Hello FRSD families
This week we have had a significant increase in the number of known positive COVID cases in the District, in particular among staff at VES. We are working on trying to stop the spread of COVID within the school community so that we can continue to offer in-person learning to all of our students.
Your assistance in the effort to slow the spread in our classrooms is needed:
- Please do not send your child to school if they are sick.
- Masking in schools can also be helpful in slowing the spread of illness.
- Please talk with your child to decide if masking is an option for your family.
With upcoming events in all of our buildings (talent shows, book fairs, and more…) there will be a great opportunity to show your effort by practicing social distancing and mask-wearing. A little extra effort today may mean the difference between in-person learning or online learning in the coming few weeks.
We have made it this far without losing a single day of in-person instruction in the 21-22 school year. Your help and support is needed.
Thank you for your ongoing effort and support of our school community.
Recently the District removed some large fir trees. We have them stacked on some property immediately South of Elmira Elementary School. The district will be accepting sealed bids for them. All of the information can be found at the link below.
Over the course of the last several weeks, in conjunction with our administrators, certified and classified leadership teams, the district has been working on an updated visitor/volunteer plan. It is a challenge to incorporate a plan that meets the needs of everyone, while staying in compliance with OAR 333-019-1030 .
The plan was presented to the school board last night for feedback and we are now ready to share with the community. The new plan, with some requirements, allows a path for both visitors and volunteers in the schools, vaccinated and unvaccinated.
The plan is posted under the 2021-22 School year tab. We will begin this on Monday the 25th! The direct link can be accessed by clicking here. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to the District Office, or your building administrator.
2022 English Language Arts (ELA) Curriculum Adoption
Dear Fern Ridge School District Students, Families, and Community Members:
This year, FRSD will be adopting a new language arts curriculum for K-12 students across the district, designed to meet Oregon’s state educational standards and align between grade levels. Curriculum includes the textbooks, materials, and digital resources that support student instruction. Teams from each school including administrators, classroom and special education teachers, intervention specialists, and English language development specialists have been researching programs from various publishers.
Following a rigorous evaluation process, we are excited to share FRSD’s recommended curriculum with our families. Feedback from community stakeholders is welcomed.
K-5: McGraw Hill – Wonders
6-8: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – Into Literature
9-12: Savvas – My Perspectives
If you would like to stop by the District Office to view the materials in person, ask questions, or share your opinions, please feel free set up an appointment.
This FRSD ELA Curriculum Review.pptx outlines our review process and contains links so you can explore additional information, view publisher videos, and more. After reviewing the materials, please complete this survey to share your thoughts.
Thank you for sharing your perspective and partnering with us as we work to adopt and implement the best possible curriculum to support FRSD students’ and teachers’ needs.
Michelle Marshall
Director of K-12 Programs
541-935-2253, ext. 1220
🎉 🎉 Congratulations to our 2021-2022 Fern Ridge School District Distinguished Service Award Recipients! 🎉 🎉
These outstanding individuals along with other leaders from our community will be recognized at 7:00pm on Thursday, April 14th at the Fern Ridge Service Center.
Rebecca Hauge
Twinkle A. Morton Educational Excellence – Distinguished Teacher
Casey Anderson
Distinguished Classified Employee
Leiisa Boytz
Distinguished Administrator/District Office Group Employee
Maya Trout
Distinguished Volunteer
Shark Zhao
Distinguished Future First Citizen
Clyde Oglesby
Distinguished Community Builder
Alyssa Johnson
Distinguished Emerging Future First Citizen
There is no school for students on Friday, April 8. This is a teacher work day for grading at the end of the first semester/second quarter.
Students – enjoy your three day weekend!
Mike Guill, a teacher at Veneta Elementary since August of 2008, has been selected as our April Employee of the Month!
His day gets started by greeting kids, boosting their spirits, and making the school a welcoming place to be. He does his best to instill a love of learning in every student that crosses his path.
VES staff members tell us “he works diligently to read with all of his students at their instruction level, regardless of what that is. He asks for suggestions from other teachers on how to best serve his students, and encourages and supports students’ reading in his classroom. So many students have benefited from him over the years!”
He always quietly encourages staff that he notices are working long hours or he knows are going through a rough patch. He will anonymously drop off a coffee, a blizzard, chocolate flavored coffee beans, or whatever he feels would make a staff member’s day better.”
When not teaching and supporting other Veneta Elementary staff members, Mr. Guill is most likely to be found playing disc golf – he thinks he’s terrible at the game but he loves to play! He enjoys hiking with his wife of 28 years, Fenn, driving through Finley Wildlife Refuge and spotting critters that look like tiny dust balls with legs running across the road (Fenn calls them baby quail) 😉
The Guill’s have two daughters, Dana who works at Veneta Elementary School as an instructional assistant and Allison who works at Chintimini Wildlife Rehab.
His favorite thing about his job is “The people I work with because it feels like family rather than a job. I also love challenging kids to be the best they can be rather than settling for “good-enough”
Thank you for all of the encouragement and support you continue to show students and staff!
APPLICATION TO FILL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER VACANCY
Position: School Board Member Position #5
Appointment Requirements: To be eligible for appointment, the candidate must:
- Have lived in the district at least 12 months prior to appointment.
- Not be an officer or employee of the district.
- Be a registered voter of the school district.
Duration of Appointment: To complete the term of a vacated position until June 2023. The candidate that is appointed to fill this vacant seat is eligible to run for election in May 2023 to fill out the remaining two years of the Position 5 term.
Duties: Commit to preparing for and attending at least one meeting per month and each budget committee meeting.
The Board will select the appointee as follows:
- The candidate should have personal integrity, intelligence and appreciate the values of good education;
- The candidate should be willing and capable of assuming responsibilities;
- The candidate should have the ability to work with others, should have the courage of his/her convictions, should always vote his/her beliefs and should be a champion of the public schools.
- The candidate should be prepared and willing to devote a sufficiently large amount of time to the study of the problems of education in the district, as well as the state and nation at large, so as to be able to interpret them to the electorate;
- The candidate must be willing and able to make sacrifices of their time, energy, and knowledge for the benefit of the district.
Application Procedure: This application along with proof of voter registration should be returned to the Board Secretary’s Office at the above address or emailed to msmith@fernridge.k12.or.us. The Board will review applications received by April 8 at 4:00pm. The Board will select a candidate on April 18, 2022 at the regular board meeting. Click the link below for a fillable pdf of the application or request a paper copy from Michelle Smith at 541-935-2253 Ext 1203.
Link to Fillable School Board Application 2022
As we continue forward this school year, it is already time to start thinking about planning activities and finalizing budgets for next year! 
We are asking for our families, staff, and community members to share their input and ideas so that we can build on our past engagement efforts.
Your input helps to guide the planning, direction, and priorities for using Student Investment Account funds. We will also use this data to make sure our goals are aligned and that we are hearing perspectives from multiple stakeholders.
Stay tuned— Over the next couple of weeks, the district will prepare its plan for the funds, and share with stakeholders. Continue to check the website for updates!
Please take a few moments to complete the survey below by April 15th:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KTMT2HP
Thank you so much and we appreciate your time!
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or would like more follow-up information.
Michelle Marshall
mmarshall@fernridge.k12.or.us
541-935-2253
Have a question, thought, or comment for the Superintendent or School Board?
Here’s two different ways you can connect with district leadership:
Community Q & A: Superintendent Carpenter hosts a question/answer session each month at 5:30 pm prior to the monthly board meeting. All community members are welcome to post a question in the chat and hear answers for the 30 minute meeting. Here’s a link to the April 18th, 2022 session. If you cannot attend the live Q & A, you can email your question to Superintendent Carpenter: gcarpenter@fernridge.k12.or.us
Fern Ridge School Board: The FRSD Board of Directors sets aside 30 minutes in every regular, public meeting to hear public comment. Community members are each given 3 minutes to speak and must turn the Intent to Speak form in by 1pm the day of the board meeting. Links to public comment policy and the Intent to Speak form are found here. The board meeting in April will be a hybrid of virtual and in-person. Speakers may attend in-person or within the virtual webinar. Links to each month’s board meeting can be found on the Boardbook page along with the board agenda and meeting attachments.
The board welcomes objective criticism of district operations and programs but is not able to hear comments regarding any individual district staff member. School board members are generally not able to respond to individual commenters and may refer to the superintendent for reply at a later time.
Comments emailed to board secretary Michelle Smith: msmith@fernridge.k12.or.us will be forwarded to the entire school board but will not be read into record at a board meeting. Individuals/Groups who submit the Intent to Speak form after the 1:00 pm deadline will be invited to comment at the following month’s meeting.
Each school board meting is recorded and posted on the School Board Meeting Recording page.
Please call 541-935-2253 ext 1203 or email msmith@fernridge.k12.or.us if you need assistance or have questions about public comment or the community Q & A.
Link Tree:
Community Q & A Session
Recorded Community Q & A Sessions
Public Comment Policy
Intent to Speak Form
School Board Meeting Materials/Virtual Links
Recorded School Board Meetings