CHALK TALK

After initial hearings and work sessions, Senate Bills 252 and 290 have gathered support and are getting closer to becoming Oregon policy.  

 

Senate Bill 290 would ask the state to adopt performance standards for educators, including some measurement of student achievement growth, which school districts would then incorporate into their locally designed evaluation processes. The bill received broad support during the public hearing, including the support of Stand for Children, the Oregon Education Association and the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators.  We expect the bill to move on to the Senate floor for a vote. 

 

Senate Bill 252 would set up a School District Collaboration Fund to which districts could apply to design local systems to better support effective teaching. The concept had great support, and the bill made it out of the Senate Education Committee with a "do pass" recommendation. The recommendation means that the bill will head to the Ways and Means Committee while funding options for the concept are explored. 

 

Support for the Oregon Mentoring Program for new teachers and administrators continues to be strong. The Governor's budget has funded the program at $3.89 million.

  

The Professional Development Clearinghouse, which received initial funding in 2009, is expected to see continued funding to bring high-quality professional development to districts across Oregon.   

 

We are close to seeing significant changes to the way educators receive feedback and are supported to continually improve their practice.    

 

Write to your legislator now and make sure they are ready to support these important policies and programs.  

 

Chalkboard is pleased to announce that we have just posted a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a third round of CLASS Project design and planning grants for the CLASS Project. School districts can apply for up to $30,000 to support initial design work around the four components of CLASS:  expanded career paths, relevant professional development, effective performance evaluations and new compensation models.   

To find out more about current CLASS districts, please check out the educators4reform website. To read the RFP, please click here.  The deadline for this RFP is April 18, 2010.  

Last year, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation gave Chalkboard a grant to complete a retrospective and prospective evaluation of our efforts.

Organizational Research Services (ORS), based in Seattle, evaluated Chalkboard's advocacy efforts and constructed real-time tools for Chalkboard to evaluate its own work moving forward. The completed products represent the cutting edge of evaluation and can hopefully be useful to other non-profits and foundations that are engaged in advocacy.

The ORS evaluation gave the organization high marks for adapting and evolving effectively over the past several years.  They also believe we are well-positioned to lead change in the future based on the shift in attitudes they documented among political influencers, media and key stakeholders; and the strengthened alliances and partnerships that are now in place.

Take a look at the evaluation materials:

• Catalyzing Education Reform in Oregon: Results of the Chalkboard Project's Civic Engagement Efforts 2007-2009 

• Stimulating Education Reform in Oregon: Lessons Regarding an Uncommon Philanthropic Collaboration

Watch the Citizens' Corps Event! 

We fit a lot of content into our March 9^th Citizens' Corps Event and luckily we filmed the whole thing!  

 

You can watch the event at: http://live.blazestreaming.com/chalkboard/   

 

If you only have time to watch one part of the evening, make sure you tune in to the CLASS educators panel to hear directly forom those doing innovative work to strengthen teaching and learning. The CLASS panel starts at minute 14:22 in the video. 

Lorena Hernandez is a Senior at De La Salle North Catholic High School. De La Salle provides a unique high school experience by requiring that all students participate in an internship one day per week throughout the school year. We asked Lorena to reflect on her experience at the school. As we all work together to strengthen our K-12 public schools, we hope to bring all Oregonians into the conversation about innovative ways to improve student learning.  We believe strongly that students voices must be included in the discussion of how to transform education.  

What are some of your favorite aspects of De La Salle?  

My favorite aspects about De La Salle would have to be the colorful diversity there is and the strong sense of community that is felt here. The teachers and faculty are very supportive of the students and always look out for our best interest. De La Salle is very inclusive and makes everyone feel welcome.

Where is your job placement located?  In what ways has this job placement experience shaped your outlook on your academic career?  I work at the Portland Development Commission in downtown Portland. My job has helped me value my education more and not take for granted the opportunities that are given to me. It has made me realize how important education is to be able to prosper in the work force and in life in general.