Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2010)
December News Kitzhaber returns to Salem with education in mind; Republican majority settles into Congress E lìse B rown T he O reg on and A m erican p o litical lan d scap es are ab ou t to change. Jo h n K itzhaber, D em o crat, w ill b eg in serv in g h is third term as go v ern o r on Jan . 10, and startin g on Jan . 3, the R ep u b lican p arty w ill b e the m ajo rity p arty in the H o u se o f R ep resen tatives. K itzh ab er w as p rev io u sly O reg on 's go v ern o r from 1995 to 2003, and h is ach iev em en ts in clu d e the O regon C h ild ren 's P lan , O regon S alm on P lan and O regon B u sin ess P lan. B efore h is ten u re as governor, h e w as in the O regon State Senate, w here he h elp ed p ass the O reg on H ealth Plan. H e cited th ese accom p lish m en ts all th rou gh his cam p aig n , w h ich m ay h av e help ed in h is w in over C hris D udley. H e w ill be the first gov ern or in the state's h isto ry to serve m ore than tw o term s. K itzh ab er is n ow settin g h is sights on b o o stin g the O reg on econ om y b y creating jo b s and b alan cin g the state b u d g et, as w ell as settin g ed u cation as a h ig h priority. So far, his tran sitio n team s have m ad e p lan s to exp and the b u d g et from a tw o-y ear p lan to ten years, reorg an ize O reg on 's ed u cation system to em p h asize early ch ild h ood sch o o lin g and fire 24 agency h ead s u nless th ey agree to help Photo courtesy of Kitzhaber 2010 » G o v e rn o r-e le c t Jo h n Kitzhaber was elected in a close race against C h ris D u d le y . H is g o a ls fo r h is th ird te rm as O r e g o n 's g o v e rn o r in c lu d e revam p in g ed u cation and organizing the state budget. Applied Academics Program collapses, moves to Wilsonville A lison F eldhouse If a student needs an alternative to the standard education system due to special needs, where can they find it? For most places, West Linn High School included, it's the Special Education Program. This year, one of the programs, the Applied at places such as Morrow's Flowers, Bullseye Coffee and Mirage Hair Design." Teachers that were a part of the program worked with each individual student to focus on their specific needs. Being in a smaller program allowed the students to receive more attention and make stronger only as a loss for the students involved in the program, but also a loss for the students at WLHS that weren't involved in the program. "It's a loss for the students at the high school because they no longer have the experience of working with people who are challenged. People that Photo by Alex Houston Greg Bean, Learning Specialist, Trevor Menne, AIM specialist, Judy Nowlin and Laura Crutcher, Learning Specialists, and Jennifer Freeborn, Assistant Principal, discuss the Special Education Program. This year, the Applied Academics Program was moved from West Linn to Wilsonville High School. Students involved in the program had the choice to stay at WLHS or follow the program to WHS. Academics Program was moved from WLHS to join the program already established at Wilsonville. "The Applied Academics Program focuses on teaching life skills as well as a transitional career focus," Laura Crutcher, ERC Specialist, said. Most students involved in the program graduate with a modified diploma. They also learn skills in areas such as cooking, money management and job readiness. Those that were a part of it also had opportunities to be involved in the community as well through student internships and employment. "Students were greatly involved in the community as the AAP provided internships to students in areas linked to their career interest," Crutcher said. "We provided internships connections with teachers. "One of the most memorable experiences I had while involved in the program was when my English teacher, Laura Crutcher, took me to Starbucks for my birthday," Megan Silvers, Class of 2010, said. When the decision was made to move the program to Wilsonville, due to loss of staff, including last year's Department Head, Toni Snapp and math specialist, Jeff Gross, and to consolidate the two programs into one, students involved had the choice of either staying at West Linn with existing programs, or switching to Wilsonville to follow the AAP. The problems that arose from the move include a much longer bus ride for students in West Linn to be transported to Wilsonville. Some saw the move not have those challenges exist throughout society and now, the students will lack that experience," Lynn Silvers, parent, said. Other parents were dissatisfied that their children would have to leave WLHS in order to stay with the AAP. But they worried that their children wouldn't receive the support they need if they stayed. "Students were forced to make a change they didn't want. Special Education students that stayed at West Linn are in regular education classes without support for them to be successful," an anonymous parent said. What the program gave to the students involved was the chance to attend a regular high school with their peers. They could still be in mainstream classes, but they had a teacher to provide individual support. They had a sense of pride for the schools as well as themselves. "Even though I was in the program, I was still a West Linn Lion," Megan said. Even though the AAP has moved, other special education programs still exist. These programs include Alternative Instruction Methods (AIM) and the Resource Program. AIM is designed for students that have a behavioral aspect that impacts their learning process. The Resource Program provides support for an assortment of needs that students may have, such as facilitating communication for those who have difficulty doing so. Along with the two programs, the ERC provides the Achievement Center. The Achievement Center provides support for students by working on study habits and monitoring class work. There are also LAB classes overseen by Judy Nowlin, ERC Specialist, Crutcher and Bean that are designed to help students that need assistance in the reading and writing and to also provide structure to their school day. "The students who have stayed at West Linn High have experienced successes in their general classes this year. This is largely due to teachers' excellent work in helping the students succeed," Crutcher said. Although there are other programs, the loss of the AAP has affected the type of support that the students choosing to stay at West Linn receive. The level of support and the relationships that students made are irreplaceable. "Being in a small group gives you time one-on-one to help you focus. Teachers tried to provide support for each student individually to focus on their specific needs," Megan said. follow th ro u gh w ith his plans. O v erall, K itzh ab er's p lan is to reset the state g ov ern m en t's p riorities. W hile state sp en d in g on the p riso n sy stem h as increased , O reg on sch ools h ave b een su ffering. - T hree out o f h is fou r m ain tran sitio n team s focu s on ed u catio n and reorg an izin g the b u d g e t so that sch ools are g iven m ore attention. M ean w h ile, in the n ation 's C ap itol, the 112th C ongress is p rep arin g for n ext year. T he "lam e duck" session is com in g to an end, and so far the H ou se h as p assed a b ill m ak in g tax cu ts for those m ak in g $250k or less p er y ear p erm an en t— w h ich the Sen ate u ltim ately sh ot d ow n— a b ill g u aran teein g h ealth in su ran ce to su rvivors and resp on d ers to the Sept. 11 attacks and other b ills. T h ese w ill b e the last b ills to p ass the H ou se w h ile N an cy P elosi, D em ocrat o f C alifo rn ia, is the Speaker. Startin g Jan. 3, Jo h n Boehner, R ep u b lican o f O hio, w ill serve as sp eaker o f the H ouse. S in ce th e tw o ch a m b e rs of C o n g re s s w ill b e le d b y tw o op p o sin g p arties, som e are co n cern ed w ith h ow th ey w ill efficien tly p ass b ills. The Sen ate w ill rem ain m o stly D em o cratic, w h ich m akes it easier for it to p ass item s on the O bam a ag en d a, d esp ite the p o ssib ility of a R ep u b lican filibuster. R ep u b lican H ou se lead ers have exp ressed m an y tim es th at they are aim in g to repeal existin g O b am a p o licies and b lo ck v o tes on b ills he su p p orts. T h is m eans th at over the n ext tw o y ears, the O b am a W h ite H ou se's goals w ill be m ore d ifficu lt to p ass th ro u gh the op p o sin g party. A co m p lain t m an y in cu m b en t D em ocrats received as they cam p aig n ed this electio n cycle w as th at th ey did n o t ap p ear p rou d o f w h at they ach ieved in the first tw o y ears o f the O bam a presidency, su ch as the h ealth care reform p assed in M arch, the fin an cial reform p assed in Ju ly and the stim u lu s b ill p assed in 2009. W ith the Tea P arty g ain in g a stron g h old in m an y states and fru stratio n tow ard s the O bam a ad m in istratio n from b o th sides g row in g, D em o crats w ere seen as w eak er on a n atio n al scope. T he resu lt w as a 50-v o te m ajo rity o f R ep u b lican s over D em ocrats in the H ouse.
