We wanted to highlight a few upcoming professional learning opportunities and share the Ready Schools, Safe Students Guidance.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Deb Bailey, STEM Education Specialist, Noelle Gorbett, Science Assessment Specialist, or Jamie Rumage, Science Education Specialist, if you have any questions or concerns.

For the most up-to-date information concerning COVID-19 responses, please see our FAQs page.  Additionally, the ODE COVID-19 webpage contains the most recent information available on how the 2019 Novel Coronavirus is impacting schools in Oregon. If you have an urgent health need, please contact your local health department or health care provider.

OSAS Science Assessment Item Review Panel Recruitment

Oregon Department of Education’s Office of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment is seeking individuals to participate in the online review of items for the Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS) Science Assessment. The purpose of item review is to ensure the high quality and fairness of items presented in the OSAS Science Assessment.

Online Meeting dates:

• Elementary Item Content Review 8/11/2020-8/12/2020 (two days) application
• Middle School Item Content Review 8/11/2020-8/13/2020 (three days) application
• High School Item Content Review 8/11/2020-8/12/2020 (two days) application
• Fairness (Bias & Sensitivity) Item Review 8/13/2020 (one day) application

The deadline for submitting an application is 5:00 pm Friday, June 12, 2020. Please see the recruitment letter for more information. Participants will be compensated for their time or receive substitute reimbursement as applicable.

For more information, please contact Noelle Gorbett, Science Assessment Specialist.

Oregon Open Learning OER Workshop

Oregon Open Learning OER Workshop offerings:

• Tuesday, June 16^th from 10:00 - 11:00 am 
• Wednesday, June 17^th from 2:30 - 3:30 pm

Oregon Open Learning is a digital resource repository and collaboration space for educators, administrators, and other educational partners to curate, create, and remix open educational resources (OER). Join this webinar to learn about the Hub and how you can get connected.

These workshops will focus more of the “how to” of OER including Creative Commons licensing, remixing and adding resources, and more. We will host these events in GoToTraining to utilize break-out rooms for more guided support.

Please register here!

Ready Schools, Safe Learners Guidance 

Ready Schools, Safe Learners, is the initial guidance for how public and private schools will develop an operational blueprint for the 2020-21 school year. The blueprint will evolve throughout the year based on school district, public health, and community feedback, as well as incorporate new health and safety guidance to adapt to the COVID-19 situation as it changes.

Recognizing that COVID-19 will likely continue to pose a public health risk throughout the school year, and that the prevalence of COVID-19 varies community by community, the blueprint instructs districts to develop a back-to-school plan that utilizes a mix of on-site and distance learning options to protect the safety of students, staff, and families. Districts are also to develop communicable disease management plans and contingency plans in the event of COVID-19 outbreaks––including returns to fully distance learning and modified school year calendars as necessary.

Ready Schools, Safe Learners, developed under the direction of Governor Brown and in collaboration with Oregon Health Authority, provides a framework for schools for the 2020-21 school year that ensures the health and safety of all students and staff and the families they go home to each day.