What is Community Engagement at the Kitchen Table?
Oregon’s Kitchen Table creates community engagement opportunities to allow Oregonians to influence the decisions that impact their lives. We believe in offering many different ways for people to participate in these decisions, from activities that require little time or effort to activities that invite people to come together over longer periods of time and deliberate with one another. We also believe that no one way of participation is better or more important than another.
Here are examples of some of the ways we have involved Oregonians in the decisions that impact them:
- Community conversations: we host conversations - always with food if we are gathering in person! - open to any member of the community where the project is taking place. These are discussion-based and aimed at allowing people to hear from each other as well as for decision makers and OKT to hear from people.
- Culturally and linguistically specific community conversations: we work with community organizers and partners to invite people to gather and share in the spaces and languages in which they are most comfortable.
- Culturally specific activities: OKT community organizers gather input from members of their communities in the ways that work best for them. Some examples are: A parents group that regularly meets to talk about their children’s education. A trivia night for Slavic community members. A sewing circle for Somali mothers. A Zumba class attended by Spanish speaking adults.
- Survey tools: For some people, answering a set of questions about the topic or decision via an online survey they can complete at a time and place convenient to them in 10 minutes works best. For others, filling out a paper survey at the weekly lunch they attend at their local senior center is most convenient.
- Games, art, or craft activities: We often employ some kind of game, art, or craft activity to spark conversation or allow people to contribute their ideas in a more playful way. We’ve used these activities to engage youth as well as adults.
- Tabling at cultural and community festivals, events, and fairs: We set up tables with activities and opportunities to give input. We’ve conducted one-on-one or small group conversations, brief surveys, and storytelling.
Decision makers and public managers have turned to Oregon’s Kitchen Table to gather input at the state, local and regional levels on a range of topics, including state budgeting priorities, county budgeting, kindergarten readiness, school boundaries, regional economic development priorities, and natural resource management.
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Past Engagement
Baker County Health Care
In 2023, St. Alphonsus Hospital ended acute care services at St. Alphonsus Hospital. This includes its Intensive Care Unit and Baker City birthing center. Now, Baker County officials and other community leaders are considering possible ideas for providing health care and public health services.
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Past Engagement
Oregon's Immigrant and Refugee Student Success Plan
In 2023, the Oregon State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1532 directing the Oregon Department of Education to develop and implement a statewide plan for students who are immigrants and refugees. The purpose of the plan is to address disparities in academic success, historical practices that have led to disparities, and the educational needs of immigrant and refugee students. The plan will include strategies to improve the learning and experience of immigrant and refugee students at school. As part of the plan, ODE will form an advisory group and will give grants to organizations and districts to implement the strategies in the plan.
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Past Engagement
Birth Through Five Literacy Plan
In 2023 the Oregon Legislature passed a bill called the Early Literacy Success Initiative. This law directed the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) to develop a Birth Through Five Literacy Plan. The plan will offer ways for partners, program staff, and community groups to support families to help children ages birth through five develop language, early writing, and listening skills.
Previous Engagements
Community Input on Oregon’s New Education Workforce Survey
In recent years, there has been increased focus on the workers that serve Oregon schools and students. Particularly since the pandemic, there has been widespread media coverage related to the difficulties of working in public education, and there have been a number of ideas proposed to help schools and districts recruit and retain a healthy and effective workforce.
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Fall 2023
Birth Through Five Literacy Plan
In 2023 the Oregon Legislature passed a bill called the Early Literacy Success Initiative. This law directed the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) to develop a Birth Through Five Literacy Plan. The plan will offer ways for partners, program staff, and community groups to support families to help children ages birth through five develop language, early writing, and listening skills.
Read More
Oregon's Immigrant and Refugee Student Success Plan
In 2023, the Oregon State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1532 directing the Oregon Department of Education to develop and implement a statewide plan for students who are immigrants and refugees. The purpose of the plan is to address disparities in academic success, historical practices that have led to disparities, and the educational needs of immigrant and refugee students. The plan will include strategies to improve the learning and experience of immigrant and refugee students at school. As part of the plan, ODE will form an advisory group and will give grants to organizations and districts to implement the strategies in the plan.
Read More
Fall 2024
Baker County Health Care
In 2023, St. Alphonsus Hospital ended acute care services at St. Alphonsus Hospital. This includes its Intensive Care Unit and Baker City birthing center. Now, Baker County officials and other community leaders are considering possible ideas for providing health care and public health services.
Read More
August 2024
New High School Graduation Requirements: Personal Financial Education and Higher Education and Career Path Skills
In the Winter of 2022, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) partnered with Oregon’s Kitchen Table (OKT) to conduct a broad and inclusive statewide community engagement process related to Oregon’s high school graduation requirements.
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August 2024
Community Engagement on the Upper Rogue River
In May 2024, OKT partnered with four state agencies in a community engagement process with the goal of reaching a wide range of community members who live in or visit Jackson County. Between mid-May and early July, over 2,600 people participated across all forms of engagement.
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May 2024
Early Literacy in the Community and at Home
In 2023, the Governor Tina Kotek and the Oregon Legislature launched the Early Literacy Success Initiative to build momentum and capacity around early literacy development and to provide funding to strengthen literacy instruction across Oregon.
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May 2024
A Vision for Oregon Forests
In November 2022, the Board of Forestry (the Board) along with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) launched an effort to develop a new strategic plan. Over 4,000 people from every county in Oregon participated in the different forms of engagement activities.
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July 2023
PEP Talks (City of Portland Community Engagement Summit)
As part of the City of Portland Office of Civic Life’s Portland Engagement Project (PEP), the City convened a series of PEP Talks on April 27, 28, and 29, 2023 in partnership with Oregon’s Kitchen Table and the Center for Public Service.
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July 2023
Integrated Water Resources Strategy
In Oregon we have a plan for our water: the Integrated Water Resources Strategy. This Strategy helps us understand what water we have available in Oregon and what we need for people, plants, animals, and the land. The Strategy (or IWRS) is updated every five years. In spring 2023 the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) and 13 other state agencies worked with Oregon’s Kitchen Table to hear what Oregonians want to see in the update to the 2017 Strategy.
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Early Learning Transition Check-In
In fall 2022, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and Early Learning Division (ELD) worked with Oregon’s Kitchen Table (OKT) to conduct a community engagement process to hear from families and educators who participated in “family interviews,” a pilot approach to support students’ transitions into kindergarten.
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August 2022
Community Engagement to Inform the Building of a Comprehensive Plan for Aging in Oregon
During the fall and winter of 2021–2022, nonprofit AGE+ worked with Oregon’s Kitchen Table (OKT), to conduct a public engagement process to hear from people throughout Oregon about their thoughts and hopes for aging well.
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