K-12 Education Innovation in Oregon:
Empowering Educators and Raising Student Achievement
Across Oregon, districts and schools are engaged in innovative work to raise student achievement. Now more than ever it is important that we share models of success and help our school districts make wise investments with their limited resources. On March 18th, the City Club of Central Oregon will welcome Sue Hildick, President of the Chalkboard Project and Ron Wilkinson, Superintendent of the Bend-La Pine School District for an informative discussion about what is working and how it is being implemented.
Hildick will describe Chalkboard's CLASS Project and its initial signs of success. CLASS is an innovative education initiative focused on four components of effective teaching: expanded career paths, relevant professional development, effective performance evaluations and new compensation models. A consortium of Central Oregon school districts is taking part in the CLASS Project.
Wilkinson, will speak to the local implications of the project. The Chalkboard CLASS Project is allowing Central Oregon school districts to look at fundamental questions regarding the single most important ingredient in education, the teacher. Teacher salary schedule structures and career pathways for teachers have remained nearly unchanged for the past 50 years in America.
This project is allowing teachers, administrators, school board members, and union representatives to discuss alternative ways of looking at career tracks for teachers, professional development, professional evaluations, and compensation strategies. Finding appropriate ways to incorporate student achievement results into advancement and compensation schemes is central to the discussion. However, Wilkinson will caution that any change must take into account some of the unique aspects of teacher motivation.
Pre-registration is required by March 15th at 5:00 p.m. The cost to members is $15.00 for lunch. Nonmembers pay $30.00 for lunch and program.
Preregister in one of the following ways:
1) Prepay on line with a Visa or Mastercard.
2) Use the "contact us" link to let me know who is attending - then pay cash or check at the door.
3) Call the City Club at 541-633-7163 to provide the names of those who will attend and pay cash or check at the door.
The Forum will begin at 11:30 and conclude at 1:00 p.m. City Club Forums are conducted at St. Charles Center for Health and Learning, 2500 NE Neff Road in Bend.
Speaker Bios
Sue Hildick is the President of the Chalkboard Project and Foundations for a Better Oregon. She is a fourth generation Oregonian with a love of public policy issues. She has previously served as Legislative Director to former U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield, Director of Government Relations at Oregon Health Sciences University, and CEO of the Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross.
She is passionate about public service, particularly encouraging young women to lead, and citizen engagement. She currently serves on the board of the National Civic League. Sue was named Nonprofit CEO of the Year (2007) by the Portland Business Journal and was recognized in 2006 and 2004 as one of Oregon’s Fifty Great Leaders by Oregon Business Magazine. Her latest and most meaningful position is as a mother to her 14-month-old daughter, Clare Addison.
Ron Wilkinson has been a passionate public educator for the past 38 years. His career in education includes 30 years in Oregon wrapped around 8 years in Washington.
Ron came to the Bend-La Pine Schools in 1998 as Director of Human Resources. He became Deputy Superintendent in 2001 and has served as Superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools since 2008. His prior educational experiences include 15 years as a middle school principal in Oregon and Washington, five years as a high school assistant principal, 1 year working for an educational consortium school improvement project, and 5 years as a junior and senior high teacher.
Ron serves on the Oregon State University College of Education advisory board, the Higher Education Action Team for Central Oregon, the Oregon Association of School Executives Board of Directors, and he teaches part of the administrative licensure program in Central Oregon for the University of Oregon. He also served two terms on the United Way of Central Oregon’s Board of Directors.
As a former student body president at Oregon State University, and former member of OSU’s athletic board and alumni board, anyone close to Ron knows that he primarily bleeds Orange and Black!