Our Administrative Coaches provide mentoring, coaching, and professional support for administrators in the region. Coaches meet both individually and in small, role-alike groups with administrators on a monthly basis. Administrators receive support to work through problems of practice, share ideas, and improve their craft. 

Administrator Collaborative started as a partnership with COSA to provide ongoing training to new administrators in our region. It has since evolved into a partnership with Right Time Coaching/Mike Scott to provide professional support for administrators in the form of relevant and timely conversations and collaborative trainings that are aligned with needs that occur at different times of the school year. OTREN provides evening trainings, full day trainings, and monthly virtual support. 

Join fellow counselors from across the region for dynamic and collaborative monthly virtual PLC sessions and twice yearly in-person professional learning days. This is a dedicated space to connect with peers, share strategies, and engage in meaningful conversations about the real issues impacting your work. Together, we’ll explore hot topics in the counseling field, exchange resources, and work through problems of practice to uncover fresh perspectives and solutions. Whether you’re seeking support, new ideas, or simply the chance to collaborate with colleagues who “get it,” Counselor Connection is designed to empower and inspire your counseling practice.

K-8 Counselor Lead: Teresa Dowdy, retired counselor

9-12 Counselor Lead: Tina Crowell, Morrow County

Classified Connection is designed to provide targeted training to paraprofessionals and classified staff. The training is responsive to educator need and is offered after-hours at a local restaurant to facilitate collaboration, networking, and connection.

2026-2027 Training locations & dates: 

Visit the IMESD Events Calendar to register for these offerings

Design Teams were established in 2020 to create ongoing systems change in schools. A structure for each team was created in alignment with goals elevated by school district team members. Educators on these teams build their professional capacity by serving as mentors to new teachers, providing internal PD to staff, planning wellness offerings for staff, and advancing other goals to improve systems and instructional practice.

Design Teams practice continuous improvement in pursuit of progress over time. Teams are guided by the PDSA cycle through multiple iterations to build capacity and affect systems change.

Ed Tech Huddles, Traveling PD, and in-person workshops provide opportunities for regional educators to learn new strategies and best practices in the information technology realm. IMESD Instructional Coach, Ayla Olson, provides training that is responsive to regional needs and educator requests. Districts can request after-school trainings with Ayla customized to their specific ed-tech needs.

Visit the Ed Tech page to learn more! 

The EOU Reading Clinic provides practical training and experience for the region's practicing and pre-service general and special education teachers, as well as aspiring reading specialists. It also provides research-based structured literacy instruction to children who struggle to meet reading benchmarks. Teachers are trained in structured literacy, and children receive intervention twice per week, either through online or face-to-face instruction for approximately 10 weeks per session. Currently, OTREN has committed to funding 30 teachers and 15 mentors per academic term.

Visit the EOU Reading Clinic website for more information

Visit the Secondary Literacy Foundations website for Science of Reading resources & more

The G.R.O.W. Beginning Teacher Series supports teachers in years 1-3 by building their professional capacity as beginning teachers, providing a monthly professional learning community in which they learn new skills and strategies, and providing support coaching. It is designed to be a support modality for novice educators.

Visit the G.R.O.W. website for more information! 

Our partnership with the Core Collaborative Impact Teams training is designed to provide responsive, relevant, and authentic professional learning to educators and administrators in our region via redesigned professional learning teams. Specifically, teams will learn how to comprehensively implement the formative assessment process across school systems. The goal is to help teachers restore rigor, create empowered learners, and improve instructional practices.

Visit the Impact Teams website for more information! 

The OTREN provides mentorship to new teachers and administrators throughout our 21-district region. The OTREN Mentorship Grant Program pairs mentors with mentees and is designed to provide support for educators as they build their professional capacity, receive specialized coaching, and engage in monthly learning sessions.

Visit the Mentor Program website for more information!

OTREN training series, such as the Freshman on Track Data Teams trainings, provide responsive, relevant, and authentic professional learning for school teams looking to implement an intervention system to support student growth. Schools can determine focus, grade levels, and goals to suit their needs.

The Professional Development Summit is hosted by OTREN/IMESD in partnership with Pendleton School District every October. The Summit is designed to provide professional learning to all 21 REN districts on a variety of topics. Session offerings are thoughtfully planned to provide learning opportunities for all target audiences--from paraprofessionals to administrators--across all content areas and focuses. 

The Oregon Trail REN partners with the IMESD School Improvement department to offer summer professional development to educators in our region. A core team within the IMESD/OTREN works together to curate offerings that address requests received throughout the prior calendar year through surveys and feedback from participants in offerings. Presenters include IMESD instructional coaches, practicing educators from OTREN districts, and contracted partners. OTREN works with Eastern Oregon University to provide undergraduate and graduate credit for participation. Trainings are offered at the Pendleton & La Grande IMESD offices, regional school sites, and virtually.

Literacy expert Yolanda Westerberg provides high-leverage professional development to districts to support districts' literacy goals. This PD is responsive to educator need, relevant, and authentic, relying on the most up-to-date best practices for promoting growth. In an effort to eliminate the barrier of access to this offering, districts can sign up to receive training with Yolanda that occurs at their school. Yolanda models lessons for educators, providing resources and support to engage in professional learning that improves instructional practice. 

Visit the Literacy Hub for resources & information!