| Critical Issues
is an
award-winning publication provided by OSBA as a service to its members. |
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Staying Safe: Get ready, respond & recover
(1232k  )
There's a saying: If it can go wrong, sooner or later, it will go wrong. But school boards can do a lot to minimize the effects of violence, natural disasters, vandalism, accidents or expensive lawsuits.
This spring 2008 issue shows how planning is the best defense.
Also see our Staying
Safe resource page for more insights and information
on ways to reduce risk.
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Lessons
from November's Winners (2,811k
)
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Explaining the need, convincing voters to agree - then getting them to vote - is hard
work that deserves recognition.
Campaign work begins months, even years, before the election. This
winter 2007 Focus on Critical Issues includes campaign reports
from the 21 winners. We hope their stories give you direction and new ideas for your own success.
Also see Lessons from the Winners
and our Guide
to School Bond & Local Option Levies.
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Schools at the
Heart of Communities
(2119k )
Schools are changing - from footprints and heating systems to landscapes and siting decisions.
The summer 2006 Critical Issues highlights how school boards are working with agencies, cities and citizens to create the next generation of schools. Additional information
in Schools
at the Heart of Communities.
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Bridges
to Achievement
(612k )
- Eighteen boards in Oregon will spend the next few years participating in a
groundbreaking project with OSBA’s Leadership staff that focuses on changing governance and management to improve student
achievement and shift thinking about administration, teachers, and communities, and students.
More on the Bridges
to Achievement site. |
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Increase Support For Schools? Change Your Message
(977k )
A "primer" to understanding what Oregonians want to hear from their schools
and how to deliver those messages. Learn how to adjust your communication efforts without a lot of extra work. Learn what
E3is doing to
support the effort. More in Change Your Message: Increase
Community Support Through Communication.
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Downsizing
the Student Body
(494k )
- Nine million overweight schoolchildren across the nation
are swelling the ranks in our classrooms, clogging the lunch
lines and stuffing the halls. This Critical Issues explores
how some boards are "downsizing" their student
bodies without a huge price tag. More in Downsizing
the Student Body: Fighting Childhood Obesity |
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Breaking
Barriers to Close the Gap
(383k )
Explores how, triggered by growing student diversity and
spurred on by No Child Left Behind, Oregon school boards are
struggling to meet the needs of students who don’t speak
English, have special needs, live in poverty or otherwise
get left behind. More in Breaking
Barriers to Close the Gap.
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The
Perfect Storm: Rising Health Care Costs
(581k )
- Explores the
complexities of skyrocketing health insurance costs.
Explores the concept of
government-run health insurance pools and how they work (or
not) in nearby states. More in The
Health Care Crisis. |
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Leadership
- Wanted: Dealers in Hope
(556k )
- We face a
serious shortfall of education leaders, compounded by more retirements, a sagging economy and growing
political challenges in the school reform movement. This Critical Issues attacks the topic on two
fronts: how to become the type of board that attracts and
keeps good leaders and what Oregon is doing to
replenish the pool.
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At
the Crossroads: Will the Well-Educated
Child Become an Endangered Species in Oregon?
(345k )
- Oregon is on the verge of losing precious ground and jeopardizing the future of
its children if it doesn't maintain its investment in public education. This
Critical Issues tells discusses we got here,
where we need to go, and why. More
in
Education
Funding: At the Crossroads. |
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Leave
No Child Behind
(266k )
- This issue outlines the major aspects of the No Child Left
Behind Act
-and how Oregon is faring under its expectations. More in No
Child Left Behind Resources.
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After
The Fall: Surviving
and thriving in Oregon's budget shortfall climate
(256k )
- Explains where we are in the school funding crisis, offers survival tips and best
practices from school districts, and helps you communicate
about the budget crisis. |
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Emotionally
Armed and Dangerous
(642k )
- Explores how the culture of school violence evolved and offers
school-safety strategies and best practices for policy
leaders.
Our School
Violence Prevention contains more information and links
about school violence prevention. |
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Addressing
the Achievement Gap
(371k ) -
Findings from Oregon's
dramatic population shift, the so-called "achievement
gap," and an introduction to census 2000 data and its
many uses. See Breaking
Barriers to Close the Gap
and Census
Primer for more information and resources. |
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The
Education Workforce Shortage
(631k )
- Explores how Oregon fits into the national picture,
our unique challenges and what we're doing to "get and keep
the keepers" we need in our classes and in the principal's
office.
The Education
Workforce Shortage contains more information and resources
on recruitment and retention of qualified staff. |
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QEM:
What is a quality education and how much does it cost?
(820k ) -
Explains the Quality Education Model, education funding, priorities,
and the legislative
debate. More at QEM
Resources. |
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Apples to Apples (496k ) -
This issue explores Oregon's new Database Initiative Project
and whether we are ready to create a fair system of funding
schools and setting priorities. See Cost
Accountability
for more. |
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Report Cards: Making the grade
in Oregon (237k ) -
Covers Oregon's new school and district report cards.
Report Card Resources
contains more information and resources about implementing the new school and
district report cards. |
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Charter Schools: Charting new courses
in Education (241k ) - Explores
the charter school movement in Oregon and across the country. Our Charter School Resource Center
contains additional information and resources on Oregon's charter school law. |
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Class
size: Is less really more? (210k ) -
Helps you understand one of the hottest issues in public education and
discusses effective school board policies and strategies. See Exploring Class Size
for more information and resources for districts and board members. |
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Dropping
out: How can
we stop the undertow of failure in school? (153k ) -
About a quarter of Oregon students who began as
freshmen four years ago didn't graduate. See Dropout
for more information and resources. |
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When Crisis Hits In
Our Schools (246k ) -
Information about preparing for a crisis in your district. Crisis Management contains
additional information and resources. |
