Today Governor Ted Kulongoski and State Superintendent Susan Castillo were joined by Portland Public Schools Superintendent Vicki Phillips, Mayor Potter and representatives from the charitable foundations and local business community to announce a $10.7 million investment by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Meyer Memorial Trust to the State of Oregon and Portland Public Schools to advance improvements to Oregon high schools throughout the state.

Oregon is one of four states to receive such a grant. Oregon is grateful to receive such a gift and we must thank the Gates Foundation and the Meyer Memorial Trust for recognizing the vision that Oregon has for education and awarding us this grant to see that vision through. This vision includes a seamless education enterprise that makes learning relevant for the students in our classrooms to the workforce that they will one day enter.

“The work we are doing at the state level to create a seamless education enterprise from pre-school through graduate school is key not only to the quality of education we provide our children – but to growing Oregon’s economy and maintaining Oregon’s quality of life,” Governor Ted Kulongoski said. “We are on the right course - unemployment is down, hunger is down and payrolls are up – and this grant will help us accelerate our efforts to ensure all Oregon students have the skills to compete and succeed in the 21st century.”

As part of the Governor’s vision for creating a seamless education system that includes improving Oregon’s high schools and expanding opportunities to post-secondary education for all Oregonians, the Governor has charged the Joint Boards of Education (the State School Board of Education and the Board of Higher Education) with crafting a common vision for education focused on system alignment and articulation and based on a consolidated P-16 budget. The Governor has also supported the development of a P-16 integrated data system project that will facilitate the transfer of data between K-12 and post secondary institutions and further alignment between all segments of the P-16 education continuum.

The $10.7 million grant announced today will help accelerate those efforts in four key areas:
1. High school graduation/diploma requirements;
2. Systems alignment and integration;
3. P-20 budget and system performance measures; and
4. Communication.