Educator Advancement Council details statewide training, Grow Your Own investments and a missing $25 million in current service-level budget

Dr. Karen Perez, executive director of the Educator Advancement Council, told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education on March 13 that the council has established statewide infrastructure — regional education networks, Grow Your Own partnerships and a professional learning platform — to support Oregon’s preK–12 educators and teacher candidates.

The council, Perez said, was established by Senate Bill 182 in 2017 to expand access to culturally responsive professional learning and now oversees grant programs, regional networks and partnerships intended to recruit, prepare and retain educators. She told the committee the EAC has supported more than 13,000 educators and teacher candidates through the regional education networks and Grow Your Own initiatives and that the state-funded networks reach rural districts and districts with high need.

The EAC’s work matters because it aims to supply districts with trained teachers, mentors and coaches aligned to pending accountability and literacy standards. “The infrastructure of our program is now built, and we are aligning, refining, accountability measures, and growing best practices locally and statewide with continuous improvement at the center of our work for Oregon students,” Perez said.

Perez described three main…