The University Senate hosted two special guests from the Oregon Education Investment Board yesterday afternoon in a talk about public education reform. The state is looking to switch to a 0 through 20 system, a system that will perhaps pave the way toward a quality system from K-12 schools to graduate school.
Nancy Golden, superintendent of Springfield Public Schools@@http://www.sps.lane.edu/15771078165931603/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=54445@@ and alternate OEIB chair, and Mary Spilde, president of Lane Community College@@http://www.lanecc.edu/presoffc/presmess.htm@@ and OEIB member, were on hand for yesterday’s meeting to lead the discussion on the future of education in Oregon and how campus community members can have a voice in the transformation.
Golden spoke on the importance of the soon-to-be-determined chief education officer position and how whoever is appointed will be an integral part of the new system.
“What that (CEO) job is really going to do is to make sure that we meet the 40-40-20 goals,” she said.
She also stressed that the OEIB and CEO will serve as supporting roles for every institution. It is hoped they will help break down barriers for leaders in each education sector. She hinted that a former member of the University faculty is currently being considered for the position but would not give a name.
“One thing the governor wants to focus on is bringing more money to education,” she said.@@where do you think you’ll get it? flip the tax burden back on businesses instead of homeowners@@ “He has pushed tremendous reform in these past two legislative sessions, but he also knows we need more resources.”
Another focus of the 0-20 system is to smooth the transitions between education levels. Spilde said that focusing on getting high school students college-ready is a large part of the reform, and they want all high school students to graduate with at least 12 transferable college credits as they move into higher education.
“We want it to be a seamless system,” Golden said.
With the passage of Senate Bill 1581, all public education institutions — including public school districts and universities — will enter into educational achievement compacts with the OEIB to stay committed to providing a quality education and improving completion rates and outcomes for students.
“This work has already been going on in the OUS for some time now,” Spilde said. “The system will also focus on mission alignment.”
She said due to the varying goals of each OUS institution, the compact signed between the system and the OEIB will be multifaceted in order to encompass the different missions of each university.
“We will be involved in the final compact in terms of what it actually entails, but it also has to be approved by the State Board (of Higher Education),” University Senior Vice President and Provost Lorraine Davis said.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Lorraine+Davis@@
As the OEIB moves forward with its plans for reform, they invite any and all input on how to proceed with the drafting of achievement compacts. The educational achievement compact subcommittee, on which Spilde sits, meets this Friday in Salem. Members of the University Senate said they are committed to having a helping hand in this process and plan to bring forth opinions at Friday’s meeting.