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A4 Wednesday, January 22, 2020 The Dalles Chronicle TheDallesChronicle.com of new methods, and has worked well with the county extension agent in trying new things,” said Farquharson. “They have taken a lot of risks along the way. “You do what you need to do to survive and you do it just because it is the right thing to do,” she told the recipients. “You have the passion to carry on the vision of your granpar- ents and parents while instill- ing their values in the children so that they can continue.” Man of the Year The school board last January gave the go-ahead for program planning to begin, with an expected start date of fall 2020. At that meeting a year ago, then-board member Bethani Frantz-Studebaker lauded the proposal, saying dual language immersion “is not a new idea. It’s been highly effective, highly researched and highly implemented, globally.” Dual language programs benefit both native and non-native speakers, and by the upper years of elementary school, students enrolled in such programs academically outperform students not enrolled in them, according to a four-year federal study done in Portland Public Schools. In a staff survey taken last year, one staff member wrote, “I have worked in many districts where we had dual language programs. I have wit- nessed second language learn- ers making greater academic progress as well as English only students becoming fluent in a second language.” Chenowith Elementary Principal Monica “Mo” Darnall, who started a dual immersion program in Hillsboro, and has also taught in them, said the committee would grow once the school site was announced. Board member David Jones was critical of that tim- ing, saying, “You’re going to decide on the site before you talk to the community.” Colonel Wright teach- ers in December told the board they felt Chenowith Elementary, with its much higher population of English Language Learners, made more sense as home for the program. Colonel Wright is the smallest of the three elemen- taries, with two kindergarten classes compared to four at the other two schools. Since the program requires Spanish-speaking teachers, those teachers who don’t know Spanish would be moved to other classrooms or buildings as the program progressed up the grades. No teacher would lose their job, but they could be relocated, said District Human Resources Director Brian Schimel. Superintendent Candy Armstrong said the reality, especially for Colonel Wright, was that a program with two classrooms at each grade lev- el would mean it involved all of Colonel Wright’s classes, since they only have two at each grade level. “That is the entire school changing, and that’s huge and does bring a lot of anx- iety for” teachers at Colonel Wright who want to finish their career there, but don’t qualify to teach dual lan- guage, she said. The district can’t do the program without someone having to move schools, she said. Fost has helped start four other dual language pro- grams, and he said even in districts that already have one dual language program at one campus, people still resist the idea of starting it at another campus. Darnall said dual immer- sion programs always meet resistance, because change is scary. Board member Rebecca Thistlethwaite said the focus should be on students, and the program would help students, both the native Spanish speakers and the students who would learn Spanish. While some board members suggested waiting a year, she said the same ob- jections would still be there a year later. Fost agreed, saying other programs that waited a year after encountering resistance still had resistance the follow- ing year. Darnall said she’s been in the situation of starting a new program, and “it starts just like this. Just scared, white knuckle.” Kabakov said, “I don’t hear fear, I hear exclusion.” Board member Dawn Rasmussen, who supports the program but feels the ef- fort is being rushed and isn’t inclusive, did some quick polling at the meeting and learned that of the 14 teach- ers present, just two were happy with the process. One teacher said, “It’s not that I’m in support or not in support. I don’t have enough information.” Rasmussen wanted to “put the brakes” on the plan and revise the timeline. She said the teachers who would be in charge of executing the plan felt they needed more time. Thistlethwaite argued the program was starting small. “It’s not changing an entire school, it’s one grade.” Darnall said Hood River tried to implement a program in an entire elementary at once, but had to stop because it proved too divisive, with animosities developing between teachers in the program and those not in the program. A survey last spring of staff heard from just 55 teachers. At the last school board meeting, some teachers from Colonel Wright said their responses would’ve been different if they’d known their school would be the site. Board Vice Chair Jose Aparicio said staff survey- ing should continue, even if questions have to be revamped, since they had become out of date, accord- ing to Fost. Fost said he’s already heard from teachers outside the district interested in jobs in the program, and teachers within the district have also expressed interest. Asked if the process could be pushed back a year, Darnall said starting in the fall was the best timing to begin it. There are grant monies to begin it, and the state’s Student Success Act, passed last year, will also put about $2 million a year into the district and is aimed at clos- ing the “achievement gap” between minority students and other students. would be taught 90 percent in Spanish initially, and by grade, would be equal- Program location ly fourth in English and Spanish. The proposal is to start it undecided next fall, at a school yet to be Continued from page A1 determined (although Colonel Wright teachers heard a rumor last fall that the program could Each elementary is a go at their school). community school, Vaught District Superintendent said, and adding a dual Candy Armstrong said the immersion program to one location of the program had of them would represent “a fundamental shift in the way not been decided yet. The current timeline calls for that we onboard kids into our decision to come by Feb. 27. education system.” Vaught said he didn’t think A year ago the school the dual language program board authorized staff to was a bad idea. He said it prepare for establishing a could be a “gold star” for the dual language immersion community if implemented program, which would start thoughtfully with an under- at one school at the kin- dergarten level and then standing of community needs. expand one grade level He said staff and commu- each year as the students nity engagement was needed progressed through school. to get buy-in and support. Students would be chosen Instead, the dual language by lottery for the program, committee “has sown seeds which would have 50 percent of discord, distrust and disre- native Spanish speakers spect with those most deeply and 50 percent non-native affected by this change.” Spanish speakers. The classes He said “the fruits of this labor will most certainly yield disenfranchised staff and underserved students.” He encouraged the school board to slow the process down, publicly present the problems that need to be addressed and the solutions for them, and to do so in a way that fosters commu- nity engagement and full transparency. Deocelen Munoz, an English Language Learner (ELL) assistant at Colonel Wright, said at a recent state conference for dual language programs she got to see non-native Spanish speak- ing students read, speak and have a conversation in Spanish. “It was amazing,” she said. “I do feel that the kids of D21 will benefit from such a great program.” She talked to a principal with a program at her school, and she said getting it started was a lot of work, including informing parents about how the program would benefit students, and staff meetings to help teachers have an easier transition. Munoz said when Trost Elementary in Canby first implemented dual language it didn’t work, and they tried again the next year and it was a success. A teacher from Gresham told her the same thing: they also didn’t have success the first time they started the program, and they had to get the community involved to have a successful start. Munoz said she talked to people from three different schools who implemented dual language immersion programs, and all three had commonalities: “They talked to the community, they had staff meetings, they went door to door to speak to both parents, both Spanish and non-Spanish, they under- stood and acknowledged the teachers’ feelings.” She said all the dual lan- guage teachers she saw were native Spanish speakers with years of teaching experience. She said that only after the committees at those schools had talked to the community and teaching staff did they go to their school boards with implementation plans. She asked if the D21 committee had talked to the community in depth about the pros and cons of having the program. “Have they ex- plained to all three elemen- tary schools how much this program will impact all the elementary school commu- nities? Do they have qualified teachers and assistants with experience lined up? Not just for this year, but for the following years?” “We need to have an open communication for this to work,” Munoz said. “If we rush, and we don’t stop and think and plan as a team, this will not work.” She said it didn’t matter where the program was housed, what mattered was “are we ready to start, to have a successful DLI program in our district?” Chenowith Elementary teacher Mary Tyree told the board, “While I see the point of a DLI program I can tell you we are not ready and you can’t afford it! We also get a new superintendent in seven months who may feel getting a balanced budget would be the priority.” She said before thinking of housing the dual language program at Chenowith, “Can we get a PTA (Parent Teacher Association) please! We have chronic absenteeism, high trauma, high poverty and we have already been in turmoil for three years going on four.” Teachers at Colonel Wright spoke to the school board last month, saying Chenowith made the most sense to house the dual language program because the school has by far the most native Spanish speakers. It has more than 50 percent native Spanish speak- ers, more than twice the rate of the other two elementaries, a teacher said earlier. AWARDS collectors, 27 MCFR volun- teers, 25 Dallesport Fire vol- unteers, 5 MCFR administra- Chamber plans tive staff and members of The strong future Dalles Lions Club, Salvation Army and St. Vincent De Paul Continued from page A1 turn out for the event. engineering and mathemat- ics.) Field was part of a team that worked to research, design, build, program and test a specialized gaming controller for a Columbia High School teen with Cerebral Palsy, and now has an internship with the STEM Hub in the Gorge. “I can’t wait to see what he creates next,” Farquharson said. Educator of the Year Longtime The Dalles teacher Coutney Kiser was named as Outstanding Educator of the Year. Farquharson read a number of quotes from students in introducing Kiser. “I want this teacher to hear the impact they had on our community and many familes,” she said. “He was one of the corner stones of my childhood, when First Responder I look back,” wrote one. “For a of the Year lot of us, he’s been one of our favorite teachers and coaches, Project ELFF received as his compassion is incom- the First Responder of the Year award, represented by parable,” wrote another. Eric Pyles, Bob Palmer, Tim “You will always hold a spe- McGlothlin, Captain Ray cial part in my whole family’s Morris and Dave Lutgens. heart, from me to all three of Project ELFF began in 1986 my children, my nieces and as a two-day food drive in other families and youth you The Dalles organized by Mid- have stood behind and sup- Columbia Fire and Rescue ported,” wrote another. command, and has since “He was my inspiration to expanded to Dallesport and become a teacher. He makes Murdock. Prior to the actual learning fun and is engaged event, assigned volunteers go with each and every student. to local businesses seeking He is a terrific man and he de- cash donations. During the serves to much. He is loved by drive itself, fire apparatus hit so many,” wrote yet another. the streets in area neighbor- Agriculture hoods with lights ablaze and Achievement Award sirens sounding. Volunteers canvass door-to-door col- The Outstanding Ag lecting nonperishable foods Achievement award was given to the wheat and for the local food banks. Assisted living facilities in the cattle farms under the family operation of John and Pat area help transport volun- Clausen, Carlton and Pam teers from area to area, and Meadow Outdoor Advertising Clausen and Gary and Susan provides sorting and storage Brown. “This family-run opera- space for the donated items. The program collects an tion has combined six family average of 16 to 17,000 food operations to be independent items, with as many as 23,000 of each other and yet working collected in a single drive. together. This operation has A total of 152 volunteer always been an early adapter LANGUAGE Spanish speaking teachers required Continued from page A1 from each elementary, and Jonathan Fost, director of the Migrant Education Program at the Columbia Gorge Education Service District. Teachers from Colonel Wright said in December they tried to get on the com- mittee, but couldn’t. Fost said everybody who expressed interest was invit- ed to a meeting last August, but it had to be canceled, and when there was a reboot of the committee the money an- ticipated for a larger commit- tee wasn’t available. The idea for a dual immer- sion program was recom- mended by ELL teachers after the school district learned four year ago it was one of the 15 lowest-per- forming districts in the state in terms of outcomes for English Language Learners, and it was required to change its instruction method. Currently, ELL students are pulled out of classes for extra instruction. TEACHERS BETTER TV FOR LESS! Promo Terms and con ditions Code: DIS apply. Call for H100 details . Add High Speed Internet for 12 months 190 Channels America’s Top 120 CALL TODAY - For $100 Gift Card Offer ends 1/13/20. Named Outstanding Man of the Year was Jim Wilcox, a local Realtor. “He always puts his clients first and makes sure they are taken care of no mat- ter what,” said Farquharson. “He has been recognzied by both is region and the state for his work, leadership and service to others. He has a vision for what our communi- ty could become.” Wilcox has traveled to Salem and Washington DC to advocate for local concerns, Woman of the Year issues and ideas, and has worked with the Columbia Barbara Pizzola, owner of A’s Sewing Shop in The Dalles, Gorge Regional Airport for over 27 years. He is active was named Outstanding in the Sister City program, Woman of the Year. coached baseball for 24 years Pizzola’s family started a and was a referee in wrestling business in The Dalles over for 30. 40 years ago, and provided “He has done it all, from an essential service to the making doughnuts to singing Courtney Kiser, right, gives Katie Ortega, the 2019 Outstanding people of the region. Teacher of the Year recipient, a hug as he receives this year’s award “Running a small business in a barbershop quartet, all at the Distinguished Citizens Awards Banquet Jan. 16. takes dedication, hard work, in the name of The Dalles,” endless hours, and the ability she said. opportunity over 48 hours to please your customers Catering; and 27 businesses Business of the Year contributed to the auction. to connect with tons of local with good service,” said partners, push The Dalles Farquharson. “She never There is a lot to look for- Spooky’s Pizza was named into a new light, and help turned down an opportunity the 2020 Outstanding ward to from the Chamber everyone experience the to help.” in the coming year, said Business of the Year. city in a brand new way,” Pizzola also worked as a Spooky’s Pizza was estab- Farquharson, who invited he said. He plans to “K.I.T.” volunteer for many events lished at the west end of The Chamber staff to share their and organizations, and as Dalles in 1966, and is current- vision for the upcoming year: (Keep Improving Tourism) in the coming year, streamline a CASA volunteer helping Katie McClintock joined ly owned and operated by the processes, build networks, foster children in the court the Chamber staff as events Stanek Family. and help take The Dalles to system. Her work with the “After 50 years, the original coordinator in November. Fort Dalles Rodeo’s Tough The banquet was her first big the next level, he said. recipes continue to satisfy Lisa Rundell, office and Enough to Wear Pink helped customers with their unique event. “In 2020 my goal is visitor services manager for provide funding for two digi- flavors. This family’s passion to build up our events even more, from our small events the chamber, said her work, tal Mammography Machines is to ensure that the restau- which includes meeting a lot such as Coffee Connections at the local hospital. rant, and its recipes, grow of great visitors to the area, This year, Pizzola closed with its community and cus- and Business After Hours “is a job I truly enjoy.” She to big ones like the Cherry her shop but will remain ac- tomers,” said Farquharson. Festival, and work more with said she hopes to “continue tive in the community. “You “As a family they thrive on making the chamber a great our community partners in will find her working in town, their ability to provide the place for visitors and local community and beyond with the process,” she said. being an awesome granma, Jim Mejias, who works with business to find direction and high quality ingredients, su- and a loving and supportive mom—all the while still roll- perior customer service and tourism and media relations any help we can provide.” Jessie Lamp, who will be fo the chamber, said he is ing up her sleeves and getting consistency,” she said. working as communications proudest of the commercial Title sponsor was The things done for the commu- coordinator with the cham- shoot with Sam Pyke of Hill Stratton Agency. Nineteen nity,” Farquharson said. 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