a library of professional development videos with noted scholars and practitioners cued to the curriculum
  • Free set of We the People textbooks and teacher's guide
  • A stipend for completing program requirements

Program Requirements

For Ohio's participation in this grant, this program is for teachers in grades 7 or 8 who work with 30% or more underserved students, including:

  • Students living in poverty (Title I Schools)
  • Students of color
  • Students with disabilities
  • English learners
  • Migrant students
  • Students in foster care
  • Students performing below grade level
  • Other

*The Federal definition of high-need students includes qualifiers such as: students in poverty counted in the most recent census date; students eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch; students in families receiving assistance under the State program funded under part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act; students eligible to receive medical assistance under the Medicaid program

Commitments

  • Participate in 52 hours of professional development
    • 36-hour summer institute; 16 hours of in-service professional development
  • A total of 40 hours of classroom instruction using the We the People curriculum
  • Involve students in the simulated congressional hearing instructional activity
  • Participate in a teacher pre- and post-test
  • Administer student pre- and post-tests

 

Questions? Please contact Danny Rains at drains@oclre.org or call (614) 485-3514.

 

Constitution Camp

2024 Constitution Camp

 
2024 Constitution Camp Sign

 

On November 19th, OCLRE hosted the 2024 Constitution Camp at the Ohio State Bar Association building in Columbus. During the conference, experts discussed the legal landscape surrounding public education and the power of the executive branch. Specifically, sessions at the camp delved into the way the right to education has evolved over time and is reflected differently in the United States & Ohio Constitutions and the separation of powers doctrine, the power of the Executive, and the balance of power between the president and Congress, along with a workshop on how to support students in writing evidence-based arguments. OCLRE would like to thank all those that attended the camp, and a special thanks to Professor A. Christopher Bryant from the University of Cincinnati College of Law for leading our second session!

 

Missed the camp? Sign up for a recordings-only registration to receive access to recordings of the sessions at a later date. 

 

Register HERE (Recordings-Only)

 


Constitution Camp Cost

 
  Cost (Member & Non-Member Rate):
In-Person (1-Day): $50.00
Recordings-only: $25.00

 


If you have any questions, please contact Danny Rains at drains@oclre.org or call (614) 485-3514.