PRESS RELEASE - The Chalkboard Project

PRESS RELEASEContact:Sue HildickPresidenthildicks@chalkboardproject.org(503) 542-4325Aimee CraigCommunications Managercraig@chalkboardproject.org(503) 542-4325CHALKBOARD'S INNOVATIVE GRANT PROGRAM EXPANDS TO NINE ADDITIONALOREGON SCHOOL DISTRICTSThe CLASS Project empowers educators to raise student achievementPORTLAND - August 11, 2009 - With the expansion of the CLASS Project, the ChalkboardProject's largest initiative to date, a total of twelve Oregon school districts will be engaging inwork to support high quality teaching and learning.The CLASS (Creative Leadership Achieves Student Success) Project was developed withthe knowledge that teachers are the most important factor in raising student achievement.The project leads districts on a path to empowering educators through a focus on fourcomponents; career paths, professional development, performance evaluations, andincentive pay.This expansion comes at a time when the federal government is promising stimulus funds tostates and individual districts if they can prove that they are driving achievement withinnovative and research-driven practices. The Obama Administration is specifically looking tofund those practices that encourage and support highly effective teaching.In high-needs districts especially, having a highly effective teacher in each classroom canmake a huge difference in the yearly progress of students. With 53% of the teachingworkforce being over fifty years old, recruiting and retaining new high quality teachers isessential to the future health of Oregon schools. CLASS is designed to make sure there is aneffective teacher in every classroom and every student in Oregon has the opportunity tosucceed."CLASS represents a model of teacher-driven education reform that will raise studentachievement," said Sue Hildick, Chalkboard Project President. "Oregonians want theirschools to be among the best in the nation and to reach that goal we have to invest in ourteachers."

The nine new districts participating in the CLASS Project are: Salem-Keizer, Bend-LaPine,Redmond, Sisters, Crook County, High Desert ESD, Lebanon, Oregon City and Vernonia.Each district will be awarded a planning grant ranging from $6,000 to $28,500."The CLASS Project will allow our district to take action toward transformational teacher-ledreform and think big about how to support high quality teaching and learning," said VickieFleming, Redmond School District Superintendent. "We are very grateful for the opportunityto participate in this project."Sherwood, Tillamook, and Forest Grove school districts have already begun implementingtheir district-created CLASS Projects. Researchers at PSU are working with the districts todevelop individualized scorecards that will provide extensive data about the projects. Thescorecards will include data on key indicators of success including student achievement,college preparedness, and teacher recruitment and retention rates.With its focus on the support and development of highly effective teachers to increasestudent achievement, the CLASS Project is closely aligned with the federal educationpriorities. This overlap indicates that Oregon could be at the forefront of innovative educationreform nationally.Read a summary of the CLASS Project and key district information on the Chalkboard Website.###