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Embracing the challenge of change

February 08, 2012

By changing nothing, nothing changes. Tony Robbins

Change is afoot. The Oregon School Boards Association has new leadership and the legislature is back in session with a full agenda of legislation that will affect K-12 education throughout the state.

Senate Bill 1581
High on Governor Kitzhaber’s list is a bill that would change the way school districts set goals and measure students’ achievement, SB 1581 . The state has applied for a waiver of the test-based standards of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, hoping to replace them with the governor’s proposed achievement compacts, which spell out ways school districts can serve students’ needs and meet the public’s expectations. OSBA’s board has resolved to help craft SB 1581 and the language that provides for achievement compacts, with the goal of ensuring flexibility for districts and accountability to their communities. 

Watch “Daily Updates Legislative Blog” on OSBA’s website for late-breaking information on the progress of SB 1581, and use our online feature to notify OSBA if your school board enacts a resolution of support. When final enactment of SB 1581 occurs, we will issue an “Achievement Compact Toolkit” that will help districts fulfill their obligations under the bill. A final note: while the discussion of achievement compacts continues in the legislature, school board members should work with their superintendents to ensure that budget discussions take achievement compacts into account.

More change on the horizon
At its quarterly January meeting, the Board held in-depth discussions of the role that locally elected boards of directors play in addressing the following concerns:

    • Improving and measuring student achievement 
    • Ensuring equal learning opportunities for all students 
    • Obtaining adequate funding for public schools 
    • Managing nuts-and-bolts issues like public contracting, instructional technology and collective bargaining

Based on these discussions, and with your input, OSBA’s Legislative Policy Committee will update and revise our Legislative Policies and Priorities for the 2013 legislature.

OSBA’s pursuit of excellence
Our association has rededicated itself to its primary goals—improving student achievement, raising graduation rates and closing the achievement gap. We will continue to pursue excellence in the services we deliver, because that’s what it’s all about—helping school boards succeed. It’s not enough to say it; we must show it.

We will strengthen our association’s relationships with all stakeholders in the public education community. More than ever, we believe Oregon’s school boards must play a leadership role in addressing the challenges facing public schools today—adequate funding, equity, public trust and effectiveness in preparing Oregon’s learners for productive lives beyond the classroom.

 Kris Howatt, OSBA President