by Anne Scheck

School Board Meeting 1/4  
PARENTS PLEAD FOR SCHOOL REOPENING
Citing mental health concerns for youth across the school district, several parents  asked the school board last week to reopen schools as soon as possible. “My plea is that now that metrics are not mandatory that we do all we can to get students back in the classroom,” stated Janica Duncan, a mother of five who formed an advocacy group this fall calling for a return to in-person learning. 
 
Distance learning has led to serious learning losses in some, she said, noting that she’s a certified substitute teacher in the district. Certain students appear to be battling depressive symptoms, Duncan added – one girl said the situation made her feel like “giving up.”
 
Duncan was joined by several other parents who told board members that they feel the same way, citing problems that range from a lack of internet access for some kids to difficulty being able to learn remotely, even for those who have full connectivity. “It is like we are trading one generation for another,” said one mother, an apparent reference to the fact that most serious illness caused by COVID-19 is occurring in elderly populations. 
 
Board Chair Steve Love thanked the parents for their comments, observing that “it was all well said” and assuring them “I think we were listening intently.” 

SUPERINTENDENT REPORT BOARD CHAIR’S RESPONSE 
The road ahead for a return to school will take a “phased in” approach that starts small – perhaps with only a few hours – and then expands as time goes on, Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD said at the board meeting of School District 13J last week. Any resumption of in-person schooling will involve meetings with  the community, staff, teachers and public health, she acknowledged. 
 
“We are educators. I am thankful for having the public health department,” she said. “They help to guide us, but they don’t tell (us) what to do,” she pointed out. The superintendent suggested January 19 as an evening in which a “professional learning community” meeting could be held, so that further board discussion can  take place. 
 
Summing up, Board Chair Steve Love said: “We are going to have to figure this out.” He said he believed that “having a hybrid model probably has to be part of the solution.” Board member Donn Wahl concurred, but added that now that other districts seem to be resuming in-person instruction, at least partially, the possibility of a safe return seems more likely “from a black box perspective.”  

COVID UPDATE
Polk County reported a 10.1% positivity rate today, according to Jacqui Umstead RN, public health administrator for the county. She shared the new data at the Polk County Board of Commissioners, which met this morning. 
 
For the week of Dec 27th – the period with the latest available data with breakdowns by zip code – Independence has 13 more cases and Monmouth recorded 22 – so the numbers are continuing to rise in both communities, according to state tracking. 
 
However, outbreaks generally are occurring in long-term care facilities and group homes, Umstead said. Teachers who were in the top tier of priority for vaccination now have been placed at level 1b instead of 1a, she reported.

By Anne Scheck

STUMBLING BLOCKS TO K-12 REOPENING?
The much-anticipated possibility that the governor will relax COVID-19  metrics – allowing schools to resume at least partial in-person attendance – was dealt a blow today. Oregon’s coronavirus cases crept up to 373 new cases and the death toll reached 646, according to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). The OHA figures were released at a time when Gov. Kate Brown reportedly is considering revising indicators for K-12 public education.  

The steady climb in cases also captured the attention of the Polk County Board of Commissioners Tuesday, prompting Commission Chair Mike Ainsworth to observe that, within the county, “we had a real spike this week.” Over the past few months, the commissioners have expressed hope that schools can be re-opened, even under limited circumstances.

“Are we ever going to be able to open up the schools?” asked Commissioner Ainsworth. Under the current distance-learning system, “how do you even get a kindergartner learning on a computer with mom and dad working?”

“It’s a big concern and I totally agree,” said Jacqui Umstead RN, the county’s public health administrator, during her weekly report to the commissioners. 

In early September, the OHA’s Dean Sidelinger MD sounded a note of caution about schools in a period of rising covid. If closure again became necessary after a re-opening, “that disruption is often very difficult for families and students,” he pointed out during a webinar on this issue.   

At Central High School, students in athletics and in theater arts are allowed some in-person attendance – by conducting practices outdoors. In a protocol announced at the last school board meeting, theatrical rehearsals are expected to be allowed inside and onstage once inclement weather sets in, by doubling the usual social distance between participants.

PRICE OF K12 PLATFORM NOW IN ‘RENEOGIATIONS’
Now that it's been discontinued at Central High School (CHS), the $1.4 million cost of “FuelK12,” now known simply as K12, has become a matter of “contract renegotiations” between Central District 13J and the online service provider. CHS currently is opting instead for more reliance on google classroom. 
 
Though CHS is “moving away from K12,” the students and staff for kindergarten through eighth grade will continue to use the K12 learning platform, according to a statement from the district. When such contracts are renegotiated, they often involve a redoubling of effort to fix problems, and sometimes an offer of extra services or some form of refund, according to a county authority who was asked about possible outcomes.

DISTRICT REPORT CARD
A set of data points often referred to as “state report cards for schools” has been issued, but it contains very little information compared to past years – the result of the sudden switch to distance learning. For Central District 13J, what little news is available is mostly good: CHS, with an 81% graduation rate within four years, beat the state average of 80%. Also, with one notable exception, average teacher retention rate is above 90%, excluding Independence Elementary School (IES). At IES, the average teacher-retention rate is 78% compared with 91% at both Ash Creek and Monmouth elementary schools.

ECOLOGY PRESENTATION from the LUCKIAMUTE WATERSHED COUNCIL
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 6:30 - 8pm, by Zoom (link provided after registration) George Kral, forester & project developer for Ash Creek Forest Management and co-founder of Scholl's Valley Native Nursery, will describe how native plant nurseries provide the raw materials for large-scale restoration and forestry. More details and registration link at  https://www.luckiamutelwc.org/sips-and-science-plant-nurseries.html

By Anne Scheck

School News From Summer

TALMADGE TEACHERS GET ASH CREEK GRANT
Thanks to a trio of Talmadge Middle School teachers, residents of Central School District may know a whole lot more this time next year about the cities’ signature stream, Ash Creek. The three received $500 grants from the Ash Creek Water Control District (ACWCD) to chronicle the waterway near the school – ranging from use of drone surveyance to creation of artistic renderings.
 
“We wanted a new generation to get to know the creek,” said Andrea Melendy, a board member of the ACWCD. “It’s alive with plant life, with animal life and it feeds so much in the area.” Using special cameras, Dave Beatley, who teaches 6th grade science, is set to take photos; Dawn Watson, who teaches 7th grade science, will use drones to view the creek in ways that haven’t been done before; Michele Haney, who teaches art, is planning to capture the creek’s natural beauty in an art show next year. 
 
At the middle school, this is the “creek in their back yard,” noted Dan Farnworth, chair of the ACWCD. The research efforts hopefully will lead to more of the same, perhaps at Central High School, he said. Students will be involved in all the projects, according to the ACWCD. 
 
Ash Creek, which eventually passes under Main Street in Independence, travels east through Polk County to join the Willamette River. The ACWCD was formed nearly seven decades ago to improve and preserve the channel. 

DORIE VICKERY NAMED NEW SHERIDAN SUPERINTENDENT
Dorie Vickery EdD, the director of teaching and learning last year for Central School District 13J, will start this school year as the new superintendent of the Sheridan School District. 
 
Dr. Vickery had been with the Central School District for more than 10 years, and previously served as principal at Monmouth Elementary. She left recently to briefly work for her former boss, Buzz Brazeau, in his final year as interim superintendent at the Philomath School District. (Mr. Brazeau preceded Jennifer Kubista EdD as superintendent of Central School District 13J.) After moving to Philomath, Dr. Vickery was chosen as the incoming superintendent at Sheridan. 
 
Central School District didn’t provide a comment on Dr. Vickery’s departure after being asked about it this past week. However, Betty Plude, a former board member of the Central District School Board, observed that Dr. Vickery was well known and highly regarded. “Dorie will really be missed,” she said. 

RURAL INTERNET ACCESS COMING FROM CARES $
A county-wide expansion that aims to put internet coverage into underserved areas – with financing from nearly a million dollars of CARES Act money – won’t use technology from MINET, the municipal broadband co-owned by Independence and Monmouth. Some residents have expressed disappointment that the contract went entirely to Philomath-based Alyrica Networks.  
 
Asked whether he was aware of some of this public reaction, MINET’s general manager, Don Patten, said that “MINET sees no value in making comment as to how 'the county' made this decision.” However, he said he’s “pleased to hear that a handful of rural 'digital have not's' are at long last being promised some level of broadband service."
 
The move was initiated by Polk County commissioners that, as a board, have voiced concern over children and youth who are without convenient internet access for education this year. Both Commission Chair Mike Ainsworth and Commissioner Craig Pope noted this summer that school districts are providing mobile units – “hot spot” stations – but they observed that traveling to such locations is a barrier for some students.   

LET’s GET READING BOOK GIVE-AWAY
Trammart News, publisher of The Linking Loop, is pleased to announce that this month, every Monday, a children’s book will be featured in a short video on the Trammart News Facebook page. Tune in to see what book is featured – they all will have the same theme: hope. Ten free books are available upon request.
Begins on Labor Day! -end-

By Anne Scheck

DISTRICT LAYS PLANS FOR LEARNING HYBRID  
As Central District 13J prepares for a different kind of school this fall – one that merges in-person and distance-learning – the soon-to-be summer session is likely to be the “beta test” for the next academic year.
 
“This could be a good opportunity for us to be building some really good protocols,” observed Jennifer Kubista EdD, superintendent of the district. At the school board meeting earlier this month, she predicted the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) was close to announcing the plan for re-opening schools; Several days later, ODE released guidelines for a “hybrid” approach that allows a return to school buildings that will include social-distancing and doubling down on hygienic measures.
 
The summer session will provide an effective guide, Dr. Kubista suggested. It will be five-to-six weeks in length, four days a week. Graduating seniors who may be short on credits are a priority group for the summer term, as are students who may have been hampered by lack of internet access or who are emerging bilingual learners, she said.
 
Academics, such as reading and math, will be offered along with social and emotional skill-building and learning, Dr. Kubista noted.
 
Students will spend no more than one or two days a week in classrooms – and groups there will be limited to 10 or fewer. “We want to be able to bring students back into school safely,” Dr. Kubista explained.
 
The district will be following guidance from ODE, but the main "contact point" for  coronavirus-preventing measures in the schools is the Polk County Health Department, according to Kristty Polanco, health administrator for the county. [a district-wide news release can be found below, following the news briefs]
SURVEY RESULTS:
A family survey with about 150 respondents shows a majority of families felt “welcomed” and supported during the change this past spring, but there was nearly an even split between those that adapted well to distance-learning and those that didn’t, according to the early results tallied in late May.
 
More than half of the families indicated the students weren’t enjoying the new learning environment. “This didn’t surprise me at all,” said Dr. Kubista. “It’s clear that a lot of our families and students do prefer to have them in our buildings – and we do, as well,” she said.
 
However, student reactions – mostly collected from grades 4-12 – showed more than half felt connected to their teachers. A majority indicated they were engaged and comfortable in the new learning platform. And about 60% characterized their instruction as “differentiated,” meaning teaching was tailored at least some of the time to their specific needs.
 
District personnel are hoping to collect more data. Additional responses can be submitted at this link:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSemF6kNW84oRZurXAEQgjdtH9UwbewQ5OC-SZm0vHAIRD2_eg/viewform
 
UPDATE: 
Most of the families who need internet service were connected to it by the end of the school year, but about seven percent remained without it. Now the aim is to put the mobile hotspot devices – which have been providing students with wireless connection to the internet at schools and around town -- at locations that will reach even more families. Thanks to survey results, the district determined earlier this month that most of the families who need help with connectivity are within city limits – just a few reside in an outlying area. More than 80% of households confirmed they were receiving internet service; Internet need hasn’t been established for about 10% of them yet.
                                        -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Central School District 13J families,
 
The guidance for the 2020-21 school year has arrived!
 
We are reviewing the guidance from the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority now for Ready Schools, Safe Learners.
 
We will build teams and include community partners to create a system of teaching and learning at Central School District that will merge in-person and distance-learning approaches, while optimizing safety for students, staff, and the community as a whole.
 
As we move forward, here are the eight key points to keep our schools safe for learners and educators, including:
 
· Public Health Protocols -- updating our communicable disease management plan to specifically address the prevention of the spread of Covid-19
 
· Facilities and School Operations -- cleaning, disinfecting and ventilating buildings, classrooms and learning spaces
 
· Response to Outbreak -- prevention and planning
 
· Equity -- decision making that centers in equity
 
· Instruction -- including instructional model options (on-site, hybrid or Comprehensive Distance Learning), and recommendations on curriculum and instruction, assessment, as well as instructional activities with a higher risk for disease spread such as Labs, CTE, Performing Arts, Physical Education
 
· Family and Community Engagement -- partnership in planning and maintaining clear communication
 
· Mental, Social and Emotional Health -- resources and strategies
 
· Staffing and Personnel -- public health training, supports and professional learning
 
Throughout the summer, the district will keep families and the community informed, so please watch for consistent voice messages and emails. We are required by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to have our plan reviewed by the Central School District Board of Directors and submitted to ODE no later than August 15th. We will continue to post all updates on the district website that can be located at www.central.k12.or.us.
 
The Oregon Department of Education has made it clear to school districts that this is a “living” document. Changes to the guidelines could take place over the summer months, and we will continue to modify and adjust as we receive new guidance. Continue to give grace and patience with yourselves, with us and each other, and continue to stay safe and healthy over the summer.

by Anne Scheck

LACK of INTERNET ACCESS FOR SOME STUDENTS: MINET’s ROLE
As local students collect district-issued Chromebooks for distance learning, elected officials and school administrators agree that it’s time to provide internet access to every child who lacks it. The coronavirus pandemic has brought this need into stark relief, according to concerns expressed Monday at the meeting of the Central District 13J School Board.
 
As the district makes sure the technology is available for new options after the loss of classroom teaching, “we want to be able to be sure to engage children,” said Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD. Facebook postings and school websites are helping to get messages out quickly, noted Steve Love, who chairs the school board. However, that requires internet access.
 
Out of luck are families that depend on the Independence Library to sign on to WIFI – it’s now closed with no opening date in sight; And, on the rural outskirts of town, those who once seized spotty connections now seem shortchanged in the shift to online learning. The issue also was raised at a town forum held last night by Rep. Paul Evans, whose district includes Independence. 
 
Mr. Evans said he's aware of the pressing need, and explained that this was one reason MINET was built by the cities of Independence and Monmouth more than a decade ago. One answer may be “cellular-on-wheels” technology, he said, which are mobile cell stations transported on trucks to outlying areas. Ruth Miles, director of the corporation division for the Oregon Secretary of State, suggested 5G might be one rescue strategy – it’s the latest generation of wireless technology. 
 
However, MINET – in partnership with Central School District and the cities of Independence and Monmouth – has “authorized, engaged and is driving professional engineering studies” to answer this need, according to Don Patten, MINET’s general manager.  “These fast-tracked studies will determine realistic and effective proposals, based upon MINET’s suite of technologies, to aid the school district with their described needs to reach many of the unfortunate ‘data have-nots’ among its student body,” he said.  
 
At a news conference this past week, the lack of internet access to some student populations was cited as a significant problem by both Gov. Kate Brown and Colt Gill, director of the Oregon Department of Education. There are “wide swaths” of the state without the technology, Mr. Gill said. The need is expected to be addressed at a future legislative session, according to Gov. Brown. 

CHS SENIORS TO GET SPECIAL ATTENTION 
Even before the director of the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) announced this week that struggling seniors “not on track” for graduation should be a focal point for local educators during school closure, Central School District 13J was gearing up to make these students a priority.   
 
At a news conference where the governor confirmed that schools would not reopen this spring, ODE Director Colt Gill called for “circling around every student who’s failing one of the required courses” needed to clinch a diploma. In fact, those students already were a point of discussion at the last school board meeting – a concern emphasized in a follow-up news release. “For those who do not have a passing grade as of mid-March, the district will focus its efforts to get these seniors any extra attention they need to get them across the finish line,” said Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD in the prepared statement.  
 
The counseling team at Central High School (CHS) is planning to call seniors and their families to talk to them “after we have had an opportunity to review transcripts under the new guidance from ODE,” which was recently released, added CHS Principal Donna Servignat. 
 
“Teachers want to connect with their students in order to help them with all of the uncertainty and further their learning as best as we can,” said Adrienne Gault, president of the Central Education Association and a teacher at Talmadge Middle School. 
 
At the school board meeting Monday, Dr. Kubista noted that seniors will miss springtime milestones important to every CHS graduate, but none more so than the walk across a stage in a cap and gown. She wants to try to make that happen, she said, perhaps in a “virtual” way that would share the event via computer technology or by prolonging the date far enough into the future to allow a traditional ceremony. Meanwhile, CHS stadium lights are scheduled to be turned on nightly to honor the 2020 senior class.
 
“I hope the plan to graduate our seniors, and our continued commitment to learning, removes some of the stress of uncertainty for our students and our families,” said Gov. Kate Brown, in a joint address this week with ODE.

A FINAL NOTE
Polk County Fire District No. 1 and the Independence Police Department are partnering to provide programs aimed at stay-at-home students missing their usual school routine. Children celebrating birthdays can sign up to have a "flashing light" visit from a fire truck and police car on their special day, by logging on to the fire district's website and registering. A "Funtastic" mini-parade is held every Friday, in which a trailer with favorite story characters winds through neighborhoods – today it was Elsa and Olaf from "Frozen." In addition, the fire district is posting weekly videos that deliver a variety of safety messages for kids.

by Anne Scheck

SCHOOL DISTRICT READIES FOR “DISTANCE LEARNING”
Central School District 13J is gearing up for online “distance learning” that would send class lessons out to parents, put Chromebooks in the hands of students and seek more WIFI availability for rural areas, Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD said Monday night. 
 
Though there’s a likely possibility that school closure will continue past the end of April, perhaps without reopening during the current academic year, “the governor hasn’t said that,” Dr. Kubista stressed. “So, I’m asking everyone to be patient,” she said, adding that “I cannot say thank you enough.” Many of the board members attended the meeting remotely by internet link-up. 
 
“I am thinking of the mom who is a nurse and might leave for the shift at 7 pm,” she said – then faces helping to home-school children after she returns. “I am thinking of the dad who has just been laid off,” she added, noting that the challenge of helping with in-home teaching is tough on parents under circumstances that are “unprecedented.”   
 
Chromebooks, a user-friendly screen-plus-keypad, is a tool being distributed by the district this week, as are “learning packets.” A unit on social-emotional subject matter was sent out the first week in April; the second one includes more academic topics, such as math and reading. A distance-learning draft plan is slated for completion by the end of this week, Dr. Kubista said. 

Central High School (CHS) is the focus of initial, intense efforts – students at CHS need to accrue credits to move toward graduation, she pointed out. “We are hoping that the guidance for high school comes this week,” Dr. Kubista said, an apparent reference to the need for information from the Oregon Department of Education. 

Computer accessibility, including deployment of Chromebooks, is a pressing priority for everyone, Dr, Kubista stated. Since many families have access to their own laptops and tablets, “I think we will have enough” Chromebooks for all who lack the technology, she said. A simple, step-by-step guide for using the Chromebooks will be attached to each, she added. 

For students who live in rural residences where internet is “spotty” or non-existent, the district has compiled a “tech savvy team” who will try to address that problem, among others, she said. 

The online education will be a combination of teacher-led learning and family involvement, she said. Dr. Kubista praised everyone – from the custodians who are responsible for sanitizing buildings to the union leaders who have shown both "leadership and flexibility." The effort has “just been amazing” and it’s coming from everyone, she said, emphasizing that staff members, teachers, teacher’s aides and administrators worked tirelessly over the past few weeks.  

Board Chair Steve Love said Dr. Kubista should be commended, as well. “I’d like to thank the superintendent for leading us in uncharted water and keeping our kids a priority,” Mr. Love said.

OTHER ACTIONS:
District to buy property at 16th Street and Hoffman Road. School board members approved the purchase of 2.6 acres across the street from Ash Creek Elementary School, with an eye toward future growth. The money was taken from an existing fund. The current building at the site has a full kitchen and other amenities. Asked by two board members why another facility is needed when Henry Hill Elementary School was converted to office space several years ago, Board Chair Steve Love said: “I think we can continue to look at Henry Hill,” if school populations continue to swell.  

Grab-and-go meals increase for those across district. In mid-March, the school district provided breakfast-lunch meal packs for 541 students. By week three, that number had grown to 816. The meals are being given out at different school locations.

Chemeketa partnership likely – and pending. A planned partnership agreement between Chemeketa Community College and the school district is likely, but it’s apparently on hold due to the coronavirus crisis. “We will continue those conversations,” said Dr. Kubista. 

FOR THE FAMILIES FEELING STRAIN… 
As calls to law enforcement increase for incidents that seem to be caused by emotional stress – up by 20% or more, according to one official estimate – parents and others can find help at Polk County Behavioral Health services, said Kristty Polanco MPH, public health administrator at Polk County Health Services. Anyone feeling overwhelmed and in need of counseling can call 503-623-9289, she said.  The link to the webpage for related information is https://www.co.polk.or.us/bh.
 
And, as the weeks of shelter-in-place drag on, there appears to be “light at the end of the tunnel,” observed Craig Pope, a member of the Polk County Board of Commissioners. He and Mike Ainsworth, who chairs the commission, agreed that people’s adherence to social distancing and other control measures seem to be paying off – a view echoed by Rep. Paul Evans. “Based on current modeling, Oregon is staying below our hospital, ICU and ventilator capacity,” according to a news release issued today by Rep. Evans. The information “brings hope” that the stay-home-and-save-lives order is working, he stated.

by Anne Scheck

An alternative high-school program by Central District 13J is seeking to engage students who are likely to lose their chance to graduate. It’s a more personalized approach being offered this year at the Henry Hill building in partnership with the Community Services Consortium, which was already providing learning options to at-risk youth there. The program was presented at the last school board meeting. 
  
Central High School’s graduation rate (81%) slightly exceeded the state average (80%), but there was a five percent drop in the number of male students who graduated from Central High School (CHS) in 2019 compared with the year before. Of 227 students, 26 were “non-completers,” a group commonly termed “drop-outs,” noted Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD. 
 
Keeping some of those students in school is the goal, she said. Underpinning the need for this alternative form of education – or “Alt Ed” – is recent and better data-tracking of individual class credits for district students in grades nine through 12, which showed some lag so far behind they need a different strategy to earn a diploma. For example, a few who entered CHS in the last cohort had never been in school before; Others showed large gaps in their previous education. “That’s really important for the public to understand this,” observed school board member Jannice Link-Jobe, who previously served as principal for CHS. 
 
CHS students who seemed suitable candidates for the program were identified, advised of this new “learning community,” and offered the opportunity to “transition” to it after application and acceptance into it for the 2019-20 school year.
 
The presentation on the Alt Ed plan was given by Donna Servignat, CHS principal, and Jason Clark, project manager and director for the district’s safety and risk management planning. The Alt Ed program is being financed with state funds.  

A curriculum that includes training in “job-readiness,” hands-on “experiential” learning and “outside-the-box” classes at LaCreole Middle School in Dallas got $30,000 from the Polk County Board of Commissioners, who used those very terms to describe why they allocated the sum – and suggested the program could be exported to districts like Central School District 13J.  
 
In one way, some of that innovation already is: A bus called the “STEAM Machine” – a vehicle dreamed up by LaCreole’s principal, Jamie Richardson – visits Independence and other communities; It’s equipped with a 3-D printer, a robotics station and computers for on-site coding, among other features. (STEAM is an acronym often used in education to refer to Science-Technology-Electronics-Art-Mechanics). 
 
However, the STEAM bus only represents an overall concept, said Principal Richardson. From laser-and-vinyl cutting to video production, LaCreole is offering elective classes designed to capture student interest in skills aimed at the future. “We think it can be a good way for students to find their areas of interest, even their passion,” he explained. The “maker space” at the Henry Hill building in Independence offers similar opportunities through the Community Services Consortium (CSC), he pointed out. “You’ve got Mona K-Hinds over there doing some really great things,” he said.  (Ms. K-Hinds is principal youth advisor for CSC).

To be consistent with changes by the Oregon Department of Education, the non-binary pronoun “they” will be used in lieu of other gender terms, when appropriate, in policies and other documents in the district, Dr. Kubista said. In another follow-up development, a contract solidifying the growing partnership between Chemeketa Community College and the district is likely to be unveiled in the not-too-distant future, she said.

The school board voted to accept revisions to a policy that clarifies bullying, harassment and retaliation; It now also includes language reflecting the definition of domestic abuse.  

By Anne Scheck

K-5 DISTRICT SCHOOLS GET ‘AGE-APPROPRIATE’ SEX ED

A sexual education program for the district’s elementary schools will begin in kindergarten with lessons about personal boundary-setting and, by the end of fifth grade, include more relationship-oriented discussions, according to an introduction to the plan presented at the last meeting of Central School District (CSD) 13J. 
Calling it a “difficult topic,” District Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD noted that the elementary-school portion is only part of CSD’s K-12 comprehensive plan on sexual health and education, which is designed to comply with Oregon’s statutory requirement. 

Much of the information will be drawn from the curriculum of “The Great Body Shop,” which received input from the community before its adoption a few years ago. For high school students, providing information about contraception, as well as focusing on abstention, might be seen as “controversial,” Dr. Kubista acknowledged. “But that is a priority of what we are expected to do.” 

Recent results from the district’s “healthy youth survey” indicate a substantial increase (10%) in the number of 11th graders who reported feeling “pressured into sex” since the 2017 questionnaire, she pointed out. The instruction on sexual topics, which is scheduled to take place four times a year, needs to have “high academic rigor and use medically accurate definitions,” Dr. Kubista added. 

The expansion is a result of “Erin’s Law,” which seeks to provide youths with skills to help prevent sex abuse. Parents may review the program; Letters providing notification of how to “opt out” will be sent. Most recently, the CSD committee that created the new program worked on ways in which the requirements can be met in grades K-5. The presentation was made by Julia Heilman, student-services director for the district and Alisha Bowen, physical education teacher at Talmadge Middle School. The Oregon Department of Education has asked to use parts of CSD’s plan as a template for other districts, according to Ms. Heilman.

NEW TOOL FOR ASSESSING SUPERINTENDENT REVIEW

Feedback from CSD staff and local citizens will be included in future superintendent evaluations, School Board Chair Steve Love announced at the January school board meeting.

At a recent work-session retreat by the CSD school board, members decided that future polling of CSD employees and community members would be undertaken as part of the annual superintendent assessment, he said. 

Date to Note

School Board Meeting Monday Feb 3, 6:30 pm, Henry Hill building in Independence.

In terms of demographic trends, CSD in general and Independence Elementary School in particular, are representative of today’s public schools. Nationwide, one in every four elementary-school students is Latinx, and most are English-language learners, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. As a result, dual-language programs are becoming more common – they are linked to increases on standardized tests among students for whom English is a second language.

An anonymous, volunteer questionnaire suggests that 8th grade students at Talmadge Middle School experienced substantially more bullying by social media this past year –as well as unwanted sexual comments or attention – than they did the last two times the survey was taken. However, the reasons why are unclear.
 
The survey is conducted biennially by the Central School District (CHS) during odd-numbered years. It includes only unidentified students from grades 8 and 11.
 
The 8th-grade group this past year had a higher number of students who felt “sad” or “hopeless” daily for more than two weeks, compared with 2017 and 2015. They also had more food insecurity, compared with two years ago.
 
However, a high percentage of CHS and middle-school students – more than 70% – felt that “at least one teacher/adult in my school cares about me.” This category increased for the two groups from both 2015 and 2017.

Scores of students attending CHS, as well as graduates of the high school, have participated in programs at Chemeketa Community College over the past decade that saved them thousands of dollars in college costs, according to a report at the December meeting of the Central District 13J School Board. 
 
The findings were presented by Chemeketa President Jessica Howard PhD and Betsy Earls, a board member from the community college. They presented information showing that, last year, 59 CHS students paid $25 to participate in Chemeketa’s “College Credit Now” program, earning 420 college credits – a savings of $42,625.
 
“I am so excited with our burgeoning partnership,” Dr. Howard said. The program connects high school to higher education, providing a cost-effective pathway and smoothing the transition to college, she added. Figures from 2016 show that 14% of that year’s CHS graduation class enrolled at Chemeketa.  
 
“I think this a valuable partnership that we need to have with the district,” said Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD. In the future, there may be more opportunity for expansion in trade and technical education, she said.
 
Enrollment figures released last year show that Chemeketa had the lowest number of students it had recorded in the past 10 years. Statewide, declines on some campuses have been blamed on a strong economy and lagging student recruitment; Gains at some – like Oregon State University, which showed an uptick – have been attributed partly to degree offerings more closely tailored to the job force.

Mental health specialists now serve all schools in the district, and are listed for reference on the Polk County website: Ashley Hunt at Ash Creek Elementary; Sara Weeks at Independence Elementary; Vanessa Unger at Monmouth Elementary; Katie Finley at Talmadge Middle School; Hilary Morris at CHS.

The incidence of gonorrhea increased significantly in Polk County between 2013 and 2017, a recent report shows; It rose from 17 to 75 cases. During the same period, syphilis cases increased only from seven to 11. The incidence of both sexually transmitted diseases is being tracked, according to Kristty Polanco MPH, public health administrator for Polk County Health Services.