2A Wednesday, January 3, 2018 Appeal Tribune
Rain
Continued from Page 1A
whether it's 2 inches or 12
inches of rain."
The report, which mea-
sured crashes directly
caused by rain per capita,
listed Arkansas, followed
by Mississippi, Kentucky
and Alaska as the most
dangerous states for rain
driving. Oregon rounded
out the top five.
Nevada, South Dakota,
Colorado and Arizona
were considered to be the
safest states for driving in
the rain.
Many of the states top-
ping the most dangerous
list are southern states
with reputations for wet
weather and thunder-
storms, but only two of the
most dangerous states for
rain driving — Alabama
and Mississippi — are also
in the top five states with
the most rainfall.
Oregon did not rank
among states with the
most rainfall, topped by
Hawaii with more than 63
inches a year. But then,
precipitation varies wild-
ly across Oregon. Some
areas in the Coast Range
receive almost 200 inches
of rain a year, while spots
in Eastern Oregon report
as little as 5 inches.
Regardless of where
they happen, weather-re-
lated crashes have a sig-
nificant death toll. In 2016,
more than 2,800 people
died due to icy, wet and
snowy roads, report au-
thors said.
Wyoming,
Vermont,
Montana
and
Idaho
topped SafeWise's list of
the most dangerous states
for snow driving.
Far more fatalities oc-
cur in rainy conditions
than in snowy weather, ac-
cording to the report.
About 2,370 people died in
rainy-day crashes in 2016.
The same year, 482 snow-
related traffic fatalities
were reported.
Awareness is key in
trying to prevent these
types of deaths, said Sage
Singleton, a community
safety expert with Safe-
Wise.
"People may not realize
just how dangerous driv-
ing in the rain can be," Sin-
gleton said. "If people are
driving recklessly in bad
weather, police need to be
ticketing them, and driv-
ers need to realize there is
no need to speed in the
rain. Your destination will
wait."
Oregon Department of
Transportation spokes-
woman Shelley Snow said
rain creates dangerous
driving conditions by re-
ducing visibility and re-
ducing traction, leading to
less predictable car han-
dling.
She said drivers should
stay vigilant and allow
themselves more travel
time. Travelers are ad-
vised to slow down, espe-
cially
when
driving
through high water. If
someone
hydroplanes,
they should ease off the
gas, gently apply the
brakes and steer straight
ahead.
Vehicle maintenance is
also key for staying safe,
Snow said. Before driv-
ing, people should check
their wipers for signs of
damage, ensure their de-
froster is functioning
properly and make sure
tires are inflated and in
good condition.
Other tips include:
» Allow enough space
for other vehicles. If it
hasn't rained in awhile,
roads will be slick.
» Turn on headlights.
» Don't use cruise con-
trol.
» Don't slam on the
brakes
» Clear all snow and ice
from the vehicle before
driving
» As always, wear a
seatbelt.
For questions, com-
ments and news tips,
email reporter Whitney
Woodworth at wmwood-
wort@statesmanjour-
nal.com, call 503-399-6884
or follow on Twitter
@wmwoodworth
“We have a moral and economic duty to
Audit
Continued from Page 1A
ensure better results for our most
academically at-risk students,
about 90 percent of public
high school students in
Oregon, according to the
audit. Alternative schools
and programs and online
schools account for the re-
maining 10 percent.
Alternative schools are
stand-alone
schools,
many of which are de-
signed to serve students
who are at risk of not
graduating, known as "ac-
ademically at-risk stu-
dents."
There are 33 stand-
alone alternative schools
in Oregon as of June 2016,
auditors found, enrolling
about 6,000 students.
Alternative programs
serve similar students,
but they operate within
existing high schools run
by local school districts,
education service dis-
tricts or the state. Audi-
tors found 100 such pro-
grams in Oregon, enroll-
ing about 8,600 high
school students.
Online
or
virtual
schools offer all or most
regardless of the type of school they
attend.”
DENNIS RICHARDSON
SECRETARY OF STATE
of their classes online. Au-
ditors found 20 online
schools in Oregon, serv-
ing more than 5,000 high
school students. Of those,
six are administered by
districts, including five
specifically designated as
alternative schools.
Alternative
schools
and programs have high-
er proportions of students
who are considered eco-
nomically disadvantaged,
"mobile" students who
transfer more frequently,
students with disabilities
and more students in "his-
torically under-served ra-
cial and ethnic groups,"
according to the audit.
In addition to the stu-
dents who are academi-
cally required to enroll in
an alternative school,
Happy
pp
py New Year
As the calendar turns the page, we wish
you the very best in the year ahead.
www.edwardjones.com
Member SIPC
there are other reasons
students can opt to go on-
line or to a different pro-
gram.
"It's very important
our students have op-
tions," said Larry Rami-
rez, director of high
school education for Sa-
lem-Keizer
Public
Schools. "Not every stu-
dent is comfortable in a
school with 2,000 stu-
dents."
Motivational banners hang in the common area of Forest Grove High School as students head
to classes in Forest Grove. DON RYAN, AP
Where does Oregon
need to improve?
The education depart-
ment has not adequately
tracked and reported on
the performance of alter-
native schools and pro-
grams, according to the
audit.
Of Oregon's 197 dis-
tricts, about three quar-
ters did not report any al-
ternative education data
to the department in 2015-
16. Yet 60 districts that
failed to report indicated
they do have alternative
schools and programs.
The state has no data
on alternative programs
that are part of traditional
high schools, according to
the audit.
As a result, the state
lacks critical information
about school and program
effectiveness.
One department man-
ager told auditors,"The
fact is that we don't even
know as a state how these
kids are doing."
But auditors also said
the alternative schools
aren't entirely to blame.
Auditors wrote that
teachers
"see
their
schools working for many
students who were well on
the road to dropping out."
Yet the state doesn't re-
port the number of stu-
dents who enter alterna-
tive schools and find suc-
cess, what teachers call
Students board buses at the end of the first day of classes on Sept. 7, 2016, in West Salem.
DANIELLE PETERSON / STATESMAN JOURNAL
the "save rate."
"It is discouraging ... to
be lumped in with tradi-
tional schools in Oregon's
system and stick out as
extremely poor perform-
ers," teachers told audi-
tors.
Salem-Keizer's Assis-
tant Superintendent Kelly
Carlisle agreed, saying al-
ternative schools don't
shy away from being held
accountable, but don't like
the comparison.
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What will they do to
fix these issues?
Auditors recommend
the department develop a
more meaningful ac-
countability system for
alternative and online
schools, establish and
monitor standards for
crucial practices such as
annual evaluations of
these schools and pro-
grams and strengthen at-
tendance and funding
standards for online
schools.
Colt Gill, acting deputy
superintendent for the
state, wrote his response
to the recommendations
in a letter included in the
audit.
"Much of this work has
begun," he wrote.
The department is in
its final stages of develop-
ing an alternative educa-
tion definition and it plans
to convene a group to re-
view and make recom-
mendations for reporting
and accountability this
spring, according to the
letter.
Additionally, the de-
partment has agreed to
develop publicly reported
measures of these schools
and their staff, as well as
various state standards
and best practices.
The department has
also agreed to work with
the Oregon Legislature to
require upgrades to ac-
countability and over-
sight for alternative pro-
grams.
Most of this work is an-
ticipated to be completed
in 2018.
Why we should care
Oregon's 75 percent
graduation rate is the
third worst in the nation.
This means one in every
four students is not gradu-
ating on time.
Combined, the dropout
rate for online schools and
alternative schools and
programs was 18 percent,
more than four times the
3.9 percent state average,
according to the audit.
This goes not only
against the goals of state
and district leaders for all
students to graduate and
be prepared for life after
high school, but it also
goes against the responsi-
bility of the education sys-
tem.
"Much more needs to
be done to ensure at-risk
students are getting the
educational opportunities
they deserve,” Secretary
Richardson said.
Auditors have found
earning a high school di-
ploma expands livelihood
and career opportunities,
whether a graduate en-
ters the workforce or con-
tinues with higher educa-
tion.
In contrast, research
used in the graduate rate
audit released earlier this
week shows not graduat-
ing leads to higher unem-
ployment, lower incomes,
poorer health and higher
incarceration rates.
Students aren't the
only ones who face the
consequences.
"Society also faces fi-
nancial impacts such as
higher social service and
incarceration costs, and
lower tax revenues from
non-graduates," accord-
ing to the graduation au-
dit. "This cost is estimated
at $260,000 to $292,500 for
each student without a
high school diploma."
"(The
department
should) track special
funding for these high-
risk students," Richard-
son said, "and develop op-
tions to assist struggling
students in obtaining the
necessary
educational
foundation that will serve
them and their communi-
ties throughout their
lives."
Contact Natalie Pate
at npate@StatesmanJour-
nal.com, 503-399-6745, or
follow her on Twitter
@Nataliempate or on
Facebook
at
www.Facebook.com/
nataliepatejournalist.