Our Voices, our Schools - August 2009

 
Ed Dennis is the Deputy Superintendent at the Oregon Department of Education. ODE is helping lead the state conversation around how best to invest federal stimulus dollars to raise student achievement. We asked Ed to share his thoughts on the changing landscape of education policy in Oregon.  
 
1) The US Dept. of Education has allocated $ 4.3 billion dollars for innovation in public schools with the Race to the Top Fund. How does Oregon stack up against the other states who are competing for this money?

It is hard to say precisely.

What is clear is that Oregon has built in advantages in two areas, we have one of the best assessment and data systems in the nation. We have promising practices like our Credit for Proficiency that could put us in a great position. Our recent innovative work on CLASS and mentoring may be key to our proposal.

If Oregon can stay the course with our diploma implementation then that will be a big boost to our application.

2) What role can NGOs and nonprofits play to better position the
state for federal funds?

In Oregon they are doing it already. The CLASS Project is a perfect example of that. Stand For Children and Chalkboard have convinced the legislature to keep mentoring on track in Oregon. Foundations can continue to invest in Chalkboard and stay focused on research based practices in schools that support student achievement.

We need your help making the case for change to our policy makers and public. Most people do not understand how hard the rest of the world and the rest of the country are working to raise the education levels of all of their students. People do not realize that Oregon could fall behind if we do not move fast.

The most important thing we can all do is work together quickly to get a high-quality Race to the Top proposal together that we can begin to advocate for.

3) How do you see the Obama Administration's infusion of resources in public education affecting the national education landscape?

It is too early to tell. If they are clear about what they want for the money then it could have a huge impact on driving instruction based educational improvements.

We are having conversations now that are more focused. Who needs the help? What can we do to get the help to them?

The effort to raise the bar on standards could have lasting impact if successful. Most people do not realize how diverse expectations are from state to state. In a state like Massachusetts they expect, and achieve, higher levels of educational attainment than the rest of the nation. School districts like Montgomery County (in Maryland) are raising the bar for all kids and getting results.