Greetings!
The Chalkboard Project isn't the only one pushing for the support of effective teaching in our state. At a recent Senate Education Committee hearing, there were a number of voices speaking on the topic.
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Senate Education Committee Hearing
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 On May 26th, the Oregon Senate Education
Committee heard from education stakeholders as to why Oregon had been
unsuccessful in winning federal dollars through Race to the Top and to hear
ideas for how to move forward as a state.
A number of presenters noted that Oregon had scored lowest
in the "Great Teachers and Leaders" section of the Race to the Top application
and that there were steps Oregon could take around teacher preparation and
teacher evaluation to better serve Oregon's students.
Sue Hildick spoke for the Chalkboard Project and brought
attention to our Investing in Education (i3) and Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF)
applications which could bring in federal dollars to support the CLASS work
around effective teaching. http://bit.ly/bsg0Nz
The Governor's office voiced plans to reconvene a portion of the Race to the Top design team to develop a plan and legislative concepts for the 2011 session.
Committee Chair, Senator Mark Hass, spoke to the importance
of Oregon having a vision and direction for its schools in addition to a plan
for stable and adequate funding.
The legislature will be back in session in January 2011.
The conversation about strengthening education in Oregon continued outside of the hearing room as well:
U.S. Senator, Ron Wyden, commented on Oregon's need to be a
leader in education in a roundtable forum with the Oregon Business Alliance.
OBA reports, "He conveyed that policy experts in DC look to Oregon for many
innovations ranging from transportation to health care. That is not the case in
education, and Wyden recommended that Oregon should take advantage of Race to
the Top funds by submitting an application that drives student achievement." http://bit.ly/9f9qSw
The Oregonian's Susan Nielsen was at the hearing. Read her
column, "Want to wait for a good
economy? Students can't." http://bit.ly/bme0vd
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