Every November, the Oregon Department of Education publishes At-A-Glance report cards for Oregon schools and districts. These reports cover how well each school and district measures up to state standards for academics, as well as graduation rates and other metrics.
These report cards are a critical effort by the ODE to create transparency between schools and parents, community members, and other stakeholders. For school boards, these report cards provide important data to make informed decisions on budgets, directed spending, support efforts, and more. So what can a school board do with these report cards?
Directed Spending
School boards can use this data to determine exactly where their districts need assistance. They can direct spending towards efforts that will have a positive impact on the areas where they most need assistance. This might look like tutoring, improved resources, teacher training, additional support staff, and more.
Monitoring Leadership
School boards have direct oversight over superintendents. If a district is repeatedly failing to meet their goals, school boards can use this date to help develop improvement plans and constructive criticism for their superintendent.
Lobbying
When school districts lobby for change or funding, they can reference this data to help make their case. At this point, there are several years worth of report cards for schools and districts. School boards can track trends and identify key areas for improvement, and take those ideas to the state.
This is one aspect that Community School Boards of Oregon (CSBO) is incredibly passionate about. It is one of the reasons we exist: to give a voice to school boards in Oregon who often feel like their voices go unheard. If you want to be a part of that change, join CSBO today.