OEA Grow

Season 13- From Aspiring to Retiring: The Educator Lifespan (Host Introduction)

Season 13 of OEA Grow examines the life of educators at every point in their careers, from aspiring educators to veterans nearing retirement. Our host this season is Blaine Ganvoa who earned his Master of Education degree from Eastern Oregon University and is currently a social studies teacher at Stanfield Secondary School with nineteen years of experience in that position. Blaine brings a depth of perspective as host for this season with his varied school and district roles as Head Volleyball Coach, District State Testing Coordinator, Oregon Trail Regional Educator Network board member, and the current Stanfield Education Association President. 
 
For the next several weeks, Blaine will be talking with Oregon educators at all stages in their careers about their challenges and successes as they progress in the education field. We’ll hear why people choose this profession, how they feel about their preparation, what they have learned from colleagues and their own experiences, and advice they might offer to others. It will be an exciting season full of ideas and insights for all of us, no matter where we are in our own career path.
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Replay Episode: Co-Regulation

This episode originally aired October 26, 2022 in Season 5: Behavior.
 
To kick-off the Behavior season, member host Alexis Hennessey talks with educator Mary Michael about co-regulation, social emotional learning, and trauma informed behavior approaches. Mary has been an educator for over 30 years, has taught every grade level from Kindergarten to ninth grade, and is currently a certified trauma-informed mental health and behavior specialist.
Mary and Alexis pack a wealth of helpful information into 30 minutes. Their conversation centers on the importance of regulation for both students and educators and how we can bring co-regulation into schools and classrooms. Many students enter school lacking the skills to co-regulate. Often, those students are impacted by trauma and/or the trauma experienced by their parents/caregivers. How can we support these students in managing their own behavior and give them agency in the process?
Through teaching social emotional skills, including regulation, social skills, problem solving skills, and communication skills, academic outcomes are also increased. Alexis and Mary acknowledge how difficult it is for educators to be in school situations making decisions about behavior in the moment. Mary states, “We want everyone to walk away with their dignity”. Their conversation also demonstrates the value of behavior specialists to schools. 
 
Resources:
 
OEA Becoming a Trauma Informed Education Series
Permission to Feel - Mark Brackett
Teachers Guide to Trauma: 20 Things Kids with Trauma Wish Their Teachers Knew - Dr. Melissa Sadin and Nathan Levy
What Happened to You - Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing - Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey
Co-Regulation video recording - (56 minutes; access for OEA members only) - https://tinyurl.com/OEArecordings 
Zones of Regulation handouts
The Neurobiology of Emotion Regulation Development and the Role of the Early Environment - UC Davis MIND Institute, Dr. Nim Tottenham
Development of human amygdala-prefrontal cortex circuitry and the role of the caregiver - UC Davis MIND Institute, Dr. Nim Tottenham
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation

Our final episode of Season 12 focuses on a statewide program for teaching about Oregon agriculture, the environment, and natural resources. Toni’s guest is Jessica Jansen of the Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation, dedicated to helping K-12 educators use agriculture to add to their existing curriculum in science, math, history, and nutrition. This nonprofit organization, housed at Oregon State University and funded by Oregon’s agricultural community, offers resources at no cost through its lending library, educator workshops, and virtual field trips.
Jessica suggests that educators visit the foundation’s website to access these resources, noting in particular the kits mailed by the lending library to Oregon schools. Each kit is intentionally user-friendly with materials and clear instructions for a class project. Educators can choose kits in such varied subjects as spinning wool or growing and tasting microgreens. Toni recounts her own success with the foundation’s resources, making mozzarella cheese with her students and taking a virtual field trip to Christmas tree farms. With 220 different agricultural commodities in Oregon, even rural students will be unfamiliar with products from other parts of the state. Oregon educators in both rural and urban areas are encouraged to take advantage of this resource. 
 
Resources:
 
Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom 
 
Monthly Subscription Boxes for grades 3-5 (only 20 subscriptions are available each year, so apply as soon as applications are accepted in August) 
“Jessica Jansen: ‘I love agriculture, and I love teaching people about it’” July 6, 2023. Women in Ag 2023, a Capital Press annual special section highlighting the contributions women make in the agricultural sector

The Rural Community College

This week Toni discusses the community college experience in rural areas with her guest Jessica Breidinger, a Social Science instructor at Treasure Valley Community College (TVCC) in Ontario, Oregon. Rural community colleges offer the interpersonal benefits of most community colleges with their small class sizes (usually 13-25 students at TVCC) and instructors with advanced degrees leading courses.
TVCC’s location in a small town offers an additional advantage because interactions between students and educators extend beyond the classroom. Toni and Jessica laugh about seeing students in the grocery store and around town on a regular basis. Students profit from this extra level of empathy and connection, having what amounts to a team of cheerleaders for their entire academic journey. Adding to this community spirit at TVCC is its on-campus housing, a rarity among community colleges. Students have a sense of belonging and know that they have continuing support as individuals with the encouragement to test their limits in their road to success. 
 
Resources
Treasure Valley Community College
OEA supports Community College Faculty and Staff
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. Hachette Books, 2005 
Maggie Berg and Barbara Seeber, Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy. University of Toronto Press, 2013. 
James M. Lang, Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons From the Science of Learning. Jossey-Bass, 2016 
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Eastern Oregon Regional Educator Network

How does an educator find support in a school so small that there might be few colleagues or administrators available to form a sense of community? This episode offers suggestions to overcome this challenge, common to many rural Oregon educators, with a conversation between our host Toni Myers and her guest Cindy Dougharity-Spencer, the teacher of History and Economics at the Grant Union Junior/Senior High School in John Day. Cindy assures rural educators in Oregon that they are not alone, even in small schools, because they have access to Regional Educator Networks (RENs).
Cindy works with the Eastern Oregon REN (EOREN), serving Harney, Grant, Malheur, Lake, and Wallowa Counties. EOREN reaches out to educators through common-interest teams, lesson plan banks, tutorials, and regularly scheduled professional development events. Especially useful for new educators in rural schools is the mentorship program in which an experienced educator offers support for each of these newer educators as they navigate the often unique experience of teaching in a small school in a small town. Both Cindy and Toni encourage listeners to contact their school’s REN to find their community. No teacher in Oregon should ever feel alone. As Cindy says, “You are not an island.”
Resources - 
 
Find your Regional Educator Network 
Eastern Oregon Regional Educator Network (EOREN)
Ayla Olson, the guest for last week’s Episode 3 of Season 12, works with the Oregon Trail Regional Educator Network (OTREN)
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Networ

ESDs Supporting Rural Schools

This week’s episode addresses some of the concerns of educators who seek resources not available at their own schools. Our host, Toni Myers, discusses the support offered to rural educators by Education Service Districts (ESDs) with her guest, Ayla Olson. Ayla is an Instruction Coach with the InterMountain ESD, serving twenty-one school districts in Morrow, Umatilla, Union, and Baker counties. Through ESDs, educators have access to support in four areas: programs for children with special needs, school improvement, technology support, and administrative services. 
ESDs are especially designed to meet the needs of educators in rural areas who may have difficulty traveling to distant meetings and workshops. Instruction Coaches in the different areas travel regularly to each school and reach out to educators through newsletters, virtual meetings, and professional development summits. Listeners are encouraged to contact their region’s ESD for support (find your school’s ESD on the map linked below). The website for each ESD will include a calendar for professional development events and lists of free educator resources. Ayla assures us that all ESDs are open to questions and suggestions for future trainings
 
Resources:
Education Service District  map (Find which ESD serves your school)  
 
InterMountain ESD Instructional Coaches website
 
InterMountain ESD Calendar of Events 
 
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Season 12, focusing on Rural Education, begins with a close look at the recent surge of interest in Career and Technical Education (CTE) and its benefits for students in urban and rural areas. Host Toni Myers welcomes Nicole Merchant and Bibiana Gifft, longtime teachers of Agricultural Sciences and Future Farmers of America (FFA) advisors at Baker High School, who explain what CTE can offer all students, not just those planning to enter the work force immediately after high school. They describe the breadth of CTE courses, extending far beyond the four walls of a classroom, into greenhouses, welding shops, construction shops, whatever fits the needs of the surrounding community. 
The two educators view CTE courses as a balance for the entire curriculum, showing students the practical applications of what they learn in other classes. The skills and habits they acquire in the CTE curriculum, such as learning how to be good employees, will transfer to any career path they follow. These courses are ideal for students who may not feel comfortable in a traditional classroom by giving them a purpose and building a community of learners. As all three educators this week agree, CTE courses create a sense of family that endures: “You never get rid of your Ag teacher.” 
 
Resources
Nicole Merchant and Bibiana Gifft awarded 2021 Outstanding Middle/Secondary Agricultural Award 
Baker FFA Greenhouse Plant Sale will take place on May 10th this year (it sold out in one day last year, so come early!)  
The National FFA Organization
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Season 12 Introduction: The Rural School Experience

Season 12 of the OEA Grow podcast takes us to the less populated regions of our state, focusing on the Rural School Experience for Oregon students and educators. Our host, Toni Myers, teaches third through sixth grades at Keating Elementary, a rural two-room school in Baker City. Drawing on her eighteen years of experience in education, Toni will speak with educators around the state who work in rural communities. What are the particular concerns of these rural schools and the families they serve? How can educators state-wide support all our schools? 
You may recognize this season’s host, Toni Myers, for her work as president of the Baker Education Association in making Baker School District one of the highest paying districts in the state, raising the salary floor for certified teachers from $38,000 to $60,000. Listeners from both rural and urban school settings will definitely want to hear the ideas and suggestions posed by this long-time advocate for educators and students. She and the other educators of this season have helped change the landscape for the rural school experience. 

Joe Burns- Reviving the Strike

Joe Burns, “Reviving the Strike”
Conference for Bargaining and Organizing, October 27-28, 2023
Newport, Oregon
In his talk, “Reviving the Strike,” labor lawyer Joe Burns traces the history of union strikes in the U.S. and discusses their impact on current labor negotiations. Based on his thirty years of bargaining experience, Burns feels that today’s public employees are just now rediscovering the power of the strike that was evident in the 1960s and 1970s when strikes played a key role in the Civil Rights Movement as powerful acts of civil disobedience (witness the Memphis Garbage Strike of 1968). 
 
Burns argues that public sector strikes are fundamentally political in nature and therefore must be based on a concern for the public good. If a union is transparent with its demands and concerns, Burns promises that members will support the efforts and show up when needed. 
 
Books by Joe Burns
Joe Burns. Class Struggle Unionism. Haymarket Books, 2022.
 
Joe Burns. Reviving the Strike: How Working People Can Regain Power and Transform America. Lg Publishing, 2011. 
 
Joe Burns. Strike Back: Using the Militant Tactics of Labor’s Past to Reignite Public Sector Unionism Today. Lg Publishing, 2019. 

Alex Caputo-Pearl- 2023 OEA Conference for Bargaining and Organizing Keynote Remarks

Keynote Address - Alex Caputo-Pearl
Conference for Bargaining and Organizing, October 27-28, 2023
Newport, Oregon
Alex Caputo-Pearl, practitioner-in-residence at the U.C. Berkeley Labor Center, delivered the keynote address at the Oregon Conference for Bargaining and Organizing. Drawing on his twenty-two years of experience as a teacher and nine years as a full-time elected union leader, Caputo-Pearl traces the hard work and subsequent victories of the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) during his presidency of the organization. His question now - what comes next for the Educator Upsurge and Red for Ed?
In his talk, Caputo-Pearl explains five efforts that he feels are necessary to overcome the adversaries of the labor movement:
    1) Broaden involvement in the effort by including parents and students;
    2) Ensure lasting ideologies through campaigning, training, and actually doing;
    3) Increase the role of rank and file caucuses;
    4) Leverage key compression points, such as campaigns and elections; and
    5) Build power and expand resources.
 
Caputo-Pearl applauds his audience for the union accomplishments in Oregon and expresses his confidence for continued success.