Jan 7, 2011 ... Ideas, concerns and recommendations made by the YAT are being ... If the YAT
are interested in seeing the updated list of ideas under.
Advisory Team Name: Youth Advisory Team Group Name: YAT Group Chair(s): Chris Henke, Stacy Adriano Group Secretary: Jennifer Sitton Date of Recommendations: 1.7.11
Team Members Attending: Dana Button, Daniel Herder, Ana Martinez, Pat McBee, Selena Parnon, Katie Romanko, Andrei Secasiu, Daniel Silberman, Dina Yazdani, Aida Zavala, Hannes Zetzsche Absent: Lance Campbell, Elizabeth Leslie, McKenzie Sargent
ODE Staff and Outside Consultants Present At the Meeting: Ed Dennis - Deputy Superintendent, Susan Castillo - Superintendent, Brian Reeder – Assistant Superintendent, Analysis & Reporting, Diane Roth – Advisory Team Coordinator, James Sager – Assistant Superintendent, NW Regional ESD, Beth Gerot – OSBA Past President, Roger Bassett – Governor’s Advisor, Colt Gill - Superintendent, Bethel School District, Laurie Wimmer – OEA Legislative Director Meeting Topic: Budget/School Funding – How do we spend the money we get and how can we change the way schools do business? Background: What happened in the meeting, what information was presented? Ed Dennis & Brian Reeder gave an overview of the State School Fund and presented information on school funding, including the Central Oregon Efficiency Study, Governor’s Reset Report and other proposals. YAT members asked questions; then the Panel of Experts presented their proposals for funding schools and their ideas for “doing more with less.” After discussion of all information presented, the team documented their recommendations. The following recommendations for Budget/Funding were discussed and presented to Superintendent Castillo:
Consolidate School Districts (rural)
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Online courses as supplements to inclass time Superintendent Castillo Q: Could there be student-to-student coaching as well?
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Buildings Services Districts Provide incentives Sacrifices 1 on 1 time for students & teachers Good for students who want specialized classes not offered at their school Supports differentiated learning styles (students at different levels) Teachers serve as learning coaches Students still need to have some face to face time with teacher
A: That could work as long as it wouldn’t cut too much into the coaching student’s learning time. • Graduating early
Set standard for early graduation and define what “prepared” means
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Precautions need to be taken Differing social levels? (Would all students socially be ready to move beyond high school early?)
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Families who can easily afford to pay tuition could possibly pay a little more to help those who are unable to pay Would give students a solid boost for going into first grade Look into early childhood options as well Important at this stage as the achievement gap Senator Mark Haas leading a bill to lower the required starting age from 7 to 5 Without a law in place, it is difficult to take action
Full Day Kindergarten for tuition • • • • Protect Instructional Time, Academic Standards •
Lower bar for student achievement and calendar time
Dual Credit/Proficiency (ways to get credit without spending more money)
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None in favor Students shouldn’t lose opportunities based on budget cuts
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Extracurricular work Outside credit
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Give administration more authority to remove ineffective teachers and reward good ones Effective teacher evaluations using multiple measures Give new education grads as much of an opportunity as other teachers with tenure Take student input “with a grain of salt” Need a balance of personality and effectiveness in teachers
Improve Teacher Quality Susan’s input: Currently, there is growing work within school districts for creating teacher evaluations. On a national level, there are more rigorous standards that are impacting quality.
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Revenue •
Increase public awareness around the benefits of taxes Share specifically where the money is going
Recommendation: Proceed with caution. Budget times are tough, but change is not easy. Carefully consider the pros and cons of any significant changes to the way we do business right
now. Follow-Up: The department of education has begun to study the proposals reviewed by the Youth Advisory Team and has spoken on the record in front of the legislature on many of the ideas reviewed by the YAT. Ideas, concerns and recommendations made by the YAT are being incorporated and considered as the ODE moves proposals forward. If the YAT would like to speak with staff that are doing the next level of research on this matter we can make that happen. If the YAT are interested in seeing the updated list of ideas under review by the ODE we can make that available.