OEA Grow

Malik continues Season 9 with a frank discussion of how BIPOC educators can survive burn-out and thrive in what is still a predominantly white environment in Oregon schools. Malik’s guest is Gregory Dunkin, a culinary arts teacher for twenty years in the Eugene 4J school district, who shares his wisdom with new educators and with the administrators who would like to retain them. He strongly advise...

How does a school district ensure that students see themselves reflected in the diversity of its educators? Oregon schools have the opportunity to work toward this goal through the Grow Your Own (GYO) initiative, the topic of this week’s episode. Malik chats with Andreina Velasco, the David Douglas GYO Pathway Advisor, who explains that the program encourages BIPOC students to consider the educati...

This week Malik discusses educators’ need for community support with Sakura Hamada, school counselor for the Portland Public Schools. Sakura explains the importance of finding one’s affinity space, a place to share a common identity, either within one’s school or in the outside community. She also feels that students, even those in the earlier grades, benefit from these spaces of belonging. Malik...

Welcome to season nine of OEA Grow, a member-led production of the Oregon Education Association and a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. Malik White will be your host for this year’s Back To School season of the podcast. In this season, educators will discuss topics like:   the early career educator experience  how we recruit and retain diverse teacher candidates  How  we support div...

In this special bonus episode from season seven on special education, member host Venus Reeve talks with Redmond School District adaptive physical education (APE) teachers Sean Corson and Amy Nickell. Amy and Sean educate listeners on what adaptive physical education is and why it’s important. Sean describes the Oregon state mandates for physical education that apply to all students, those with an...

Our topic this week is connecting with students when their language and culture differ from the dominant one of the school district. Beth’s guest is Monica Bergmann Perez who draws on her twenty years of experience in the field of bilingual speech pathology and Early Intervention Education to address this growing challenge to Oregon educators. Monica explains the difficulties that students face wh...

This week’s episode focuses on ways to connect students to life after graduation. Beth chats with Alan Wheeler, named the 2023 Teacher of the Year by the Oregon Association for Career and Technical Education, about how his Construction Technology classes at Redmond High School prepare students for the workplace. Alan explains his emphasis on practical skills, beginning with the basic understanding...

This week’s episode addresses a challenge facing Oregon educators today, how to connect students with crucial library resources in the face of current funding issues. Beth talks with Liz Beazizo, librarian for West Salem High School, about the statewide shortage of school librarians due to cuts in our education budget. There are currently no certified librarians in Oregon elementary and middle sch...

In this episode Beth speaks with Jana Giles, a 3rd grade educator and local union leader about how educators can connect with their union. Jana shares that she became involved in her union for three main reasons.  First, she was asked to share her story by her bargaining team when they were in contract negotiations and she wanted to make her voice heard.  Next, her local vice-president asked her t...

In this episode, host Beth Ayelot speaks with Jessica Classen from the David Douglas School District Mentoring Program. They talk about the support that a mentoring program can offer new teachers by connecting them with more experienced educators.  The main focus of the program are first and second year teachers, with a number of embedded supports in and out of the classroom.  The work of a mentor...

Episode 7: Connecting with Art This week, Beth speaks with Jessie Street from North Powder Charter School. The conversation centers on how connections with art can help both adults and students. Jessie’s work began part time with elementary and middle school students, and grew to include high school students through grant funding.  Bringing art into the classroom can integrate into the curriculum,...

This week, Beth explores a unique classroom environment in Southern Oregon when she talks with Jaylene Crane. Jaylene teaches in a multi-age 6-8 grades classroom at Comet Academy Magnet Program (CAMP) in Gold Hill, east of Grants Pass. CAMP emphasizes project-based learning and the development of 21st Century Learning Skills such as communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking....

What are the unique challenges of children in the foster system and how can we support these students in our schools? What do educators need to know about students in the foster system? These questions frame episode five with Colleen Arriola, a fifth grade teacher and parent who raised 10 children including seven adopted from the foster system. Colleen shares her lived experiences as a parent and...

In this week’s episode, Beth speaks with fourth grade teacher and union leader Melissa Grothe about the challenges and successes of connecting with the local community and how connection and belonging can impact teacher retention. Melissa is an educator with strong ties to the coastal town of Astoria where she grew up and currently works. Educators new to the area don’t always feel connected to th...

Welcome back to OEA Grow! Beth talks with Mindy Welsh, a Masters of Education student from Southern Oregon University. Mindy speaks to the value of understanding and connecting to the pedagogy of teaching versus just having the technical understanding of the practice of teaching. Perhaps teacher burnout, high stress levels, and overall reduced sense of efficacy can be understood through a disconne...

Welcome back to OEA grow! Today Beth chats with Ashlee Hodgkinson and Tina Tewes from Clackamas Community College. Tina is the High School Connections Academic Advisor and Ashlee is the Advanced College Credit Coordinator at Clackamas. In this episode, they share about their work supporting student transition from high school to either college or the workplace. Their conversation describes the var...

Welcome to Season 8 of OEA Grow, an educator-led podcast, by members and for members. This season we are focusing on connection and collaboration between educators, students, families and guardians, and the community that supports public education. We are all in this together, and our host Beth Aydelott, will facilitate conversations to help us grow into that mindset. Beth is an instructor at Lane...

Welcome back to OEA Grow! This episode is our second look into the world of Physical Education (PE), specifically adapted PE. Venus speaks with certified adapted PE teachers Lonzo Urbina, Brigette Brown, and Alana Burny. The conversation centers advocacy for adapted PE within an inclusion model. Lonzo, Brigette, and Alana advocate for what all students deserve- highly qualified teachers with speci...

How does special education work without the comprehensive team that informs so much of the process? In this episode, Venus talks with Michelle Dunn (Adaptive PE Specialist), Niels Pasternak (Autism Consultant), and Brittany Herson (Occupational Therapist). Michelle, Niels, and Brittany talk about the work they do and how each role contributes to a more robust and student-focused special education...

Welcome back! In this episode Venus talks with special educators Alisha Chavez Downing and Alejandra Saechao. Alisha and Alejandra discuss the intersection of learning disabilities, lagging skills, and behavior. Two strategies, flexible thinking and planning, are woven throughout the episode. Ever wondered how to better mainstream a student with significant behavior issues? Listen in to learn how...

Welcome back to part 2 of Venus’s conversation with Katie Gates, Kenny Long and Kim Sullivan. Affectionately known as “The Special K’s,” they are an elementary, special education team and members from Eugene Education Association. In this episode, they continue sharing their team approach and philosophies. The Special K’s share the challenges and success within special education and their conversa...

Welcome back to OEA Grow! In this episode, Venus speaks with Katie Gates, Kenny Long, and Kim Sullivan, an elementary special education team who are also members of the Eugene Education Association. This conversation is part one of a two-part series covering a variety of everyday concerns that impact general and special education staff. Collaboration is the theme in this episode. Kenny, Kim, and K...

In this episode, Venus speaks with Nathan Anderson, a Special Education Case Manager for the Baker School District. In his role, Nathan focuses on students who access online special education. They discuss the unique benefits and challenges of providing special education in an online education setting. Nathan describes his role as an online educator and how he strives to ensure that students are g...

Welcome back to part two of our conversation with Tenneal Wetherell, Assistant Superintendent in the Office of Enghaning Student Opportunities at ODE. The conversation picks up with Tenneal sharing ideas on the upcoming changes to requirements for abbreviated school day programs. Tenneal explains the purpose of the programs and drills down on how to access support when IEP teams are deciding wheth...

Have you heard about the changes impacting education related to Senate Bill 13 and 16? These two important pieces of legislation are going to change several key parts of the eligibility and special education process. You don’t want to miss this two-part episode! In part one, Venus talks with Tenneal Wetherell, Assistant Superintendent in the Office of Enhancing Student Opportunities at the Oregon...