Dear Aimee,
School may be out for summer break, but Chalkboard's CLASS Project and other teaching effectiveness initiatives are earning good grades. Our policy priorities found traction during the legislative session, and nine additional school districts have applied to join CLASS.
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Policy Priorities Earn Approval in Salem 
In a positive step towards moving Oregon's K-12 schools into the top ten nationally, several bills supported by Chalkboard met the tough litmus test to warrant funding in a difficult economy. Several centered on improving the effectiveness of the classroom teacher and school principal. Another will result in more cost-effective business reviews for schools wishing to evaluate their food service, transportation, financial management and other practices.
Chalkboard chairwoman Orcilia Zúñiga Forbes notes, "We're satisfied that despite this session's budgetary challenges we have gained support for our approaches to moving Oregon education forward."
Read our press release about these teaching quality and school efficiency successes.
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CLASS Project Applications Are In
 Nine schools districts that want to join the three existing pilot districts engaged in the CLASS Project have submitted grant proposals. CLASS is an innovative education model that offers educators the professional support and opportunities they need to be effective, fosters a culture of continuous learning, and rewards those who lead the way to success. The results are better classroom instruction, more successful teachers and higher student achievement.
Decisions on grant recipients will be finalized by early August. Learn more about CLASS by listening to Chalkboard's City Club of Portland address.
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Seen and Heard
Positioning Oregon for Federal Education Money
At a recent Harvard Graduate School of Education retreat, Sue Hildick joined 50 education grantmakers to strategize on crafting reform that results in lasting change. A primary focus was comparing teacher effectiveness initiatives around the country. Sue was also invited to a D.C. summit on how to submit the strongest application for coming Teacher Incentive Fund grants, part of the $100 billion economic recovery monies coming to states for education. Both sessions made clear that top state policymakers, school superintendents, union leaders and nonprofits need to collaborate to win TIF money. And they helped raise awareness of Chalkboard's CLASS Project on the national stage.
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"I want to be very, very clear ... States that are simply investing in the status quo will put themselves in a tremendous competitive disadvantage for getting those additional funds...Every dollar we spend must advance reforms and improve learning."
--Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education
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"Some education advocates say the state is not well poised to get the competitive funds because it's been slow to adopt innovative new methods of education...[Chalkboard President Sue] Hildick said she worries Oregon is behind in getting those innovative programs off the ground. "It's frustrating when you see states like Colorado, which is actually passing legislation to get themselves in the position to be more competitive (for the funding)," Hildick said. "We're going the other way, we're undoing the innovations we have."
--The Bend Bulletin, 6/29/09
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Tag, you're it... 
Novice teacher reflects on the profession of teaching
Chalkboard recently welcomed new teacher Melissa Mullineaux to a two-month internship. Melissa earned her B.A. from UCLA and her Master's in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia. She is certified to teach grades one through six. We asked for her perspectives as a recently-certified educator who has taught middle school English in Costa Rica and kindergarten in Bologna, Italy.
What are some differences you saw when teaching abroad? I was teaching at private schools, but in both Italy and Costa Rica only an undergraduate degree is required for certification. Teachers are respected. All my interactions with parents were positive. For professional development there weren't set hours or worksheets to complete, it was expected that you'd simply ask the other teachers for help. I didn't notice lots of PD conferences, but there were lots of staff meetings. Teacher retention doesn't seem to be an issue, teachers go into teaching for life and it's typical to see teachers with 15 or 30 years of tenure.
What would you change about the professional practice of teaching? Teaching certification programs need improvement. There needs to be more communication and connection between public schools and the universities that offer teaching certificates. The best teachers I had were during the summer, when actual classroom teachers were the instructors, because they brought in real world experience. One area I feel doesn't get enough attention is instruction about teaching kids with disabilities. Teachers aren't getting the information they need to support these students in the classroom. Also, the number of hours required for student teaching needs to be much higher. And I'd love to see incentive pay implemented, to see how it changes the practice of teaching. I think the lack of a link between compensation and excellence is a main driver of teachers leaving the profession.
What are your plans for your teaching career? As an undergrad I volunteered in Watts tutoring Latino students who had signed up for after-school assistance. After I got my teaching degree, it was definitely a plus during my job interviews to have ESL (English as a Second Language) experience and to speak some Spanish. I'll be teaching sixth grade language arts in D.C. at Lincoln Middle School in Columbia Heights, which is a hub for the Latino community with 56% of my student population being Latino.
Are you a teacher for life? I'd really like to teach and work also with government or nonprofits like Chalkboard to have a foot in policy. Being in the classroom is wonderful, but to understand the field of education, I think you need to see other facets such as policy.
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Teachers' Lounge Adds New Resources
Educators: visit our expanded Resources section of the Teachers' Lounge, loaded with new content and links to support teachers with lesson planning, professional development and more.
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Chalkboard in the news...
"The leadership of Oregon education is going to have to come from somewhere else. And it is a hopeful sign that the Bend-La Pine, Crook County, Redmond and Sisters school districts are working together to try something. They are submitting a joint application for a grant to Oregon's nonprofit Chalkboard Project to improve the quality of their teachers."
Read the full Bend Bulletin editorial and other recent Chalkboard coverage.
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What's Next for Chalkboard...
July 22
Foundations for a Better Oregon Board Meeting
Agenda includes final decisions on new and continuing CLASS Project funding for three existing and nine potential pilot school districts.
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