EQUITABLE ACCELERATED LEARNING

Literacies and math for oregon's k-8 students

The COVID-19 pandemic created widespread disruptions in the public school system and required teachers and parents to pivot quickly to remote / online learning. While challenging for most, the pandemic impacted students, teachers, and families in very different ways based on resources within their communities, schools, and homes.

A new partnership between Oregon State University’s College of Education and Oregon Department of Education will attempt to mitigate these impacts. The Equitable Accelerated Learning Project will support hundreds of teachers and teacher leaders as they spearhead efforts to identify and help to reverse inequities on the state’s educational systems which were exacerbated by the pandemic. Participants will identify problems of practice and co-design practical solutions to support teaching and learning for all students.

Starting in Winter 2023, the program sought out educational leaders and teachers across Oregon to participate in working groups. The response was overwhelmingly positive with hundreds of applications and proposals submitted. Working group are currently being established and starting in Summer 2023 will co-design practical solutions aligned to regional and local needs to support teaching and learning for all students.

This project is funded through the American Rescue Plan (ESSER III).



Video: A Unique Partnership: Equitable Accelerated Learning K-8

Video file
Fluid Image
Image
ALK8 Project Logo

Frequently Asked Questions

Working group leaders and members have to be Oregon educators serving content literacies (English, mathematics, and other subject areas), multilingual learners, students experiencing disabilities, and all Oregon students.  

Financial compensation is available for teachers and teacher leaders and can continue through September 2024. This compensation includes incentives/stipends for participants and professional learning.

Working group members will determine the time commitments for each group.  Members will make a commitment to the working group in co-designing solutions across the 2023-2024 school year and culminating in a statewide summit in Summer 2024. At this summit, working group leaders and members will share their newly created resources, processes, and innovations for mitigating educational inequities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is our goal to have at least 700 educators and educational leaders from across Oregon attend the summit.

Travel is determined by the working group. We anticipate some working groups will be online and others in face-to-face meetings. In addition, we expect representatives from all the working groups to participate in the Summer 2024 summit.

The Equitable Accelerated Learning Program will wrap-up in Summer 2024 with the statewide summit.

Updates will be posted to this website or via the College of Education’s social media platforms. Follow the hashtag #LitMathforOregon or #ALK8 for more. 

Oregon has invested $9 million of the State Set-Aside Emergency and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER III) to support Oregon educators in addressing unfinished learning, specifically in literacy and mathematics. Through this partnership with OSU, ODE will invest funds to strengthen instructional leadership throughout the state, develop educator resources to accelerate student learning and create professional learning opportunities. Learn more about this and other ESSER III-funded initiatives on the ODE website. #ESSERImpactOR

The following Oregon school districts participate in the ALK-8 Project:

SDs in italics are represented by employees of Educational Service Districts serving on working groups.  (See list of ESD participants at the bottom.)

Ashland SD

Ashwood SD

Arlington SD

Astoria SD

Athena-Weston SD

Beaverton SD 

Bethel SD

Bend-LaPine Schools (17,059)

Blachly SD

Black Butte SD

Butte Falls SD

Burnt River SD

Catlin SD

Central SD

Central Point SD

Condon SD

Corvallis SD

Cove SD

Creswell SD

Crow-Applegate-Lorane SD

Culver SD

David Douglas SD

Dufur SD

Echo SD

Eagle Point SD

Elgin SD

Eugene SD

Fern Ridge SD

Fossil SD

Gaston SD 

Grants Pass SD

Gresham-Barlow SD

Helix SD

Hillsboro SD

Hood River SD

Imbler SD

Ione SD

Jefferson County SD

Junction City SD

Klamath County SD

Klamath Falls SD

La Grande SD

Lane SD

Lowell SD

Mapleton SD

Marcola SD

McKenzie SD

Medford SD

Milton-Freewater SD

Mitchell SD

Morrow County SD

Nixyaawii Community School

North Powder SD

North Wasco

Oakridge SD

OR Episcopal School

Pendleton SD

Phoenix-Talent SD

Pilot Rock SD

Pinehurst SD

Pleasant Hill SD

Portland PS

Prospect SD

Redmond SD

Rogue River SD

Roseburg PS

Salem-Keizer SD

Sherwood SD

Sherman County SD

Silver Falls SD

Siuslaw SD

South Lane SD

South Wasco

Spray SD

Springfield SD

Stanfield SD

Three Rivers SD

Ukiah SD

Umatilla SD

Union SD

West Linn Wilsonville SD

Woodburn SD

ESDs participants

North Central ESD (6 SD)

Columbia Gorge ESD (4 SD)

Intermountain ESD (19 SD)

Jefferson ESD (4SD)

Lane ESD (WG64)

Southern Oregon ESD (WG101)

Contact Us:

You're invited to contact our program directors if you'd like to learn more about the Equitable Accelerated Learning Program.

Dr. Jana Bouwma-Gearhart

Associate Dean of Research and Professor

Office: 541-737-2206

Dr. Rebekah Elliott

Associate Professor 

Dr. Martha Ahrendt

Project Director

Dr. Melinda Knapp

Assistant Professor