Greetings!

Beaverton School District shines in first business practices review, four more planned

The Beaverton School District has an excellent leadership model, an innovative approach to allocating resources to schools, and a superior school and safety operation, but needs to improve its use of technology in key areas.

Those are some of the findings of an independent review of the district’s business practices conducted by the Oregon Association of School Business Officials, in partnership with Chalkboard. OASBO will review business practices in four more volunteer school districts to help establish a list of “best practices” for running their central business offices. They are Eugene School District 4J, Greater Albany Public Schools, Harney County School District #3 (Burns) and Yoncalla School District. Many thanks to the Beaverton School District for setting the pace for this process!

• Read the news release on the report
• Read the executive summary of the report
• Read a story in the Eugene Register-Guard on the next four districts

Making Connections helps keep kids in school

Chalkboard is providing five scholarships to anyone interested in joining an innovative, online relationship-building tool. It’s called Making Connections. It’s a program that helps mentors, volunteers and educators build strong, positive relationships with students at risk of dropping out of school. It provides in depth training on specific subjects and opportunities to interact with other mentors and teachers. Making Connections was developed by the Innovation Partnership (http://www.innovationpartnership.org/) and Portland State University.

Chalkboard wants to encourage as many people as possible to join. So, we’re giving away five scholarships to cover the $35 membership fee. To win, be one of the first five people to tell us your story about why mentoring is important. Send your stories to info@chalkboardproject.org.

To learn more about Making Connections, visit www.makingconnections.ceed.pdx.edu or e-mail Chris Cartwright at cartwrightc@pdx.edu.

Chalkboard community outreach events coming to McMinnville and Lincoln City

Please join us for an update on Chalkboard achievements, a look at key initiatives in 2008, and a chance to weigh in about how Chalkboard can continue successfully advocating for excellent public schools in Oregon. RSVP to Aimee Craig, 503-542-4325 or craig@chalkboardproject.org.

Coming next month: CLASS Project update

Next month, the Chalkboard Project will announce the first two Oregon schools to implement the CLASS Project. CLASS stands for Creative Leadership and Student Success. It's a new career architecture created locally by teachers and staff themselves. The CLASS Project creates a path toward a rich and vibrant classroom environment for every student. One of the most vocal supporters of the CLASS Project is Terrel Smith, the local Oregon Education Association president in Sherwood.

• Read Terrel's CLASS Project Q&A
• Learn more about the CLASS Project