CDC Reports Vast Majority of

EdNews

CDC Reports Vast Majority of Educators, Childcare Providers at Least Partially Vaccinated

On March 8, President Biden directed all states to prioritize vaccination efforts to K-12 educators and childcare workers. He also announced that a federal pharmacy program would be immediately available to them. Already, 34 states had extended vaccine eligibility to educators at that time, but the directive opened up appointments for millions more.

According to the CDC tracking data, the pharmacy program has administered over two million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to educators and childcare workers. In total, nearly 80 of this group has received at least one shot. As many of the nation’s schools have begun to resume inperson learning, state and federal health officials have been counting on this increased effort to keep schools open. CDC Director Rochelle says it’s working. “Our push to ensure that teachers, school staff, and child care workers were vaccinated during March has paid off and paved the way for safer in-person learning,” she says.

In a survey of members, OEA's Social Studies Task Force found that there has been a 60 percent decline in social studies instruction time.

Oregon Civics Education at the Forefront this Session

OEA and the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators have taken opposition with Senate Bill 513, which would require all high school students to take .5 credit of civics education in order to graduate, beginning in 2026. While OEA supports prioritizing civics instruction, this particular

Bill would create an unfunded mandate. The OEA Social Studies Task Force believes requiring just a single semester of Civics instruction would lead to a less thorough understanding of the subject. Currently, Civics education is embedded in the Oregon Social Studies Standards in grades K-12. A recent survey by OEA's Task Force finds that 80 percent of social studies teachers believe they do not have enough time to effectively teach the standards.

OEA supports Senate Bill 702, which will create a task force to review Social Studies standards in Oregon schools by enlisting the help of educators with expertise in the subject, who will then propose ideas to fill the gaps in instructional areas.

TSPC UPDATE! » COVID PDU reductions are currently in place until July 1, 2021. If you are renewing a license between March 23, 2020 and July 1, 2021, there is a reduction of the total number of Professional Development Units (PDUs) that must be completed in order to renew your license. If you are renewing a three-year license (Preliminary, Legacy or Limited) AND are renewing within the time range above, you will owe 38 PDUs. If you are renewing a five year license (Professional, Teacher Leader) AND are renewing within the time range above, you will owe 88 PDUs. If you are renewing OUTSIDE of this time range, you will owe the usual amount of PDUs according to your license (3-year license owes 75 PDUs and 5-year license owes 125 PDUs). If you have questions about this or other licensure issues, please contact Teresa Ferrer at teresa.ferrer@oregoned.org.

NORTH SALEM HIGH SCHOOL TO OFFER INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED ENRICHMENT PROGRAM » Next year, students at North Salem High School will be able to take a full schedule of classes that will be worth college credit upon completion. The school has become the second in the district to receive International Baccalaureate (IB) program authorization, and is one of only about 1,000 schools to offer the program nationwide. English teacher Mike Simental is excited about the built-in equity aspect of the curriculum. “It’s automatically going to encourage the teacher to bring in diverse perspectives,” he says.

Reed ScottSchwalbach is elected OEA's new President at the 2021 virtual OEA-RA.

OEA MEMBERS ELECT NEW LEADERS, FOCUS ON EQUITY AT 2021 RA

This year’s Representative Assembly looked much different from previous years, but OEA members persevered through technical challenges to elect a new President, Vice President, and ESP Director, as well as pass 26 New Business Items.

Reed Scott-Schwalbach, who has served as OEA’s Vice President for the past four years, will replace John Larson as President beginning in July 2021. Enrique Farrera, Academic Advisor at Clackamas Community College and longtime NEA Director, was elected OEA Vice President. Samantha Piers-Vanderploeg, instructor at Mt. Hood Community College, has been tapped to serve as the OEA ESP Director.

It was clear that educational equity was a key issue for delegates this year, as twothirds of all New Business Items passed had a focus on racial equity and social justice. As OEA furthers our commitment as an organization to create sustainable equity in our schools, we welcome the passion and dedication that our members have for this fight. All new NBIs can be found at www. oregoned.org/ra.

“IT’S AN HONOR TO SERVE OREGON STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS WITH THE ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT WORK WE DO AS A UNION EVERY DAY.”

Reed Scott-Schwalbach OEA President-Elect, term beginning July 2021

McMinnville kindergarten readiness program gains national acclaim

Since 2014, McMinnville School district has participated in a nationwide program called Ready! For Kindergarten, which provides helpful instruction and highquality education materials to parents of children from ages 0-5. Three times per year, parents are invited to a seminar, offered in English and Spanish, where they learn how to foster learning through play and interaction with their young children. The district has seen the program pay dividends.

Students whose families participate in the program are able to identify 25-52 percent more letter names and sounds than non-participating students. For Latino students, the numbers grow to 33-59 percent.

These results have earned McMinnville School District a 2021 Magna Award, which honors their commitment to removing barriers to educational equity for their students.