Why does RESA/ISD Staff Travel?

Regional Educational Service Area/Intermediate School District (RESA/ISD) administrators provide leadership in education for the school districts they serve.  By participating in conferences and trainings they stay on the cutting edge of school reform, curriculum development and other issues essential to student achievement.  The information received at these events enable RESA/ISD staff to use the information with local districts in a training-of-trainers model, which has proved to be effective and cost-efficient.  One of the roles of the CCRESA Educational Services and Special Education Departments is to teach teachers.  On-going in-service is necessary, and a requirement of State certification, to keep teachers current in methodology and practice.  The CCRESA goal is to help schools improve student achievement.  This type of travel to activities such as Leadership Conferences, School Improvement Facilitator Seminars, Michigan Department of Education Technical Assistance and Training sessions and to governmental meetings helps bring the expertise and up-to-date information back to local district level teachers and administrators.  CCRESA trains new teachers, experienced professionals and other trainers, who bring back cutting edge professional development to local school districts at reduced costs.

CCRESA staff also travel to local districts to provide direct services to students.  The CCRESA Special Education model employs many experienced professionals in multiple fields such as:  speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, vision therapy, social work and psychology to work across multiple districts.  Although some travel is involved, certainly employing a few individuals at CCRESA that work across the county is less expensive than each local district hiring a multitude of professionals to serve sometimes very specialized needs of individual students.

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