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Greetings!

The new year is off to a strong start for the Chalkboard Project and education in Oregon. It's only February and we are already seeing innovation and change across the state and within our organization. Last month, Oregon submitted its Race to the Top application and Chalkboard introduced its legislative measure, the Oregon Teacher Effectiveness and Career Enhancement Initiative. This month, we are announcing a big change at the Chalkboard Project.
  Dan Jamison to Lead CLASS™ ProjectChalkboardProjectlogo

As of August 1st, Dan Jamison, current Sherwood School District Superintendent, will join the Chalkboard staff as our Vice President of Education Policy. Kate Dickson, who currently holds the position, is leaving Oregon to begin a year of travels with her husband. She will continue to provide strategic council to Chalkboard while on the road.
 
Dan Jamison has been a pioneer of the CLASS Project in his school district.  Before Dan joined Sherwood in 2005, he held positions as a language arts teacher, athletic director, department chair and elementary, middle school and high school principal.  Dan obtained a B.A. in history from Washington State University and an EdM from Oregon State University.
 
In addition to overseeing the CLASS Project, Dan will advise Chalkboard on policy issues related to moving Oregon's K-12 education system into the top ten nationally.
 
We will miss having Kate's passion and dedication in the office, but she will only be a phone call away to offer guidance and council as the CLASS Project continues to grow under Dan's leadership.
 
We look forward to welcoming Dan to our team!
 
Read the press release.
Using Student Performance Data ChalkboardProjectlogo

This past weekend a guest column written by Bend-La Pine School District Superintendent, Ron Wilkinson, was published in the Bend Bulletin. The column focuses on Bend's work with the CLASS Project and the importance of finding meaningful ways to incorporate student performance in teacher evaluation. Wilkinson writes,  "We are attempting to find ways to recognize student results as a factor in teacher advancement and compensation in ways that really motivate teachers."
 
Read the guest column: http://www.chalkboardproject.org/news/articles/02132010.php
 
Teachers Teaching Teachers
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According to a 2009 research paper by C. Kirabo Jackson and Elias Bruegmann, teachers are more effective if they have effective peers. We posted a summary of this research on the Bulletin Board and asked readers if they agreed with the research. Here are highlights from the comments:
 
"One of the most effective tools for creating a good and successful teacher is to have a committed mentor for the new teacher. The idea of simply dropping a new teacher into a classroom and saying, "Go for it and good luck" is a practice that should have gone away a long time ago."
 
"Attending a class of a very popular teacher/mentor will give peers the clue to his/her success as well."
 
"New teachers require a wisdom of instructional practice that is invaluable to their development of assessment strategies, lessons, and confidence. Veteran teachers need to evaluate how contemporary methods of teaching have become essential to the needs of today's students, and recognize that changes in pedagogy [are] also invaluable."
 
Join the conversation: http://bit.ly/9LvO76



Our Voices, Our Schools
ChalkboardProjectlogo Annie Tronco is a Beginning Teacher Mentor and Program Facilitator in the Hillsboro School District.

The Hillsboro School District, in partnership with the Forest Grove School District, has a two-year program that helps new teachers take the first steps in their teaching career. What effect do you think the program is having on the districts as a whole?

Any veteran educator will tell you how tough the first few years of teaching can be. Our full-release mentors have the time and flexibility to really meet each beginning teacher where he or she is and provide customized support, including collaborative planning, observing and collecting data, and modeling teaching strategies. We are a second set of eyes and a non-evaluative sounding board. We bring experience to the table, but our beginning teachers take the lead in determining what they want to work on. These partnerships are helping teachers get better, faster.

In your time with the program, what has been your favorite mentoring success story?

That's like asking which of my children is my favorite! I love when my early career colleagues recognize that a deliberate action they took resulted in student success. I love when they trust our relationship enough to be vulnerable and ask for the help they want. I love when a principal tells me she sees 1st and 2nd year teachers performing like teachers with a lot more experience. I love how collaborative beginning teachers are and how they are willing to hold their practice up to the light and see how it's working for students. 

Chalkboard is very focused on supporting teacher effectiveness. What qualities do you think make a mentor effective?

The most effective mentors have to be pried out of the classroom because they can't imagine not having their own students. They are master teachers, but they are always questioning their practice and looking to expand their skills. They must be interpersonally intelligent, and they need to have the respect of fellow teachers. Humility doesn't hurt. Mentors have a sharp learning curve as well! As members of the Oregon Mentor Project, we have been blessed with strong leadership from the Oregon Department of Education and world-class training from the New Teacher Center. Supporting adult learners - fellow professionals - requires different skills from teaching students. It's not about telling a colleague what to do (or how to teach like you!), but rather learning how to ask good questions, providing resources, collecting objective data, offering ideas and sometimes just being a strong shoulder to lean on. Above all else, mentors are passionately committed to student success and know that by boosting teacher effectiveness, they are touching many more lives than they would have as individual teachers.
  February 2010
In This Issue
Dan Jamison to Lead CLASS Project
Using Student Performance Data
Teachers Teaching Teachers
Our Voices, Our Schools
Working Wonders Video Contest
From the Mentors' Perspective
What's Next for Chalkboard
Working Wonders 2010 Video Contest

The Oregon Education Association has announced the third year of their Working Wonders Video Contest. To enter the competition, submit a 3-minute video in one of the following categories: "Doing More With Less: Creative Solutions in Hard Times," "Bridging the Diversity Divide: Cultural Competencies in Changing Schools" and "Breaking the Mold: Innovations in Professional Practices." The winning video in each category will receive
$1000 for the video creator, $1000 for the featured educator, and $1000 for the school or college.

 
Learn more at:  www.oregoned.org/workingwonders


From the Mentors' Perspective
Over 720 new teachers and administrators are receiving the support of a mentor this school year thanks to the Oregon Mentoring Program. We sat in on the Salem-Keizer mentors meeting last week during which the mentors shared success stories, discussed tools for providing feedback to new teachers, and practiced strategies to encourage thoughtful conversation about teaching practices. Check out video highlights from the meeting.
 
 To learn more about the Oregon Mentoring Project and the districts involved visit the Mentoring Educator website: www.mentoringeducators.org

What's Next for Chalkboard...

Feb 25
Advisory Council Meeting

March 3
Salem-Keizer CLASS Meeting

March 4
Central Oregon CLASS Meeting

March 8
Oregon City / Vernonia CLASS Meeting

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