OEA Grow

Education Service Districts (ESD) 101

Ever wondered what your Educational Service District (ESD) support providers do? This week, Venus talks with Kelly Gill and Sam Aley, specialists in the South Coast ESD. Their broad knowledge on ESDs and their humor is beneficial for everyone to hear! Sam’s and Kelly’s conversation brings clarity to a system that plays a critical role in supporting many Oregon schools. We learn about the services and structure of an ESD and how ESDs’ individual service plans help the districts they serve.
Kelly and Sam share their insights into how ESDs are impacted by resources, staffing, and urban vs. rural schools. For example, Sam and Kelly talk about the challenges facing Oregon’s rural schools and how an ESD can provide vital support to a school that can not access such support on their own. Listen in to find out how an ESD is likely supporting students in special education or other programs within your school. You will come away from this episode informed about ESDs and with an appreciation of the work ESD service providers offer. 
 
Resources: Education Service Districts in Oregon 
Oregon’s Statewide ESD Map
OEA Grow is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network.

Accommodations and Modifications 101

Ever wondered how Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) are created? This week Venus speaks with Sandra Walk, a school psychologist at a Canby-area high school. Sandra discusses how to achieve an individualized plan that meets the needs of the student. She describes the difference between an accommodation and a modification.
Team-based decision making is a critical part of the IEP process, and Sandra shares the value of general education teachers being an integral part of the IEP process. Venus and Sandra discuss a flexible approach to data collection and how to make data collection feasible in a classroom setting. Sandra shares accommodations for a variety of students from elementary to high school.
Have you ever wondered when is it okay to modify the curriculum for a student? Sandra explains when to modify without documentation in the IEP and when to notify the case manager. Sandra’s broad experience working from the elementary to high-school level brings clarity to what can be a confusing process of IEPs. Listen in to learn! 
 
Resources: 
Educator’s Guide to an IEP 
Products that may support learning
Understanding Accommodations
OEA Grow is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network.

Season 7 Host Introduction

Welcome to season seven of the OEA Grow Podcast, a member-led production of the Oregon Education Association. This season’s host is Venus Reeve, a special education teacher in the Eugene 4J School District since 2008. Season seven will focus on special education. A variety of topics that impact general and special education students will be covered. Member-to- member conversations will provide listeners quick and digestible information to use. Venus’ conversational style and significant experience in special education will create an engaging experience for listeners. Listen in to hear about Venus and what she has in store this season! 
 
Head over to grow.oregoned.org to stay up to date on all the professional learning opportunities available through OEA.
Are you an OEA member interested in being a guest or host on the podcast? Find details at https://grow.oregoned.org/podcast

Student Centered Learning in Middle School

Have you ever wondered how to better connect what you’re teaching to your student’s experience? This episode answers this very question. Jenoge speaks with Brad Parker, a Social Studies Specialist for the Beaverton School District. Brad starts his conversation by sharing his early education experience, growing up outside of Chicago. His upbringing and education, in a racially and ethnically diverse community, brings valuable perspective to his current leadership position. Inspiring inquiry, curiosity, and agency are the main tenets of student-centered learning for Brad. He speaks about the difference between acquiring knowledge versus critical thinking, curiosity, and other skills for learners.
Can educators change the way students think about systemic issues? Brad believes they can. He thinks schools and educators can shift the meaning of “curriculum” from its traditional definition to something more holistic and systemic. Do the social-political realities impact how and what our students learn? Brad argues that students need to be informed and engaged in contemporary issues and need to believe they are active agents in determining what they’re learning about. One strategy he shares is eliciting anonymous feedback. Listen in to learn what to do with that feedback. Brad also shares his experience of teaching students’ “head, heart, and conscience.” Jenoge and Brad end their conversation sharing stories around being a humble listener to students. Can we tune in to what our students are commenting on and asking about? Maybe that’s where educators begin to learn. 
 
Resources: 
Paul Gorski 
Ideas on how to solicit anonymous feedback
Civic Engagement Strategies
OEA Grow is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network.

Student-Centered Curriculum in Kindergarten

This week, Jenoge talks with Kara Olsen, a student-centered Kindergarten teacher from the Corvallis School District. Kara and Jenoge start the conversation discussing the value of teacher-student and teacher-parent relationships. How much do we consider the role of students’ families in planning? According to Kara, families can play a critical role in building community and relevant instruction in a classroom.
Kara also believes that equitable curriculum and environmental design are essential in a student-centered classroom. She creates a classroom environment that is reflective of student interest, their native languages, and holidays that are celebrated in their homes. Kara shares easy tips on how to make place-based learning easy, fun, and relevant in a classroom! “Big picture” versus “little picture” thinking is how Kara and Jenoge end this episode. Kara talks about the value of mentoring new teachers and how teacher support, like mentoring, draws teachers back to their “big picture,” their “why.”
Listen in to be inspired by Kara. You will think about things you could do differently to engage the whole child and family. This episode will ignite your curiosity and give you great ideas on how to share your excitement with students. 
 
Resources:
First Book Marketplace
Garden time at recess 
Teacher Mentoring 
The OEA Grow Podcast is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. 

Playful Inquiry

In this episode on Playful Inquiry, Jenoge speaks with Angela Vargas, an Early Learning TOSA in the Beaverton School District. In her current position, she partners with kindergarten and first grade teachers to enhance their classrooms toward a more student-centered practice focused on playful inquiry. Angela believes in an asset based approach to education, recognizing the assets of both students and families. 
 
Jenoge and Angela speak about her early learning experience and how a family move defined her as a student. Angela shares how identity, race, and social constructs are woven into the thread of her teaching. She speaks about the roles that students play in the classroom and how students can work together to enhance their own learning. 
 
Angela gives great examples of how to draw out place-based and playful inquiry themes in day-to-day instruction. She also describes how to draw out a student's curiosity to guide lesson planning and instruction. Angela describes how listening to and observing students can help meet student learning needs. Do we always listen to or observe the behaviors of our students? Perhaps her ideas will resonate with you and help you better connect to the needs of your students.
 
Resources: 
Center for Playful Inquiry
Early Childhood Reggio Emilia Approach
Democratic Learning in Classrooms
Cultivating Genius by Gholdy Muhammad 
 
OEA Grow is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. 

Bonus Episode: Teaching Black History, Meaningfully (from School Me, NEA)

Black History Month is an annual reminder to reflect on the history of Black Americans and their contributions to our country and culture, but it’s easy to default to only discussing the most-repeated stories of slavery and civil rights marches, Dr. King, and Rosa Parks. This week, we take a break from our student-centered curriculum season to bring you a special episode on Teaching Black History Meaningfully from School Me, a podcast from the National Education Association (NEA).
Listen in as host Natieka Samuels chats with Colorado Social Studies Teacher Kevin Adams about teaching Black history in more unique and meaningful ways. Looking for more tips, resources, and opportunities from NEA to build your professional skills? Text POD to 48744 to have the latest sent straight to your phone. We will be back with more of season 7 of the OEA Grow podcast next week.
Resources:
Rethinking Schools
The Zinn Education Project
Too Dope Teachers and a Mic Podcast

Self-Reflection in Student-Centered Teaching

This week Jenoge speaks with Anil Naik, a high school classroom teacher and social studies TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) in the Beaverton School District. Jenoge and Anil open their conversation with Anil sharing his background as a child of immigrants and how his childhood experience informs his teaching. They share ideas around development of racial consciousness and the value of learning about self and others.
Anil’s reflective way of being is a thread woven through this episode. He asks students, community, colleagues and himself about his curriculum and continually adjusts and adapts based on feedback. He shares with Jenoge how self-reflection and listening to student feedback is what defines the change in his curriculum and instruction. Listen in to discover the strategies that Anil uses. They speak about high-engagement strategies such as, guest speakers and field trips.
Their conversation ends with Anil reflecting on the lessons he learned during his student teaching experience and what he carries with him from that experience today. Listen in to learn about Anil’s multifaceted skill set and ways to apply Anil’s methods into your teaching practice.
OEA Grow is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. 
 
Resources: 
Check out Anil's book "Unfettered: A Philosophy of Education"
Race and ethnic studies
The DBQ project 
The Choices Program at Brown University 
SHEG (Stanford History Education Group)
What is authentic assessment?

Place Based Education

This week Jenoge speaks with Tana Shepard, a TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) for Climate, Energy and Conservation in Eugene School District 4J. Tana connects back to her experience as a K-12 learner. She speaks about being inspired by “fitting the niche of the learner” and how that philosophy informs her practice as an educator. Tana shares her value of connecting students to the place where they are learning.
Jenoge and Tans speak about why place-based education creates ownership in student-learning and student passion for preserving the places they may journey off to in the future. Listen in as Tana shares about the salmon education program and how she connects nature, human activity and student experience. Their conversation ends with Tana sharing what she has learned in her 20 year teaching career. What from her experience resonates with you? Tana and Jenoge share tips on starting each day with students as a “new day,” the importance of getting to know each student and ensuring students feel noticed. This is an episode filled with place-based education that is rooted in relationship-based teaching. Listen in to find out more!
OEA Grow is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. 
 
Resources: 
EWEB program
World Salmon Council 
Place-Based Education

Student Voice in Curriculum Development

This week Jenoge speaks with Leah Dunbar, Language Arts/Social Studies Specialist for the Lane Education Service District. Leah is a teacher who passionately turns student learning into action. She has years of experience teaching Language Arts and Ethnic Studies at the high school level.
Her teaching experience and service-oriented philosophy toward students, results in a conversation with Jenoge that bridges quality teacher-student relationships with rigorous instruction. Leah shares her K-12 education experience and how the curriculum did not reflect who she was as a black, bi-racial child. This experience continues to mold her curriculum design and teacher support to ensure that representative texts are present in her classroom and curriculum.
She encourages students to bring forth their stories and text recommendations to ensure that student perspective is heard and included. She speaks about the intersection of place-based, ethnic studies and climate change and how student research can create relevancy and investment into student learning.
This episode inspires educators to center student learning and experience into curriculum design. If you have ever wondered what  student-centered instruction looks and sounds like, listen to this episode. It will become clear that student voice is an important part of shaping curriculum. 
 
Resources: 
Beautiful Solutions, This Changes Everything (Naomi Kline)
Courageous Conversations for Classrooms
What is a Book Talk?