What follows this post is a series of articles that I have been writing for the local paper… the paper that supports our community and our school district.  I confess that my goal was two fold for publishing these articles.  First of all, I would like to increase the readership of this fine paper which keeps us informed about the happenings in our community and costs so very little for a year’s subscription.  Yes, it is a weekly paper; yes, it costs $32 per year delivered each week to your home.  Yes, that is $.62 cents a week.  So that was one of my two goals.

My second goal is the reason for my ethical dilemma.  When I explain to someone that I wrote an entire column about this in the local paper, the overwhelming response is “OH, well we don’t buy that paper.”  Hence the problem.  My major reason for writing these articles is to answer some of the community’s questions before they rumble around and morph into an ‘interesting’ configuration of non-facts and facts.  So my answer to this conundrum is this:  I will copy and paste these articles after they are published and before the next one comes out.

I just raided my files to put up these posts that follow.  From now on they will be in a more predictable order.  Please consider supporting our fine, local paper; get meeting news, information about things going on and coming up for the community and see pictures of the students as they perform their miracles in the many ways they do that.

Above all, enjoy the articles and send me any comments and questions here or at my email: tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us

Have a great week.

School District Questions and Answers –

with current board chair- Twinkle Ann Morton

Really??

I begin by reminding my readers that this column is my opinion and my opinion only. I am not speaking for the board merely making observations about educational related topics.

I want to begin by saying that I am a taxpaying individual for Lane County… When we moved here 17 years ago, we bought land that happens to be just east of the Huston Road City of Veneta boundary line so I don’t live within the City Limits. I do support the District Library, the District Fire Department and the District Schools. Currently, I do not use the Library as much as I would like. I would prefer to not use the Fire District, but have been extremely grateful for the two times I did; they were gracious, prompt and extremely helpful. As for the District Schools, I have no children or grandchildren in the schools. I have no sons or daughters teaching in these schools. Basically, I don’t have any reason to support our schools as I am semi-retired and own land where I could very easily hold up and never leave the land I love so much.

So why do I care? On a financial level, I know my property values continue to increase as our schools win state and national awards, have high graduation rates report cards. People want to live in a community that has the vision to be sure their children get the best of everything possible. It is also true that vandalism is far less prevalent in a community where there is pride in the schools and in their buildings.

On a purely personal level, I believe in the power of public education. Not the kind of education that creates robots who do not think but children and young adults who understand what it takes to work through an opposing argument, see the other side, and change or strengthen their opinions based on that information. Yes, I did teach for five years in eastern Montana- a small community much like Veneta [without the close-by scenery], and I have spent the last thirty-eight years working to improve the possibilities for young men and women coming out of high schools- sometimes under prepared and always too much required of them.

The effects of not passing the ballot are hard for me to fathom.  To make our schools ready to provide an education that prepares our students to be ready for the 21^st and 22^nd Century, we will have to make decisions trading off fresh air versus safety versus keeping the asbestos at bay among other things.  We will not be able to provide that education nor will we be able to offer the things in life that give many of us meaning. Neither artistic appreciation nor application, neither music appreciation nor application will be available. We certainly will not be able to improve or renew our vocational education.

While it may appear to be about money or about previous decisions made by other school boards, this is far more about what this community values, and I believe the fine people of our district will vote for the children and our community’s future. I know I will.

Until next time, please send questions to tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us

I leave you with these two ideas by very successful 21^st Century business people.

“It is in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing.”

–Steve Jobs, in introducing the iPad 2 in 2011

“In my own philanthropy and business endeavors, I have seen the critical role that the arts play in stimulating creativity and in developing vital communities….the arts have a crucial impact on our economy and are an important catalyst for learning, discovery, and achievement in our country”                                              –Paul G. Allen, Co-Founder, Microsoft

School District Questions and Answers –

with current board chair- Twinkle Ann Morton

HUGE step FORWARD

I begin by reminding my readers that this column is my opinion and my opinion only. I am not speaking for the board merely making observations about educational related topics. Now that is done, let’s get to this week’s column.

Yesterday, the 20^th of May 2014, was the beginning of such an important move for our children, our staff, and our community. My list of Thank You’s might rival my last article J- so will try and be more succinct and to not miss anyone. My first thank you goes to the stalwart few who started coming to the board meetings to share their disagreement or perceptions with things happening in the district- both old and new. You folks started the ball rolling for improved communication. My next thank you goes to Gary Carpenter who, in addition to his hard work as the high school principal and friend to his students, took on the very difficult job of heading up the Facilities Committee who worked tirelessly early on to get the ideas for our wonderful community committee to work on with the excellent Portland company of DLR. Thank you to Scott Rose and his crew at DLR for creating the meetings that allowed us to pull together what was important and necessary for our students to be safe and ushered into the 21^st Century. Then the PAC took over and a major group from the community took over the huge task of presenting the information to the rest of the community and answering the important questions that come up with such a large undertaking. Kim Kilmer, as chair, was instrumental in this occurring as well as everyone who made calls, canvassed to answer questions and delivered information to our community. Staff and students alike worked hard in this process as well as standing on the corner waving signs at passing traffic on a series of Tuesday afternoons. Our mayor, Sandra Larson, worked tirelessly to write informational articles to help others understand this process and Ric Ingham and the entire City of Veneta staff has supported this measure. Our Superintendent, Dennis Friedrich, attended meeting after meeting to present information and address concerns. So many folks to thank- I have only touched the tip of the iceberg and as we know, the tip is supported by so much more working behind the scenes.

What does this mean for our community? Most of Elmira Elementary will be replaced in a manner that our children will not be displaced. Overlapping repairs to the roof will disappear and so will the asbestos along with my major concern for safety of our kids near that parking lot. Veneta Elementary will get some much needed additional classrooms, a kitchen, a cafeteria and a front office which will allow better supervision of people’s coming and goings. In addition, bus traffic will be changed to make the process of bussing our children ever more safe. At Fern Ridge Middle School, changes will be made to the library and office while improving safety considerations for exiting the building. Elmira High School will be able to improve the girls’ locker room and adding a second gym which will facilitate the practice schedule of our children. In the past, students have told me that they were embarrassed by the facilities when other schools would visit for competitions. This important change will improve our district immensely. In addition, gyms are used by all levels of our schools and by the community. This vote of confidence is truly a win-win for our community.

One of my biggest concerns is student safety and security. This will allow us to do the things to ease our concerns for our children. It will also allow us to bring in the hardware to bring our technology up to surrounding high school levels and be ready for future developments as well. This will help students in start-up time as well as supporting classroom instruction as more and more technology moves into the classroom.

I have tried to list a few of the things that will benefit the entire community. I know that the pride we show in our community will show and as our population grows, people moving to start their families here and develop their businesses here will find a wonderful group of people with healthy school buildings and our wonderful staff waiting to greet them. Once again- thank you for voting in the election on the 20^th of May. I know the percentage for yes was high; I want those who still have concerns will come to board meetings, continue to voice their concerns, and get involved in the Citizen Oversight Committee.

I end my column, as always, with a quote or two. “What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul.” Joseph Addison “It is in fact a part of the function of education to help us escape, not from our own time – for we are bound by that – but from the intellectual and emotional limitations of our time.” T.S.Eliot   Our children have the right to experience this; thank you again for all the hard work and as always, please write to me at tmorton@fernridge.or.us with comments and concerns. Please come to our Board Meetings as well. Exciting things are ahead for all of us.

Patience

Once again, let me begin by reminding you that this column is my opinion and my opinion only. I am not speaking for the board but merely making observations about educational and community topics.

It must be like this for anyone who has a precious gift to give and has to wait to do so until a certain date. I am bursting with pride in our community and in the gift we have given our children. The ball is rolling- just not rolling FAST ENOUGH. To revisit how long we have waited: it has been about eighteen months since a community committee and the board reviewed at least six, serious RFP’s to determine who would lead us through this time. Obviously, we chose well and the DLR Group has been fantastic. Many in the community and many students have given input and worked shoulder to shoulder to get the ballot measure passed. And Pass it did. Clearly DLR understands our needs and the community stepped up to see what vital issues were best met with the passage of this bond. We have eighteen months experience with this company, and they have led us through the wilderness of “ins and outs” that go along with in depth planning. Clearly the Community, including the school board and DLR, did our homework. Now we wait.

The bonds need to be sold which could take up to the middle or late September to complete. Over the summer, we can begin the geotechnical engineering, the land surveying, and the hazardous materials testing and even some of the design drafts. We will be able to form the oversight committee composed of citizens who will meet and assure that all bond promises are delivered while building community relationships and providing uniform consistent messages regarding the bond projects to the community. Find the link to the application for this committee here: http://www.fernridge.k12.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Citizens-Oversight-Committee-Application.pdf

Please consider getting involved in this most important job. There will be monthly meetings to receive information from the district representative, architect and contractors and engage in discussions regarding bond project updates and related budget updates each month. One person will likely be chosen to present a brief status report at the regular monthly Board Meeting – of course everyone is invited to attend any and all meetings as well.

SO it is beginning… Just not fast enough for the impatience of youth, or, in this case, the eagerness of old age to see the results.

I leave you with this thought from Sydney J. Harris: “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” We should be very happy with what we are seeing happening in our community. Thanks again for supporting our students and staff.

Thanks for reading my column this year and please submit comments and questions to me at this email tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us

Thoughts from an “Old” chair

With all the work that is going on in the district with the building and planning, the current chair has asked if I would resume some of my columns. So to begin with, let me state [once again] that these ideas/thoughts are mine and mine alone… I cannot and do not speak for the board. Now that is behind us… let’s talk report cards.

Yes, report cards. It is not only the students who get them; each school in the district gets graded by a long list of criteria. If you haven’t seen them yet, they are available at each school and at the School District Office. You can also get them online at http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx but that seems a ‘bit’ cumbersome even with fast internet service. If you wish, go to the middle of the page and choose the Fern Ridge School District. Each school’s last two report cards will be there to see.

The report cards give an enrollment profile and an overall rating, complete with colorful graphs. They also rate the school performance, college and career readiness, drop-out rate and graduation rate among others for the last couple of years. In addition, there is a list of things that the schools are doing to improve student learning and prepare the students for their future. The School District also has an overall report card of sorts that gives the profile and demographics as well as information on student group outcomes and a compilation of the things being done at the district to improve student learning.

For me, the overall state average is less important than the progress I see from year to year within our own population. But many put great stock in these state ratings so I do not want to ignore them. Two of our schools, Elmira High School and Veneta Elementary are near or above average. The high school actually is listed in the top 20% with the new testing and graduation requirements. The other schools rated a bit lower, and you can check out on line individual scores of each school if you wish. When asked, many administrators and teachers outside our district will share that the testing has changed as have the expectations, and it will take a bit for their schools to catch up. While I know that is an accurate picture of the lay of the land at this time- our administrators and teachers are not satisfied with that answer.

Our administrators, led in the charge by Superintendent Sally Storm, and our teachers are engaged in trainings and ideas to help our students deal with these changes and benefit from a different way of thinking. This is called Research for Better Teaching [RBT] based on 30 years of research by Jon Saphier. The emphasis is on focusing on what matters most while building capacity to learn and make important connections.   One might wonder what is it exactly that matters most anyway? For thirty-five years, this group has focused on “strengthening, spreading, and sustaining student skills through high-quality professional development. They know that teaching is a complex art and that high-expertise teaching and leading makes the difference. Our teachers and administrators are taking to this like ducks and beavers to water as they know the value of never stopping learning and are always looking for ways to improve their craft and their students’ achievement.

Our administrators are working right beside our teachers to become even stronger leaders, making better use of the data we can obtain from these different tests and all the while, finding way to increase teacher collaboration. Another great area of this program deals with Social Justice which I am only going to mention as I will do a column on this topic. Let me just say that Social Justice involves equity and equality in learning. I promise much more about this later.

Larger school districts are grabbing hold of the idea as well with both Eugene and Springfield investing heavily in it for example. The Superintendent and three of our administrators have been training all fall and further training begins soon.

No excuses for the report cards- a few straightforward explanations of the results and a proactive stance by the teachers and administrators to create change for our students. This is what great stuff is made of!!   Thanks to our teachers and administrators for all they do for our community and our children.

On a different note, a huge thank you to Veneta Elementary teachers and staff as well as Principal Olivia Johnson for the Tooth Taxi coming back… our kids so needed it… and a BIG thank you to the City of Veneta for their extraordinary help making it possible for it to get set up and running.

As always, I remain open to comments and questions. Please write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us – I look forward to hearing from you again. I leave you with a thought from Ernest Hemingway: “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” Something new as well- From time to time, I will share a website with you that your family might enjoy:     http://youtu.be/ysa5OBhXz-Q .

More Comments from the Vice-Chair of your School Board – Twinkle Ann Morton

QUESTIONS from the COMMUNITY

One of my “key” concerns is communication, and earlier columns discussed the role of our new Key Communicator Network. I am so pleased to say that it is beginning to work. I must, of course, say that these are my comments and opinions; I cannot and do not speak for the board.

Several questions have come in, and I have a few answers here. If there are not enough particulars, I will try and gather them if more questions arise- but for now… Here is what I know.

Questions about Elmira Elementary -Most people are happy that the entire school is being replaced. The question on where the money is coming from to build it (as it was not in the original budget/⁠proposal) has come up quite a
lot. Also, there is a concern that the money spent on the first
design has been wasted?

The cost to preserve the parts of EES [the middle section] equals or nearly equals [more to come] the cost of actually rebuilding. Money is saved by not having to do things in pieces as well…The plan was to keep the center- build a wing- move that group of kids to new wing-tear down and build new wing… move kids… etc. This way- that won’t have to be done. The infrastructure [parking lots, permits, etc.] will be done all at once rather than piecemeal saving both time and money… AND the bids will be at the current prices [at the time of letting them] rather than be inflated as the prices continue to rise.

No money from the first design was lost due to careful work with DLR, Cornerstone and contractors.

Veneta Elementary – One question is, “since the loss of the Garcia Center, did we really gain the classroom space we
needed?” Also heard concerns about the Vet. Some believe that the District is going to build a fence on the property line which
is 10 feet from the Vet building. Talk is that the District is trying
to “push out” the Vet. The Vet has been part of this community forever
and people are upset about it.

Garcia Center still stands [as of right now anyway] and yes, we gained the classrooms, security, and technological advances for our children [same in EES]

The Veterinarian Office has been using school property as part of a friendly agreement for years, and we have always had a very good working relationship with them. The old tennis courts and the road there are school property. Since the project involves much of the rest of the property, this is the best and only place to store machinery while different phases of the building proceed at the same time. Drive past this area, and you will see that contractors are trying to keep it as open as we can for as long as we can for their use. The community spoke loud and clear that they did not want the district to move the bus dropping off point to behind the building which would have allowed us to enter into a different agreement with the Vets. After long consideration, we kept the original bus plan and that meant the Veterinary Office would lose some of the parking they had been using on school district property. Listening to the community and making the most sense and cents out of the project resulted in the loss of some of their parking [which I must repeat has been on district property all along.] I wrote an earlier column about this entitled “Listening” and used this as one of the ways that the school board listened to the community and changed their minds about the direction to go with these projects.

Middle School – Overall very positive, no concerns.

High School– There has been some concerns about the cost of the new gym which somewhat addresses a Title IX discrepancy involving federal dollars]. Our Project Manager has a tight handle on the budget, and I sincerely doubt, unless some horrific problem manifests itself, that there will be an overrun. However, if it happens, it is far more likely that the District Office would continue in its dilapidated condition. That would be a very sad statement about our district for new folks entering our system, in my opinion.
New start times – I understand that the new start times are 0755,
0845, and 0820(ish). Heard talk about why the Middle School is
starting so late, parents are asking that if they drop off their
Elementary School child, can they still drop off their Middle School
kid? If not, how will they make it to work on time? What will the kids
do for an hour at the Middle School? Parents are talking that this
would be a lot of unsupervised time to cause trouble. On the District
homepage it says that young minds need more sleep as one of the
reasons for the late start; some parents aren’t buying it.

I will continue to check into the research about the start time. I have been reading that middle and high school students should not start early as their brains are not awake as I imagine they go to bed later and later.   The only way to start all schools at similar times is to pay for more buses, which I am sure would not be a positive idea. Our chair, Andrea Larson, indicates that this is an issue that two parents brought up to her as well. She says, “In looking at start times between middle schools and their feeder elementary schools in both Eugene and Bethel, I found no consistency. Some started at almost the same time while others were as much as an hour apart.”

The community might know that the School Board’s work is policy while the administration’s work is day to day running of the schools. When a policy decision affects the running of the school and when the running of the school effects policy, we interact to see how we might best work out the kinks. Please keep these questions coming to your key communicators – your friends and neighbors. Share your concerns and pose questions. They will bring them to us, and we will do our best to address your questions.

Quick quote and website for you: “A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.” Mark Twain

For a lifting experience watch https://youtu.be/tcXU7G6zhjU  Please write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us anytime… Thanks for reading and caring about our community.

Thoughts from the Vice-Chair of your School Board

As always- my mantra is necessary: These ideas/thoughts are mine and mine alone… I cannot and do not speak for the board. Now, let’s move on to my topic- your board.

The elections were held at the last board meeting, and I am pleased to say that I was chosen to be vice-chair. This, to me, is a great honor, and I am ready to work on the projects I had in mind earlier and those fermenting in my mind and others. For one thing- I want to reenergize the Key Communicator Network. This group of community members opens a two way street between you and the board and the board and you. A two-way street that hopefully will address questions you might have hopefully before they occur to you but certainly once they do. I have other things in mind as well but all of them have to do with a stronger, clear communication with the district parents, staff and children.

The next few columns are dedicated to those hard working co-board members – I begin today with Craig Soderberg. To me, Craig embodies the perfect board member. He is a bit of “no nonsense” person with a heart of gold who cares about his community and the children of that community. Craig was born in Texas spending only the first few months of his life there. He moved to Oregon in 1968 and has been an influential part of life here since then. He has opened his home for kids other than his own who need a home for various reasons. He recently married Sally of Illinois, and we all look forward to life with this powerful couple once she is able to relocate. Some, but not all, of his services to the community involve being a prime mover behind the MS-Cancer Funding for thirteen years, serving on the Business Development Committee for the Fern Ridge area, the Park Board [currently the chair], and of course, the School Board since 2007. His most recent term will expire in 2017. Here is a message from Mr. Soderberg.

Twinkle asked me to jot down a few thoughts, which I am glad to do. I have been on the School Board for nearly nine years and have had the privilege to serve this wonderful community alongside many amazing people. The current board has a fabulous passion that I frequently draw from. Our year old superintendent has many new skills that rarely find their way to a district our size. For instance, I got to golf with Eugene’s retired superintendent, George Russell, and he commented how fortunate we were to land Dr. Storm. I agree!! This is the fourth district leader I have served with, and she, I believe, is building on the foundations our last three superintendents erected.

Do we have a perfect district? Not at all. But we have leaders and administrators who want to continue to make this even better than I see that it already is. I am so glad that nobody is coasting! The new school improvements are very cool, but that too has to be attributed to the district leadership both past and present.

You truly can be proud of Fern Ridge School District, as we continue to aim for the “perfect” place, even as it is a fluid target. Thanks for letting me serve all these years.

Craig Soderberg exemplifies for me my quote for this column by Lao Tzu:   “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” Craig is a force to be admired and followed. I am honored to work beside him on the board. My video for this time is at https://youtu.be/C6xSyRJqIe8 – my advice this time is don’t skip the ad at the beginning… it is as potent as the actual video. As always, I look forward to your continued connection with me by writing to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us . Until next time.

To Resolve Problems and Repair Harm or Suspend and Alienate?

Although the question of whether responsible people should help solve the problem or throw the baby out with the bath water seems like a no-duh question, schools have only recently seen this as a possibility, and Restorative Justice is taking hold in schools across the nation- little by little. I am pleased to say that our district is working toward this end and the results are amazing. OH YES…. First of all… these are my thoughts and only my thoughts; I do NOT speak for the board-!!! Bet you have heard that before J

Now- let’s get down to the important stuff.   In some schools in the Oakland Unified District in Oakland, California, “Restorative justice, …has cut suspensions by more than half….a seismic shift in the culture of discipline – from punitive to preventative, exclusion to inclusion.” [Khadaroo, http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2013/0331/Restorative-justice-One-high-school-s-path-to-reducing-suspensions-by-half]

It always did seem counter intuitive to suspend the very people we are trying to serve rather than finding out what is going on for that person. The basic premise behind restorative justice is trying to resolve problems and repair harm- most often by open communication with those involved and then as a group to hear the other and adjust if possible. Sometimes these students have had “trouble at home, felt harassed by police, or witnessed traumatizing crimes” or events in their own homes. A death of a beloved pet is traumatizing as are more hurtful crimes such as domestic violence and verbal abuse. Families struggling to keep afloat financially try, sometime unsuccessfully, to keep the worries away from their children. Whatever reason causes a student to act out, an alternate solution to suspension is preferred. It often comes down to everyone learning and practicing self-discipline. Easier said than done!

This will require our community “to address the roots of student ‘misbehavior’ and a willingness to rethink and rework our classrooms, schools, and school districts.” We must work toward “collaborative and creative, empowering students, teachers and parents.”[http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/29_01/edit1291.shtml?gclid=CL2kh6LS8cUCFQSUfgodF6QAGA]

Yes, that means the entire community working together to accomplish great things for our students, our children, our future. Can we do it? I believe we can. The Fern Ridge Middle School is participating in this program and receiving training. They have attended trainings and some ideas have been foregrounded at the beginning of the training: Give all Students a voice; Promote their capacity to express their opinions and emotions in a safe environment; Provide a Safe Place; Encourage students to listen to learn from their peers; and Promote students’ abilities. All of this leads to inclusiveness and more relationships outside their own cliques. The results speak for themselves so far, and we have only just begun. The referrals from last year, compared to this year, are nearly twice as many… or better stated- We are having half the referrals that we had just last year, and the program is new and just beginning to firm up. In 2012-2013, out-of-school suspensions occurred for 74.5 days for 59 events with 36 students involved while this year they are only 31 days of suspension for 16 events and only 14 students involved. Now that is pretty overwhelming statistics. This too can be improved, but we seem to be on the right track. Sally Storm said “Restorative Justice highlights relationships between staff and students.  It will give staff many opportunities to show how much they care, and hopefully make students want to be in school and successful.  It “brings them back into the fold” after they have made a mistake, rather than pushing them out.  What could be more important?”

My thanks to all at the Fern Ridge Middle School [students and staff], to Principal Barsotti and to Superintendent Storm for pursuing this new program. Our district and, more importantly, our children are already benefitting.

As always, I remain open to comments and questions. Please write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us – I look forward to hearing from you again.   I leave you with this thought and quote. “The discipline you learn and character you build from setting and achieving a goal can be more valuable than the achievement of the goal itself.” Bo Bennett   Have a great week!

An Old Chair – sort of speaks!

Another New Program for our Young Students and their Families

These ideas/thoughts are mine and mine alone… I cannot and do not speak for the board. Now, let’s move on to my topic – What is happening in the District!! Topic today: More on YOUNG families and the district. By young – I am referring to having very young children by the way… so that would include grandma and/or grandpas raising their grandchildren as well as younger and older parents of little ones. I reached out to the principal of Veneta Elementary, Olivia Johnson, for information on the KITS program. She wrote such a fine commentary that I decided to share it as written. A little background first as I understand it. This is a program from the Lane Early Learning Alliance. Dr. Sally Storm brought this program idea with her as a possibility for helping our young children and their families prepare for their years at school, reached out to the correct people and secured it for our district. So without much more to say – Here is Olivia’s article:

Like any graduation ceremony there were proud parents and excited students, certificates and treats, speeches and proud walks to the podium…. only these graduates are a lot shorter than those at EHS. On June 2^nd, the KITS program held a graduation ceremony to mark the end of the first KITS program in our school district and the 28 students who spent four hours a week for the last weeks learning, growing, and laughing together.

KITS (Kids In Transition to School) is a program through the Oregon Social Learning Center and the Early Learning Alliance. It is funded in part by the United Way of Lane County. Traditionally the KITS program provides a summer program for incoming kindergarten students who are about to enter school. It has been highly successful throughout Lane County in helping children start kindergarten with basic literacy skills and ready to learn.

The program at Veneta Elementary is different. For the first time ever, the KITS program at VES served students who were already in kindergarten to help them prepare for the transition into first grade. The goal of the program was to reinforce the academic and social skills that students were learning in school- to give them more practice to build mastery of the important skills they needed to learn in kindergarten so they would be ready for first grade. It was an ideal approach for Veneta because of our current half-day kindergarten program. KITS was used to supplement the three hours of instruction students received in school with two hours of additional tutoring.

KITS uses their own curriculum to provide students with opportunities that don’t just teach basic reading or basic math but integrate science, art, and social skills at the same time. During their eight week program, the students in our KITS program at Veneta had the opportunity to create art projects, tackle fun science experiments, learn through imaginative play, and design fun projects to take home. Social skills were an integral part of the KITS program but they weren’t taught separately, but integrated into everything they did. For example, students don’t just read a story about sharing they are asked to create an art project sharing one bottle of glue as a small group.

If you walked by the KITS program all you heard was students laughing and having fun. If you peeked in and watched, you could see the learning happening.

Students were selected for the KITS program for a variety of reasons. Some were chosen because they needed just a little extra practice in math or reading. Some were chosen because they have the potential to be strong leaders and good role models. Some because we knew they would enjoy the art projects or the hands on science activities. Some because they loved school so much we knew they would be excited to come back for more. It didn’t matter why they were in the program; every student benefited from the program and enjoyed it.

The KITS program also had a parent education component that Veneta was lucky enough to have as well. Parents met weekly to share parenting stories and ideas, because the best learning happens when we learn from each other. The KITS program provides childcare and food for these meetings as well as snacks for the children after school.

Unfortunately, at this point, we have been told that we will not be able to have a KITS program in the district for students starting school in the fall. However, there may be a chance to have another program for students during the school year. It was great to have the KITS program in our school, and it will be great to have it back again next time. KITS graduation ceremony was at 2:15 on June 2^nd and was great fun.

My Thanks to Olivia – and as always, I remain open to comments and questions. Please write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us – I look forward to hearing from you again. I leave you with this thought and quote from Paul Vallas – a superintendent / official in difficult areas such as Louisiana, Philadelphia, and Chicago. “If you’re going to equalize the academic playing field, you’ve got to get the kids in early childhood programs.” For a smile – watch this short video https://youtu.be/3bK5OiSMVAU on YouTube – proving ONCE AGAIN, you can teach an old critter [chair] new tricks!!! Have a great week!

addendum to published article:  Principal Johnson has heard that this program will be renewed at VES- GREAT news for our district.  More later.

More from an “Old” chair

These ideas/thoughts are mine and mine alone… I cannot and do not speak for the board. Now, let’s move on to my topic for the next few weeks- What is happening in the District!!

First of all my apologies for my extended absence… life happens whether you are ready for it or not. I was not ready for the accident that accelerated my mother’s removal from our home. She is safe and well taken care of in Eugene but left many things to take care of and much change in our lives. But I am back- like the dirty penny [a phrase from my childhood and my father’s mother’s little ditties].

I was watching how things are happening in our district and realized that too much is happening without the foundation of those things being put in front of our readers. That was/is my job. So as I said- I am back– trying to catch up.

I have always believed my most important job as a school board member, after doing due diligence on policy and district issues, is to connect with the community I serve. I understand the importance of ‘walking the walk’ so to speak, and I have done my best to provide service as well as an ear. I have taken a good look at what is right in front of me and tried to work directly with those needs. I know better now that there is a history that is not indicative of what we have now, but I also know that my space is not neutral. I have hopes and desires for the district that may be different than some in the community. I want to hear from you and come to you each column and every day by email hoping to hear your thoughts. To begin this portion, a little recent history.

When we were in the hiring process for a new superintendent, we knew we needed someone who would create chances for our strong and wonderful staff to become even better. This was actually a request from the staff as they sought more opportunities for learning and greater support from the administration. We also were very concerned about providing easy transitions for our children from preschool to elementary and middle school to high school. We wanted to get in line with state requirements for things such as Achievement Compacts and hiring and training opportunities. We needed to make better use of our data information and make sure that all of our students were able to achieve or have the chance to achieve whatever dream they have for their future. In addition, we wanted to continue to develop and expand our community communication process listening to concerns and answering questions that might come up regarding our various decisions.

At this point, we chose Dr. Sally Storm from a group of very qualified candidates. We shared in each interview our desires and concerns. Dr. Storm gave us the answers we were looking for, and we hired her. At that point, we all knew it might take someone months to settle in to a new position, so we were not expecting the things that transpired in the next few months. I am going to share a few of those things over the next few weeks in no particular order. I just want all of you to know that she has far exceeded our expectations for a timeline.

One of the great programs she has brought to our district is for the transition time for eighth graders. The Decision Education Foundation is affiliated with Stanford University. They have offered to pay for a program called Everybody Leads. It is a one week course for incoming freshman which guides them “through a series of activities and games that teach decision making and leadership skills. Both the academic learning and the engaging experience put students on a path for success in high school. In the process, students meet key school leaderships, build relationships and become oriented to their high school experience.” Students have fun, learn important things for their years in high school, make and solidify friendships. Parents can relax a bit with a greater confidence that their child will not suffer in this major transition.

So how did Fern Ridge School District even get in line for this great program? As a result of Dr. Storm’s statewide connections, Nancy Golden, Chief Executive Officer for the State of Oregon, gave the organization Sally’s name as she knew Sally was interested and wanted to work with them. Once Dr. Storm heard of the possibility, she jumped write on it and emailed him within seconds as she was worried it was a first come first serve condition. As a result, we have this program happening for this year’s Eighth graders who will be going into their first year of high school. So what does the district get financially? The Decision Education Foundation will cover the cost of instructor[s] and facilitators up to a certain amount as well as covering miscellaneous school costs for running the program; the total of which would run into the thousands of dollars. What does the district get educationally? The priceless knowledge that we are providing a service to our community and to our students that will make this transition easier for those involved.

As always, I remain open to comments and questions. Please write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us – I look forward to hearing from you again. I leave you with this thought “A ship is always safe at the shore – but that is NOT what it is built for.” Albert Einstein
For my video today, I think I’d like to share a marvelous video- a bit long- but illustrates so many wonderful things about the possibilities of life, risk taking, and equity [my likely next topic]. Here it is and well worth the 15 minutes to watch.   https://youtu.be/UDU2fA_LBKs