Monthly Archives: May 2016
School District Questions and Answers –
With board vice- chair- Twinkle Ann Morton
Last month, West Lane Technical Learning Center had a change in leadership. I have known Mr. Osibov for several years and am pleased to see him doing wonderful things again in the world of education. I asked him for some information about his plan. Clearly he has thought a great deal about this already, and many plans are in the works. What follows are some of his comments and plans in his own words. Mr. Osibov says:
I am excited. After my two and a half year hiatus from school administration, I am excited about helping students grow into young adults. This is the most important job in the world.
In addition to working with students in a safe and supportive environment to obtain a high school diploma, I envision WLTLC guiding students to realistically explore career paths for their future. To achieve this end, it is imperative that students have opportunities to dream their dreams and explore how these passions translate to the working world. A student’s social/academic achievement in high school is a main determinant of their success as a contributing member in the world of work. Helping students to understand how high school social and academic achievement can lead to employment is a critical factor in helping students to begin exploring how they fit into the world of work. Both state and national educational policymakers have identified Career Pathways as a conceptual framework to organize and promote student educational attainment to support entering the working world.
To help students grasp the relevance of education and explore career options WLTLC staff will continue to make adjustments with a focus on individual student exploration of Career Pathways which is a series of connected education and technical training programs and student support services that enable individuals to secure a First of all, let me begin by reminding my readers that this column is my opinion and my opinion only. By that I mean that I am not speaking for the board merely making observations about educational topics and asking for your perspective and input.
Last month, West Lane Technical Learning Center had a change in leadership. I have known Mr. Osibov for several years and am pleased to see him doing wonderful things again in the world of education. I asked him for some information about his plan. Clearly he has thought a great deal about this already, and many plans are job.
There are regional activities that provide students the opportunity to talk with industry professionals, community college staff and do industry site visits. Building on these experiences,
I foresee facilitating curricular enhancements emphasizing Career Pathway exploration, employability skills and work based community experience/s in addition to obtaining a high school diploma. The following bullet points are examples of programs and Career Pathways that students will explore to help establish relevance to their high school education and quite possibly lead to entry level work.
- Increase utilization of the Oregon Career Information System (CIS) to create electronic student portfolios and monitor student progress. Existing Program
- Establish student exploration of Career Pathways to develop ideas for entry level job/s… some examples:
- Culinary Arts and Hospitality Mgt. Existing Pathway
- Baking and Pastry (Career Pathway Certificate-Lane CC)
- Health Services Existing Pathway
- Example: Medical Coding (Career Pathway Certificate-Lane CC)
- Agriculture Develop Pathway
- Example: Forest Ecology (Career Pathway Certificate-Central Oregon CC)
- Computer Information Technology Develop Pathway
- Example: Computer Game Programing In C++(Career Pathway Certificate-Lane CC)
Special Note: all the above are entry level positions
Oregon’s seventeen community colleges have Career Pathway roadmaps for dozens of occupations that visually chart the certificates, degrees and skills progression needed to obtain entry level positions and continue on through career advancement opportunities. More than 350 roadmaps are available through all Oregon community college websites. Staff at WLTLC will introduce/establish Career Pathways as an organizing framework so students can explore Career Pathways to gain knowledge about preferred work and possibly engage in valuable experience in work based community experience/s leading to possible entry level employment.
WLTLC’s collaboration with local merchants, governmental agencies and educational institutions is integral to helping students not only obtain a high school diploma and understand the job market/s but also obtain meaningful (entry level) employment. Staff will help grow these collaborations and organize processes where students can gain valuable experience/s in work based community experiences. This could be referred to” the frosting on the cake” for students who attend WLTLC.
In the short term I welcome the completion of our commercial kitchen for the Culinary Arts / Hospitality Management Career Pathway. This will enable our students to participate in their school based community catering business. In our Health Services Career Pathway we will continue to grow our job shadows, visitations and class offerings. In the long term, I plan to visit various community agencies (public and private) seeking to develop educational partnerships to increase our menu of hands-on Career Pathway exploration opportunities for students.
These are exciting plans and ideas from the new director of WLTLC. I look forward to him and his staff bringing this to completion and helping his students graduate while finding a path and an on-ramp to their dreams. Who could possibly ask more?
As always, please to continue to write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us See you at the Farmer’s Market!!!
School District Questions and Answers –
With board vice- chair- Twinkle Ann Morton
OPERATING BUDGET IS NOT BOND CONSTRUCTION
and
Key Communicator Questions
First of all, let me begin by reminding my readers that this column is my opinion and my opinion only. By that I mean that I am not speaking for the board merely making observations about educational topics and asking for your perspective and input. A few people appear to be confused about the issue of the bond and the projected budget issue that was reported in the paper last week. So I am trying to address those problems as they were asked of our Key Communicators. Here we go.
We just passed a bond. How could the school district have a budget issue? Interesting Question. In reading the bond description, one can see that the bond money can be used only to build schools, remodel existing schools, and increase safety and technology. The promise of transparency and progress reports has been fulfilled for those interested. The agreement is “The Fern Ridge School District will provide a monthly update on the progress of the work funded by the $26.7 million bond approved by voters last May, to be published regularly. This has been done as well as listing project plans and information pertaining to each project. You will find this additional information on the District’s website www.fernridge.k12.or.us under the heading BOND.
So what caused a budget shortage? The district shortfall is a result of years of underfunding from the state as well as unfunded mandates created by the legislature. Our district is the only one, I believe, who returned to a full school year this year. We hope to maintain a full schedule while other districts have cut days and positions. The administration has worked tirelessly to maintain our staff and our lower class sizes so as to protect the students’ learning. The bond can do nothing to fund salaries, insurance, supplies, textbooks, or bus and food contracts. The teachers through FREA have been wonderful in their attempts to keep costs at a minimum while maintaining the full school year. They too have seen the cost of insurance and PERS rise while the cost of some “must have” commodities has also increased.
Will this bond save us money in the Operating Budget? Many people understand the difference but still have this question. The answer is a resounding YES. The roofs at the buildings will not need fixing; the new walls will not need to be painted; the new systems will not need to be perfected; so many unforeseeable issues that arise for maintenance should be taken care of. Will there still be some issues? Of course, but they will be surprises – not issues that we have band aided because of money issues. Elmira Elementary and Veneta Elementary will be relatively new and protected by an improved security system as will the Middle School and the High School.
So will there be a Reduction in Force [RIF]? The simple answer is no. The administrative team has been working to turn yet another shortage from the state school fund into as good as possible. “Lemons to Lemonade sort of thing”. Teachers who are retiring will not be replaced. The Elementary Principals have met and are looking for ways to balance their numbers and class sizes. It is time for some textbook replacements- it is likely they will be put off yet again for a better time. But at this time, we will be able to keep all of our wonderful staff.
What remains for Veneta Elementary and for Elmira Elementary School?
VES
With most of the Veneta Elementary construction project wrapping up for this school year, we’re excited to share a few pictures of the new wing, classrooms, library, and the cafeteria on the District Webpage. New flooring, more technology, landscaping, and new parking and bus loops are some of the improvements still to come.
EES
It is with great anticipation that constriction is in full swing at Elmira Elementary. The ground works are moving along on schedule, despite the weather’s occasional lack of cooperation.
Plumbing and underground electrical have been laid, and the concrete has been poured. Framing has begun, and it is very exciting to watch as the walls go up. Drive by sometime and see.
FRMS
The work at Fern Ridge Middle School is mostly complete and the students and staff have settled in to the school year.
EHS
At Elmira High School the installation of the new field lights is complete, which has greatly improved the viewing of activities on the field and increased both the safety of the students and security of the campus. The new auxiliary gym project for the high school has begun its design phase and bids have come in within our hopes but a bit higher than predicted. As time passes in the economy beginning recover, the costs of product and of labor will continue to rise. The Company representing the District, Cornerstone, has done an excellent job at seizing the golden ring when they can, and the companies we are working with have been great as well.
Why is some work not done at all the places? As you know, when you need to have an electrician or a plumber- any highly skilled work person- to your home, it is wise to have any and all projects lined out so they can be achieved all at once. Several important reasons for that apply here. One is scheduling- Once you have them on sight, do it all at once. The other reason is cost. If someone comes out to do the security upgrade at one school, he or she loads up all the stuff, drives here, completes that job- load up and goes home. Then they do it all again for the next job… so the bond committee is saving money by doing the total project all at once for several things.
So keep those questions coming- I’ll answer as best I can and as quickly as I can. Here’s a short video to raise your spirits. https://youtu.be/vANn8BMSi9M Aa quote to think about from Nelson Mandela. “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” Write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us.
Sent to RG for Sunday edition on Mother’s Day… sadly the reporter only put in one of the great accomplishments- wanted to make sure you had access to them- this is, of course, not all of them… but a great sample. Enjoy….
School District Kudos –
With board vice- chair- Twinkle Ann Morton
Just wanted to print a few of the many things our students excel at… impressive range of things and I have only scratched the surface. Enjoy reading of their many accomplishments.
Elmira High School received ranking in national publication
Elmira High School is a “bronze medal” school this year according to the USA Today rankings. Last year, EHS won the “silver medal”. This foregrounds our high graduation rates. The Four Year Cohort Graduation Rate has the State Average at 73.8% while Elmira High School recorded an 89.83% rate which is well above the state average. Similarly, the Five Year Cohort Graduation Rate shows the State Average to be 76.49%, and Elmira High School’s average is 88.35%.
Fern Ridge Elementary Schools Perform Well in OBOB at state
The Fern Ridge School District sent several teams to the OBOB competition. On the elementary level both Veneta and Elmira schools performed very well. Congratulations to the Veneta team who made it to the “Sweet Sixteen” standing. The team consists of Jake Bondurant, Jacob Janeczko, Alexys Kallio, and Bailey Cedarleaf. Jake and Alexys are fourth graders and Bailey and Jacob are 5th graders. They were coached by Jake’s father Nate Bondurant. The Elmira team made it to the “Elite Eight” battling it out during overtime rounds, and the members are called “The No Mercy (Sisters) Return”. Their names are Grace Vestal, Nancy Coffman, Gracie Storey, Kelly Torres and Lucy Mitchem. With thanks to Alisa Johnson for coaching them. Nice job to everyone who read, participated and tried their best. All of you made us proud!
Fern Ridge Middle School Wins OBOB at State
The OBOB team consisted of three 8th graders from last year’s team and one 6th graders (Josiah Lorenz, Emily Eagle-Eye, Jessica Woods, and Zola Walker). The kids put in a lot of hard work along with their coach Sherry Cooper.
Fern Ridge Middle School at Brain Bowl at LCC
Fern Ridge Middle School competed in their first Lane County Brain Bowl today. They did great! They got third out of 17 teams. There were some incredibly smart middle schoolers in that room. Everyone would like to thank Angie Pebworth and Jason Alansky for organizing and coaching the team. Middle School Brain Bowl competition involves students in grades 6 to 8 in games similar to athletic competitions offered at this level. Questions are read in major areas of learning and the team member buzzes in when he or she knows the answer. The participants in this event were Maddie Alansky, Emily Eagle Eye, Josiah Lorenz, Reign Luxembourger, Ian Miller, and Megan Porter.
Elmira High School OBOB in Fern Ridge District
The team won the first round in the Terrific 12 split bracket but then lost in the Elite 8 second round, which sadly was a sudden elimination match. The participants are Finn King, Celeste Ossowski, Cooper Barnes, Jessica Coone, and Jessica Yost. Everyone put in a great deal of work and thanks goes out to their coach Sherry Cooper and Forrest Cooper for his help at the competition.
Veneta Elementary Earth Day Fair
Our Earth Day Fair was a huge success again this year. We increased the time by one hour and were able to have all of VES students and some Elmira Elementary School students attend. At another event, we had our Third Quarter Award ceremonies where we gave out 118 class awards, 117 outstanding citizen awards, and 11 perfect attendance awards.
Fern Ridge Family Resource Center
Fern Ridge School District now has a Family Resource Center! Located at Veneta Elementary School, the Family Resource Center will provide services to all families in the district with a focus on families with children birth to five years old. As it gets going, the center will feature information for families on community resources, parent education workshops, and activities for small children. The goal for the center is to help build literacy skills in small children and help families make the transition to kindergarten. The Family Resource Center is made possible by a grant from Lane Kids.
Our Family Resource Coordinator is Angi Trent who has been on the job for a short time, but she already has big plans for the Family Resource Center. Plans included a play date on March 9th which featured sensory play with shaving cream and a visit from a local police officer. It was a big hit with kids and families alike. Stay tuned for more events in the works.
For more information on the Fern Ridge Family Resource Center contact Angi at 541-935-8225 ext. 418.