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.