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We hope that you and your school community enjoyed the winter holiday season with well-deserved rest, relaxation and renewal. Everyone at ODE wishes you the best and looks forward to connecting in the new year.
In this month’s message, you’ll find information about:
Help Spread the Word about 988 Oregon in your Community
The State of Oregon recently launched the 988 Oregon: Connect to Hope campaign, aimed at making sure everyone knows they can call or text 988 for free, confidential mental health or substance use support. We want people to know it’s never too early to reach out for support. Reach out when you’re stressed, worried or just feeling really down. If you’re having suicidal thoughts or worried about someone else, 988 is here for you.
Schools and Districts can help spread the word about 988 Oregon in their community at 988oregon.org/partners/. Oregon Health Authority and its communications vendor Coates Kokes (CK) can help organizations create and share content that raises awareness about 988 Oregon. CK can help with design, translation, training and more at no cost to you. Technical assistance can include:
- Communication strategies
- Graphic design (social media graphics, posters, co-branded materials)
- Video creation
- Translation and transcreation
- Media and messaging training
- Paid promotion (e.g. social/digital ads, local ads)
- Toolkits and templates for campaigns
- Dissemination strategies and creative development of physical materials like flyers and mailers
Have questions? Visit 988oregon.org/partners/, or reach out to Dean Carson, 988 Communications Officer at Oregon Health Authority and Claire Coffey, Senior Account Manager at Coates Kokes.
Survey Request: ODE is Proposing a Rule Amendment
The Oregon Department of Education is proposing a rule amendment to require districts to provide services for students who are English Learners and provide interpretation and translation services to Limited English Proficient families and communities. Your input is vital to this process. This proposed amendment is intended to help clarify school and district nondiscrimination obligations to English Learners and Limited English Proficient families, including requiring that districts enroll all eligible students, provide appropriate instruction to English Learner students, and provide free interpretation and translation services to families and communities. This rule is intended to ensure that English Learners, and Limited English Proficient families, continue to have meaningful educational access. This survey will gather feedback to help us refine the rules, and your responses will be anonymous. The survey should take less than twenty minutes to complete.
El Departamento de Educación de Oregón está proponiendo una enmienda a la normativa para requerir que los distritos escolares brinden servicios a los estudiantes designados como estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés y que proporcionen servicios de interpretación y traducción a las familias y comunidades con dominio limitado del inglés. Su opinión es fundamental para este proceso. Esta enmienda propuesta tiene como objetivo ayudar a aclarar las obligaciones de no discriminación de las escuelas y distritos hacia los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés y las familias con dominio limitado del inglés, incluyendo el requisito de que los distritos inscriban a todos los estudiantes elegibles, proporcionen instrucción adecuada a los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés y ofrezcan servicios gratuitos de interpretación y traducción a las familias y comunidades. Esta norma busca garantizar que los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés y las familias con dominio limitado de inglés continúen teniendo un acceso educativo significativo. Esta encuesta recopilará comentarios que nos ayudarán a perfeccionar la normativa, y sus respuestas serán anónimas. La encuesta le tomará menos de veinte minutos.
Share Early Literacy Success Stories
Share the story of how the Early Literacy Success School District grant has impacted teachers, students, and families in your school, district, or region. Your input will help ODE inform legislators about the impacts of these funds. ODE may follow up for additional insights or examples. Provide feedback here. Feedback form will be open through January 15, 2026.
Immunization Exclusion Day & Attendance Learning Series
Absenteeism patterns vary across the year, and timely attendance data analysis helps schools respond proactively. A short-term spike often occurs on Exclusion Day in late February. Schools can keep students in school and healthy by proactively helping them get caught up on needed immunizations now to avoid exclusion. Read more about it on the Immunization Exclusion Day Resource.
Join the Every Day Matters team for the Attendance Learning Series! Register now and attend on January 8 at 3:35 PM, where we’ll focus on addressing health-related barriers and hear strategies from Gib Olinger Elementary in Milton-Freewater, OR. The focus of the series is to build shared understanding, strengthen local strategies, and create a learning network for those working to improve attendance outcomes.
Aligned Programs Grant Technical Fixes - Engagement for Rule Updates
ODE is developing draft rule changes pertaining to the Student Investment Account (581-014-001, 581-014-004), High School Success (581-013-005, 581-013-0020), and Early Indicator and Intervention Systems (OAR 581-017-0660, 581-017-0663, 581-017-0666, 581-017-0669, 581-017-0672) to propose to the State Board of Education for adoption in Spring 2026. This rulemaking is part of the implementation of HB 3037, which made changes to these programs. ODE is hosting an engagement session on these draft rules on Thursday, January 22, 2026, from 3:00-4:00pm. This session is open to all education partners and community members; all attendees must register via this link. Please register as early as possible to aid our planning and facilitation of the session. You may also provide input on the draft rules through this engagement survey. Please reach out to ODE.EII@ode.oregon.gov with any questions.
25-27 High Dosage Tutoring Grant Agreements
25-27 High Dosage Tutoring Supplemental Grant Agreements were sent for signature via Smartsheet on 12/29/25. Grant agreements should be signed by district staff with signatory authority. The HDT budget and the Early Literacy Allowable Use form need to be completed and approved before claims can be approved in EGMS; the subgrant name is “25-27 High Dosage Tutoring.”
Key Dates
January 13, 2026: Grant Kickoff Webinar
On Tuesday January 13, 2026, at 9:00 AM, we will hold a Grant Kick off Meeting for both HSS and SIA Grantees to walk through the Grant Agreement documents. The intended audience is business managers, however anyone interested is welcome to join. The session will be recorded and posted to the EII website if you are unable to attend. Register here.
Integrated Programs Q2 Reporting Due February 15, 2026
The Integrated Programs Q2 Report guidance and access to the appropriate Smartsheet links opened on January 2, 2026, on your WorkApp in the 2025-27 IP Reporting Tab. The Q2 report will include reporting on expenditures, updating status on Progress Markers, and affirming board presentation of your Annual Financial Audit.
Reminder to Claim Funds in EGMS
As of January 1, 2026, you are allowed to claim the following funds for your disbursement grants:
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Grant Name
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Claim Allowance
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Student Investment Account (SIA)
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Up to 75% of your 25-26 Allocation
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High School Success (HSS)
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Up to 75% of your 25-26 Allocation
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Early Literacy
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Up to 100% of current available funds
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If you have any questions please reach out to your District Grant Manager.
Reminder: The Required Monthly Submission and Reporting Calendar lists all required school district submissions for the 2023-24 school year.
Professional Learning Opportunities
High-Dosage Tutoring Community of Practice – Starts January 13, 2026!
ODE is launching another High-Dosage Tutoring (HDT) Community of Practice in January. All Oregon districts or ESD leaders planning or implementing HDT are invited to participate. Districts receiving the HDT Supplement are required to participate. Participants will learn about current research on effective HDT, identify key actions for high-quality implementation, and share resources and best practices.
See more information here.
EIIS Customized Coaching, Professional Learning, and Monthly Office Hours
ODE has developed several no-cost professional learning and customized coaching options to support districts to strengthen student success systems, staff teaming, and equity-centered data review. Please contact Saskia Dresler at saskia.dresler@ode.oregon.gov to learn more or join the EIIS monthly office hours with staff to discuss your questions about your student success system, share ideas and review resources.
Next Office Hours: Thursday, January 15, 2026, 3:30-4:15 pm - Register here
Reminder: The website lists all professional development opportunities provided by ODE. Also the calendar is now available to track EII specific TA, PL, and other coaching opportunities.
Contact Us
Celebrate Bright Spots Across Oregon!
We want to highlight and share the incredible success stories happening in your school, district, region, and community. Whether it’s an inspiring Career and Technical Education (CTE) initiative, a Career Connected Learning (CCL) program, impactful Integrated Guidance (IG) projects, community engagement efforts, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) advancements, or achievements in SIA, HSS, and more—we want to hear about it! Tell us your story, and it could be featured in an upcoming Oregon Department of Education (ODE) communication. Let’s celebrate and share the amazing work happening across the state! Submit the form here.
All previous Aligned Messages can be found on the Integrated Monthly Communication page.
If you have any questions, please contact OEII at ode.eii@ode.oregon.gov.
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