Oregon
State Government
Governor
Tina Kotek (D)
State Senate
17
Democrats,
12
Republicans
State House
35
Democrats,
25
Republicans
Economic well-being - Oregon
Extreme poverty rate
0.07
Food insecurity
0.142
Minimum wage
15.05
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.274
Poverty rate
11.8%
Unemployment rate
5
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
5.2
Statesman Journal, November 16, 2012: Schools see increase in homeless students
"The number of homeless students in the Salem-Keizer School District grew to its highest level since the recession began in 2007, according to Oregon Department of Education numbers released Thursday."
The Oregonian, November 15, 2012: Oregon's homeless student population again tops 20,000 students
"The population of homeless students in Oregon has leveled off, but the numbers still paint a bleak picture of Oregon's economic recovery as families struggle to find stable housing amid strained resources. Across Oregon, 20,370 students --or about 3.65 percent --were identified by school districts as having unstable housing at some point during the 2011-12 school year, according to data from the Oregon Department of Education's annual count."
Statesman Journal, October 30, 2012: Reading program celebrates landmark book donation
"Start Making a Reader Today, or SMART, has given away 2 million books to at-risk children in the past two decades. The nonprofit seeks volunteers to read one-on-one with children around the state."
The Oregonian, September 14, 2012: Million-books-for-Oregon-kids effort seeks volunteers to process books at Memorial Coliseum and in Salem
"Bazillion Books for Kids is well on its way to getting 1 million books into the hands of low-income Oregon children. Barely a year old, the Portland organization Bazillion Books for Kids is more than halfway to its goal of donating 1 million new and secondhand books during 2012 to low-income children in Oregon who might not otherwise have any books at home."
The Oregonian, September 12, 2012: State test scores show east county districts generally below average; David Douglas stands out
"David Douglas is the only high-poverty east county school district to show overall improvements on state test scores for last school year, according to results released Wednesday. The share of district students who met state 2012 standards increased from the previous year in every area except science, where the number of passing students decreased in all three grade levels tested. Elsewhere in east county, where the districts have a higher percentage of children who live in poverty and speak English as a second language, students generally scored below state averages."
The Oregonian, August 30, 2012: Alice Ott defies the odds, becomes model middle school for state
"Though most of its students are poor and many speak English as their second language, Alice Ott Middle School will open Tuesday as one of the most successful schools in Oregon. In four years, the school in east county's David Douglas School District has increased the share of its students meeting or exceeding state standards from half to 80 percent. Its improvement has been so dramatic that the state last month designated it the sole high-poverty middle school in the state worthy of being called a model school.'"