MANSFIELD, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—Ohio’s push for stronger reading instruction is entering a new phase, and Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center is helping carry it forward. Through its ReadOhio contract, Mid-Ohio ESC leads the Central and West regions—nearly half the state—connecting schools with job-embedded literacy coaching across 42 counties.
The expansion follows Governor Mike DeWine’s 2026 State of the State address, which announced 50 additional ReadOhio coaches, an extension to at least 70 more schools, and free ReadOhio training and credentialing for district-employed literacy coaches delivered regionally.
Mid-Ohio ESC’s regions already reflect that investment: the Central region now has 27 coaches (16 new hires), and the West region has 26 coaches (15 new hires); 53 total, led by Carrie Wood (Central) and Nick Jacobs (West). Statewide, ReadOhio staffing has grown to roughly 200 coaches. At the ReadOhio Network kickoff in Columbus, DeWine called coaching “central to accelerating evidence-based reading instruction.”
Building Capacity with Direct Literacy Coaching
Veteran coaches began partnering with schools in mid-August to set first-quarter priorities, analyze student evidence and support high-quality instructional materials—working as thought partners rather than directive experts. New partner schools move through a structured entry process with a needs assessment, clarified coaching focus and an in-person meeting with district and building leaders to set a shared strategic path. This deliberate entry process supports conditions for productive coaching relationships and clear, locally responsive goals from the outset.
Statewide ReadOhio Credentialing
A second strand is statewide credentialing. Wood, Jacobs, and Mid-Ohio ESC’s leadership team facilitate the ReadOhio Credentialing Network, where district-employed coaches (not ReadOhio hires) learn the ReadOhio framework to apply locally. Monthly sessions use Regional Coordinator-delivered ReadOhio content, helping the state’s framework cascade into regional expertise and local district capacity. The result is a broader cascade of support: a coherent framework, regional teams build expertise, and district coaches strengthen local impact to sustain the work. “It is exciting to see how the success of ReadOhio with partner districts can now scale out to build capacity more broadly across our regions with district-employed coaches, expanding Mid-Ohio’s impact,” said Jacobs.
Regional Instructional Implementation Teams
ReadOhio coaching will also intersect with the Governor’s newly announced regional Science of Reading Instructional Implementation Teams, through which Mid-Ohio ESC’s Central and West teams will partner with districts on shared learning tools and needs assessments.
Together, expanded coaching, credentialing, and implementation teams move Ohio beyond one-time training toward a sustained system of support. As Wood put it, “the goal remains classroom-focused: creating the conditions for coaches and educators to learn together, use evidence well and continually refine instruction so that more students become successful readers.”
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.