schools
june1
2017
Head Start Recruiting Now
Local Head Start programs are
now recruiting 3 and 4 year olds for the
2017-18 school year. A large percent-
age of students will be selected in June.
Staff suggests that parents apply now to
have their family included in the first
selection.
Heads Start offers a compre-
hensive preschool experience free of
charge to qualifying families. A de-
velopmentally appropriate classroom
curriculum taught by certified teachers
offers all children the opportunity to be
kindergarten ready.
The program offers parents op-
portunities to learn and grow along with
their children; receive guidance to com-
plete medical, dental and nutritional as-
sessments; get on the job training in the
early childhood field and learn about lo-
cal opportunities for the whole family.
Children receive USDA ap-
proved lunch plus breakfast and/or
afternoon snack on each day of class.
(Head Start and USDA are both equal
opportunity providers.)
For more information you may
phone local centers: Vernonia/Mist
area (503) 429-9243, St. Helens/Scap-
poose area (503) 397-4114, Clatskanie/
Rainier area (503) 728-2940, Knappa/
Astoria/Warrenton area (503) 861-
9681.
Head Start is a Community Action
agency.
PCC Columbia County Update
With spring in full bloom, the
lambs at Rock Creek are gaining weight
and our students are sprinting toward the
finish line.
Here is an update on the many
projects and commitments going on in
Columbia County.
What remains at the top of the
list is the PCC OMIC Training Center in
Columbia County. Another legal chal-
lenge has been settled, meaning the ap-
peal process focused on the annexation
of the approximately 350-acre parcel
within the city’s urban growth boundary,
is finished. Next comes the completion
of the application package, which ad-
dresses offsite storm water and wetlands
mitigation, followed by a review pro-
cess. Once the subdivision master plan
is approved by the City of Scappoose,
PCC will move to acquire property for
construction of the PCC center near
the Scappoose Industrial Airpark. The
facility will be built using PCC bond
funds and leveraging $5 million in
resources from the Oregon Manufac-
turing Innovation Center (OMIC) ap-
propriation in the 2016 legislative ses-
sion. PCC looks forward to scheduling
a groundbreaking ceremony later this
year.
PCC and the Northwest Re-
gional Education Service District
(NWRESD) are working together with
the Columbia County School District
Superintendents and regional industry
partners to launch OMIC-related train-
ing at St. Helens and Scappoose High
Schools this coming school year. Select
college-level courses in advanced manu-
facturing will be offered as dual credit
for high school students and standard
11
Schools Update: Thank You!
By Aaron Miller
Thank you! Thank you! Thank
you! To all patrons of the Vernonia
School District, thank you for passing
the District’s bond request to move an-
other giant step forward in putting the
2007 flood behind us.
Special thanks are also in or-
der for Sharon Bernal and the Vernonia
School Bond Committee. They spent
many hours meeting with individuals
and local community groups, making
phone calls, mailing information and
working hard to ensure our community
was informed on the contents and im-
pact of this measure. Their efforts were
tireless, effective and very much appre-
ciated.
Again, our gratitude goes out
to everyone in the community for your
continuing support of our staff and stu-
dents to ensure our children’s education
is safe and stable.
Now that the bond has passed,
what’s next?
credit for late afternoon/evening classes
open to adults. Courses will stack to-
wards industry-recognized credentials,
PCC degrees and certificates, and Reg-
istered Apprenticeships.
PCC and the Scappoose
School District leaders are finalizing a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
for this exciting new facilities-sharing
venture.
On April 5 the NWRESD orga-
nized a meeting at Oregon Aero in Scap-
The actual sale of the bonds will
take place in mid-July, which after lots
of paperwork and red tape, will bring
actual funds into the District sometime
in late fall.
In the meantime the District
and its Board will be setting meetings
to gather input from the community to
develop a master plan of priorities and
timelines for implementing the projects
authorized by the bond.
As funding is made available
and projects are initiated, Requests for
Proposals (RFP’s) will be developed to
obtain contractor bids. Work will begin,
and we will move through the master
plan as quickly as possible.
The District will work hard
to share details on the progress of this
work, and to spend our community’s
tax dollars as effectively and efficiently
as possible.
As always, if you have any
questions about anything happening at
school, please give us a call at (503)
429-5891. Again, THANK YOU!!!
poose to explore a unique internship
model created by Joni George, formerly
the HR Director at Climax Manufactur-
ing in Newberg. This meeting included
Columbia County business leaders and
government officials, as well as PCC
staff from the PCC Foundation, Future
Connect, and OMIC. The meeting was
the beginning of an effort to explore op-
tions for creating paid internship oppor-
tunities for Columbia County youth.
continued on page 12
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Ph: (503) 429-0154
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Vernonia, OR 97064
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