Education
Shortage of bus drivers the latest staffing challenge for schools
A shortage of bus drivers in many parts of the state have shown just how valuable the ride to and from school is. Districts and bus companies have been forced to combine or cancel routes, boost hourly pay and offer four-figure bonuses to attract drivers. In Eugene this week, parents were notified that rides on […]
USDA investment in Hispanic-serving Institutions will flow to community college in Salem
A community college in Salem is among 21 Hispanic-serving institutions in the country to receive a share of a $12 million dollar investment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Chemeketa Community College is one of three in the state considered Hispanic-serving because student enrollment is at least 25% Hispanic. At Chemeketa, 29% of students are […]
Facing threats, superintendents and school boards turn to legislature, law enforcement
The North Bend School Board didn’t have anything controversial on its agenda last week, but an FBI warning prompted the directors to abandon their open session and go virtual. They were alerted that 200 to 300 demonstrators planned to flood the meeting. Local police said they didn’t have the capacity to step in if things […]
Child welfare calls from Oregon schools dropped 30% during distance learning
During any other school year, the statistic at the Warrenton-Hammond School District in northwest Oregon would have been positive. Superintendent Tom Rogozinski, superintendent, was taking stock of the months his students spent under distance learning, and noticed a steep decline in calls from staff to the state Department of Human Services over concerns about student […]
Latest state education report shows low participation, progress
The Oregon Department of Education took an incomplete on its yearly report card for schools and districts issued Thursday. Participation in standardized testing for the 2020-21 school year was down 70% across the state, according to Jon Wiens, the department’s director of accountability. In a press conference held in advance of the At-A-Glance Report release, […]
FBI to investigate threats made against school board members, teachers
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice has directed the FBI to meet with local governments and law enforcement to discuss strategies for dealing with increasing threats to teachers and school board members spurred by a conservative backlash against discussions of race in public schools. “Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our […]
Despite return to in-person classes, many who chose homeschooling during pandemic stay home
By May 2020, Ethan Kemper had all but given up on school. Banks High School, where he was finishing his freshman year, had gone to a pass/no pass grading system after having in-person school derailed by the coronavirus. Jacoba Kemper said her son’s classes felt unplanned, communication between the teachers and Ethan lagged and filling […]
Oregon school districts navigating food shortages, supply chain issues
Not long before a recent nacho lunch day in the Hillsboro School District, Nate Roedel learned that he wouldn’t receive the 120 cases of tortilla chips he’d need to make more than 13,000 meals. Luckily Roedel, executive director of nutrition services for the district, had gotten good at improvising. The last two months of food […]
Vaccinations advance at Southern Oregon University despite regional challenges
ASHLAND – Education works. Outreach makes a difference. Encouragement is a key. Southern Oregon University is located in and serves a region where COVID-19 vaccination is not yet universally accepted as the most effective weapon against our ongoing pandemic, and the most direct path toward a pre-COVID way of life. But SOU gladly qualifies as […]
Democrats’ vision for free community college would boost undocumented students
WASHINGTON—The massive economic policy package Democrats are trying to muscle through Congress could open the door to free community college for undocumented immigrants. But that lifeline for many people now denied access to higher education could also reignite controversies in Republican-leaning states over immigration and federal overreach. The provision on immigrants was included in a plan drafted […]
New emergency substitute teaching license attempts to solve statewide shortages
Hiring substitute teachers has been difficult in Oregon for a number of years, but the pandemic has made it worse. Superintendent Dan Goldman, who coordinates the hiring of substitutes for the Northwest Regional Education Service District, had only 65% of the substitute teachers he needed last week to fill classrooms in the 20 school districts […]
Congress has a plan for universal pre-K. Will states opt in?
WASHINGTON — Nearly a fifth of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion sweeping social spending package is dedicated to providing low-cost care for children from birth to kindergarten—investments that would benefit single parents and low-income families. But how the states implement their programs for pre-K for 3-and 4-year-olds—or whether they even decide to accept the cash, […]