“We wanted to introduce people from industry to what’s being supported and taught in our local high schools,” explained Brian Robin, the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program Manager for the Southern Oregon Education Service District (SOESD).
The Oregon Department of Education, in partnership with the Oregon Lottery, is pleased to announce the continuation of Oregon Regional Teacher of the Year to honor exemplary educators in every region of the state!
- Nominations are open statewide through February 28, 2023
- Oregon Education Service Districts will select a winner from their region
- Regional Teachers of the Year will be honored across the state in May 2023!
- One of the Regional Teachers of the Year will be named the 2024 Oregon Teacher of the Year in September 2023!
Regional Teachers of the Year will receive a cash prize of $1000 and will be celebrated across the state.Ā The 2024 Oregon Teacher of the Year will receive a $10,000 cash prize (with a matching $5,000 going to their school!) and serve as a spokesperson and representative for all Oregon teachers.
Anyone can nominate a teacher! All Oregonians are encouraged to nominate their favorite teacher today at: oregonteacheroftheyear.org
SOESD convened a Blue-Ribbon Panel made up of diverse and unbiased panel members who represented the geographic region of Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath counties. The panel, who reviewed several applications from a larger set of nominations, found that Ms. Green had the highest average rubric score of all candidates. The panelists made these observations about Ms. Green during their deliberations:
- strong lesson development
- reflective practice
- strong collaboration with peers
- strong community involvement
- focus on restorative practices
- integrated, whole-person philosophy
- strong cross-curricular integration
SOESD is proud of the amazing teachers in our three-county region, exemplified by Ms. Green, who are focused on improving experiences and outcomes and increasing safety, significance, and belonging for students, families and our community.
SOESD is proud to celebrate 50 years of supporting students in the STEPS Program!
The SOESD STEPS Program began in the 1971-72 school year. With the passage of Public Law 94-142 in November 1975, Congress paved the way for students with disabilities to be afforded the rights and opportunities all students receive in the school setting. The law was reauthorized in 1990 and is now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA.
In the late 1970s, SOESD developed the Specialized Training in Educational Program Services program, aka STEPS, with several classrooms housed within local schools. By the late 1990s nearly 250 students across 24 classrooms in Jackson and Klamath Counties offered instruction, nursing support, and a range of therapies specific to each studentās needs. In 2010, the STEPS Plus classroom offered another STEPS classroom with a focus on behavior and sensory supports. In 2012, STEPS classrooms were differentiated to support students whose primary needs were medical or behavioral. Today, for students in grades K – age 21, STEPS CARE provides instruction to students with intellectual and medical needs while STEPS Plus/Transition supports behavior and sensory needs. SOESD is proud to partner with our families and component school districts through the IEP process where the IEP teams request STEPS CARE or STEPS Plus/Transition as their studentsā educational placement.
50th Anniversary celebration activities have included field days in our four classrooms in May complete with adaptive bowling, a car wash machine, and more! A staff celebration in August provided the opportunity for current and former staff members to reconnect, share memories, and learn about the STEPS program today.
We are proud to share about STEPS and hope youāll enjoy this short video.
SOESD’s Director of School Improvement, Mark Angle-Hobson, was one of the 146 people interviewed for this important report. His comments represent one of only eight regional educators.
On behalf of the Oregon Department of Education, Southern Oregon Education Service District (SOESD) is proud to announce the selection of Erin Green as a 2023 Oregon Regional Teacher of the Year.Ā Ms. Green will be honored at an invitation-only reception at Southern Oregon ESD on Monday, September 12, 2022, and will be awarded a check for $500 from the Oregon Lottery.
SOESD convened a Blue-Ribbon Panel made up of diverse and unbiased panel members who represented the geographic region of Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath counties. The panel, who reviewed several applications from a larger set of nominations, found that Ms. Green had the highest average rubric score of all candidates. The panelists made these observations about Ms. Green during their deliberations:
- strong lesson development
- reflective practice
- strong collaboration with peers
- strong community involvement
- focus on restorative practices
- integrated, whole-person philosophy
- strong cross-curricular integration
The Oregon Teacher of the Year Program started in 1955 and is managed by the Oregon Department of Education.Ā Anyone can nominate a candidate for the recognition, but teachers may not nominate themselves.Ā Once selected, the Oregon Teacher of the Year is also a candidate to apply for the National Teacher of the Year recognition.Ā The selected teacher serves as the face and voice of exemplary educators across the state of Oregon and engages and inspires other teachers and community leaders as a representative of the profession.
The Oregon Department of Education chose in 2018-19 to expand the selection process for the nominees.Ā The goal of the expansion is to honor teachers in every region of the state.Ā Education Service Districts across Oregon reviewed applications submitted from their geographic region and facilitated a Blue-Ribbon Panel and review process to identify winners in their regions.Ā These regional winners will go on to be considered for Oregon Teacher of the Year, which will be decided in September.
SOESD is proud of the amazing teachers in our three-county region, exemplified by Ms. Green, who are focused on improving experiences and outcomes and increasing safety, significance, and belonging for students, families and our community.
SOESDās Education Services Team supports our component districts in a variety of ways related to school improvement, including:
- Attendance and Engagement
- Student Behavioral Health and Wellness
- Southern Oregon Regional Educator Network (SOREN)
- Mentoring for novice educators
- Media and Courier services
- STE[A]M Hub
- C3, our career and college collaborative
- Southern Oregon Career and Technical Education Consortium (SOCTEC)
- Educational Technology and Data Analytics, including the Ed Tech Cadre
- Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
- Student Success
Members of this team not only serve our local school districts, but also provide service and leadership on a variety of regional and state initiatives, including:
Dr. Mark Angle-Hobson, Director of School Improvement Services, is a member of the Jackson County Library Services strategic planning team, helping strengthen connections between schools and libraries. Dr. Angle-Hobson also serves on
- ODEās LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Advisory Group
- Resolve Board of Directors
- Community of Stewards, Region 16 Comp Center (serving Alaska, Oregon and Washington)
Karla Clark, Program Manager for the Southern Oregon STEM Hub, serves on
- ODEās STEM/CTE Network State Planning Team
- Statewide CTE Advisory Council
- Oregon STEM
- Rogue Workforce Partnerships and Business Education Partnerships
- Associated General Contractors Workforce Coalition
- Rural STEAM Leadership for Oregon
- Statewide Chief Science Ofļ¬cers for Oregon
- Oregon Connections/NEPRIS Collaborative
- Oregon Career Connected Learning Design Team
- Oregon YOUSCIENCE integration Lead
- Statewide and Regional IGNITE
- SOREDIās āTalentā Board
- Josephine County Vocational / Mentor Committee
Aaron Cooke, Program Manager for Data and Integrated Instruction, serves on
- Oregon Department of Educationās Rules Advisory Committee
- Oregon Department of Educationās Remote Learning Advisory Committee
- Southern Oregon Classroom Law Project Educator Advisory Committee
- Oregon Department of Educationās EDTech Cadre
- Oregon Digital Leaders Coalition, as Board Member
- Oregon Department of Educationās Integrated Technology and Learning Standards Committee
- Southern Oregon Fire Ecology Education Board
Jessie DuBose, Program Manager for Klamath Promise, serves on
- Foundations for a Better Oregon, At-Large Board Member
- SMART Reading Leadership Council for South Central Oregon
- Oregon Dual Credit Coordinators Executive Team
- Ross Ragland Theater and Cultural Center, board member
- Cascade Health Alliance Community Advisory Council
- Oregon MESA Regional Equity Committee
- Klamath County School District School Improvement Advisory Committee
- Klamath Basin Career Connections Initiative
- Healthy Klamath Coalition
Kylee Harrison, Program Manager for Student Behavioral Health and Wellness, serves on
- Jackson County Suicide Prevention Coalition
- Josephine County Sucide Prevention Coalition
- Statewide SEB and SEL Collaborative
Jacquie Jaquette, School Improvement Specialist, serves on
- Jackson Care Connect Board Member
Jenni Jones, School Improvement Specialist for Mentoring, serves on
- Chautauqua Poets and Writers Board President
- Southern Oregon Computer Using Educators (SOCUE) Board Member
- Oregon Association of School Libraries
- ODE EdTech Cadre
Dr. Debra Koutnik, Mental Health and Wellness Specialist, serves on
- Oregon State Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Oregon State Commission on Interventions for Autism
- Jackson County Suicide Prevention Coalition
- Jackson County Youth Systems of Care Advisory Council
- AllCare Social Emotional Health Metrics for Kindergarten Readiness Core Advisory Team
Dr. Heidi Olivadoti, Southern Oregon REN Coordinator, serves on
- Oregon Education Association – Region 3 Uniserv Council
- Social Emotional Learning for Oregon (SEL4OR) statewide SEL initiative
Brian Robin, CTE Regional Coordinator, serves on
- ODEās Career and Technical Education State Teachers Recruitment and Retention Team
- ODEās Career and Technical Education State Communications/Planning Team
- ODEās STEM/CTE Network State Planning Team
- CTE Stateside Standards Review Panel
- CTE Reserve Grant Managers Panel
- Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (RAMP)
- Rogue Healthcare Workforce Partnership
- Associated General Contractors Workforce Coalition
- Klamath Basin Career Connections Initiative
Focused locally, leading regionally, and serving statewide, the Education Services Team strives to ensure safety, signiļ¬cance and belonging for all who encounter our systems.
For more information or to seek support in any of these areas, please contact Mark Angle-Hobson, Director of School Improvement Services at mark_angle-hobson@soesd.k12.or.us
Our Southern Oregon Regional Educator Network Coordinator, Dr. Heidi Olivadoti, attended the Carnegie Foundationās 2022 Summit where the Carnegie Foundation and XQ announced a partnership to transform high school learning by re-thinking the relationship between time and learning. The partnership is grounded in a shared commitment to one of the nationās most important educational goals: achieving educational excellence and equity for all students. Today, we are excited to share Heidi’s video highlight of her engagement in this meaningful conversation.
In 2020, a multitude of tragedies multiplied like the creases of a crumpled sheet of paper ā COVID-19, the Almeda Fire, homelessness ā and then social programs began buckling under the pressure.
āOur family fell through the cracks ā there was a gap,ā said Audrey, a single mother who lost her home to the Almeda Fire and became trapped in the creases of that crumpled page.
Over the past two years, Audrey, a victim of domestic violence who asked that her last name not be used, lived like a true mama bear, always moving and permanently vigilant as she took her babies in and out of different kinds of wilderness: shelters, couch-surfing and campsites.
Read the Mail Tribune Article KOBI Broadcast