Policy Idea: Provide every new teacher, principal, and superintendent in Oregon with a high-quality mentor – a strategy proven to boost student achievement (especially among low-income students and students of color, improve new teacher retention, and save taxpayer dollars).
Where the policy idea is in the legislative or political process:
- Fall 2006: Stand for Children won support from Governor Kulongoski who put $5 million for program start-up in his 2007-09 budget.
- 2007 Legislative Session: Stand for Children combined forces with the Chalkboard Project and won support from other education groups and associations; gained the commitment of Ways & Means Co-Chairs to provide start up funding; and defended the $5 million appropriation throughout the budget process with help from hundreds of contacts generated by Onward Oregon. This investment will provide mentors for close to 1,000 new educators in the 2008-09 school year.
- Current: Oregon Department of Education and a range of stakeholders are developing rules for the program in the 07-08 year to enable first year implementation in 08-09.
- Next steps: Strong and concerted action will be needed to ensure full funding to take the program to scale. Targets: the ODE budget developed for summer/fall 2008 submission; the Governor’s budget published on December 1, 2008; legislative support as reflected in the Co-Chairs budget in 2009; appropriation of necessary funds for the 2009-11 biennium.
Innovation: Oregon is addicted to pilot projects. We take nothing to scale. We’ve already got a foothold with this relatively low-cost, high-return strategy to improve conditions for new educators and outcomes for students, especially our most vulnerable. Taking it to scale would make Oregon a national leader.
Quality: This strategy is all about quality: the quality of teaching and educational leadership that our students get, the quality of support our new educators get, and the return on investment for taxpayers who currently foot the bill for unacceptably high teacher turn-over. The program has a strong research basis that proves that we can increase retention of new teachers and – more importantly – the achievement of their students by partnering the new educator with a trained mentor.
Viability: We’ve already won support and funding for the first phase of implementation. The only thing in the way of taking this proven strategy to scale is competition for resources. A strong, concerted effort by everyone who cares about conditions for new educators and their students is all that’s needed at this point to secure political support for the necessary appropriation.
Alignment with progressive ideals: Improving our public schools, the cornerstone of our democracy, especially for the students of color and low-income students who are most often taught by new teachers in schools led by new principals. Improving conditions for one of our most important public sectors workforces. Engaging an issue that’s highly relevant for the Bus Project’s target demographic, many of whom are interested in careers in teaching. What could be better?
Urgency: If we don’t win full funding to take the program to scale in 2009-11, this will be one more pilot project that fails to deliver on its potential, fails to leverage the existing investment, and fails to improve conditions for students, teachers, and principals in every district.
Additional Information about the Policy Idea
What is your current strategy for moving this idea forward? What is the general timeline?
Jan - June 08 - Work with Dept of Ed (ODE) and other stakeholders to finalize rules for first-phase implementation due to begin in 08-09 school year. Build support within ODE and Governor's office for inclusion of fully phased-in funding for 09-11 biennium within DOE/ Governor's budget.
July - Dec 08 - Monitor start-up of first-phase implementation in districts around the state, collecting anecdotal evidence and program champions who can help build support for full phase-in during 09 session. Continue to lobby ODE and Governor to ensure full funding makes it into Governor's 09-11 budget. Bring editorial and news media attention to the issue concurrent with Dec 1 release of Governor's budget. Begin to lobby legislative leadership.
Jan - June 09 - Lobby legislature to secure full funding to take program to scale.
Aug - Dec 09 - Monitor full implementation of program.
Based on the list of prizes that are available for the winner of this contest, what prizes would you select and how would you put them to use? (The prize list is attached)
Our top picks would be:
* Gold media package and/or Silver media package - to raise awareness about the challenges facing new educators and the benefits to kids of supporting new educators effectively.
* 1 Rebooting Democracy sponsored Lobby Day - to secure support for full program funding during legislative session.
* Phone bank shifts - to activate constituent support in districts of key legislators.
Voters in the Progressive Policy Battle Royale commit either money or volunteer time to whichever ideas they support. To which 501c3 organization will such monetary donations go and how will they be used? How will you be able to put volunteers to use and what kinds of tasks will they perform?
Funds will support Stand for Children's staff leadership on this strategy. Volunteers will support the grassroots lobbying and media awareness needed to build political will for full implementation of the program.
Information about the Presenter
Dana Hepper, Stand for Children's Statewide Advocacy Coordinator, grew up in Portland and attended Barnard College in New York City. She graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Elementary Education. Through her teaching certification program, Dana was a volunteer in a low-income school in Harlem where she tutored fifth graders in reading, and a student teacher in a wealthy charter school on the Upper West Side. The contrast of these two experiences added to her understanding of the effects of economic injustice on the lives of children. After graduating, Dana was a substitute teacher while working on her Masters in Education, then taught third grade in Clackamas County. While she loved working with children, she found herself wanting to make a long-term, systemic difference in teacher quality, school funding, after-school programs, and summer programs for her low-income students.