Dear Chalkboard,
Last month, the superintendents from three of the CLASS™ Project districts presented to Chalkboard's Board of Directors. As we mentioned a few months ago, the board's five-year strategic plan is now focused on teacher effectiveness, but the CLASS superintendents really brought that commitment to life. Each superintendent spoke to the transformations that have taken place as a result of their CLASS Project work. The comment was made more than once that CLASS has inspired changes in teaching and learning that have become a part of a new district culture.
In the next few months, we hope to bring these stories of transformation to you as well.
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Salem-Keizer stands out for its focus on student achievement
 Salem-Keizer Public Schools was the sixth district to participate in the OASBO/Chalkboard process to review business practices. The OASBO review team focused on seven areas of business operations and made recommendations and suggestions for improvements in each area.
Based on the review team's findings, Salem-Keizer's business operations stood out for the staff's commitment to student achievement. From the bus drivers to the facilities managers, each person on staff recognized their role in fostering student success.
Learn more about the Salem-Keizer review or read the reports from the other five districts: http://www.chalkboardproject.org/what-we-do/best-business-practices-reviews.php.
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Oregon is Racing to the Top
 The $4.35 billion federal fund for education, Race to the Top, has states working hard to turn in a quality application by the end of the calendar year. Here in Oregon, Governor Ted Kulongoski and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo demonstrated their commitment to the application last week with the announcement of a design team and working groups. Each working group will aim to develop a plan for one of the four assurances required in the application. Chalkboard's own Kate Dickson is serving on the "Effective Teachers and Principals" working group.
The Oregon Department of Education has started a website to share information and updates about the Race to the Top process: http://bit.ly/TCk19
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Kicking-off the CLASS™ Project
 All nine new CLASS districts have begun the process of choosing their design teams. The design teams, made up of teachers, union representatives, administrators, school board members and classified staff will help their districts draw out a path to empowering educators and raising student achievement.
Next week, design teams from all twelve districts will gather for a kick-off meeting. This meeting will give the CLASS districts an opportunity to hear from those that are now in their second year of implementation and the implementing districts will have a chance to compare notes with each other about what is working for their staffs and students.
We'll continue to provide updates about the CLASS Project as this important work moves forward.
In the meantime, check out the CLASS media page for press releases, articles, and frequently asked questions: http://bit.ly/lYMBZ
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 Listening and Learning
This month, a few of our staff members traveled across the country to hear from national leaders in education innovation. The three conferences attended included the Grantmakers for Educations conference in Chicago, Excellence in Action in Washington, DC, and Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) in Denver. @ChalkTalkers also Twittered about each conference. Below are a few key takeaways in Twitter format (140 characters or less):
From Grantmakers for Education:
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 From beautiful exceptions session, echoed yesterday by Larry Keeley: education is an ecosystem, more like coral reef than a machine. #gfed09
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From Excellence in Education:
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Michelle Rhee: education is supposed to be the great equalizer and the reality today is that it is not. #excelsummit
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From Policy Innovators in Education:
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Great session on turning around low performing schools. Key message: We have to create scalable models and train leaders #pie09
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Our Voices, Our Schools
 This month we interviewed Vickie Fleming, Superintendent of Redmond School District.
You are currently chairing Oregon's Race to the Top Design Team. What are you looking forward to most in the application design process?
The Race to the Top design process has provided an opportunity for the best minds in Oregon to come together and explore bold ideas and challenge the status quo. It has been a meaningful collaboration of teachers, researchers, advocates and many other perspectives tackling tough questions related to improving educational outcomes. It is a critical conversation that must continue over the next months and years, regardless of the money.
The Redmond School District has adopted a model of proficiency practice, which, simply put, is a way of giving students credit for what they know rather than how much time they spend in a classroom. How does one go about creating a culture of innovation in a school district?
It is my firm belief that a culture of innovation evolves by listening for wisdom from students, recognizing and nurturing the best practices of teachers and deeply understanding the story objective data reveals. It then becomes the work of the leaders to get out of the way, to remove barriers and celebrate success. The innovation happening in Oregon schools comes about through support of 'courageous leadership from the middle' and allowing great ideas to flourish from the classroom up.
Your district was also the recipient of a CLASS design grant. What sorts of goals or objectives are you bringing to the design process?
We are committed to teamwork and delving deeply into the support of professional practice. An honest exploration about what gets us to better outcomes will be tough but well worth the effort. Understanding the art and mastery of teaching and learning is an evolutionary process that requires courage, discipline and dedication. We are grateful for the time and support to push ourselves on behalf of students.
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Two of Our Own, Recognized for their Leadership
Sue Hildick, Chalkboard President, and Kate Dickson, Vice President of Education Policy, have each received awards this month recognizing them for their leadership in education.
Sue was recognized at New Leadership Oregon's Annual Luncheon for her lifelong commitment to bettering the lives of Oregonians, most recently through her work with Chalkboard. She was also praised for helping to get the NLO program started and for her mentorship of the young women involved. New Leadership Oregon is a women's leadership development program housed at the Center for Women, Politics & Policy at Portland State University.
Kate received the honor of "Vibrant Giver" for the month of October from Vibrant Nation. In their release, Vibrant Nation, a Web site for vibrant women over 50, noted Kate's extensive career in education during which she has held the titles of classroom teacher, principal, state deputy superintendent, and college professor. Kate continues to be a leader in education policy with her work on the CLASS Project.
Congratulations, Sue and Kate! We are very lucky to have both of you leading our efforts to raise student achievement in Oregon.
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Education Policy is all a-twitter
We have only been on Twitter for a few months, but we have connected with a great group of education advocates across the country and are finding it easier to stay up-to-date on the latest education news.
Below are a few of the organizations and individuals we have been following:
@OregonStand- Oregon's Stand for Children
@edutopia- The George Lucas Educational Foundation
@EdEquality- The Education Equality Project
@NMHS_Principal- A New Jersey Principal who tweets about educational resources and research
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Chalkboard and Social Media
Chalkboard is on Facebook and Twitter. Connect with us on-line and help spread the word about how to make Oregon's public schools among the nation's best.
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What's Next for Chalkboard...
October 28: CLASS Kick-off Meeting
November 12: Chalkboard Board Meeting
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