Former Eugene mayor Jim Torrey plans to run for State Senator in the 2006 election, and he wants to improve education. He wants to make higher education more affordable. He wants a strengthened education system to lead to a strengthened state economy. Sounds great, right?
Oh, but it is not that simple.
Torrey said that he is more concerned with elementary education than he is with higher education. Well, I would hope so; as important as higher education can be, it is more important that all children get a strong early education. Torrey even has a plan to improve education if more revenue is not generated: extend public schooling to 3- and 4-year-olds and make kindergarten full-day.
Idealistically, this is a great plan. But how on earth can this state afford that? Does Torrey not remember the budget cuts schools have taken? Teachers have been let go, class sizes have increased, activities have been cut, music programs have been reduced, sports are pay-to-play, academic competitions have been dropped, band is pay-to-play, etc. In the last couple of years, schools have taken an absolute beating. And the way to improve our education system is to bring hundreds of students into the system early?
I don’t think so. To improve the school system we need to work on mending the existing problems. Sure the best way to improve schools would be to provide them with the money that is needed. Obviously this has not happened, and if those who are smarter than I am have yet to figure it out, there is no way that I can provide a simple solution.
In the face of these budget problems it does not seem like there is much that an individual can do to improve our schools. Lo and behold: devoted volunteers. Enough praise cannot be given for the countless parents and caring individuals that give their time to
improve schools. When things started to get rough, budget wise, at my high school, volunteers answered the call of duty. There were suddenly volunteers everywhere working in the copy room, classroom and office, as well as organizing textbooks and helping teachers. These volunteers took the initiative and made a real difference.
These volunteers have found a strange bedfellow in the form of Oregon’s five largest private foundations. These foundations felt that the future of the state, the state economy and their own existence depended on today’s children receiving a strong education. Torrey has the same view about the importance of education for a strong economy, only these foundations found a logical way to begin making an improvement: They turned to Oregonians (volunteers, school employees, students, citizens).
In 2004, these foundations started the Chalkboard Project. In the early stages of the project, community members conducted surveys and held meetings to figure out what Oregonians thought about their schools and how things could be improved. I had the opportunity to attend one of these meetings and it was fascinating. I first went to the meeting to find out whether there was a story in it for my high school paper; within minutes, deadlines and sources were the last things on my mind. A speaker from the Chalkboard Project gave an introduction and an explanation about what they were trying to accomplish. And soon, everyone was encouraged to divide up into groups and talk about some of the general topics listed in a booklet that had been handed out. This meeting was fascinating; people were talking frankly about what is wrong with our schools and what they believe to be some possible solutions. By the end of the meeting, I walked away with dozens of thoughts about the school system, and the hosts of the meeting walked away carrying a box teeming with thoughts and suggestions.
And now, after processing what people all across Oregon have to say, the project has made 15 recommendations addressing concerns about the quality of schools. One of the main ideas? More parental involvement. In order to help get parents involved, the Chalkboard Project will give grants to 12 Oregon middle and high schools to create programs where parents can go online to monitor their childrens’ attendance, homework and grades .
The main reason parents say they are unable to volunteer at their child’s school is because of work. So, the project is seeking ways, such as tax credits or other incentives, to encourage employers to support parents taking time off to volunteer at their child’s school; in fact, some businesses give employees paid time off to volunteer in schools.
Since the drastic budget cuts in schools, there has been a lot of talk about what can be done. There has been a lot of talk about how to fix the schools and talk about how to fund the schools.
There has been a lot of talk.
Luckily, foundations, parents, educators, students and citizens have finally decided that it is time for a little less talk and a lot more action.
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