Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2015)
Wednesday, July 15, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 19 Grant focuses on preschool children Feds want to garnish wages By Christine Coffin Correspondent BEND — The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Oregon State University(OSU)-Cascades researcher Shannon Lipscomb a $1.5 million grant to develop and test a program to help teachers improve the school readiness of preschoolers who have been exposed to trauma. The four-year grant from the Office of Early Learn- ing is the largest award ever for OSU-Cascades, the OSU branch campus in Central Oregon. A priority of the U.S. Department of Education is to enhance learning and develop- ment for children with high needs through early learning programs. “Research shows the importance of high quality early learning experiences for children’s later success not only in school but also in other key aspects of life such as avoiding criminal behavior,” said Lipscomb, an assistant professor in the human devel- opment and family science program. “Quality early learn- ing may be even more impor- tant for the approximate five million children in the U.S. who experience trauma each year. They tend to have more difficulties in school, includ- ing behavioral and academic problems, and school drop- out. Giving preschool teach- ers effective strategies to help these young children could significantly change the course of children’s lives.” Lipscomb, affiliated with OSU’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences, is an expert on early childhood development. She focuses on preschool and early child-care experiences, and how those early social experiences help children prepare for success in life. Her work focuses on chil- dren from at-risk backgrounds including children from low- income families, those with genetic risk for behavioral problems, and those exposed to trauma. Trauma can be a result of child abuse, neglect, domestic violence, parent mental illness, parent sub- stance abuse, homelessness or parent incarceration. The research project will focus on teachers in Head Start, child-care, and pre- school programs in Central Oregon. Head Start is a feder- ally funded program focused on school readiness for chil- dren and families living in poverty. Over 500 children in Central Oregon attend Head Start each year and thousands attend other early learning programs. Selected teachers will engage in online classes to gain knowledge about childhood trauma and how to promote learning and develop- ment in children exposed to trauma. Regular video coach- ing sessions will help teachers take their understanding and incorporate it into practices in the classroom with children. A benefit to the online and video implementation is its ability to reach teachers in rural areas, where professional development programs may not be available. Both the teachers and chil- dren will be assessed regularly to determine how well the pro- gram helps to improve teach- er’s knowledge and readiness, and the children’s functioning, stress, and classroom engage- ment. The project will run Celebr ating 40 Years in Sisters! through 2019. After this pro- gram is developed and tested here in Central Oregon Lip- scomb’s team hopes to make it available to early child- hood teachers throughout the country. Giving preschool teachers effective strategies to help these young children could significantly change the course of children’s lives. — Shannon lipscomb Partners in the grant include the University of Oregon, the University of Southern Maine, NeighborImpact, The Early Learning Hub of Cen- tral Oregon, Trauma Informed Oregon, Oregon Center for Career Development in Child- hood Care and Education, and Chastain & Associates, LLC. The grant includes fund- ing for two staff researchers. Undergraduate and graduate student workers and volun- teers will also participate in the research, assisting faculty in developing the program and collecting data to evaluate it. Human development and family sciences is one of the largest degree programs at OSU-Cascades. Students and faculty in the program study how people develop within the context of families, schools, work, communities and other social-cultural environments. Graduates work in services sectors including education, non-profits, counseling, health care and government agencies. DROP-IN PUBLIC YOGA CLASSES 7 DAYS A WEEK! of former eco-saboteur PORTLAND (AP) — The U.S. government has filed papers to garnish the wages of a Portland State University official, to make him pay more in restitution for his role in a pair of eco- anarchist fire-bombings. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Bickers filed a writ of garnishment against 33-year-old Jacob D.B. Sherman last week, The Oregonian reported. Sherman served nearly three years in prison after pleading guilty to firebomb- ing logging trucks and equipment at two Oregon companies in 2001, when he was 19. He was linked to the Earth Liberation Front, which the FBI says is an eco- terrorist group. A judge ordered Sherman and his co-conspirators to pay restitution for the dam- age they caused. Sherman’s share was $55,100, and he still owes $43,804. Sherman says he’s paying regularly, but can’t afford to pay more. He was arrested after confiding to a girlfriend that he had helped set fire to some logging trucks and that the FBI was tailing him. When she mentioned that her dad was a deputy state fire marshal, he warned her not to tell him. But she did. Sherman was arrested at C age 20. He got out of prison in 2006, returned to college, earning a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s in lead- ership and sustainability education. Early last year, he was named the Institute for Sustainable Solutions coor- dinator of sustainability curriculum. The writ of garnish- ment filed last week gives Sherman 10 days to respond. “I’ve been paying my res- titution and am committed to paying my restitution,” Sherman told The Oregonian on Friday. “It’s unfortunate the government has taken this step. I’ve been told that two co-defendants are delinquent.” Earlier this year, the P o r t l a n d Tr i b u n e c a r- ried a feature story about Sherman’s transformation from a long-haired vegan, bumbling eco-arsonist bent on sabotaging corpo- rations to a meat-eating, marathon-running family man who works within the system. Sherman explained that he has a family now, stu- dent loan debts, and has dutifully made the mini- mum $50-a-month restitu- tion payments. He said he would pay more if he could afford to. “I’m definitely not living the high life,” he said. NING SER VICE A E L S Specializing In: Windows & Screen Cleaning Houe & Rental Cleaning Construction & Deep Cleaning Gutter Cleaning Free estimates! I NSURED , L ICENSED & B ONDED 152 E. Main Ave. • 541-549-8771 Old-World Quality, New-World Charm Hand-forged ironwork that transform your home Come visit our showroom in the Sisters Industrial Park today! 541-549-9280 | PonderosaForge.com | CCB# 87640 164 N. Elm St., Sisters 541.390.5678 | www.lifeloveyoga.com JEFF BLAKE • 541-549-0897