Oregon Education Association Decentering Whiteness Caucus

Founded in 2024, the OEA Decentering Whiteness Caucus works to disrupt the state's white educational hierarchies and transform how Oregon's teacher corps engages with students of color within our education system.

Join the Caucus

Our Mission & Purpose

From Oregon's settler origins, there was an organized process to exclude everyone who identified other than white from this state and its benefits. Consequently, Oregon's education workforce remains over 80% white while teaching an increasingly diverse student population.

The Decentering Whiteness Caucus (DWC) believes in disrupting the institutional structures that perpetuate white dominance in education and creating a multicultural democratic society where all students are seen as their whole selves.

Why Our Work Matters

Oregon's Reality

Over 80% of Oregon's teaching force remains white while serving a student population that is 41% diverse. This disparity stems from Oregon's founding principles of exclusion.

Identity Exploration

As Gholdy Muhammad writes, teachers rarely have opportunities to "reflect and unpack myself, my racial and cultural identities, and my journey through the construction of my ideologies."

Educational Outcomes

Oregon's persistently low reading and math scores correlate with the state's reluctance to provide white teachers with self-reflective professional development on racial identity.

Our Action Plan

Teacher Preparation Reform

Advocate for all Oregon teacher preparation programs to include at least one quarter-equivalent course exploring identity and power dynamics in the classroom.

Pilot Training Program

Create a state-funded pilot project offering comprehensive equity training addressing whiteness and dominant culture thinking, with structured follow-up and appropriate compensation.

Climate Assessment

Support the development of a universal K-12 climate survey to identify toxic building cultures that drive away new teachers, particularly those from diverse backgrounds.

Governance & Membership

Membership Classifications

  • Members: Dues-paying OEA members
  • Associates: Anyone with an invested interest in our purpose

Executive Committee

Our leadership includes a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer elected to two-year terms. We operate with standing committees for Bylaws, Nominations, and Elections.

Join us in creating an educational system that truly serves all students by decentering whiteness and embracing multicultural democratic values.




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