Carsyn, a student at Vernonia Elementary School, practices sounding out words with the rest of her class. Photo by Tracey Goldner. 

In this Jan. 21 Bright Spots in Oregon Education story, learn about the five big changes Eastern Oregon University's School of Education has taken to improve how they teach aspiring educators. Over the past 5 years, the school took a hard look at what future teachers are learning. 

They did this after years of data showing Oregon's schoolchildren are falling behind in their ability to read. The reasons for this slide are multifaceted, but properly preparing educators and creating a system for them to learn science-based standards is a vital part of getting more kids on track.

In 2023, the National Council on Teacher Quality found that just one of eight teacher preparation programs in Oregon are effectively preparing aspiring elementary teachers to teach reading. 

The changes Eastern Oregon University is making are catching on across the state, and this year, Northwest Regional Education Service District launched a program in partnership with the university to train 26 teachers in our region. 

The participants are current educators from the Beaverton, Forest Grove, Gaston, Hillsboro, Sherwood, St. Helens, Tillamook and Vernonia school districts who will receive intensive training and credits toward a reading endorsement from the university. There are an estimated 2,500-3,000 elementary educators in our four-county region, so 26 is just a start. But every elementary teacher has an average of 20 students a year, so this year's cohort will provide better reading instruction to an estimated ~500 students just next year alone. 

"It's transforming what is happening in classrooms," says Sharyn Hoffert, a professional learning coach at NWRESD who launched the program this year. 

Read the full story: Eastern Oregon University’s Educator Preparation: How a Regional University is Building Literacy Capacity Across Rural and Urban Oregon.