FEBRUARY 25, 2022, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A7
State senators, ODE call for
more summer school funding
They want Oregon to invest $200 million in summer
programs to help students recover credits and spend
time with counselors, mentors and peers
of the Week
presented by
OLGA GLORIA
Where and how do you
volunteer?
Students prepare to go class at Weddle Elementary in Keizer on their first day of the 2021-2022 school year.
By ALEX BAUMHARDT
Of the Oregon Capital Chronicle
Schools and summer educational
programs need $100 million more to
help students recover from pandem-
ic-related school closures, according
to the state Education Department,
education groups and several state
senators.
Testifying at a meeting of the
Senate Committee on Education on
Tuesday, they said Oregon needs more
programs to help students recover
credits, spend time among peers and
counselors and address behavioral
issues that have been exacerbated by
the pandemic.
Dave McDonald, vice president of
public aff airs and strategic initiatives
at Western Oregon University, said it
needs more money to sustain summer
classes into the future. The univer-
sity hosts summer programs for high
school students and incoming college
freshmen.
“The challenges that COVID has
created for us are ongoing, not just for
the class of ’22 coming in,” McDonald
said. “The middle school students will
have a defi cit they have to overcome,
and we will have many years of need-
ing these types of summer programs.”
Offi cials from the Department of
Education, the Coalition of School
Administrators and others also spoke
in favor of boosting spending for
summer programs.
Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland,
and Senate President Peter Courtney,
D-Salem, have called for an additional
$100 million for summer programs,
adding to $100 million from last year
which was not spent because fund-
ing wasn’t available until June, which
didn’t give educators much time to
plan.
During the 2021 legislative session,
a bill devoting $205 million to sum-
mer programs passed as response to
COVID learning losses.
The money went to 161 school dis-
tricts, 69 charter schools and thou-
sands of community programs.
Still, the grants allowed programs to
serve more than eight times more stu-
dents last summer than the year before.
More than 101,000 students took
part in summer programs last year,
compared with nearly 13,000 in 2020.
Dembrow and Courtney have called
for using the leftover $100 million for
programs this summer and adding
another $100 million to cover more
programs. The majority of summer
educational programs in Oregon are
paid for by participant fees, according
to the Oregon Afterschool & Summer
for Kids Network.
Dembrow said he would like to
expand access to low-income house-
holds by not charging families as
much.
FILE PHOTO, Keizertimes
“The more we can provide resources
to kids from poorer families, with good,
stimulating programs, the rewards will
be great in the future,” Dembrow said.
Dembrow said the additional $100
million will be considered a budget
item, not tied to any bill, and be con-
sidered by the Capital Construction
Subcommittee under the Joint
Committee on Ways and Means. The
subcommittee works on the state
budget.
Both Dembrow and Courtney see
increased funding to summer schools
and programs as a vital step to get-
ting the state closer to year-round
schooling.
According to Courtney, “In the end,
it’s the beginning of really talking
about a full year of school.”
Dembrow said that universal kin-
dergarten was initially optional for
schools but became so popular that it
was made mandatory statewide.
“It didn’t start out that way when
I was a freshman in the Legislature,”
Dembrow said. “Year-round school
reminds me of that.”
Courtney said at the very least,
Oregon needs to maintain robust fund-
ing for summer school in the years
ahead.
“This is as much about helping stu-
dents who are behind now as helping
students of the future,” he said.
As a retired educator, I volunteer by
being a member of the Latino Action
Committee (L.A.C.) The L.A.C. has
been in existence since 2014 and
consists of six community members
who are former migrant individuals
who care about the future of our
youth and community. The L.A.C
focuses on Latino representation
and participation in education and
the community. Since 2018 we have
awarded scholarships to graduating
migrant Latino students from
McNary High School. During the
summer months, myself, my family
and the L.A.C. volunteer by visiting
migrant families at their migrant
housing complex. We donate books
and supplies to the children and
parents. I also recently became
a board member of the Keizer
Community Library since having
books and reading resources are
very important for me. I think it is
very important for Keizer to have
its own public library so we can
offer valuable resources and literacy
opportunities to our youth and our
community in general.
Why do you volunteer?
I volunteer because it’s the right
thing to do. It’s my way of helping
my community.
What does volunteering
do for you?
I do the things I do because they are
meaningful to me and it is humbling
to be part of something I care about.
How would you get
others to volunteer in
their community?
I reach out to people I know, friends,
or community leaders and share
volunteer opportunities on projects
I am involved with or volunteer
opportunities in our Keizer
community. It is important to get
involved in something that you are
passionate about, that is meaningful
and has a purpose in helping others.