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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2011)
the very foundation of our government.’ What do you think of the idea that schools should be run like a business? We do a very effi cient job of management. There’s a lot of diff erence between business and education. We have a job to serve all students. There isn’t a business that doesn’t have a niche. We have to serve all niches. Where can you fi nd more money now? That’s a dialogue we’re going to have with our Legislature and our community. In every community I’ve been in, people have had the ability to say we want to invest more in the education of our children. Here, the local option levy is very limited. Eugene is a community that has a strong investment in education, and I’m sure would invest much more if they could. We have to look at the funding system in Oregon. Oregon has the second largest class size in the country and some of the lowest per pupil spending. If adults are providing less to their children than they receive themselves, I believe that is very problematic. Our goal is to off er our children a better life than the one we had. Probably when you went to school, you had an art teacher, a music teacher, physical education teacher, librarian — none of those exist at the elementary level now. We have essentially told the classroom teacher, you’re it. Should the best teachers be put in the hardest schools? Some of our best teachers are already in our hardest schools. Schools attract teachers when there’s a strong professional community and attractive leadership. That’s our goal for the schools that have the most at-risk students. Take a look at Chavez, you’ve got a great principal there, you’ve got a great faculty. It’s a highly attractive building, it has all the elements, and people feel very satisfi ed and kids are doing well. The commitment of the faculty is pretty extraordinary. But their scores are lower ... Their scores are lower, but those students are making extraordinary growth. They are actually probably making greater growth than other students. It seems like there’s a morale issue with teachers now. How do you make them happier? Sometimes the profession gets painted by the very few, very problematic teachers. The vast majority of our teachers are very high performing and very talented. I’ve been telling our teachers, you have to hold your head up high. The work you do is vitally important, and you are making a terrifi c contribution with children. ew EUGENE SYMPHONY PRESENTS Beethoven Triple Concerto Tonight! Thursday, December 1 at 8:00 PM SILVA— Tix: $15 & up; Student & youth discounts available In the fi nal performance of the Counterpoint: War+Peace series, Chee-Yun returns to the Silva Concert Hall with Inon Barnatan and Joshua Roman to perform Beethoven’s electrifying Triple Concerto. ALL THAT! DANCE COMPANY PRESENTS Nutcracker Remixed Chee-Yun Saturday, December 3 at 7:00 PM Sunday, December 4 at 2:00 PM SORENG— Tix: $18 All of the enchantment of the beloved fairy tale, set to modern day music by Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Norah Jones and more. SHASTA MIDDLE SCHOOL PRESENTS Shasta Winter Concert Monday, December 5 at 7:00 PM —SILVA— Tix: $8.50 Shasta’s award-winning band, choir and orchestra perform a winter concert. THEATRE COUNCIL PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS Menopause The Musical In Concert Friday, December 9 at 7:30 PM Saturday, December 10 at 3:00 PM Sunday, December 11 at 3:00 PM SORENG— Tix: $35 What happens when you give the four women in Menopause The Musical® the black lace bra and a microphone? Menopause The Musical® In Concert, a unique experience in theatre entertainment. EUGENE CONCERT CHOIR PRESENTS A Classic Christmas Saturday, December 10 at 8:00 PM Sunday, December 11 at 2:30 PM Restaruant & night club SILVA— Tix: $36-$22; Student, youth & senior discounts available P R E S E N T S BILL SHREVE BARRY FLAST A N D O F W I T H D E A D R I N G E R S P A U L B I O N D I Saturday, December 3rd •9pm 1626 Willamette • 344-8600 WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM Nutcracker Remixed Classic favorites to celebrate the holidays, performed by Eugene Concert Choir, Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble, Oregon Mozart Players, and guest soloists. TICKET OFFICE INFORMATION BUY TICKETS ONLINE: HultCenter.org OR CALL: 541 .682. 5000 HULT CENTER TICKET OFFICE HOURS: Tue-Fri, 12-5 PM ; Sat, 11 AM –3 PM ONE HOUR BEFORE PERFORMANCE MON-SAT, TWO HOURS BEFORE ON SUN. UO TICKET OUTLET IN THE EMU: Mon-Fri, 9 AM –5 PM EUGENE WEEKLY DECEMBER 1, 2011 15
