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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Back to School – for Students, Teachers and OEIB?

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Thursday, August 9, 2012   

SALEM, Ore. - As kids and teachers head back to school within a few weeks in Oregon, the question has become how high those schools are aiming for educational achievement - and whether it's high enough.

Schools have been working on their "achievement compacts" for the Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB). The state's new chief education officer has said many of the plans are not aggressive enough.

However, speaking at this week's OEIB meeting, Oregon Education Association president Gail Rasmussen says there is still plenty going right in the schools - and a cautious approach to a new system is to be expected.

"We still need to have those high standards - but understand that we've lost 16 percent of our classroom teachers because of budget cuts, and that we are seeing increases in class sizes."

Rasmussen says Oregon teachers are relieved to no longer have to use the "No Child Left Behind" standards that relied heavily on student testing.

Superintendents have said their budgets are the main reasons for holding back on at least some of the measures in the achievement compacts, including better math and reading scores for third-graders and more early college credits for high-school students.

At the OEIB meeting, Rasmussen invited the board members to sign up for classroom visits and told them they could select the schools and types of classes they would like to sit in on. She says the offer got a lot of smiles and nods, but not many takers.

"For some of them, that may not be something that will be comfortable, but I want them to be in our classrooms, and they get to make the choice. They get to pick, and we will help facilitate those visits in a way that will be most meaningful to them."

OEIB members are planning some school visits on their own in September. Around the state, 95 schools - some in high-poverty areas - have been selected to receive additional help to close student achievement gaps.




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