Fern Ridge School District

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) produces yearly report cards for schools and districts.  These reports were mandated by the 1999 state legislature and provide educators with an opportunity to communicate directly with parents and community members abut how local schools are performing.  The state “revamps” the way these report cards look every few years, and that is the case again this year.  The new report cards create an “At-A-Glance School Profile” that provides a wide range of information.

School Districts are required to inform families of these report cards, and where they can be found.  When students return from winter break, each school in Fern Ridge will have a copy available in the front office for parents that are interested.  In addition, we have placed a direct link to the ODE website where the reports can be viewed.  That link can be found under the “PARENTS” tab on the main page of our website.  Click on parents, then scroll down near the bottom where you will find two links:  one for the current years report cards (17-18), and one for previous years.  The direct link to the 17-18 Report cards is:  https://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your school.

Over the next month or so, FRSD is collecting data from a wide variety of groups. This is for the “Continuing Improvement Plan” required every three years by Oregon Department of Education. Input from multiple sources and stakeholders is required by the state for the final plan. Emails are going out to Teachers, Instructional Assistants, Administrators, etc.

For the two groups mentioned in the title above, Community Partners, (e.g. Businesses/Elected Officials/Non-Profits, Early Childhood Education/After School Programs, TSP) and Parents, we have links to the surveys here in this post. The “indicators” on your particular survey were chosen from 18 different indicators the state wants Fern Ridge School District to address in our improvement plan and are verbatim from the master list. If you fall into either of these groups, please take a few minutes and answer the questions in these surveys. The direct links are below. Thanks in advance for your participation.

For more information on this project you can view this “Frequently Asked Questions” page from the Oregon Department of Education: Link to PDF Document

SURVEY FOR PARENTS:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FRSDPARENTSANDFAMILIES

SURVEY FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERS:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FRSDCOMMUNITYPARTNERS

Throughout the school year, State Testing information will be posted under the “Resources” category on the left hand side of the main page.  Please visit this location for general information.  If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact your student’s school directly.

With the 2018-19 school year well under way, I wanted to take a moment to provide some important information about this year’s state testing that is rapidly approaching.

For the last three years, students in the Fern Ridge School District and around Oregon took state tests in English Language Arts and Math called Smarter Balanced. The tests move away from previous fill-in-the bubble exams that focused on rote memorization to a format which asks students to explain their reasoning and write out their answers. These new tests measure more complex, real-world skills such as critical-thinking, writing, and problem solving so that your child can successfully transition from grade to grade and be prepared for his or her next steps after high school.

Fern Ridge School District will give Smarter Balanced tests this spring.  The tests are not timed so your child can take as long as he or she needs to fully demonstrate what he or she knows and can do.  At the high school level, successfully passing these tests is a requirement for an Oregon diploma.  The practice our students get in grades 3-8 by taking these exams, helps prepare them for the high school exam they will take in the spring of their 11^th grade year.

We know that an end-of-the-year test cannot possibly tell us everything about your child’s academic progress. However, the results do act as a snapshot of your child’s strengths and areas for improvement and can be used as a way to ensure he or she is getting the supports he or she needs. Additionally, the tests help Fern Ridge School District’s efforts to equitably distribute resources and support student learning. When fewer students take the test, we are left with an incomplete and inaccurate picture of how our students are performing, and this limits our ability to address issues, better serve students, and continue to improve our educational system.  The participation of your student is greatly appreciated. 

While we discourage opting-out of the exams for several reasons (a few of them mentioned above), the opt-out form for 18-19 can be found on the Districts main website page under the Resources category that was mentioned above. The direct link to the pdf is:   http://www.fernridge.k12.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Opt-Out_Form_2018-19.pdf.  Should you wish to opt your child out, please submit the form to your child’s school’s main office.

In Fern Ridge School District, we are deeply committed to ensuring each and every student in our schools has the supports he or she needs to achieve at high levels and graduate prepared for his or her next steps. Our ultimate goal is to make sure that all students are set up to be successful from grade to grade and that will remain the focus of our district throughout the rest of the school year.

If you have general questions or want more information about the end-of-year tests, please do not hesitate to contact the school directly.  I encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher(s) with any questions you may have about your student’s progress.

Looking for ways to learn more about the social media sites your child may be using?  Would you like to know what some of the internet “lingo” stands for or gather some tips on how to better protect you and your child’s online privacy?

The saferschoolstogether.com website has provided links to free information for parents and guardians.  Here you will find articles, checklists and information that you can use to learn more about popular social media sites along with tips on privacy, talking to your kids about online safety, decode some of the internet, texting and social media slang, look over sample family contracts and much more.  Here is the link to the parent resource page.