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Monthly Messenger |
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Colleagues,
The region is quickly transforming into a winter wonderland. From the Tualatin Valley to our beach communities: late starts, inclement weather days and dreams about impending winter vacation abound. There’s always a particular energy this time of year, and it’s hard to pinpoint why: Is it the looming holiday season … or the bowls full of chocolate snowmen everywhere I look? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As you plan and organize seasonal department and school celebrations, I urge you to check out this Racial Justice Guide for the Winter Holiday Season from the Center for Racial Justice in Education, which comes recommended by our equity and family partnerships team.
For all the merriment December brings, it can come with its challenges too. Christmas celebrations can leave some feeling left out or evoke challenges at home, like acceptance or divorce. I hope you can find at least one new idea to try as we lead for equity and access for all those we serve.
Enjoy the enclosed news — and adorable preschool snapshots! May they give you the boost you need for this final push into a much deserved vacation period. |
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In partnership –
 Dan Goldman
Superintendent
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Story Circles Reveal Deeper Narratives the Surveys and Town Halls Don’t
In October, educators from rural Oregon school districts such as Knappa and Clatskanie gathered with others from suburban areas such as Beaverton to learn about how to conduct story circles in their communities.
 Naheed Brown, professional development specialist at NWRESD, shares stories about her own childhood as Matt Doyle, director of academic programs at St. Helens School District, looks on. Photo by Kelsey Cardwell.
Much like community conversations, listening sessions, town halls and focus groups, story circles are a facilitation strategy for inviting multiple perspectives, building collective understanding, revealing the kaleidoscope of human experiences within a community, and working toward community-driven solutions. They help you go deeper than a survey or even a traditional town hall and can help you uncover why people think or behave the way they do.
Bill Fritz, superintendent of Knappa School District, says he used the story circle process for a superintendent chat he held in October. “One of the things we learned is that there is a parental interest in improved playgrounds, including the facility, but also how our students' play is facilitated,” Bill says. “We wouldn't have learned that if we hadn't done the story circles.”
Help Us Promote Free Preschool Opportunities
More than 600 students have enrolled in free preschool in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook Counties since April
 Preschoolers at Nestucca Valley Early Learning Center pose for a photo on March 18, 2022. Photo by Justin Grafton Studios.
On April 1, our Early Learning Hub launched an online directory to help connect families to free preschool options in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties. By this November, they had enrolled 617 children into a program.
The website includes a description of 25 preschool programs with all of the relevant details a family might need. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
All programs are run by Head Start, Preschool Promise or local school districts. Families are eligible for free or no-cost preschool based on income requirements set by Head Start or Preschool Promise. Families might also qualify for the Employment-Related Day Care program or through their local school district.
“We love connecting families with free and reliable preschool providers in their communities,” says Dorothy Spence, Northwest Early Learning Hub director. “We couldn’t do this important work without our community partners, especially Head Start, Preschool Promise and our local school districts.”
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The gym in the Wilson School on Third Street in downtown Tillamook has long been a fun and dry place for students to chase friends and explore new toys.
But this fall, 12 new red and blue balance bikes arrived, bringing the fun factor up to a new level.
 Five preschoolers who attend an inclusive preschool operated by the Tillamook School District pose for a photo on their balance bikes. Photo by Kim Lyon.
It took two educators the better part of a day to assemble the Strider bikes and get them ready for their inaugural rides.
Then on Oct. 18, six preschoolers who attend an inclusive preschool operated by the Tillamook School District excitedly lined up to pick a bike. The students tried on their helmets and their teachers helped them adjust the seats.
They practiced their balancing skills by playing follow the leader and walking on a line in the gym. Then they were off.
Some students rode with confidence, but most started off slower as they got accustomed to holding the handlebars and propelling the bikes by foot. “We all know it’s so much more than riding a bike,” says Kim Lyon, service center administrator for NWRESD. “Biking is about friendly competition, learning from friends and feeling confident.”
After 22 years on the job, Darlene Geddes knows what works when it comes to engaging kids in reading. And it’s not sitting silently with a book.
“We know what the outcome of that is,” she says. “The kid will run around the room twice, go to the bathroom, mess around with their backpack, bonk another kid on the head, and get a drink of water,” she says with a laugh.
 A child holds a red letter A next to two flashcards showing illustrations of an airplane and an apple.
Darlene says students in preschool through second grades are not typically strong independent readers, so the key is getting them into engaging environments where they are provided instruction that matches what they need. “This all works best when educators are trained in effective teaching strategies and when they take care of their students’ social and emotional needs,” she says. “Playful daily routines can keep kids engaged and learning.”
For example, setting up various stations around the room with phonics activities can help kids connect to the skills they need to work on. Things like cutting out letters from a magazine or making letters with duplo blocks are ways students can match letters and sounds. These are fun and memorable routines that help students build foundational literacy skills.
But teachers often struggle with so many kids and so many needs. That’s why Northwest Regional ESD launched an Early Literacy Network in 2021-22. The network offers preschool and elementary teachers, literacy coaches, reading specialists and other literacy-focused educators the skills and the resources they need to tackle the literacy gap that has become especially pronounced following the pandemic.
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Motivational Interviewing Techniques for Improved Attendance
Today (Monday), Dec. 12 - 12-1 p.m.
Virtual
Motivational interviewing is a counseling technique that aims to assist people through changes of habit and/or behaviors. During this session we will give a brief overview of motivational interviewing techniques, pedagogy and theories to better support students who are chronically absent.
This one hour, virtual session is specifically designed for educators and support staff leading attendance initiatives at schools in Columbia, Clatsop, Tillamook, and Washington counties.
Sexual Incident Response Committee (SIRC) Training
Tuesday, Dec. 13 - 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
5825 NE Ray Circle, Hillsboro OR 97124
This one-day, in-person training teaches participants to spot problematic sexual behavior in children and provides a systematic, best-practice approach for addressing these behaviors. Participants will learn how to develop a building-level team, called a sexual incident response committee (SIRC), that can address problematic sexual behavior and reduce the risk of exposing other children to harm.
Recommended participants are school administrators, counselors, deans, social workers, mental health specialists, behavior specialists and special education educators.
The presenter is Dr. Wilson Kenney, a clinical psychologist and expert in treating and assessing children with concerning sexual behavior.
Understanding Grief and Loss During the Holidays
Wednesday, Dec. 14 - 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Virtual
The holidays can be painful for people who have lost loved ones during these times. It can also be difficult to get through holiday routines and rituals without family and friends, regardless of how long ago they passed away. Let's talk about how to address this grief and loss and share ideas and actions of support.
Join Educators Across Northwest Oregon for an LGBTQ2SIA+ Equity Learning Collaborative
Thursday, Jan. 19 - Half-day
Virtual
Join Northwest Regional Education Service District for a half-day learning collaborative on LGBTQ2SIA+ equity. Each School Culture and Climate learning collaborative convenes educators who are focused on sustaining welcoming and inclusive environments in which every student belongs to a school community where they are safe, connected, supported, and valued. Using a blend of professional learning and community conversations, the learning collaboratives aim to help educators understand LGBTQ2SIA+ equity, restorative practices, tribal history/shared history (SB 13) and Oregon Department of Education Student Success Plans and have conversations with colleagues about how to implement the learning in their own spaces.
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The Monthly Messenger is a monthly update for Northwest Regional Education Service District partners. Would you like to see your team's work featured? Email communications. |
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