September 7, 2023 • 16 mins
Today we're officially kicking off the 2023-24 school year with special guests Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez, Assistant State Superintendent Tricia Collins, School Nutrition Director Jessica Sharkus and Director of Teaching & Learning Laura Roeker. Hear their words of encouragement for the school year and what's going on at the state level to support education!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
[Sounds of children playing, talking]
SPEAKER1: It's the first day of classes and we are starting the year with some special guests from the governor's office and the Department of Public Instruction. (00:05):
undefined
We're honored to welcome Assistant State Superintendent Tricia Collins,Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez, school nutrition Director Jessica Sharkus
and the director of Teaching and Learning, Laura Roeker, today.
SPEAKER2: Welcome to this episode of Inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids. (00:29):
undefined
Here is your host.
Lifelong educator, and our superintendent, Dr.
Leslie Bergstrom.
SPEAKER1: Welcome to all of you. (00:43):
undefined
We're happy to have you here in the Oregon School District to help us kick offthe 2023-24 school year.
And we'll begin by having each of our guests introduce themselves.
This is Sara Rodriguez
SPEAKER3: and I'm the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. (00:57):
undefined
SPEAKER1: Thank you. Can you tell us a little bit about your background? (00:59):
undefined
SPEAKER4: Absolutely. So I just won my election to be lieutenant governor, but prior to that, I was in the state assembly. (01:02):
undefined
But for most of my career, I was actually a public health nurse.
And so I feel like teachers and nurses are very similar in terms of theirpassion for what they do.
And so I'm just really excited to be here.
SPEAKER1: I feel that way too. (01:21):
undefined
I feel like they are people who do what they do simply because of the love intheir heart.
So I appreciate you said that.
SPEAKER5: Good morning. I'm Tricia Collins. (01:31):
undefined
I'm the assistant state superintendent with the Department of PublicInstruction for the Division for Finance and Management.
That's a long title.
SPEAKER1: That IS a long title! (01:40):
undefined
SPEAKER5: Our division has teams that work with community nutrition, food, school nutrition, parental options, school finance and DPI's business (01:42):
undefined
services. And I've worked with the department over 20 years in various roles,and before that I worked for the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
SPEAKER1: Well, thank you. (01:59):
undefined
SPEAKER6: And I'm Laura Roeker. (02:00):
undefined
I'm the director of Teaching and Learning at the Wisconsin Department of PublicInstruction.
I've just been there for about a year, but I actually started my teachingcareer right here in Oregon with Superintendent Bergstrom as my principal.
SPEAKER1: So exciting. (02:14):
undefined
SPEAKER6: Yeah. So I taught at Rome Corners Intermediate School, and then I also was a teacher in the Madison Metropolitan School District. (02:15):
undefined
And then I went to UW and taught some undergraduate literacy, pre-serviceteacher courses, and then just joined the department after getting my doctorate
last year.
SPEAKER1: Well, thank you. (02:32):
undefined
And then we'll go over here.
SPEAKER7: Hi, I'm Jessica Sharkus and I am the director of the school nutrition team at the Department of Public Instruction. (02:36):
undefined
I've been there for 17 years.
Crazy to think about that.
I was the assistant director for six and the director for 11, and prior tothat -- I'm a registered dietitian.
So I've worked in hospital food service as well as clinical dietetics.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. And you're also a parent of of students here. (02:59):
undefined
SPEAKER7: Yeah. My two kiddos are freshmen, so that's pretty exciting. (03:02):
undefined
It is.
SPEAKER1: It's a big day. (03:07):
undefined
SPEAKER7: Yeah. And hi, my name is Sarah Tomasiewic and I am the school nutrition director here (03:07):
undefined
SPEAKER8: at the Oregon School District. (03:12):
undefined
So I help oversee all of the menus in each one of our buildings here.
SPEAKER1: Thank you, Sarah. And it's great to have all of you here, especially when we know you're very busy. (03:18):
undefined
So thank you for making time to come here.
Why is it important to you to join a school district for the beginning of theyear?
SPEAKER4: Well, for me, I think it's just such an exciting time for kids. (03:29):
undefined
This is Sara Rodriguez.
I've got two kids myself, 14 and 16.
So I've got a freshman starting this year in high school and then another ajunior.
And I remember how exciting that first day was, being able to drop off the kidsand they were able to see their friends again.
(03:51):
But, you know, Wisconsin has such a fantastic school system and we are just soproud in terms of our administration that we were able to bring that school
system back up from 18th in the nation to 1 in 10 in the nation to 10th in thenation.
So we've got just a fantastic school system here in Wisconsin, and we just wantto show it off.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. (04:11):
undefined
SPEAKER5: I agree. This is Tricia with everything that she said. (04:13):
undefined
And I just -- the excitement, the community, the families, the the students asthey walked in.
The smiles on their face were just happy and so thankful to be here tocelebrate with you and then learn more about the school and the district and all
the great things you're doing.
So thank you so much.
SPEAKER1: Well, thank you. And I'm glad you used the word celebrate because that's what it felt like today. (04:30):
undefined
The little ones and the big ones, because this is a K-6 school coming in.
We're joyful.
It was a really joyful feeling.
SPEAKER6: And I think it's important just to for anybody at DPI to be out in schools and in our communities and really celebrating the hard work of our educators are we (04:43):
undefined
know how much work goes into.
So many of us have an education background and we know how much work goes intothe beginning of the school year.
So we just want to celebrate.
I mean, this Green Ribbon Award is an incredible accomplishment.
(05:05):
And but just the day to day in and out work here, I mean, this is a world classfacility, but I think it's really the educators that make it that way.
And so we're just so grateful to be here with you all.
SPEAKER1: Yes, I agree. (05:15):
undefined
The building is beautiful, but the building is not what makes the school.
Right. It's the people in it and the important work they do.
So thank you.
SPEAKER7: I'm just excited to be here because Sarah's done such a great job making sure that all of our kids here in Wisconsin are well, at least in Oregon School (05:26):
undefined
district are getting fed every morning serving breakfast and lunch.
That's pretty amazing.
Um, you can't learn if you're hungry, right?
SPEAKER1: And fed healthy foods. (05:42):
undefined
Absolutely. Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER7: So very exciting to be here. (05:46):
undefined
SPEAKER1: And, Sarah, you and I are here because this is our job. (05:48):
undefined
We are here. Yes, but it's one of the best parts of the job, right?
Is getting that excitement of everyone coming back for the first day andknowing that there are that kids are excited to come back.
That means a lot.
So are there any efforts or initiatives or programs that any of you would liketo highlight for our families?
SPEAKER4: Yeah. I can talk a little bit about what the Governor Evers and myself have put into the budget that I think is really exciting. (06:11):
undefined
We have over $30 million in Kids Get Ahead initiative, which is really aboutmental health in the schools.
And I as a nurse myself and having two kids when we went through Covid, Ibelieve that there were always mental health issues within the school system
(06:36):
themselves. But that just exacerbated a lot of issues that were out there andit made it more visible to us as clinicians.
And I know as teachers you saw this as well.
And so Governor Evers, as the educator that he is, we wanted to make sure thatschool systems had the resources to address those mental health issues.
So that's really exciting that we were able to get that into the budget thisyear.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. (06:58):
undefined
SPEAKER5: I would just mention three things. (07:00):
undefined
First, we know there's staffing challenges in our schools and it -- theDepartment of Public Instruction announced a new program designed to help school
districts attract, retain and prepare special educator teachers.
And that's called the Special Educator Induction Program, which will support300 special educators around the state working with CSAs to provide training and
(07:25):
connections. So we're really excited about that work.
In addition, the department is taking undertaking a strategic planning processright now, and we're inviting family members, students, teachers, staff to
provide feedback and information on our mission, our values and our work tohelp us drive the work in the years to come and track the progress of
(07:49):
of those goals.
So we're excited about that.
And then lastly, I'd mentioned that state Superintendent Dr.
Underly will be doing her annual State of Education address on September 21st,and she'll be sharing a lot of initiatives during that time.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. Thank you. (08:02):
undefined
And and you are very right to focus in on training, attracting and retainingspecial educators that -- they have such an important job.
And we definitely need more people who are trained that way.
And we're grateful to say we're one of the many recipients for the Kids GetAhead initiative and very happy about that.
(08:22):
Anything from you?
SPEAKER6: Yeah, our team teaching and learning is also focusing on civic engagement. (08:23):
undefined
So we will be releasing at the end of September a statewide K-12 civic scopeand sequence plan.
That's exciting. And when you like when you go to a school like this and yousee the ways that we're teaching children to be engaged as active citizens, not
just in their own communities, but in our global community and thinking aboutwhat they need to care about and how they need to stay engaged.
(08:48):
I think that the civic scope and sequence plan will tie really nicely in withwith those conversations.
SPEAKER1: So thank you. I think it'll be great to give teachers a guide on such an important topic too, and not that there aren't standards already, but to provide (08:54):
undefined
them even more guidance in how to deliver a high quality program.
Absolutely. Thank you.
SPEAKER7: So I want to highlight some of the things that we're doing in school nutrition. (09:10):
undefined
We have a local food to school program where we received funding from USDA, andOregon is participating in that program where you're getting
some local beef from a nearby farm, as well as some vegetables from a differentfarm.
So getting local products into our kids meals is very exciting.
(09:34):
And thanks to Sarah, she's done a lot of hard work there.
SPEAKER1: She sure has. (09:38):
undefined
SPEAKER7: But we do also have an AmeriCorps farm to school program here at Oregon, where -- I know you're struggling to get a member so far this year. (09:39):
undefined
However, this is the seventh year that Oregon has participated and just some ofthe great things that happened last year.
There were at least ten community events where they were promoting farm toschool programing.
(10:00):
So like they had a great apple crunch with local apples, a couple food drives,they had a multi lingual family night and they do harvest of the month.
And that also ties into the grocery store located in Oregon, where they promotethe foods that are being promoted for the harvest of the month.
So that's pretty exciting.
When you take things that you're learning in school and you see it at thegrocery store, getting those healthy foods into kids is really important, and I
(10:27):
think that really helps.
Just another thing, I know that cost of food is really high, so efforts fromUSDA, we're going to be
sending schools some additional funding to help support.
Um, food purchases so that we can continue to get the healthy foods intoschools.
SPEAKER1: That's great. That's -- that's really great. (10:47):
undefined
And I hope we get some AmeriCorps volunteers or applicants, I should say,because that's a paid position.
I hope we get some applicants soon because I really appreciate the work theydid and and what they brought to our district.
And they've worked so closely with Sara and our director of Learning andStudent Achievement because they play a dual role here.
SPEAKER7: Yeah, getting those members into classrooms and teaching kids about where their food comes from. (11:08):
undefined
And Tricia has been very integral in helping raise that salary or the stipendfor the members so that we can
attract more members to the program.
Yes. And be able to keep them for a longer period of time.
(11:30):
It's a
SPEAKER1: great experience. (11:31):
undefined
Yeah, I'm really, really appreciative of the work of the people who have donethis before.
Sara Is there anything that you'd like to add?
SPEAKER9: Um, I (11:40):
undefined
SPEAKER8: think, I mean, this school year we are excited to kind of be out of the rebuilding phase in our department and be able to start this school year (11:41):
undefined
off as normal. We are fully staffed.
We have plans to continue purchasing local foods.
We are going to start our Around the World Day menus again in October and we'repairing with one of our German teachers to make sure that our first Around the
(12:04):
World Day menu aligns with our German week.
I believe -- I might be wrong.
You're right. You're right.
SPEAKER1: It's when our German sister school is sending students here. (12:11):
undefined
Yeah.
SPEAKER8: So it's I think it'll be an amazing school year and I'm very excited to jump into it. (12:15):
undefined
SPEAKER1: Well, and I'd also like to say thank you to you because you were able to retain all of your food service staff from last year to this year. (12:20):
undefined
And I would bet that there aren't many school nutrition programs that were ableto do that.
So that's pretty
SPEAKER8: wonderful. To have the same team going into this school year. (12:34):
undefined
SPEAKER1: Consistency helps so much. (12:37):
undefined
Absolutely. So as we know, schools provide many services to our students and toour families, and the demands of the profession, as have been discussed already,
are more than they've ever been.
So what are your thoughts in respect to this?
And I'm opening that up to anybody here.
SPEAKER4: I'll just -- I'll just start. (12:55):
undefined
I mean, I, Governor Evers and I know that schools are the heart of the communityand we have done quite a bit to try to continue to invest in the school systems.
But we need to do more.
We've got a lot of teacher vacancies within the different school districts,which makes it a lot more difficult for those that are here today.
(13:16):
And, you know, as a public health nurse myself, I realize that teachers do takecare of just a wide variety of issues within the school system, and we need to
provide resources for them to be able to do that and truly respect them for theprofessionals that they are.
And what a great investment in our kids in Wisconsin to have these folks thatare willing every day to come in and teach our
(13:41):
kids a million things!
This school is fantastic.
And I just think that we are so lucky in Wisconsin to have such a dedicatedteaching workforce.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. (13:52):
undefined
SPEAKER5: I would agree. And our teachers today are being asked to do so much. (13:54):
undefined
They have a huge responsibility not only in educating our children, but alsotaking care of their well-being.
Yes. So important.
And it's teachers.
It's school nutrition professionals.
It's our bus drivers, it's our facility staff.
They all play such an important role.
(14:15):
And just just a huge thank you to all they do.
SPEAKER1: Well, we always one of our core values in the school district is the idea of the whole child and that we teach the whole child. (14:19):
undefined
And that's because if you don't take that approach, they don't -- It's veryunlikely your students will be as ready to learn as you would like them to be if
you're not able to think of them as holistic human beings with needs and workto provide for those needs.
(14:40):
When we're able to do that, that's when the best learning occurs.
So it's it's a complex job, but when you make all the pieces start to fittogether, it's provides the best thing for students.
Anyone else?
SPEAKER6: I just want to add that for all the educators who are listening, we hope that you know that we see you. (14:54):
undefined
We see the dedication that you bring every day.
We see often what a thankless job education is, and we want to support you inany way that we can.
And we are working behind the scenes at the Department of Public Instruction todo that.
(15:15):
But we really see you and we are so grateful.
And to the families and community members, we hope that you're expressing allof that gratitude often and frequently, and supporting your educators, because
what they do here matters and they are such an integral part of our community.
So thank you.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. It's a wonderful way to spend your life's work. (15:32):
undefined
It really is. I can't think of anything better.
What messages do you have for educators as we begin the school year?
For families or for students?
And Laura, you kind of just you just kind of gave your message, really?
Anybody else?
SPEAKER4: I would say that on behalf of the administration, thank you for the work that you're doing. (15:54):
undefined
We know it has not been easy these last several years, and we know that whatyou do is nothing short of heroic.
And again, as a nurse, we talk a lot about those social determinants of healthand how what we do within hospital systems is such a tiny fraction of how
(16:16):
healthy folks are.
And what teachers do is even bigger percentage of making sure our kids arehealthy throughout the day.
So thank you.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. (16:24):
undefined
SPEAKER7: I just want to say thank you for being very supportive of the school nutrition program here. (16:27):
undefined
Sarah does a great job making sure that kids have access to breakfast and luncheach and every day, which is so important because without food you can't really
learn. I think there's many opportunities that are in the forth coming, butjust making sure that you continue to,
(16:54):
you know, do the farm to school stuff because teaching kids where their foodcomes from is important.
And I love the fact that, you know, there's so many different things thatyou're doing bringing local foods into this school district.
The kids are very fortunate to have you.
SPEAKER1: Well, thank you for helping us kick off the school year. (17:12):
undefined
We really appreciate your time.
And we are honored you've chosen the Oregon School District for your first dayvisit.
Thank you, everyone.
SPEAKER10: Thank you. (17:23):
undefined
SPEAKER1: Thanks for tuning in this week. (17:25):
undefined
We are so glad to have our students back in classrooms.
It's going to be a great year.
Remember that you can find links to all episodes of Inside the OSD and submittopic ideas on our website at
OregonSD.Org/Podcast. You can find this podcast anywhere you can find podcasts.
(17:48):
Make sure to subscribe if you're listening on one of these apps to getnotifications on the most recent episodes.
We'll see you next time on Inside the OSD, where it's all about the kids.
[Sounds of children playing, talking]
SPEAKER1: It's the first day of classes and we are starting the year with some special guests from the governor's office and the Department of Public Instruction. (00:05):
undefined
We're honored to welcome Assistant State Superintendent Tricia Collins,Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez, school nutrition Director Jessica Sharkus
and the director of Teaching and Learning, Laura Roeker, today.
SPEAKER2: Welcome to this episode of Inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids. (00:29):
undefined
Here is your host.
Lifelong educator, and our superintendent, Dr.
Leslie Bergstrom.
SPEAKER1: Welcome to all of you. (00:43):
undefined
We're happy to have you here in the Oregon School District to help us kick offthe 2023-24 school year.
And we'll begin by having each of our guests introduce themselves.
This is Sara Rodriguez
SPEAKER3: and I'm the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. (00:57):
undefined
SPEAKER1: Thank you. Can you tell us a little bit about your background? (00:59):
undefined
SPEAKER4: Absolutely. So I just won my election to be lieutenant governor, but prior to that, I was in the state assembly. (01:02):
undefined
But for most of my career, I was actually a public health nurse.
And so I feel like teachers and nurses are very similar in terms of theirpassion for what they do.
And so I'm just really excited to be here.
SPEAKER1: I feel that way too. (01:21):
undefined
I feel like they are people who do what they do simply because of the love intheir heart.
So I appreciate you said that.
SPEAKER5: Good morning. I'm Tricia Collins. (01:31):
undefined
I'm the assistant state superintendent with the Department of PublicInstruction for the Division for Finance and Management.
That's a long title.
SPEAKER1: That IS a long title! (01:40):
undefined
SPEAKER5: Our division has teams that work with community nutrition, food, school nutrition, parental options, school finance and DPI's business (01:42):
undefined
services. And I've worked with the department over 20 years in various roles,and before that I worked for the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
SPEAKER1: Well, thank you. (01:59):
undefined
SPEAKER6: And I'm Laura Roeker. (02:00):
undefined
I'm the director of Teaching and Learning at the Wisconsin Department of PublicInstruction.
I've just been there for about a year, but I actually started my teachingcareer right here in Oregon with Superintendent Bergstrom as my principal.
SPEAKER1: So exciting. (02:14):
undefined
SPEAKER6: Yeah. So I taught at Rome Corners Intermediate School, and then I also was a teacher in the Madison Metropolitan School District. (02:15):
undefined
And then I went to UW and taught some undergraduate literacy, pre-serviceteacher courses, and then just joined the department after getting my doctorate
last year.
SPEAKER1: Well, thank you. (02:32):
undefined
And then we'll go over here.
SPEAKER7: Hi, I'm Jessica Sharkus and I am the director of the school nutrition team at the Department of Public Instruction. (02:36):
undefined
I've been there for 17 years.
Crazy to think about that.
I was the assistant director for six and the director for 11, and prior tothat -- I'm a registered dietitian.
So I've worked in hospital food service as well as clinical dietetics.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. And you're also a parent of of students here. (02:59):
undefined
SPEAKER7: Yeah. My two kiddos are freshmen, so that's pretty exciting. (03:02):
undefined
It is.
SPEAKER1: It's a big day. (03:07):
undefined
SPEAKER7: Yeah. And hi, my name is Sarah Tomasiewic and I am the school nutrition director here (03:07):
undefined
SPEAKER8: at the Oregon School District. (03:12):
undefined
So I help oversee all of the menus in each one of our buildings here.
SPEAKER1: Thank you, Sarah. And it's great to have all of you here, especially when we know you're very busy. (03:18):
undefined
So thank you for making time to come here.
Why is it important to you to join a school district for the beginning of theyear?
SPEAKER4: Well, for me, I think it's just such an exciting time for kids. (03:29):
undefined
This is Sara Rodriguez.
I've got two kids myself, 14 and 16.
So I've got a freshman starting this year in high school and then another ajunior.
And I remember how exciting that first day was, being able to drop off the kidsand they were able to see their friends again.
(03:51):
But, you know, Wisconsin has such a fantastic school system and we are just soproud in terms of our administration that we were able to bring that school
system back up from 18th in the nation to 1 in 10 in the nation to 10th in thenation.
So we've got just a fantastic school system here in Wisconsin, and we just wantto show it off.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. (04:11):
undefined
SPEAKER5: I agree. This is Tricia with everything that she said. (04:13):
undefined
And I just -- the excitement, the community, the families, the the students asthey walked in.
The smiles on their face were just happy and so thankful to be here tocelebrate with you and then learn more about the school and the district and all
the great things you're doing.
So thank you so much.
SPEAKER1: Well, thank you. And I'm glad you used the word celebrate because that's what it felt like today. (04:30):
undefined
The little ones and the big ones, because this is a K-6 school coming in.
We're joyful.
It was a really joyful feeling.
SPEAKER6: And I think it's important just to for anybody at DPI to be out in schools and in our communities and really celebrating the hard work of our educators are we (04:43):
undefined
know how much work goes into.
So many of us have an education background and we know how much work goes intothe beginning of the school year.
So we just want to celebrate.
I mean, this Green Ribbon Award is an incredible accomplishment.
(05:05):
And but just the day to day in and out work here, I mean, this is a world classfacility, but I think it's really the educators that make it that way.
And so we're just so grateful to be here with you all.
SPEAKER1: Yes, I agree. (05:15):
undefined
The building is beautiful, but the building is not what makes the school.
Right. It's the people in it and the important work they do.
So thank you.
SPEAKER7: I'm just excited to be here because Sarah's done such a great job making sure that all of our kids here in Wisconsin are well, at least in Oregon School (05:26):
undefined
district are getting fed every morning serving breakfast and lunch.
That's pretty amazing.
Um, you can't learn if you're hungry, right?
SPEAKER1: And fed healthy foods. (05:42):
undefined
Absolutely. Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER7: So very exciting to be here. (05:46):
undefined
SPEAKER1: And, Sarah, you and I are here because this is our job. (05:48):
undefined
We are here. Yes, but it's one of the best parts of the job, right?
Is getting that excitement of everyone coming back for the first day andknowing that there are that kids are excited to come back.
That means a lot.
So are there any efforts or initiatives or programs that any of you would liketo highlight for our families?
SPEAKER4: Yeah. I can talk a little bit about what the Governor Evers and myself have put into the budget that I think is really exciting. (06:11):
undefined
We have over $30 million in Kids Get Ahead initiative, which is really aboutmental health in the schools.
And I as a nurse myself and having two kids when we went through Covid, Ibelieve that there were always mental health issues within the school system
(06:36):
themselves. But that just exacerbated a lot of issues that were out there andit made it more visible to us as clinicians.
And I know as teachers you saw this as well.
And so Governor Evers, as the educator that he is, we wanted to make sure thatschool systems had the resources to address those mental health issues.
So that's really exciting that we were able to get that into the budget thisyear.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. (06:58):
undefined
SPEAKER5: I would just mention three things. (07:00):
undefined
First, we know there's staffing challenges in our schools and it -- theDepartment of Public Instruction announced a new program designed to help school
districts attract, retain and prepare special educator teachers.
And that's called the Special Educator Induction Program, which will support300 special educators around the state working with CSAs to provide training and
(07:25):
connections. So we're really excited about that work.
In addition, the department is taking undertaking a strategic planning processright now, and we're inviting family members, students, teachers, staff to
provide feedback and information on our mission, our values and our work tohelp us drive the work in the years to come and track the progress of
(07:49):
of those goals.
So we're excited about that.
And then lastly, I'd mentioned that state Superintendent Dr.
Underly will be doing her annual State of Education address on September 21st,and she'll be sharing a lot of initiatives during that time.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. Thank you. (08:02):
undefined
And and you are very right to focus in on training, attracting and retainingspecial educators that -- they have such an important job.
And we definitely need more people who are trained that way.
And we're grateful to say we're one of the many recipients for the Kids GetAhead initiative and very happy about that.
(08:22):
Anything from you?
SPEAKER6: Yeah, our team teaching and learning is also focusing on civic engagement. (08:23):
undefined
So we will be releasing at the end of September a statewide K-12 civic scopeand sequence plan.
That's exciting. And when you like when you go to a school like this and yousee the ways that we're teaching children to be engaged as active citizens, not
just in their own communities, but in our global community and thinking aboutwhat they need to care about and how they need to stay engaged.
(08:48):
I think that the civic scope and sequence plan will tie really nicely in withwith those conversations.
SPEAKER1: So thank you. I think it'll be great to give teachers a guide on such an important topic too, and not that there aren't standards already, but to provide (08:54):
undefined
them even more guidance in how to deliver a high quality program.
Absolutely. Thank you.
SPEAKER7: So I want to highlight some of the things that we're doing in school nutrition. (09:10):
undefined
We have a local food to school program where we received funding from USDA, andOregon is participating in that program where you're getting
some local beef from a nearby farm, as well as some vegetables from a differentfarm.
So getting local products into our kids meals is very exciting.
(09:34):
And thanks to Sarah, she's done a lot of hard work there.
SPEAKER1: She sure has. (09:38):
undefined
SPEAKER7: But we do also have an AmeriCorps farm to school program here at Oregon, where -- I know you're struggling to get a member so far this year. (09:39):
undefined
However, this is the seventh year that Oregon has participated and just some ofthe great things that happened last year.
There were at least ten community events where they were promoting farm toschool programing.
(10:00):
So like they had a great apple crunch with local apples, a couple food drives,they had a multi lingual family night and they do harvest of the month.
And that also ties into the grocery store located in Oregon, where they promotethe foods that are being promoted for the harvest of the month.
So that's pretty exciting.
When you take things that you're learning in school and you see it at thegrocery store, getting those healthy foods into kids is really important, and I
(10:27):
think that really helps.
Just another thing, I know that cost of food is really high, so efforts fromUSDA, we're going to be
sending schools some additional funding to help support.
Um, food purchases so that we can continue to get the healthy foods intoschools.
SPEAKER1: That's great. That's -- that's really great. (10:47):
undefined
And I hope we get some AmeriCorps volunteers or applicants, I should say,because that's a paid position.
I hope we get some applicants soon because I really appreciate the work theydid and and what they brought to our district.
And they've worked so closely with Sara and our director of Learning andStudent Achievement because they play a dual role here.
SPEAKER7: Yeah, getting those members into classrooms and teaching kids about where their food comes from. (11:08):
undefined
And Tricia has been very integral in helping raise that salary or the stipendfor the members so that we can
attract more members to the program.
Yes. And be able to keep them for a longer period of time.
(11:30):
It's a
SPEAKER1: great experience. (11:31):
undefined
Yeah, I'm really, really appreciative of the work of the people who have donethis before.
Sara Is there anything that you'd like to add?
SPEAKER9: Um, I (11:40):
undefined
SPEAKER8: think, I mean, this school year we are excited to kind of be out of the rebuilding phase in our department and be able to start this school year (11:41):
undefined
off as normal. We are fully staffed.
We have plans to continue purchasing local foods.
We are going to start our Around the World Day menus again in October and we'repairing with one of our German teachers to make sure that our first Around the
(12:04):
World Day menu aligns with our German week.
I believe -- I might be wrong.
You're right. You're right.
SPEAKER1: It's when our German sister school is sending students here. (12:11):
undefined
Yeah.
SPEAKER8: So it's I think it'll be an amazing school year and I'm very excited to jump into it. (12:15):
undefined
SPEAKER1: Well, and I'd also like to say thank you to you because you were able to retain all of your food service staff from last year to this year. (12:20):
undefined
And I would bet that there aren't many school nutrition programs that were ableto do that.
So that's pretty
SPEAKER8: wonderful. To have the same team going into this school year. (12:34):
undefined
SPEAKER1: Consistency helps so much. (12:37):
undefined
Absolutely. So as we know, schools provide many services to our students and toour families, and the demands of the profession, as have been discussed already,
are more than they've ever been.
So what are your thoughts in respect to this?
And I'm opening that up to anybody here.
SPEAKER4: I'll just -- I'll just start. (12:55):
undefined
I mean, I, Governor Evers and I know that schools are the heart of the communityand we have done quite a bit to try to continue to invest in the school systems.
But we need to do more.
We've got a lot of teacher vacancies within the different school districts,which makes it a lot more difficult for those that are here today.
(13:16):
And, you know, as a public health nurse myself, I realize that teachers do takecare of just a wide variety of issues within the school system, and we need to
provide resources for them to be able to do that and truly respect them for theprofessionals that they are.
And what a great investment in our kids in Wisconsin to have these folks thatare willing every day to come in and teach our
(13:41):
kids a million things!
This school is fantastic.
And I just think that we are so lucky in Wisconsin to have such a dedicatedteaching workforce.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. (13:52):
undefined
SPEAKER5: I would agree. And our teachers today are being asked to do so much. (13:54):
undefined
They have a huge responsibility not only in educating our children, but alsotaking care of their well-being.
Yes. So important.
And it's teachers.
It's school nutrition professionals.
It's our bus drivers, it's our facility staff.
They all play such an important role.
(14:15):
And just just a huge thank you to all they do.
SPEAKER1: Well, we always one of our core values in the school district is the idea of the whole child and that we teach the whole child. (14:19):
undefined
And that's because if you don't take that approach, they don't -- It's veryunlikely your students will be as ready to learn as you would like them to be if
you're not able to think of them as holistic human beings with needs and workto provide for those needs.
(14:40):
When we're able to do that, that's when the best learning occurs.
So it's it's a complex job, but when you make all the pieces start to fittogether, it's provides the best thing for students.
Anyone else?
SPEAKER6: I just want to add that for all the educators who are listening, we hope that you know that we see you. (14:54):
undefined
We see the dedication that you bring every day.
We see often what a thankless job education is, and we want to support you inany way that we can.
And we are working behind the scenes at the Department of Public Instruction todo that.
(15:15):
But we really see you and we are so grateful.
And to the families and community members, we hope that you're expressing allof that gratitude often and frequently, and supporting your educators, because
what they do here matters and they are such an integral part of our community.
So thank you.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. It's a wonderful way to spend your life's work. (15:32):
undefined
It really is. I can't think of anything better.
What messages do you have for educators as we begin the school year?
For families or for students?
And Laura, you kind of just you just kind of gave your message, really?
Anybody else?
SPEAKER4: I would say that on behalf of the administration, thank you for the work that you're doing. (15:54):
undefined
We know it has not been easy these last several years, and we know that whatyou do is nothing short of heroic.
And again, as a nurse, we talk a lot about those social determinants of healthand how what we do within hospital systems is such a tiny fraction of how
(16:16):
healthy folks are.
And what teachers do is even bigger percentage of making sure our kids arehealthy throughout the day.
So thank you.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. (16:24):
undefined
SPEAKER7: I just want to say thank you for being very supportive of the school nutrition program here. (16:27):
undefined
Sarah does a great job making sure that kids have access to breakfast and luncheach and every day, which is so important because without food you can't really
learn. I think there's many opportunities that are in the forth coming, butjust making sure that you continue to,
(16:54):
you know, do the farm to school stuff because teaching kids where their foodcomes from is important.
And I love the fact that, you know, there's so many different things thatyou're doing bringing local foods into this school district.
The kids are very fortunate to have you.
SPEAKER1: Well, thank you for helping us kick off the school year. (17:12):
undefined
We really appreciate your time.
And we are honored you've chosen the Oregon School District for your first dayvisit.
Thank you, everyone.
SPEAKER10: Thank you. (17:23):
undefined
SPEAKER1: Thanks for tuning in this week. (17:25):
undefined
We are so glad to have our students back in classrooms.
It's going to be a great year.
Remember that you can find links to all episodes of Inside the OSD and submittopic ideas on our website at
OregonSD.Org/Podcast. You can find this podcast anywhere you can find podcasts.
(17:48):
Make sure to subscribe if you're listening on one of these apps to getnotifications on the most recent episodes.
We'll see you next time on Inside the OSD, where it's all about the kids.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.