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Dear Friends,
Summer is usually not the time people think about school. So let me step out there a bit and turn your summertime, barbecue, vacations thinking to … school.
First, I’m hosting a Town Hall next Monday, June 27, to look at ways families can save and be better prepared financially for college. I’ve asked experts from the Treasury Department to come in and talk about the Oregon College Savings Plan, also known as the 529 plan. It will be held at the Beaverton Library Auditorium at 6:00 pm.
We will also discuss the new free community college program, The Oregon Promise, and how it may fit into family plans.
I’ve also been working with people around the country on ways to end the “summer slide” which affects most US students who take a three-month break from their education.
Is it time for year-round education? Can Oregon afford it? What about just longer school years – start ten days sooner and end ten days later? These are the questions that we’re talking about and I’d be interested in your perspective.
As unpopular as this may be to the kids in your universe, the research is pretty clear: summer learning loss is a real drawback to improving educational outcomes. As the author Malcolm Gladwell put it: “America doesn’t have a school problem. It has a summer vacation problem.”
I hope you can join us next Monday. Together we can tackle college costs.
Best,
 Senator Mark Hass
Senate District 14
email: Sen.MarkHass@state.or.us I phone: 503-986-1714
address: 900 Court St NE, S-207, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/hass
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