This document discusses efforts by the organization Foundations for a Better Oregon, also known as Chalkboard, to reform Oregon's K-12 education system. Chalkboard conducts research on education issues and pushes a bipartisan agenda. In 2007, it helped pass some education reforms and launched pilot programs on teacher compensation. Going forward, Chalkboard aims to further engage the public and pursue additional reforms around educator quality, funding stability, and targeted spending.

1. Inspiring Oregonians…
to do what it takes to make our
schools among the nation’s best.
Douglas County Regional Workforce Investment Board • September 11, 2007

2. Foundations for a Better Oregon
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

3. What’s different about Chalkboard?
Research-based solutions: A focus on
finding common ground that will get results
 Ask the owners: Sustainable solutions must connect to
and involve Oregonians
 Find out what works -- independently, with no pre-set
agenda
 Build coalitions to develop common sense
improvements
 Engage citizens, follow research and input, but be
willing to test new ideas such as compensation reform
Merge research results into an action plan
that brings REAL change to Oregon schools
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

4. Oregon schools are “about average” in a
world where “average” isn’t good enough
• Average student performance in key subjects like
reading and math
• High dropout rate and low graduation rate
 About 25% of Oregon students do not finish high school
within four years
• High new teacher attrition rate
• High class sizes
• Unstable funding
OUR GOAL: Create a national top-10 school
system, as measured by student achievement
and other national performance comparisons
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

5. An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

6. Mixed messages from Oregonians
They want schools to be No revolution: Work within the
better, BUT . . . . . . system to make improvements
They want to reward good They want individual teachers
teachers, BUT . . . . . . held more accountable
They think Oregon schools Don’t mess with my local
as a whole need school -- it’s doing a good job
improvement, BUT . . . . . .
They want our schools to In general, they don’t want
be among the nation’s to pay more to get there
best, BUT . . . . . .
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

7. The debate about teacher quality
A few key public opinion stats:
 86% agree attracting and retaining teachers is key to
accelerated student learning
 82% agree there should be better processes to review
teachers’ job performance, and to set clear
expectations/consequences for those who need to
improve
 75% agree improving teacher quality should be an
urgent or high priority for their school district
 75% agree increases in teacher salaries should be
based on performance, not seniority
 69% believe principals should be able to hire and fire
teachers in their schools
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

8. The debate about money
Split on funding needs; accountability comes first
A few key public opinion stats:
 82% believe lack of stable funding is an obstacle to
raising student achievement
 59% agree new money for schools should be
invested in areas that raise student achievement, not
to make up for previous budget cuts
 55% say there is too much waste and inefficiency in
public schools
 40% believe schools have the money they need and
should spend what they have more efficiently
 28% agree “most of the waste and inefficiency in my
local school district has been eliminated”
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

9. Chalkboard’s research-based agenda
Public-supported tenets that drive our work
 It isn’t all about money: More funding for K-12 must be
accompanied by more reforms and more accountability
 A portion of new funding must be targeted to initiatives
proven to raise student achievement the most
 Schools must take specific cost-saving actions to
assure citizens they are using tax dollars efficiently
 We must provide more targeted support to teachers,
and test new teacher leadership and compensation
options
 We must address the question of stable funding before
addressing the question of adequate funding
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

10. Our long-term action plan
Includes both legislative and non-legislative
initiatives to:
 Better involve parents and communities in schools
 Attract and retain quality educators/administrators
 Improve early learning
 Strengthen funding and accountability
 Emphasize student health
 Expand public school choice
 Create safe and respectful school environments
 Improve student attendance and performance tracking
 Effectively use school transportation dollars
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

11. 2007 Chalkboard legislative goals
• Confirm Chalkboard’s position as a bipartisan,
research-based education reform organization
• Win significant K-12 education reforms (3 to 4
initiatives enacted)
• Establish political clout to secure additional
reforms in years ahead
• Build stronger relationships and trust between
Chalkboard, other education stakeholders and
elected officials
• Ensure ability to create pilot project that tests new
career and compensation options in several
school districts
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

12. How we rate our progress
“A” for effort
• Our agenda drove legislative debate on K-12 education
• Our agenda drove research into education policy-
making progress, changed conversation
• We developed partnerships when possible, but also
weren’t afraid to stand alone on key issues
• We used every available tool to pursue our initiatives
aggressively
• We garnered significant editorial support from daily and
weekly newspapers
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

13. Progress on our priorities
“B” for results
Educator quality
 Mentors for new teachers and principals
 Statewide professional development network for educators
Financial accountability
 Study of student transportation system to seek savings
 Performance reviews of school district business practices
Targeted spending
 Use portion of new funding to reduce K-1 class size and
provide K-3 reading tutors
Stable funding
 Double size of state rainy day fund and use corporate kicker to
begin filling it
 Create per-student spending guarantee
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

14. Moving forward . . .
• Continue engaging Oregonians in education reform
discussion
• Expand Chalkboard’s “citizens’ corps” of supporters
• Pursue statewide professional development
enhancements in short ‘08 session
• Continue to expand
Open Book$ Web site
(www.openbooksproject.org)
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

15. An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

16. Moving forward . . .
• Continue engaging Oregonians in education reform
discussion
• Expand Chalkboard’s “citizens’ corps” of supporters
• Pursue statewide professional development
enhancements in short ‘08 legislative session
• Continue to expand
Open Book$ Web site
(www.openbooksproject.org)
• Continue using grants and partnerships to better connect
parents and community members with schools
• Partner with school business officials to review business
practices in five volunteer school districts
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

17. CLASS Project
Creative Leadership and Student Success
• Grants awarded to 3 school districts in March to test
new career paths and salary structures for teachers
• Sherwood
• Forest Grove
• Tillamook
• Planning through summer and early; three-year
implementation to begin fall/winter 2007-08
• Meyer Memorial Trust has committed $1.5 million in
funding, the Miller Foundation an additional
$500,000, to launch the program
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

18. CLASS Project
Creative Leadership and Student Success
CLASS is already making an impact:
"The CLASS project is providing momentum for a number of
significant school transformation efforts in Sherwood School
District. A major new development is happening with teacher
recruitment. New teachers that are being hired in Sherwood for the
2007-2008 school year have enthusiastically stated that one of the
key reasons they want to teach in Sherwood is because of the CLASS
project, and they want to be a part of this exciting new opportunity
focused on increasing student achievement and the
professionalization of teachers."
Dan Jamison, Superintendent
Sherwood School District
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

19. How you can help
• Sign up to receive our monthly electronic newsletter
• Join our statewide citizens’ corps and take a more
active role in promoting our initiatives
• Visit Chalkboard’s Web site to learn more about us
• Visit the Open Book$ Project Web site
(www.openbooksproject.org) and share this unique
school spending tool with others
• Spread the word about Chalkboard’s broad
efforts to build a better public K-12 education
system in our state!
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

20. Inspiring Oregonians…
to do what it takes to make our
schools among the nation’s best.
Fall 2007