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We live in central Oregon. This fall my husband was laid off from his job in the construction industry. He utlized all of the resources the state offers but could not find a position that would pay enough to meet our monthly budget needs. He has now relocated out of state to work and is making considerably more than he was able to here in Oregon. I have remained in Bend because of professional responsibilities I have here plus we could not even consider selling our home right now because of the housing market. Unfortunately, we can't see an upside right now to the downturn other than we are thankful that he has been able to get some work elsewhere. Thanks.

posted 5 years ago
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The reality is that all communities are changing across America. While any foundation has the right to define who benefits from their programs, it is an unfortunate situation to change things midway ... especially for youth who had looked at this an opportunitiy to support their educational futures. How painful this whole situation must be for this community. As a person who has moved many times over my lifetime, several times beyond my control for various reasons, it is disheartening to hear about a community that is so obviously disenfranchishing part of their community. Change and growth are the only for sure things in our lives currently in America. I would wish that Philomath would look toward the future and decide how they can grow and sustain themselves to be a vibrant and healthy community that celebrates all of its members.

posted 5 years ago
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If you really want to figure out their pay, then you will need to include the hours of preparation that occurs before and after the school day, the time spent grading papers and projects, the time spent in parent-teacher meetings, the time spent in training, the time spent preparing for the next school year, the time spent continuously trying to improve their craft. It is a very complex situation. This is one of the reasons that teachers are leaving in droves (I mean 40% within 5 years is crazy and wasteful!! And tragic!) They work extremely difficult jobs with limited support and resources and on top of that, pay that is not competitive.

posted 5 years ago
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Or teachers are treated like day-care providers. We should get more community members into the classroom for a day (or a week) preparing for class, teaching class, working with the student, disciplining as necessary, supporting as necessary, wiping noses as necessary, breaking up a fight, counseling a homeless youth, working with diverse and complex student abilities and needs. The list goes on. Maybe we need a little "walking in the shoes" of educators so that our cities and states really understand and support the valuable contributions that our teachers are making on a daily basis.

posted 5 years ago
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Part of the issue is that in the past generations, we were a much less complex society. The diversity in our culture is expanding daily. This brings additional challenges to education. Also, technology is both a wonder and a obstacle to educators. Students spend considerable amounts of time involved with technology. School districts can only provide a few computers per classroom because of funding issues. Educators are not able to compete nor keep up with technological advances. Thanks.

posted 5 years ago
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Teachers are evaluated yearly. Good principals provide leadership, support and effective evaluations to improve the teachers at their schools as needed. This whole discussion really should be about teachers being fairly compensated for their very difficult and challenging jobs. Thank you.

posted 5 years ago
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As an educator of 40 years, with experience at the local school level, the district level, state agency level and university level, I feel strongly that pay for teachers need to be increased dramatically across the board before any discussion of merit pay is held. Teachers have an extremely important role in the health and future of our nation. It is a complex,difficult, rewarding, challenging, and exciting career. It takes the average teacher hours to prepare for inclass time, then hours to assess student performance on a daily basis. They must be paid competitive wages at the beginning. We will only continue to lose teachers because of the challenges and the costs. As a person who is involved with adults preparing to become teachers, it continually amazes me how bright, how capable, and how excited they are to become teachers. Do NOT let them burn out from a system that does not pay them, that does not appreciate them and that does not reward them for their efforts. Thank you.

One additional thought, the system has limited resources to support educators to meet the needs of their very dynamic profession ... that is also a reason that they leave the profession.

posted 5 years ago
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As an educator and grandmother, I am thrilled that young people are getting more involved in the electoral process. But, I have concerns. My experiences find that young people generally do not think through their political stands and perspectives. They really don't know what they know or believe about the issues confronting either communities, states or the nation. They most often cast their vote based on charisma of the candidate or the provocativeness of the issue presented through internet or popular media: whether it be for the student council president, local politicians or national issues and candidates. Thank you.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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