Inside Story

Inside Story January 2018

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The official internal communication of the Oregon Department of Education

Please send your submissions for Inside Story to: Jenni.Knaus@state.or.us

January Birthdays

Please send your birthday and month in an email to Jenni Knaus if you would like it listed. Thank you!

Inside Story

2 Linda O’Hallaran 4 Michelle Fleener 10 Peter Rudy 11 Nicki Prather 14 Ron Dodge 14 Donna Newbeck 15 Jessica Nguyen-Ventura 17 Travis Moore 18 Sandy Gorsage 18 Theresa Richards 29 Denise Brock

Governor’s Food DriveFebruary is the Governor’s State Employee Food Drive!

Last year we were able to provide $11,854.14 in cash and payroll deductions which is equivalent to 35,614.90 meals to those in our communities with food insecurity! We will have many opportunities again this year for participation (payroll deduction incentives, breakfast carts, ice cream floats/sundaes, potato bar, silent auction…and much more!). The first is a Chili Cook-Off sponsored by the Information Services Unit on February 1. Stay tuned for details coming soon!

I am excited for the upcoming month of activities where we join together as an agency to help fight hunger and make a real difference in our communities.

Julia Alpernas, ODE Coordinator Office of Finance and Administration

Ananda Says... Submitted by Melissa Garner

Inside Story

Inside Story January 2018

Employee Services Corner

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Employee Services Corner

Leaving ODEWhen you leave ODE employment, it can be difficult to remember everything you have to do before your last day (completing your final timesheet, turning in keys and cards, submitting your final travel reimbursement request, etc.). It may also be difficult to remember all of the information you receive about your benefits upon termination. To make this easier, we have developed a Resignation Checklist form and a Resignation from ODE document, both of which can be found on the HR Forms page of the intranet. The checklist must be completed before your last day of work and given to Employee Services on your last day in the office. If you have questions about the requirements for each area (Financial Services, Procurement Services, and Employee Services), the contact person for each area is included on the form.

As always, please contact ODE Employee Services staff if you have questions.

Click here to read an interview with Michael Lindblad!

Quarterly Stocktake UpdateOn January 17, ODE’s Management Team held a quarterly stocktake to discuss the progress of our Strategic Plan implementation since November. This stocktake allowed Goal Leads and additional invited staff to collaborate and address risk points, share agency successes and make necessary decisions. Each Goal Lead presented their respective goal or shared strategy’s successes, challenges, risks and next steps. Staff also offered illustrative examples of the work to date.

In an effort to be transparent with all staff across the agency, we have committed to posting the presentation slides from each quarterly stocktake. The presentation slides from our most recent stocktake can be found on our strategic plan webpage.

Please stay tuned for Strategic Plan project highlights in upcoming issues of Inside Story! If you have any questions regarding the Strategic Plan or how to get involved, please feel free to reach out to any member of the Management Team or Delivery Team.

Inside Story

Inside Story January 2018

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Get to Know your Colleagues: Youth Development Division

The Youth Development Division (YDD) was established in the Department of Education in 2013 and functions under the direction of the Youth Development Council (YDC). The purpose of the YDD is to ensure that services are provided to school-age children (age 6) through youth (age 24) in a manner that supports educational success, focuses on crime prevention, reduces high risk behaviors and is integrated, measurable and accountable. In practice, the YDD has two primary components that support of the work of the Youth Development Council: Community Investment and Juvenile Crime Prevention (JCP).

The JCP work is structured to meet state and federal requirements and includes advocacy, monitoring for compliance with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002, and oversight of grant funds to each of the 9 Federally Recognized Tribal governments and all 36 counties. The Community Investment work is focused on improving outcomes for youth through advocacy both across systems and in the legislature, and by strategically investing in community-based organizations at the local level. The YDC has adopted the Collective Impact model as a funding strategy and for the 2017-19 Biennium has awarded more than 100 grants across the Youth and Community, Youth and Workforce, Youth and Innovation, Youth and Gangs, and Community Schools funding streams.

Below are the YDD staff members you will interact with here at ODE:

Rosy Alejo (pictured right) supports Anya Sekino as a program assistant for the Juvenile Crime Prevention program.

Bobby Bridges Jr. serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator and Disproportionate Minority Contact Coordinator for the state. Aligned with Oregon’s focus on equity, Bobby’s passion and drive stems from his belief that “all youth deserve to be supported on their journey to what they identify as success.” Appreciating the welcome and love from ODE staff, you may hear Bobby on the west side of the 2nd floor singing.

Cord Bueker is the Workforce Policy Analyst for the Youth Development Division. In this role, he focuses on policy issues for Opportunity Youth. He is the YDD liaison on youth workforce development issues, and works closely with representatives of other state agencies and community organizations that serve this population.

From left to right: Cord Bueker, Bobby Bridges, Ryan Shands, Abraham Magaña, Karen Wilkes, Bill Hansell, and Anya Sekino.

Inside Story

Inside Story January 2018

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Youth Development Division Continued...

Bill T. Hansell is the Youth Development Policy Analyst and his primary roles concern oversight of the work that is measurable and accountable, and legislative coordination. He sees his role as one of advocacy on behalf of youth that may not otherwise have a voice. According to Bill, the very best thing about YDD’s home in ODE is the people and the opportunity it presents to work with so many talented and dedicated individuals.

Abraham Magaña is the Youth Prevention and Intervention Specialist with YDD. He oversees the management of Tier II and III Youth and Community grants, as well as the Youth and Gangs grant. This includes monitoring the work grantees are doing, reviewing quarterly reports, and performing site visits. The “cherry on the top” is meeting with youth directly impacted by YDC funding, who are now back on a path leading to educational and career-related success.

Anya Sekino serves as a Juvenile Crime Prevention Manager and Juvenile Justice Specialist. Her duties combine the administration and oversight of state and federal funds that support local efforts to prevent juvenile delinquency and reduce juvenile crime and recidivism.

Ryan Shands is Oregon’s compliance monitor for the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). In his capacity within the YDD, Ryan is responsible for the compliance of more than 350 facilities statewide and for certifying Oregon compliant with the standards set forth therein.

Karen Wilkes has served as the Executive Assistant to the YDC and the YDD since January 2014. Karen supports 23 council members, as well as seven YDD staff, and is the main point of contact for the division. If she hasn’t shown you pictures of her grandson, the amazing Eddie Francis, just ask her! She is one proud Nana!

DirectAccessDirectAccess allows remote users to securely access internal network file shares, websites, and applications. Prior to using DirectAccess, staff will need to log into their device (laptop, tablet, etc.) while it is connected to the ODE network via ODE WiFi.

When working remotely, log into your machine using your credentials and connect to your local WiFi. You should notice a box at the top of your WiFi list that says “ODE DirectAccess.” Once you are connected to your WiFi, click the “ODE DirectAccess” button. Once you are connected, you will have access to all of your ODE shared drives.

NOTE: The first time you connect to DirectAccess via a new WiFi connection, it may take up to 15 minutes to connect. You may also see some of your drives with a red “x” over them but you should be able to access them once you are connected.

For more detailed information on DirectAccess (including screenshots), please visit our FreshService site here. If you encounter issues that are not covered in these articles, please contact the ODE Help Desk.

Inside Story

Inside Story January 2018

Stay Well and Thrive

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Office of Accountability, Research and Information Services: Robin Stalcup

In November, 2015, I tried to start eating a vegetarian diet, but this failed because my husband did not want to do it. However, by July 2016 he wanted us to both adopt a low-fat plant-based diet (obsolete term is vegan). We did and he lost over 85 pounds and counting. His cholesterol went down 100 points. He also walks at least 10 to 15 minutes multiple times per day. I lost 23 pounds and counting and my cholesterol went down 10%. I’m older and diabetic so I did not expect miracles. If I had to come up with a reso-lution in 2018, I will continue my focus on tracking and reducing fat in my diet and trying to join my husband for walks more often.

Early Learning Division: Sidney Traen

I try to make the goals SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time based) and update those goals as I build them into practice. Right now goals I am working on is to drink at least 2 bottles of water a day, starting my day off with thoughts about the positives in my life and reaching out to other new mom’s for fun and support at least once a week.

Child Nutrition Program: Laura Allran

My health goal for this year is to continue what I have been working on for the last year with a few modifications. I would like to increase my physical activity at work by taking walks during my breaks and decrease my junk food intake, and ordering a salad instead of a hamburger when I go to a fast food restaurant. I want to enjoy my life by having a stress- free lifestyle, enjoying my time with my friends and family. Also, travel when I get a chance and live for the moment.

Child Nutrition Program: Rick Sherman

I used to be a competitive runner (40 years), through high school, college and beyond. One day it became necessary to replace my hip, and running became a thing of the past. I need things to keep me motivated, and that usually means having a check-off list that I can accomplish things. For instance, about 10 years ago I decided it would be a great thing to do 1,000 crunches a day, so I set about doing that.

For the next goal, I decided we have all these wonderful stairs in our building. What if I took the stairs every time I needed to go to my office, which is on the 4th floor? Then I started thinking, each stair is 7 inches. The flights to the fourth floor from floor one is 72 steps, or 42 feet. Then I thought, I wonder how tall Mt Hood or Mt Everest is? How many trips would it take in the stairwell to reach those heights? Could I do it in a year during normal workdays?

So, I devised a handy excel worksheet to track my progress. If I made approximately three trips a day to the fourth floor, I could be in the “Everest Club.” Join me with this health challenge by signing your name to the stairwell Climbing Challenge excel sheet located on every floor within the stair well corridors to track your number of steps you take.

Contact us at ode.workplacewell@ode.state.or.us and share your story.

Inside Story

Inside Story January 2018

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Equify the New Year By Darryl Tukufu

Start your new year off with an E-Bang! I know “equify” is not considered a word. However, bear with me as I use it to define and/or interpret such things as emerging yourself particularly on your job, but more broadly in your life, during this new year. ODE has implemented a strategic plan that includes a specific strategy to “establish and reinforce a shared understanding and application of education equity.” There are five tactics specifically tied to this strategy. They are:

- Identify core components and applicable tools of education equity. - Use a needs assessment to collectively identify baseline knowledge and capacity regarding education equity for every employee. - Apply a shared understanding of education equity among every employee, through targetable and achievable benchmarks. - Create and support a culture of professional learning opportunities to embed education equity in all of the agency’s work. - Operationalize educational equity to eliminate systemic barriers, and sustain continuous improvement both internal to ODE and external to our education stakeholders.

The following are some I request that you review and begin to think about with respect to your own involvement and/or checking with folks (even external to ODE) who you feel could or should contribute what they have to offer in the form of equity.

1. Tell your own story about diversity in your life.

2. What type of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) professional development workshops do you feel are necessary?

3. What EDI-related learning activities (outside of the agency) are you aware of and would like to attend even if they are sponsored by organizations outside of state government?

4. Informal “coffee talks” on an EDI topic or topics that are during the work day as a meeting on the calendar (as opposed to giving up your lunch hour).

5. Considering sharing information with others if you have read an EDI related article or book that has changed your perspective.

6. Think about individuals and/or families you are working with or have worked with that you believe have a story to tell. Obtain permission for videoing so we can produce vignettes to show at ODE all staff meetings.

7. Think of and identify some bright spots of EDI that you feel can be highlighted and cultivated.

8. Think of and identify risk factors that can be opportunities for change.

If you have responses to numbers 1-8, please forward them to me (identifying the number), and I will forward them to the responsible ODE team member or members working on this action. Thank you!

Inside Story

Inside Story January 2018

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December Staff ChangesNew Hires/Temp Appointments/Promotions/Transfer in/Limited Duration (LD):

-Jennifer Bevers, Research Analyst, Office of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, promotion

-Ufemia Castaneda, Operations and Policy Analyst, Office of Finance and Administration, LD

-Dana Christensen, Administrative Specialist, Office of Student Services, LD

-Joyce Dougherty, Director, Office of Student Services, Temp

-Terra Hernandez-Sorensen, Education Specialist, Office of Teaching, Learning and Assessment

-Shkenna Mallory, Office Specialist, Early Learning Division

-Annie Manning, Program Analyst, Early Learning Division, promotion

-Carol Park, Fiscal Analyst, Office of Finance and Administration

-Lisa Pinheiro, Operations and Policy Analyst, Early Learning Division, Temp

-Theresa Richards, Interim Assist. Superintendent, Office of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, Temp

-Melissa Reynolds, Compliance Specialist, Early Learning Division, promotion

-Emily Swope, Program Analyst, Office of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, promotion

Transfer out/Retirements/Resignation/End of LD or Temp:

-Michael Bushman, Information Systems Specialist, Office of Accountability, Research and Information Services, transfer out

-Victor Cato, Education Specialist, Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, resignation

-Sue Fennern, Contract Specialist, Office of Finance and Administration, end of temp

-Lois Johnson, Fiscal Analyst, Office of Finance and Administration, transfer out

-Dick Kahler, User Support Lead, Office of Accountability, Research and Information Services, end of temp

-Josh Klein, Assist. Superintendent, Office of Accountability, Research and Information Services, resignation

-Ken Messer, Senior Enterprise Database Developer, Office of Accountability, Research and Information Services, end of temp

-Salam Noor, Deputy Superintendent, Office of the Deputy Superintendent, resignation

-Robert Otero, Budget Analyst, Office of Finance and Administration, transfer out

-Mary Patzer, Senior Database Developer, Office of Accountability, Research and Information Services, end of temp

-Phyllis Reynolds, Operations Policy Analyst, Office of Finance and Administration, end of temp

-Anne Russell, Compliance Specialist, Early Learning Division, retirement

-Mary Margaret Stockert, Education Specialist, Office of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, end of temp