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As a new school year gets underway across Oregon, September brings renewed energy, new opportunities, and a chance to reconnect with the students, families, colleagues, and communities at the heart of our work. This month, we’re especially reminded that Your Presence Matters—whether it’s creating a welcoming environment for students, strengthening partnerships, or supporting one another in the work ahead.
In this edition of the Aligned Message, you’ll find timely grant and reporting updates, resources to support solid attendance and engagement, and professional learning opportunities designed to foster collaboration and shared learning. Thank you for all you do to help Oregon students and communities start the 2026–27 school year strong.
In this month’s message, you’ll find information about:
Announcements
Your Presence Matters: Celebrating Attendance Awareness Month
September is Attendance Awareness Month. This year's theme, "Your Presence Matters," highlights the important role that every student, every family, and every school staff member plays in creating a culture of belonging and engagement.
We encourage you to explore these updated resources, designed to support schools as they kick off the new school year and celebrate Attendance Awareness Month:
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Starting Strong Attendance Practices: A brief collection of resources designed to help schools get students off to a strong start in September.
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Resources for Schools and Districts: Visit the Resources for Schools and Districts webpage and select the Resources to Send to Families tab for customizable family communications available in multiple languages.
We invite you to join our Attendance Learning Series, a monthly opportunity to support implementation efforts, share promising practices, and connect with attendance practitioners from across Oregon. We’ll meet on the second Thursday of each month at 3:35 p.m. PT, with a special session focused on the role of classified staff as core attendance leaders on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at 3:35 p.m. PT.
New! Statewide Surveys Newsletter
ODE and OHA are excited to announce the launch of a Statewide Surveys newsletter, designed to keep district leaders and educators informed about school surveys in Oregon. The newsletter is released quarterly throughout the school year. Our goal is to make it easier to stay connected and understand how the survey results support decision-making for Oregon schools.
Positive Practices Webinar Scheduling
We’re hosting a series of webinars that spotlight school and district leaders from across the state who are making a meaningful difference through innovative and effective practices. These sessions provide an opportunity to learn directly from their experiences, explore promising strategies, and engage in conversation by asking questions and sharing ideas with colleagues.
The three-question survey collects ideas for potential topics and times.
25-26 Integrated Annual Report: Board Presentation Requirement
- Grantees are required to share the Integrated Annual report narrative questions and their responses to their board to fulfill the board presentation requirement.
- Grantees are not required to report data on progress toward the sunsetting LPGTs. However, one of the narrative questions invites grantees to consider progress toward LPGTs, along with other factors, when reflecting on successes and barriers to plan implementation.
- Grantees are not required to present their newly set 2026-2030 Performance Growth Targets (PGTs) to their board at this time. Additional guidance on presenting progress toward the 2026-2030 PGTs to governing boards will be released this fall.
SIA and HSS Year 2 Grant Amendments Have Been Sent Out For Signature!
All Grantees should check their Smartsheet WorkApp to sign and return their Year 2 Grant Amendments. Depending on the grantee, these amendments may include additional supplements, as well as allocations for new LTCT grantees.
26-27 Allocation Updates
A portion of the funding available for the 2025-27 biennium was set aside to support recalculations for SIA, HSS, and Early Literacy. Following completion of the recalculation process outlined in the April 1, 2026, 2026-2027 Request for Recalculation for SIA, HSS and Early Literacy communication, remaining funds were available for distribution to grantees. In addition, an increase in the SIA limitation during the 2026 legislative short session made additional SIA funds available. As a result, 26-27 grant amounts for SIA, HSS, and Early Literacy have been updated to reflect:
- Recalculation increases for eligible grantees that requested a recalculation based on increased enrollment; and
- Distribution of remaining funds available for the 2025-27 biennium.
All grantees that requested a recalculation received individual communication regarding the outcome of their request.
Supplements have been added to applicable SIA and HSS grant agreements and subgrants in EGMS. Early Literacy Grant Amendments will be updated in the coming weeks to reflect new allocations, as necessary.
Updated 26-27 allocation amounts for SIA, HSS, and Early Literacy are reflected in the allocation documents linked below:
All 25-27 allocations can also be found on the EII website.
Key Dates
25-26 Integrated Annual Report
The Q4/Annual Report is due September 30th and includes reporting on expenditures for January 1-June 30, 2026; updating progress markers; answering narrative questions; completing Early Literacy Fidelity of Implementation questions and completing the Early Literacy data workbook. Please note, that EII is no longer requiring submission of Board Minutes for the Annual Report, however a Board Presentation is still required. For detailed instructions on how to complete and submit your Q4/Annual report, please refer to directions in this external guidance folder or watch the video embedded on your WorkApp on the 2025-27 IP Reporting Tab.
Early Literacy School District Grant Support Forum: Launching September 17, 2026
Join education partners from across Oregon for the new Early Literacy School District Grant Support Forum, a monthly virtual learning and collaboration space designed to support districts, schools, and partners engaged in Early Literacy Success School District Grant implementation efforts. The forum will provide opportunities to build knowledge of available resources and implementation supports and collaborate on solutions to current challenges. See more information and monthly forum topics here.
Held virtually on the third Thursday of each month through May 2027, these sessions are designed to be flexible and responsive to statewide needs. Participation is optional, and grantees are encouraged to join whenever they have questions, want to discuss a problem of practice, learn more about a specific topic, or connect with colleagues facing similar implementation challenges. Whether you attend one session or many, the forum offers a space for ongoing support, learning, and collaboration.
Questions can be sent to k12.literacy@ode.oregon.gov
Thursday, September 17 | 3-4pm PT
Professional Learning Opportunities
Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Summits: Coming October 2026
Apply to join literacy leaders across the state for a series of three expert-led Early Literacy Curriculum-Based Professional Learning (CBPL) Summits during the 2026-27 school year. Designed to support leadership teams implementing high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), the series will provide practical tools, strategies, and collaborative learning opportunities grounded in curriculum-based professional learning.
Summit #1 will be held in person on October 16, 2026, at Tigard-Tualatin School District, and will focus on building the vision, systems, and routines needed for successful HQIM implementation. (Travel stipends available.)
Complete the interest form to apply for the summit series. The form will remain open until September 11, 2026. Districts/charter schools will receive notification of acceptance no later than September 21, 2026. Questions can be sent to k12.literacy@ode.oregon.gov.
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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