Category: News

Three ADPI students addressed issues of identity, ADPI Heritage month, community at the UO, and more.

Life at the UO

As a first-generation, Pacific-Islander student, I definitely feel very advocated for by the UO staff, especially during these trying times. I’m a Pathway Oregon Scholar, and I also joined the Multicultural ARC. From those programs, I am provided advisors who I meet with at least once or twice a month online through Zoom. Each time, they show a genuine desire for my success and are very encouraging and guiding of the path I take as a UO student. Along with that, I’m also a part of USO, a club for ADPI students led by ADPI staff, where we join together once a week through Zoom, talk story, have fun, and bring comfort to each other in our relations as ADPI students and staff through our academic journey. Within each of these meetings, I’m provided a safe, open space to vent about our common experiences, whether that be the challenges faced as Pacific-Islander students, or the financial/home/academic struggles faced during this pandemic.

– Asia Petrus
Family and Human Services

With COVID rates fluctuating and schools opening and closing, nothing seems certain. But there are some takeaways from 2020 which we can employ to make sure teaching stays consistent, whether school is in-person or remote, said Alicia Balfrey, special education training specialist in her edWeb.net webinar, “Lessons Learned: Turning Challenges from 2020 into Opportunities for the Future for Students with Autism.”

Alicia Balfrey is a COE alumna.

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week, which honors the contributions of teachers – all the more significant – after over a year of virtual learning.

It’s a week to show appreciation for America’s teachers for the hard work they do.

This year, a lot of that work has been done over a screen.

“Getting to know our students and families over this virtual platform and not being able to see them in person, that’s been a struggle,” says Nicole Butler-Hooten, a 2nd grade teacher Irving.

Thousands of Texas students were missing from pre-K and kindergarten classrooms because of the pandemic. Quick assessments can help teachers get them on track.

Davis, a longtime educator, says the techniques she’s learned during graduate school have changed how she approaches early literacy.

She assesses her students with the Spanish-version of a series of tests, widely used across the country, called Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, or DIBELS, from the University of Oregon.

Thanks to a generous gift from a pair of alumni and longtime friends of the University of Oregon, two new scholarships funds will provide greater support and open doors to students of underrepresented communities.

Jim and Andi Sandstrom have pledged $250,000 to be divided equally between the College of Education and Lundquist College of Business with the aim of helping increase diversity at the UO.

A warm welcome to Professor Saul Becker and Professor Leslie Leve, who will both be joining the Faculty as Visiting Scholars from 1 May as part of the Andrew and Virginia Rudd Research and Professional Development Programme.

The Programme, led by Professor Gordon Harold, is an internationally-recognised initiative that is unique in the UK. It brings together researchers and professional practitioners from numerous disciplines to advance new knowledge and insights into the psychological, social, individual, educational and community-based processes that underlie positive developmental outcomes for children and young people.

The statewide dyslexia screening pilot program authorized by a 2019 Colorado law will launch this summer with three schools — short of the five schools state officials originally envisioned.

A University of Oregon group will lead the state pilot, which in addition to screening children for dyslexia risk aims to bump up the quality of core reading instruction and intervention programming.

Curriculums in the U.S. have often left out the experiences of people of color, but more states are starting to incorporate ethnic studies courses into their classrooms.

“We don’t want to make villains out of people, and at the same time history should be honest. History should account for people’s lived experiences,” Leilani Sabzalian, who is Alutiiq and an assistant education professor at the University of Oregon.

While it seems like we’ve barely caught our collective breath since the raucous November 2020 election season, it’s time once again to vote. By the time you read this, ballots will already be on their way to registered voters across Oregon—and inside these pages, you’ll find our endorsements for local races in Bend, Redmond and Sisters, plus our support for a levy in La Pine.

Shirley Olson, candidate for Administrative School District 1 – Bend-La Pine School Board Zone 4, is an alumna of the College of Education.

One of the important—though sometimes overlooked—benefits of the IES training programs is friendship. When you think of what makes a good research team, friendship is probably not your first answer. However, the researchers behind the Multiple-Choice Online Causal Comprehension Assessment (MOCCA) demonstrate just how crucial strong bonds are. This blog shares how three long-time friends and members of the MOCCA team–Drs. Gina Biancarosa, Sarah Carlson, and Ben Seipel–have benefited from friendship.

Gina Biancarosa is Ann Swindells Chair in Education and Professor, Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences.