Joanna Hou, Willamette Week Journalist Profile

Articles

Bill Granting Striking Workers Unemployment Benefits Passes House

2 days ago | wweek.com | Joanna Hou

One of this legislative session’s most hotly debated bills passed out of the Oregon House on Wednesday morning, now one step closer to becoming law. Senate Bill 916 would grant striking workers unemployment benefits after two weeks. Debate about the bill has concentrated on how it might affect public employers, specifically cities, counties and school districts.
Report Finds Oregon “Weak” in Elementary Math Instruction

3 days ago | wweek.com | Joanna Hou

A report Tuesday from the National Council on Teacher Quality rated Oregon “weak” in math instruction, particularly at the elementary levels. NCTQ evaluated five criteria to determine whether instructional programs were effective.
Lawmakers Call for Oregon to Stick to Its Education Accountability Commitment

1 week ago | wweek.com | Joanna Hou

As calls for stronger accountability in public education continue to grow from the upper echelons of Oregon’s government, the Legislature’s Joint Subcommittee on Education approved Senate Bill 141 on Wednesday afternoon by a 7–1 vote. The approval means the bill now advances to the broader Joint Committee on Ways and Means. SB 141 is part of Gov. Tina Kotek’s effort this session to improve the state’s dismal education outcomes.
Groups Say Bill to Improve Early Literacy Initiative May Widen Disparities

1 week ago | wweek.com | Joanna Hou

Oregon Kids Read, an advocacy network calling for the state to improve how it supports young readers, warns that a bill this session intended to improve Oregon’s 2023 early literacy initiative may have unintended effects. The advocacy group partnered with Oregon’s American Civil Liberties Union and four other organizations to criticize House Bill 3040, warning that amendments to the bill don’t do enough to intervene in the schools most at need.
Portland Election Results Show the Portland Association of Teachers’ Power

1 week ago | wweek.com | Joanna Hou

At an age when most Portland Public Schools students are checking the mailbox for college acceptance letters, Jorge Sanchez Bautista came within 1,000 votes of winning elected office. On election night, Virginia La Forte, 54, a brand strategist and longtime parent advocate, held a healthy lead for the School Board seat representing Zone 5. But as late ballots arrived, Sanchez Bautista, 18, a McDaniel High School student and community activist, narrowed the gap.
County Chair Reverses Course on School-Based Mental Health

1 week ago | wweek.com | Joanna Hou

A proposal in Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson’s budget to eliminate the equivalent of 4.18 full-time school-based mental health providers inspired a mutiny among the other four county commissioners and a wave of outrage from community members (“Mental Distress,” WW, May 14). Now, Vega Pederson is changing course and on board with preserving the positions she tried to chop.
Oregon Department of Education Responds to Secretary of State

1 week ago | wweek.com | Joanna Hou

The Oregon Department of Education responded Thursday afternoon to a letter sent in early May by Secretary of State Tobias Read. Read wrote to ODE to follow up on a 2022 systemic risk report by his predecessor, Shemia Fagan. That report, which outlined the findings of several previous audits, presented five risks that “could undermine K–12 system improvement.” His request for an update comes as Gov. Tina Kotek pushed education accountability legislation in both the Oregon Senate and House.
After Surge in Ballots on Election Day, Key Portland-Area Education Contests Tighten

2 weeks ago | wweek.com | Joanna Hou

After initially projecting a 21% turnout rate for the May 20 special election, an election day surge in ballots has exceeded county officials’ expectations and tightened a couple key races. How tight? A $136 million bond to fund Mt. Hood Community College is passing by a mere 11 votes. That’s .02% of the 40,265 ballots cast in that contest. The county received more than 47,000 ballots on election day and more than 9,500 in the mail on Wednesday.
Superintendents in Oregon’s Largest School Districts Bridle at Giving Striking Workers Unemployment Benefits

2 weeks ago | wweek.com | Joanna Hou

Eight superintendents from Oregon’s largest school districts wrote a letter Friday to members of the Oregon House of Representatives, urging them to oppose one of the most hotly-contested bills this cycle: Senate Bill 916.
PPS Is Expanding Its Partnership With an Early Literacy Organization. But Some At-Need Students Will Lose Those Services.

2 weeks ago | wweek.com | Joanna Hou

On a recent road trip, Anisha Hutchinson snapped a photo of her son, a fifth grader at Abernethy Elementary School, reading a Percy Jackson novel in the car. The image brought her relief. Hutchinson, an avid reader like most of her family, long wondered why her son didn’t enjoy reading. Some clues: His kindergarten year was cut short because of COVID-19, and his first grade year was confined to remote learning. Those are key years, many education experts say, for grasping critical reading skills.