OREGON RESEARCH SCHOOLS NETWORK
IMPACT REPORT FY21
Serving More Students Across Oregon Thanks to the incredible contributions of generous donors, the Oregon Research Schools Network (ORSN) in the University of Oregon College of Education (COE) has continually expanded its work to advance student outcomes across Oregon. The ORSN team has been working with Educational Service Districts (ESDs) and service providers in the areas of TraumaInformed School Systems (TISS) and using innovtive technology to train educational assistants (EAs) and other classified staff in the latest research-supported solutions to improve student success.
in 2017:
in 2021:
4
5
Schools
Partnerships
8
“We have always worked on our own because no one showed an interest in us or cared about us until ORSN. Together we are creating a much-needed Trauma-Informed Schools System model and providing training and support for our educational assistants and other staff. This research to practice partnership is truly making a difference.” - Tim Sweeney, Coquille School District Superintendent
Counties Reached
54
School Districts Covered
100,000+
Potential Students Served
TRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANTS AND CLASSIFIED STAFF Educational Assistants (EAs) and other classified staff have a profound, but often unrecognized impact on the educational experience of students. One focus of our partnerships is meeting the needs of districts to help train and support their EAs and other classified staff (e.g., bus drivers, custodial staff etc.) who may not have a degree in education. These trainings focus on various topics ranging from recognizing potential trauma in students and building positive student relationships with them, to classroom instructional support strategies. In every new district partnership, we have continually heard of the need for this training, particularly because of new state initiatives focused on student success.
TRAUMA-INFORMED SCHOOL SYSTEMS A second focus of our current partnership work is to meet the needs of districts regarding the implementation of trauma-informed school systems (TISS) and the training and support of school staff regarding trauma-informed care and the social emotional learning (SEL) of their students. This collaboration helps to create and integrate trauma-informed school systems schoolwide: in every classroom, in discipline systems, in district policies, and embedded in school board priorities.
CRITICAL LITERACY PEDAGOGY As our society engages in discussions involving race and equity, it is important for children as young as kindergarten to explore those topics in the classroom. Reading and discussing high-quality literature is one of the best ways to open doors to these conversations. Yet many teachers who have access to diverse literature feel unprepared to facilitate discussions around these complicated issues. Last year, COE faculty developed a pilot online course for teachers to provide the skills needed to facilitate these critical discussions. ORSN partnered with those faculty to market the course to through the Western Regional Educator Network and to help them achieve one of their goals. As a result, both courses offered this summer 2021 were sold out with over 50 participants. Our goal is to improve the course based on participant feedback and offer the training to teachers across Oregon and beyond in the coming year. A second more immersive course on the subject is also in the works. Early feedback results show that participants found the training highly effective and valuable.
MICRO-PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULES While the training and support we provide for each ESD functions differently, with different goals and objectives, each includes a bespoke online platform where users can securely login to access project-specific, video-based, micro-professional development modules (micro-PD), support materials, and synchronous or asynchronous communication channels. These online platforms are digitally connected to the partner ESD web domain, and function as a digital hub for the project itself. • Twenty-five modules are currently available, with the goal of adding 20-25 modules in each new school year. • The content of all ORSN micro-PD modules is developed in partnership with UO COE faculty who have expertise in the specific area needed for that module. • Upcoming topics include modules on early childhood and PreK education, special education, trauma-informed practices, social emotional learning (SEL), collaborative problem solving, and diversity and inclusion. • There are approximately 500-550 current educators across three ESDs that have user accounts on one of the three online platforms. We project that by the end of the 2021-22 school year, with new upcoming partnerships in mind, we will double our current total users, growing to over 1,000 individual users. • Regarding video module views alone, we are nearing almost 7,500 total unique views, with 856 unique viewers since our first module launch in September 2020. We project at least 15,000-20,000 unique views by the end of the 2021-2022 school year.
COE FACULTY PARTNERS ORSN continues to collaborate with numerous research faculty across the UO COE, in many of its endeavors, helping to leverage their knowledge and expertise and bring it to a wider educational audience across Oregon. Current collaborators include: • Chris Knowles, PhD – Research Associate in the Center on Human Development (EA training and support) • Jeff Todahl, PhD – CPAN Director, Couples and Family Therapy Program Director (TISS and SEL) • John Seeley, PhD – Professor of Special Education and Clinical Sciences (Implementation and evaluation) • Audrey Lucero, PhD – Director, Critical and Sociocultural Studies in Education (Critical literacy & ESL) • Chris Murray, PhD - Director, Center on Human Development (ORSN Implementation) • Mark Van Ryzin, PhD – Research Associate Professor (SEL, Cooperative and peer learning) • Judy Newman, PhD – Early Childhood CARES (Early Learning) • Heather McClure, PhD – Director, Center for Equity Promotion (Ongoing collaborative TISS grant proposals) • Claudia Vincent, PhD – Research Associate, Center for Equity Promotion (Ongoing collaborative TISS grant proposals) • Douglas Carnine, PhD - Professor Emeritus, President of the Choose Kindness Foundation (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, Kindness, and Social Emotional Learning) • Dane Ramshaw - Chief Technology Officer, Global and Online Education (micro-PD platform development) • Rhoda Nese, PhD - Assistant Professor, Special Education and Clinical Sciences (Inclusive Skill-Building Learning Approach) • Kent McIntosh, PhD - Professor, Philip H. Knight Chair Special Education (Trauma-Informed PBIS)
RESEARCH PRACTICE PARTNERSHIP IMPLEMENTATION & EVALUATION ORSN is also partnering with COE researchers to help develop a comprehensive yet flexible and adaptable implementation and evaluation framework. Implementation and evaluation frameworks help researchers continually evaluate their projects and design improvements based on their assessments. ORSN ensures that each partnership with ESDs, school districts, or service providers includes a co-designed and mutually beneficial plan. With this process, ORSN can show the effectiveness of its partnerships on educational staff and students. and this evidence can lead to further utilization of ORSN’s professional development programs in local schools.
ON THE HORIZON We are looking forward to extending our reach working with districts to build local capacity by training and supporting educational assistants and other classified staff in essential skills to improve student success. Using micro-PDs, staff are learning and implementing research-based skills to support students who experience trauma and who need behavioral or academic support. The professional development model that we use as part of this training and support system builds leaders and provides a pathway for educational assistants to obtain a teacher, special education, or counseling license.
Kristi Schneider Director of Development kristim@uoregon.edu (541) 346-1283 HEDCO Education Building 1215 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403-1215
orsn.uoregon.edu The University of Oregon is located on Kalapuya Ilihi, the traditional indigenous homeland of the Kalapuya people, many of whom are now citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. The University of Oregon is an equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This publication will be made available in accessible formats upon request. Accommodations for people with disabilities will be provided if requested in advance.