School Improvement Services

Lane Education Service District and Southern Oregon Education Service District (ESD) were recently awarded an excess of $2.6 million in grant funding from the Oregon Department of Education through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) fund. With this new funding, Lane and Southern ESDs have partnered with the Mid-Willamette Education Consortium to create and pilot Team Oregon Build, expanding upon the existing Career and Technical Education (CTE) Programs already operating in these regions. The expansion encompasses areas impacted by recent wildfires, including the Southern Oregon Education Service District and Mid-Willamette Education Consortium. Team Oregon Build (TOB) is an innovative partnership between education, industry, state, and community to introduce youth to career pathways within high-wage and high-demand construction trades. Education and Community partners from three Oregon regions dramatically impacted by wildfire and homelessness launched this career-connected learning and disaster/crisis response initiative.

On Thursday, May 16^th, educators from across Southern Oregon came together to collaborate, connect, and reflect on their past year of work in partnership with the Southern Oregon Regional Educator Network (SOREN) and BELONG Partners, a community partner and non-profit based in Seattle. Over the past 5 years, SOREN and BELONG have worked together to increase Safety, Significance, and Belonging in the experiences of regional educators, students, and families. One element of this partnership is using a systems lens to support whole schools with trauma informed, culturally relevant and sustaining professional learning, data teams, and tiered staff and student support systems. 

Thursday’s Convening drew school teams from all over the region, from Brookings to Butte Falls, representing nine schools across four counties. The Southern Oregon REN would like to extend deep appreciation for our partner schools and the incredible teachers, leaders, students, and families who are doing this work in schools every day. THANK YOU to Azalea, Bonanza, Butte Falls Charter, Chiloquin, Henley, Kalmiopsis, Lincoln, Mae Richardson, and The Valley School for sharing your wisdom and experience with others!

Reading over the summer helps students avoid summer learning loss, numerous studies show – but even more importantly, it’s a chance for students to focus on the joy of reading, choosing their own books and becoming lifelong readers.

With many school libraries closed for the summer, where can children and teens find books, both in print and online? Here are a few suggestions.

• Start with your public library! Summer reading programs with booklists, prizes and events start in June at Josephine, Jackson, and Klamath County libraries.
• Ebooks and audiobooks are always ready to check out, from wherever you are. Get an instant library card for 30 days for Jackson and Josephine Counties, then visit to make it permanent. Or visit a Klamath County Public Library in person for a library card with access to Libby/Overdrive.
• If your school district provides Sora/Overdrive, you can use Sora Sweet Reads all summer long. To find out if you have access, search here –  type the full school district name, if your school doesn’t come up. Add even more ebooks through Public Library Connect (video here).

Other free sources of books and read-aloud videos (younger children):

• Unite for Literacy – Simple read-along books for kids 3-8, choose a language!
• PBS KIDS Read-Alongs – celebrities and authors share stories
• Storyline Online – Well-known actors read favorite stories
• Read Out Loud from KidLit TV – lots of read-alouds
• Project Gutenberg – Children’s classics available for free

Two full-day Library Symposiums – one in Medford on April 17 and one in Klamath Falls April 18 – reached more than 80 library staff and provided training on topics from weeding outdated books to adding diverse books to school library collections.

Attendees came away with a wealth of new knowledge, along with new hardcover books for their collections and a tote bag one attendee called “fabulous”. “The book talks were fantastic and I loved the fresh ideas for my space! Well worth the time,” another library staff member said.

Sponsored by Southern Oregon Education Services District, the library events were organized by four contract librarians: Marie Fegentrager, Thomas Moll, Michelle Wardrip, and Miranda Doyle. Other presenters included Jen Maurer, the school library consultant for the State of Oregon, and several public librarians, who did a series of booktalks and shared their library resources. The training sessions were open to any interested librarians and paraprofessionals.

“I especially appreciated the session taught by Jen Maurer on collection development, emphasizing ‘windows and mirrors,’ recognizing bias, representation, etc.  We need to hear that again and again,” one symposium attendee commented.

A grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the State Library of Oregon provided a professional book called “Game Changer! Book Access for All Kids“ to each participant, at least one diverse book of their choice, and also treated attendees to coffee and working breakfast/lunches during the symposiums.

In addition to the presentations, library staff from around Southern Oregon took this rare chance to gather and network. “The interaction and discussion with other library workers was also useful as it’s not an opportunity that arises often,” one person in attendance commented. “Good mix of learning, bonding, and asking how others have done things.”

Another noted, “The camaraderie was really nice, especially the appreciation for paraprofessionals like me.”

Special thanks to SOESD Administrative Assistant Nancy Hayes, who took care of all the details for both events (including the sought-after tote bags), and to Mark Angle-Hobson, SOESD Director of School Improvement Services, who made all of it possible.

Congratulations to Miranda Doyle, recipient of the Oregon Library Association Intellectual Freedom Champion Award! So incredibly well-deserved for her endless efforts on behalf of students’ freedom to read. Thank you, Miranda, for all you do!

“I second that,” echoed School Library Consultant Jen Maurer with the State Library of Oregon. “Miranda, you were fantastic in your role as the OASL Intellectual Freedom Representative – a calm, knowledgeable, and relentless supporter of intellectual freedom and of library staff who were in the midst of material challenges. Thank you for your many years of valuable service.”

Another SOESD Librarian, Marie Felgentrager has taken over the role of OASL Intellectual Freedom Representative. We appreciate Marie for taking on this role with the same dedication. Regarding Marie, Jen Maurer said, “you’re a great fit, and I can tell you have the same passion to protect intellectual freedom.”

Congratulations, Miranda. And, thank you, Marie!

This blog post was written by Jay Schroder, author of Teach From Your Best Self: A Teacher’s Guide to Thriving in the Classroom. He has taught high school English and social studies for the past twenty-four years in both mainstream and alternative education settings. Jay is also the 2022 recipient of the National Council of Teacher’s of English Teacher of Excellence Award.

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