PAGE A7, KEIZERTIMES, JANUARY 14, 2022
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School choice options are
changing in Keizer
By ANDREW CAMPANELLA
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re
a parent, or have friends or neighbors who
are. Baby Boomer, Gen X, or Millennial—
the K-12 school scene has changed so
much since we were kids. Understanding
these changes can help moms and dads
guide their children to greater learning,
success, and happiness. So: here are the
three biggest changes affecting education
in Keizer and across the U.S. today, and
what these changes mean for your family.
First, school choice opportunities have
broadened over the last generation. That
means parents have more options for
where to send their children to school. For
example: traditional public schools have
adopted more flexible enrollment poli-
cies. Charter school laws have passed in
45 states, including Oregon. More families
are aware they can choose public magnet
programs, where kids receive education
with a special focus, like STEM or the arts.
Today, some Oregon students are able to
receive private scholarships to help fund
their tuition at independent schools. Plus,
a growing number of Oregon families are
choosing homeschooling.
A second game-changer since when we
were kids is that there’s now more commu-
nity support for making school choices.
There are also more resources for parents
to help them find schools and learning
environments that meet their children’s
needs. I’ve worked in K-12 education for
more than 15 years; over that time, I’ve
seen dozens of parent-focused organi-
zations spring up to shine a spotlight on
learning options in local communities.
From helping parents find scholarships to
private schools, to helping them figure out
the process of transferring to public school
outside of their zone, to offering bilingual
application assistance, grassroots organi-
zations are cutting the stress out of school
searching.
You can visit schoolchoiceweek.com/
oregon to find community organizations
in Oregon. Keep in mind that parents cite
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word-of-mouth as a key factor in what
school they choose. This means you have
the power to help others in Keizer by shar-
ing your own school experiences.
Third, a plethora of online learning envi-
ronments have developed since our school
days. These online schooling options are
more comprehensive and focused than
the emergency remote learning that many
families experienced during the pandemic.
For example, Oregon offers several free,
full-time online learning options for stu-
dents, like Oregon Connections Academy,
Oregon Virtual Academy, Frontier Charter
Academy, Baker Web Academy, Cascade
Virtual Academy, Insight School of
Oregon—Painted Hills, and Destinations
Career Academy of Oregon. Besides
official online schooling, resources like
schoolhouse.world offer free support to
supplement in-person learning.
All of these changes to K-12 education
are reasons for hope. With more options,
Keizer parents have more opportunities to
find a free or inexpensive education per-
sonalized to their unique children.
If you are considering a new or differ-
ent environment for your daughter or son
for the next school year, though, the time
to start evaluating your options is now.
Begin the school search process during
National School Choice Week (January
23-29), when 208 schools and homeschool
groups in Oregon will be working together
to raise awareness of opportunity in K-12
education. You won’t regret it, and your
children will thank you.
(Andrew Campanella is author of
The School Choice Roadmap: 7 Steps
to Finding the Right School for Your
Child.)
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The key to solving poverty
without ruining incentive
guest
OPINION
By MADISON ZAITZ
Poverty is arguably one of our nation’s
biggest problems that is yet to be solved.
I have seen the attempts at resolving, and
observe the many flaws.
In the following ways people are try-
ing to amend poverty: giving out money,
privileges and jobs, while also taxing “the
rich” and offering through-the-roof unem-
ployment benefits. When those in poverty
are constantly given money by the govern-
ment, it chips at their incentive to actually
earn those funds. Their day-to-day life is
reliant on being given money by those
in power, and therefore their incentive to
improve their lives has been diminished.
The consequence is similar for taxing
“the rich." This does not work because,
again, it ruins incentive and nobody works,
because what’s the point to earn good
money if it’s then taken from you? Then
there is the labor shortage that arises when
people are incented to not work, resulting
in an unbalanced labor market (demand
higher than supply), which causes labor
prices to rise, which are then passed into
the broader economy through increased
costs of goods and services.
Raising the minimum wage and giving
huge unemployment sums also reduces
labor participation, hurting the same things
that are trying to be helped—through labor
shortages and the consequent inflation,
things become harder for those of low
income to afford.
This is how the system spells out:
Poverty>>>giving money>>>losing incen-
tive>>>labor shortages>>>supply chain and
prices of labor suffer, which impacts the
same people that are trying to be helped.
Poverty>>>taxing the rich>>>losing
incentive>>>labor shortages>>>supply chain
and prices of labor suffer, which impacts
the same people that are trying to be helped.
These things have been tried. They do
not work. And as a result, things are worse
off than they started. There needs to be a
new solution.
Small, local businesses are doing their
part in finding that solution. They, as more
localized corporations, deeply touch peo-
ple in poverty and give them a foundation
to stand on, instead of distantly sending
money in hope it’ll help. Local govern-
ments could partner with groups like these
to actually help their community.
A wonderful example of this is Thistle
Farms. Thistle Farms (thistlefarms.org) is a
nonprofit organization that helps women in
poverty gain a better life. Their difference
is that they help these women flourish.
The women are employed in a community,
where they work and are taught integral
financial skills. They are given a home for
two years, then afterward, the women have
the financial skills and support they need
to succeed in the real world. Thistle Farm’s
website boasts that five years after graduat-
ing, 75% of those women once on the streets
are living healthy, financially stable lives.
They are given a foundation to grow from,
not a fistful of cash to do as they please with.
This is the kind of system poverty needs.
One where those in need are employed
while still working, taught the skills they
need, and then are able to succeed.
If groups like these are set up individ-
ually and locally all over the country, then
we may be on our way to helping the crisis
of poverty.
(Madison Zaitz lives in Wilsonville.)
We can celebrate
By JIM PARR
“We did not come here from some other
country like the white men did. We have
always been here. Nature placed us in our
lands.”
— Yellow Wolf, Nez Perce
The original people of North America
are known to have been here for the past
19,000 years or more. Their presence in
Oregon dates back to at least 11,000 years
ago. They witnessed the last great Ice Age
and its eventual melting out over this land.
Considering that white Europeans have only
been in North America for about the past
450 or so years, “have always been here” is a
pretty good claim. For thousands of years the
Indians lived on this land with a very light
footprint.
After the end of the Civil War and into
the early 1900s, Indians in the west, includ-
ing here in Oregon, were marched around
and moved off of the land they had lived
on forever. With an apparently indifferent
Congress (and under the guise of the doc-
trine of ‘manifest destiny’) white settlers,
with the assistance of a post-Civil War U.S.
Army with little else to do, gradually took
their land from them. Land had become
property and the concept of ownership was
forced upon the Indians.
Today, despite the struggles of a pan-
demic, there is reason to celebrate. The
Nez Perce Tribe is buying back property in
northeast Oregon that they had been forced
off of over 100 years ago. And notably, Native
American Deb Haaland of New Mexico has
been confirmed and appointed as Secretary
other
VOICES
of the Department of Interior. Also nota-
bly, Oregon’s own Charles “Chuck” Sams
III of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla
Indians has been confirmed and appointed
as Director of our National Parks System.
And the Confederated Salish-Kootenai
Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation
are assuming management and operation
of the National Bison Range in s Montana.
Locally our Confederated Siletz Indian Tribe
has plans for a brand new service station
and store at Keizer Station. They also have a
casino in the planning stages.
There are Indian members of Congress.
Hopefully their ranks in Congress will grow.
After all, who better to manage and oversee
our land and resources than the people who
have always had a spiritual connection with
the soil, the air, the water, the plants and the
animals. We all remember with respect and
admiration the great Indian chiefs who led
their people with care, fearlessness, and skill.
They were focused on holding on to places
where they could live, protect their culture,
their elderly and most of all, securing a good
future for their children. Maybe one day one
of these chiefs will become ‘chief executive’
(president that is) of our nation and country.
It is their time.
(Jim Parr lives in Keizer.)