Spilyay Tymoo, W^rrn Spings, Oregon
Sanders encourages
commitment to education
By Leslie M itts
Spilyay Tymoo
Jeff Sanders is a busyman.
Now that he is servingas the
president of the Oregon School
Board Association, Sanders
won’t be slowing down anytime
soon.
But he’s not one JD complain
about his commitnents—espe
cially because he volunteers his
time and energy is part of his
passion for education.
In addition t/working as ex
ecutive director of the Warm
Springs Housing Department,
Sanders spends about a month
and a half out of each year
traveling for his various com
mitments t> education.
His sei/tice with the Oregon
School Boards Association be
gan about ten years ago when
he was approached by the
OSBA.
“There’s very little represen
tation east of the Cascades,”
Sanders explained, and so they
were looking for someone to
represent this area of the state.
As a result, Sanders served
in an “at large” position for two
years—but then, because the
term limit is two years, he fin
ished his responsibility.
After that, friends encour
aged him to tty for an executive
position. The OSBA system of
elections allows a candidate to
begin as secretary/treasurer and
then progress through the ranks
of vice president, president
elect, president and past presi
dent.
Sanders didn’t expect to
win—instead he ran to satisfy
those who urged him to run.
“I thought well, here I am,
an Indian from the Warm
Springs Reservation and this is
a statewide position,” Sanders
said.
He won the election by a
landslide.
Now, several years later,
Sanders entered into his term
as president of the OSBA for
the 2006-07 school year at the
annual convention in Novem
ber.
He wtill serve as past presi
dent for the 2007-08 year.
For Sanders, his service on
so many different educational
Jeff Sanders
committees is all part of a big
ger picture.
“I believe that the reserva
tion can only survive economi
cally through education,” he said.
“Education is the cornerstone to
everything that our people do.”
There is a definite change
from older generations as well,
Sanders said. In the past,
many didn’t finish high school
and very few pursued higher
education.
/
According to Sanders, “It
really narrows the focus of what
they can do here for our tribal
government.”
In fact, Sanders dropped out
of high school during his sopho
more year because of social and
discipline problems.
“I’ve always looked back on
that and said I wish I had fin
ished,” Sanders said.
For students todiy, Sanders
hopes to help create more op
portunities—something he feels
is only available though educa
tion.
“I believe tt it education is
the only way tl it you can go,”
he said.
It was thai very belief that
prompted Saltiers to begin serv
ing on the kjcal school board 18
years ago.
When :j )ie was approached
and aske</ to consider serving
on the Jefferson County School
Board, Sanders had no intention
of mating it a long-term com-
mitmet
Instead he originally planned
to sefve as a representative of
the tribe until someone else could
fill rite position.
lut nearly two decades later,
Sajiders still serves oh the
Jefferson County School,Board.
In addition to his commit-
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ments to both the local and state
school boards, Sanders has also
spent 10 years participating in
the national school board asso
ciation as part of the Pacific
Region.
He’s served on the legislative
and policy committee and even
recently returned from Washing
ton D.C. where he met with state
representatives in order to ad
dress education issues.
For Sanders, the ability to
help promote education is im
portant on any level—and he
feels that his work on any level
is all part of the process.
“The thing that drives me
most about it is I see the impor
tance of education,” Sanders
explained. “Education is the
key. It is paramount that we get
our young people educated.”
Locally, Sanders is part of a
much larger group of people
and organizations dedicated to
education.
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