Greetings!Chalkboard works to help families become more involved in schools
New training sessions planned for fall
Chalkboard will partner with Portland Impact and the SUN School Program this fall to train program staff to help hard-to-reach families better connect with their children’s schools. The training tools are Chalkboard’s Running Start Parent Tool Kit materials, developed last year to reduce the barriers that keep many families from engaging with their children’s teachers and other school staff.
Running Start materials help families become full partners with schools in their children's education by providing them with essential information, such as how to make the most of a parent-teacher conference. Companion materials give staff new strategies to reach out to families and make them feel welcome in schools.
This fall’s trainings, funded through a grant from the Fred Meyer Foundation, will help the staff of Portland Impact and the SUN School Program use Running Start materials as part of their ongoing parent outreach activities. We’re also looking into offering trainings in partnership with other groups around the state that specialize in connecting with hard-to-reach families.
To learn more about the planned training sessions, please contact Kristin Bryant at kristin@chalkboardproject.org
Chalkboard in the news
What others are saying about Chalkboard’s legislative progressThe 2007 legislative session may be over, but it’s still generating plenty of talk. Chalkboard’s role in the session has been the focus of several post-session newspaper editorials. A sampling:
Klamath Falls Herald and News, July 9, 2007
“One of the best things about the Chalkboard Project and its goal of improving Oregon’s schools is that it isn’t shooting for the moon. It keeps its goals doable. . . . Chalkboard is willing to prod the Legislature, rather than simply issuing reports and then standing back and waiting for something to happen. . . . It’s not going to get everything done in a single session. Even if the organization gives the Legislature an incomplete, we’d give the Chalkboard a ‘well done.’”
Read the entire editorial
Daily Astorian, June 28, 2007
“It is refreshing to see such consistent lobbying and research devoted to education . . . . Chalkboard is in the game. Its priorities have traction. Having the stamina to come back in the interim and the next session will insure that accountability in education will increase, not wane.”
Read the entire editorial
Read more post-session editorials
Chalkboard’s legislative accomplishments also are featured in the July/August issue of the Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington newsletter.
People behind Chalkboard: The Collins Foundation
First in a series of five profiles on Chalkboard’s foundersThe Collins Foundation is an independent private foundation created in 1947 by Truman Collins, Sr., his siblings Alton Collins and Grace Goudy, and his mother Mary Collins. The Collins family has been in the forest products business for over 150 years. They operate the Collins Companies, which focus on sustainable forestry and certified wood products.
Guided by the principles of service and community, the Collins Foundation works to advance humanitarian endeavors in the state of Oregon and improve the quality of life for Oregonians. The foundation contributes approximately $9 million annually to community efforts focused on arts and humanities, social services and youth, education, health and science, religion, and the environment.
“Our foundation doesn't make grants directly to public education, but we felt that we could make a significant impact on the quality of Oregon's K-12 education by joining with other foundations,” said Truman Collins, Jr., president of The Collins Foundation. “By working together through Chalkboard, we can find the best ways to improve the system and act as an independent voice for change.”
Learn more about The Collins Foundation
