Chalkboard and Stand for Children on wrong reform track

In a memo dated 12/9/11, Chalkboard and Stand for Children make suggestions for the Oregon Education Investment Board’s report to the Oregon legislature. Unfortunately, their suggestions would take Oregon’s educational system further down the wrong path. They need to do a rethink.

Their memo begins (here):

Chalkboard and Stand for Children believe the impact on student achievement is the most important measure of success for any educational improvement efforts. While the Oregon Education Investment Board is making progress on issues surrounding governance and funding for Oregon’s education system in the draft report to the legislature, it must also recognize the critical role of the educator workforce in improving student achievement. We know – from research and from our own work with educators throughout Oregon – that the effectiveness of the teacher is the most important in-school factor on a student’s success. Therefore, we believe this report must include workforce excellence and creation of a strong professional climate for educators as a guiding principle if we are to achieve the 40/40/20 achievement goals set forth in SB 909.

Their memo then makes six specific proposals for changes in the draft OEIB report to the legislature. And then closes with:

At the end of the day, the work of the OEIB will be implemented by our educational professionals. We must make sure that there is a constant conversation about effectively supporting them with strong professional environments. We cannot overlook their critical role by omitting principles and strategies from this report that are dedicated to their success. We would suggest that the OEIB take the additional step of creating a subcommittee on
the education workforce and determine if there is 2012 legislation required to support workforce development and professional climate supports. We cannot ensure “that all public school students in this state reach the education outcomes established for the state” without addressing the primary delivery pool – the many talented and passionate educators throughout our state.

The educator workforce, as they say, does play the critical role in improving student achievement. However, Chalkboard and Stand for Children overlook the need for a transformation in that workforce (and corresponding additions to student achievement goals). Like Utah (here), Oregon should move to mainstream foreign language immersion programs. Expanding foreign language immersion programs substantially will require a new educator workforce – one using bilingual teachers fluent in a variety of foreign languages and capable of teaching content in their foreign languages. So, it makes little sense to develop the existing educational workforce in the absence of the transformation to expanded foreign language immersion programs. Chalkboard and Stand for Children are taking us down the wrong path. They need to regroup, rethink, and incorporate the transformation of Oregon’s educational workforce to one capable of delivering foreign language immersion programs into their educational workforce proposals.

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