By Anne Scheck
School Enrollment: Significant Increase
Early enrollment figures suggest an increase of more than 180 students in Central School District 13J, surpassing a prediction made last year by a Portland-based consulting firm -- and closing off transfers from outside the district. The uptick has strained capacity at several grade levels, Superintendent Jennifer Kubista said at the monthly school board meeting Monday night.
“Students who live in our community – that is our priority,” she said. Noting that the “numbers could change,” she said there were an estimated 3,180 students last year and this fall 3,363 have “stepped into the buildings.” That tally may fluctuate – it reflects only the first few days of the new academic year, she pointed out. And the data are subject to state-mandated formulas, making direct comparisons potentially imprecise so early in the process, she added.
Several months ago, a team from the consulting agency Flo Analytics predicted an upward enrollment trend in the district at the elementary-school level for every year in the near future. In a brief interview after the forecasting was presented, personnel from the company said housing growth in the area, including several scheduled subdivisions, mean an annual rise of at least several dozen students is a fairly certain finding.
NOTE: Dr. Kubista will hold a series of “community chats” on the district’s strategic plan. The first one is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2019, at Henry Hill. Free childcare is provided for children 3 years and older. Refreshments will be provided.
School Enrollment: Significant Increase
Early enrollment figures suggest an increase of more than 180 students in Central School District 13J, surpassing a prediction made last year by a Portland-based consulting firm -- and closing off transfers from outside the district. The uptick has strained capacity at several grade levels, Superintendent Jennifer Kubista said at the monthly school board meeting Monday night.
“Students who live in our community – that is our priority,” she said. Noting that the “numbers could change,” she said there were an estimated 3,180 students last year and this fall 3,363 have “stepped into the buildings.” That tally may fluctuate – it reflects only the first few days of the new academic year, she pointed out. And the data are subject to state-mandated formulas, making direct comparisons potentially imprecise so early in the process, she added.
Several months ago, a team from the consulting agency Flo Analytics predicted an upward enrollment trend in the district at the elementary-school level for every year in the near future. In a brief interview after the forecasting was presented, personnel from the company said housing growth in the area, including several scheduled subdivisions, mean an annual rise of at least several dozen students is a fairly certain finding.
NOTE: Dr. Kubista will hold a series of “community chats” on the district’s strategic plan. The first one is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2019, at Henry Hill. Free childcare is provided for children 3 years and older. Refreshments will be provided.
History Teacher Receives Award
Frank White, a history teacher at Central High School, was honored with the Gilder-Lehrman award Monday night – but he gave much of the credit to his students.
Accepting the award, which included $1,000 for the educator, Mr. White said “none of this happens because of one person.” His students are “extraordinary” and filled with “curiosity,” which is one reason they “knocked the stuffing out” of other schools in a recent competition, he said.
Mr. White was selected out of 600 applicants from across the state for his innovative and inclusive teaching style, said Amit Kobrowski, who bestowed the award. Mr. Kobrowski is an education specialist in social sciences at the Oregon Department of Education.
With his wife Lola and young son looking on, Mr. White said that his passion for history comes from knowing its importance. “History is the way culture teaches us about our identity,” he said.
Frank White, a history teacher at Central High School, was honored with the Gilder-Lehrman award Monday night – but he gave much of the credit to his students.
Accepting the award, which included $1,000 for the educator, Mr. White said “none of this happens because of one person.” His students are “extraordinary” and filled with “curiosity,” which is one reason they “knocked the stuffing out” of other schools in a recent competition, he said.
Mr. White was selected out of 600 applicants from across the state for his innovative and inclusive teaching style, said Amit Kobrowski, who bestowed the award. Mr. Kobrowski is an education specialist in social sciences at the Oregon Department of Education.
With his wife Lola and young son looking on, Mr. White said that his passion for history comes from knowing its importance. “History is the way culture teaches us about our identity,” he said.
Looking Ahead
A summertime rite of passage for Central High School teens – tubing on the Willamette River – may have an added layer of safety next year if the county sheriff’s concerns about trees in the water is heeded by the Oregon State Marine Board.
Citing “log jams” that can snag rafting groups – including an outing this past summer that involved his own wife – Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton said he plans to ask the board for mitigation of underwater trees. After a recent tube-rafting death, in which a woman who was wearing a life jacket became entangled and drowned, it’s clear that these submerged trees need management, he said. “She did everything right,” Sheriff Garton said of the victim. The sheriff made his comments at the Polk County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
There is no age restriction on adolescents using either rafts or inner tubes to float down the Willamette River, according to state authorities. Riverview Park, a launch location in Independence, is listed as one of the most popular raft-staging sites in the area by Travel Oregon.
A summertime rite of passage for Central High School teens – tubing on the Willamette River – may have an added layer of safety next year if the county sheriff’s concerns about trees in the water is heeded by the Oregon State Marine Board.
Citing “log jams” that can snag rafting groups – including an outing this past summer that involved his own wife – Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton said he plans to ask the board for mitigation of underwater trees. After a recent tube-rafting death, in which a woman who was wearing a life jacket became entangled and drowned, it’s clear that these submerged trees need management, he said. “She did everything right,” Sheriff Garton said of the victim. The sheriff made his comments at the Polk County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
There is no age restriction on adolescents using either rafts or inner tubes to float down the Willamette River, according to state authorities. Riverview Park, a launch location in Independence, is listed as one of the most popular raft-staging sites in the area by Travel Oregon.
The Final Word
High school student Kendrah Hastings, now seated as part of the District 13J School Board after a recently completed selection process for student representation, took her place among the elected school board officials Monday. Way to go, Kendrah.
High school student Kendrah Hastings, now seated as part of the District 13J School Board after a recently completed selection process for student representation, took her place among the elected school board officials Monday. Way to go, Kendrah.
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