Eastern Oregon University Named Top State Program for Teaching Reading

Eastern Oregon University's teacher-preparation program has been recognized as the strongest in Oregon for training educators to teach reading, a distinction that stands in sharp contrast to a statewide landscape where nearly every comparable program has failed independent evaluations.

The recognition, announced by EOU on March 16, draws heavily on the Oregon Journalism Project's most recent 2023 report card, which assessed teacher-training programs across the state on reading instruction. The results were stark: virtually all public programs earned Fs. Oregon State University's undergraduate program received a C. EOU's undergraduate program received an A, the only public university in Oregon to do so. The Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the state, called EOU "a bright spot among Oregon's public universities when it comes to preparing future teachers in the science of reading."

The credit for that grade lands largely on one person. "The fact that one public university in Oregon is turning out highly trained elementary reading teachers is largely due to the dogged work of Ronda Fritz," regional outlet Columbia Gorge News reported. Fritz, an associate education professor at EOU in La Grande, transformed the university's early literacy program into the highest-ranked in the state.

The program's reach extends well beyond the EOU campus. Since 2015, it has engaged 334 high school students, 113 of whom chose EOU to pursue teacher preparation, with a 93% retention rate. Of the 37 graduates the program has produced, 89% are currently teaching in rural Oregon, a striking figure given the persistent difficulty rural districts face in attracting and keeping qualified teachers. The program is funded through state grants from the Educator Advancement Council and a partnership with EOU.

EOU also received the 2023 Colleagues' Choice Innovation Award from the Western Academic Leadership Forum, a membership organization for provosts, academic vice presidents, and chief academic officers within the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. The award, presented at the Forum's annual meeting in Tucson, Arizona, recognizes innovative achievements at four-year institutions in the West that advance equity for student success. EOU's program was recognized specifically for training culturally responsive teachers who work with students from diverse backgrounds.

The university's standing comes amid what the Oregon Journalism Project described in its series title bluntly: "Unprepared: The Broken Pipeline Teaching Oregon's Teachers." The series documented how Oregon education leaders "have failed the classroom," and noted that none of Oregon's private education programs, including Warner Pacific, shared course materials with the National Council on Teacher Quality when assessed. Ron Noble, chief of teacher preparation for the council, said Oregon "is one of the more uncooperative states his group assesses. Some states have 100% participation."

Jim Green, former head of the Oregon School Boards Association, has called on Governor Tina Kotek to issue an executive order requiring all new Oregon teachers to pass a standalone science of reading test before being licensed, arguing the state's worst-in-the-nation reading scores demand immediate action at the policy level.

EOU's program page is available at eou.edu/otp. The university is located at One University Boulevard in La Grande and can be reached at 541-962-3672.