Gov. Kotek sets vision at first meeting of Early Literacy Educator Prep Council

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Governor Tina Kotek on Monday joined the first meeting of the Early Literacy Educator Prep Council to set her vision for the work ahead, which is aimed at raising the bar on elementary educator preparation for reading and writing instruction.

“There is no question that our reading proficiency rates are unacceptable and that we have more work to do to help children learn to read so they can read to learn. We must be determined and focused in this work,” Governor Kotek said. “Even before I came into this office, I heard from parents that children are not receiving consistent reading and writing instruction from school to school. How we prepare new educators is key to a sustainable solution.”

Governor Kotek then outlined the following vision for the council to strive toward:

• Each child must have access to consistent, culturally responsive, and research-aligned literacy instruction.
• All parents and caregivers must be supported as full partners in their children’s literacy development, starting at birth; and
• Every elementary teacher prepared in an Oregon educator prep program must leave knowing how to teach and assess reading and writing in developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, and research-aligned ways.

The Council is made up of 20 members, including teachers, principals, representatives from education preparation programs, early literacy experts, and bipartisan appointments from the Oregon House and Senate.

The Governor signed Executive Order 23-12 in May to form the Council, directing it to develop recommendations for strengthening standards that the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) uses to approve elementary educator preparation programs and license elementary educators.

A recording of the first meeting can be found here.