High Desert ESD and Tigard-Tualatin SD are dreaming bigger

The High Desert Education Service District (ESD) and Tigard-Tualatin School District are celebrating their efforts to dream bigger through newly created Promise Program tablet templates.

The High Desert ESD is assuring that Central Oregon students thrive from birth to career through a cross-sector partnership known as “Better Together.” Tigard-Tualatin is serving more than 600 students in business, career and technical education, and is raising student achievement by arming students “with employment skills for today’s needed workforce.”

In its tablet, the High Desert ESD demonstrates how it is serving 33,000 students and boosting student achievement by “aligning community resources and organizations with schools to maximize positive impact on students.”

Doug Nelson, a High Desert ESD Board member (and president of the OSBA Board of Directors) said ESDs are in a unique position to bring together school districts, higher education and the community.

“Better Together brings all those supports to bear on the path students take from cradle to career,” Dr. Nelson said. “As we continue to debate what is needed to create student success and improve graduation rates, knowing that there are programs addressing the issue and creating synergy within communities is important.

“When such successful programs are publicized, the conversation turns to what works and creates a positive approach to improving our educational system.”

Learn more about the Better Together program here.

Through the remainder of this year and into 2017, the Promise campaign will be collecting such examples of how public schools are changing students’ lives, and how by dreaming bigger we can ensure that Oregon students reach their full potential. These examples will be shared with Oregon legislators and other education leaders.

Won’t you share your own example of a Promise Program today? Get started here. You can also see a copy of the High Desert ESD’s tablet here and Tigard-Tualatin’s tablet here.