November/December 2025

November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to recognize the contributions and histories of groups often underrepresented in textbooks and traditional curricula. This is an opportunity to continue to elevate the nine Essential Understandings , serving as an introduction to the vast diversity of the Native American experience in Oregon, as well as the Tribal History / Shared History lessons. These lessons foster opportunities to expand learning throughout the school year, enriching students’ understanding of tribal nations’ histories and perspectives.

NEW Native Arts Lesson Collection: ODE has also partnered with three of Oregon’s federally recognized Tribes, as well as Southern Oregon ESD and the Jim Pepper Native Arts Council to create a series of tribal-specific and intertribal native arts lessons. 

• Burns Paiute Tribe Arts Lessons
• Confederate Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians Arts Lessons
• Coquille Indian Tribe Arts Lessons
• Speak, Sing Native Intertribal Arts Lessons

These lessons do not replace, but rather supplement, the required Tribal History / Shared History lessons for schools, and offer powerful opportunities for educators to bring culturally rich, respectful, and meaningful learning into their classrooms, while helping students of all backgrounds connect with and learn from Indigenous creative and artistic traditions. 

Also, on Thursday, November 20, at 12:00 p.m. PT, the Sense of Place Webinar Series will feature Negonne Blair, Environmental Toxicologist with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Environmental Science Program. The topic will be “Saving Pacific Salmon Through Chemistry, Toxicology, and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge.” Recordings will be sent out to those who register. 

As part of these continued efforts to honor and integrate tribal perspectives into Oregon’s educational and civic spaces, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) held a historic Posting of the Tribal Colors ceremony. This event, which was several years in the making, marked the permanent installation of the flags of Oregon’s nine federally recognized Tribes in the SBE meeting room at the Public Service Building. These flags now stand as a lasting symbol of the Government-to-Government relationship between Oregon and the Tribes.

Science Instruction and Interim Assessments Webinar

Register here to join ODE Science Assessment Specialist, Dr. Mariela Salas Bao, and Science Education Specialist, Jamie Rumage for an informative session on Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS) Interim Assessments for Science, specifically designed to support K–12 educators. This 45-minute session on Thursday, November 13 at 4:00 pm PT will be recorded and shared to those who register.

These no-cost tools provide timely, actionable insights into student progress, enabling educators to make informed decisions that enhance teaching and learning throughout the school year. Aligned with Oregon’s K–12 Science Standards, the interim assessments feature grade-appropriate, meaningful science phenomena and reflect the structure and rigor of statewide summative assessments, ensuring alignment and relevance.

Integrating Oregon’s Transformative SEL and K-12 Science Education

The science classroom offers a powerful setting to nurture students’ Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (TSEL) practices.

The newly released ODE Integrating Oregon’s Transformative SEL and K-12 Science Education document serves as a companion guide to the Science Oregon Teacher’s Guide and Lesson Sparks. It provides educators with resources and examples that continue to create inclusive and affirming learning environments. 

The next Science Ignite Session on Wednesday, February 4th from 4:00 PM PT, will focus on the Integrating Oregon’s Transformative SEL and K-12 Science Education resource.

Register here to join ODE's TSEL Education Specialist, Dr. Fynn, along with Science Education Specialists, to explore how these resources continue to support the learning conditions for students.

K-2 Science and Literacy 

The SOLID Start project (Science, Oral Language, and Literacy Development from the Start of School) develops standards-based, integrated science and disciplinary language and literacy curriculum materials designed for K-2 children.

Components of the SOLID Start curriculum include unit and daily driving questions (ASK), multi-modal investigations of and experiences with science phenomena (EXPLORE), science informational text read alouds (READ), science writing and drawing opportunities (WRITE), and science synthesis discussions (SYNTHESIZE) to build children’s oral language with a focus on explanations of phenomena.

Oregon Climate Education - Thought Leaders Committee

The Oregon Climate Education - Thought Leaders Committee is a monthly community of practice, a collaboration of SubjectToClimate’s Oregon Climate Education Hub and Oregon Educators for Climate Education. 

Last month this group welcomed, Beth Haley, Senior Oregon Climate and Health Equity Strategist at the Oregon Health Authority, and  Rachel Warmer, currently at Columbia College studying History and Environmental Biology. Here is the recording of the conversation regarding climate anxiety among Oregon high school students and some preliminary results from the 2024 Oregon Student Health Survey. 

Next month, on Tuesday, November 18 at 4:00 PM PT,  join Brent Spencer, Indian Education Coordinator at the Office of Indian Education, present on Oregon’s Tribal History / Shared History curriculum and professional development. 

Oregon Science Leaders - Upcoming Events

Oregon Science Leaders (OSL) is a free, regional network for K-16 science educators and science leaders. This organization is co-led by multiple Oregon ESDs and school districts. Join the next conversation on the key topic or review the OSL's Action Guide.

OSL is inviting middle and high school biology and environmental science teachers to a free professional development workshop on Tuesday, December 9th from 8:30 am - 3:00 pm PT. Click here to learn more and register or contact Angie Arends for additional details.

To join OSL, click this link and "ask to join". The next meeting will be held on Friday, November 14th from 9:00 - 10:00 am PT on Zoom.

OSAS Science Interim Assessments

Science Interim Assessments. The Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS) science interim assessments are available and ready for classrooms.

If you're new to interim assessments, start with this practice brief from STEMTeaching Tools which offers guidance on how to effectively integrate interim assessments into your instructional practice. 

To further support educators, ODE in collaboration with Southern Oregon ESD has developed a new on-demand course: Implementing the OSAS Interim Assessments - On-Demand Online Course, the course will equip participants with the tools to determine which specific interim assessments are best aligned to instructional opportunities for collecting evidence of learning and then modifying or scaffolding additional instruction.

Did you know? OSAS interim assessments (cluster items only) can also be used to meet your district’s local performance assessment requirements. To support this work, ODE has created a concise two-page ODE Practice Brief provides educators and leaders with a student-centered approach to fulfilling these requirements, highlighting the benefits of performance-based assessments. For more details please visit the ODE Interim Assessment and the Local Performance Assessment Requirement webpages.

Please contact Dr. Mariela Salas Bao, Science Assessment Specialist, with questions or support needs.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to:

• Dr. Deb Bailey, STEM Education Specialist
• Dr. Mariela Salas Bao, Science Assessment Specialist
• Jamie Rumage, Science Education Specialist