Get Involved
The Western Regional Educator Network (WREN) is offering professional development, coaching, and funding to support educators in every stage of their career.
We prioritize teacher voice and utilize a continuous improvement process to make changes in our systems that will help teachers succeed.
Lead a Team
The Western Regional Educator Network (WREN) works to create a diverse teacher workforce by supporting system changes from the ground up. We are seeking ideas from local educators to further support and recruit Teachers of Color.
Support is available to existing and aspiring teacher-led teams with the design, implementation, and funding of a change project that will support educator empowerment, teacher leadership, and communities of care and connection. Funds are available between $15,000 - $75,000, depending on the size and duration of the change.
Define the Problem
You Want to Solve
How can the system better serve educators?
Identify a Team
Who needs to be involved?
What teachers or staff are closest to the system or issue?
Contact WREN!
Let's Talk! contact the Western Regional Educator Network at wren@lesd.k12.or.us to begin your journey!
Design-Your-Own Change Project
Accepting project ideas through July 18, 2022.
The WREN's projects, or Change Ideas, are the concepts and ideas from local educators which improve the processes and systems that enhance the teaching experience.
Change Ideas are informed by the user (teachers) and start small with the potential to scale up to improve larger systems across the region.
Approved Change Ideas will be led by a team of district/school/community stakeholders referred to as the "Design Team." The design team will implement the Change Idea at the local level. We believe those closest to the issue are the best suited to improve it so your design team must include at least one teacher.
The WREN will assign a coach who will help you navigate the continuous improvement process to make your Change Idea come to life.
WREN funding is not intended for pre-existing programs.
Join a Team
A key driver in our theory of change is to provide regional opportunities for Teachers of Color to connect with each other and work toward building and strengthening systems of support. Below are several opportunities to join a team in action.
Teachers of Color Unite!
The goal of this team is to create a community of care, connection, and collaboration to teachers of color throughout the region.
ELD Affinity Space
The goal of this affinity space is to provide care and connection in an attempt to mitigate isolation in the ELD world across the Linn-Benton-Lincoln region.
4j Mentoring BIPoC Educators
The goal of this team is to create a community of connection and support for new BIPoC educators.
The specific project is building an affinity space for new BIPoC educators and mentors in the Eugene 4j School District.
May 2021 - June 2022 (and beyond)
1st meeting October 2021
Supporting the Social-Emotional Needs of Teachers
Creating more inclusive and empowering school cultures is critical for educator and student success. The WREN is partnering with district/school teams to design Change Ideas to meet the social and emotional needs of teachers with diverse cultural, racial, and linguistic backgrounds. After a quick assessment of the staff’s unique needs, a WREN Continuous Improvement Coach will work with your team to select specific and actionable plans to create an environment of acceptance and belonging.
Racial Equity Institute Fellowship
This fellowship is designed especially for educators who identify racially as White (non-Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-BIPoC) and are seeking awareness of their racial identity in a homogenous professional learning environment that is brave and non judgmental. White people will explore their racial privilege through the lens of critical race theory and engage in courageous conversations that deepen understanding and lead to action in racial equity.
Fellowship will meet monthly from October 2021 - May 2022
Centering Equity in Human Resources
In partnership with Future Work Design, the WREN is offering a collaborative design process to identify strategies, define work-plans, and pursue interventions in the region to increase recruitment and maintain retention of diverse staff. To accomplish this goal, the project cohort will work through a sequence of virtual workshops to create shared understanding, identify existing barriers to recruiting and retaining staff of color, and identify resources, policies, and practices that could inspire future interventions.
Equitable Hiring Practices Module
The WREN has created an engaging multi-media training module to assist district teams with mitigating implicit bias in the hiring process. The training is intended for application screening and interview committee members and consists of both an asynchronous section as well as an in-person/virtual training and discussion component. We are seeking districts willing to test our training module and provide feedback on the process.
Attend Professional Learning
This is one of the simplest ways to get involved. Many teachers agree that equity is important in our school systems, though they don't always know how to best work towards it in their classrooms. By taking advantage of WREN sponsored professional learning opportunities, educators can learn better strategies to promote equity in schools and make sure each student is prepared to reach their potential.
Professional Learning Opportunities
The WREN will cover all costs for our sponsored professional learning opportunities. Additionally, substitute reimbursement costs will be provided to WREN districts if needed.
Focus Group Opportunities
Classified Support for 4j, Springfield, & Bethel
We are looking to establish a small team of classified educators to participate in a focus group with an opportunity to co-design supports tailored to the unique needs of instructional assistants and classified staff. This is a paid ongoing project, the scheduling is somewhat flexible and we anticipate at least 1 or 2 hour-long focus group interviews and 2-5 planning/design meetings. Some of this may be in the summer if schedules allow.
Mentors of Novice Teachers
The WREN is seeking information about how to support mentors of novice teachers. We are hosting a focus group and listening to mentoring stories in order to provide resources and support tailored for the specific strengths and needs of mentors in our region.
Novice Educators
The WREN seeks to understand the specific needs of novice educators in order to provide resources and support. We will be hosting a focus group and reaching out to novice educators to help guide our work.
Restricted Teacher License
Do you have teachers on a restricted license? Do you have teachers who’ve recently received a preliminary license after working with a restricted license? The WREN is looking to understand the specific needs of educators on restricted licenses in order to provide better resources and support.