14
schools
august17
2017
School Board Report
At the August 10, 2017 School Board
Meeting:
Board Accepts Resignation – The
Board accepted the resignation of high
school math teacher Thor Ware. Ware
submitted his resignation on July 18,
2017 after working in the District for
two years. Ware asked that his resigna-
tion be effective immediately. Ware was
the Vernonia High School head football
coach in 2015.
Board Considers Meeting Date
Change – The Board discussed the pos-
sibility of changing the date and time of
their School Board meeting scheduled
for Thursday, October 12. The meet-
ing currently conflicts with a commu-
nity event on the same date, the show-
ing and discussion of the film “Paper
Tigers.” The film is a documentary
about how Trauma-Informed Care (TIF)
has been implemented at an alternative
high school in Walla Walla, Washington;
Columbia County school districts are
currently training staff to use this tool.
The discussion will be facilitated by
Shaunee Moreland. The Board is consid-
ering changing the date of their meeting,
scheduled to be held at the Mist School,
to Wednesday, October 11, and chang-
ing the time to 7:30, which would fol-
low the already scheduled Open House
at the Mist School on the same date. The
Board agreed to make a decision at their
September meeting.
Bond Update – Superintendent Aaron
Miller told the Board that the District is
currently seeking bids for roof and gut-
ter work at Mist School. He also said
the District has received three submittals
to the Request for Proposal (RFP) for a
Project Manager for projects that will be
done with bond funds, and those RFPs
will be graded and a decision made in
the near future.
Board Approves Hire of New Math
Teacher – The Board approved the hir-
ing of new high school math teacher
Robin Manning. According to high
school Principal Nate Underwood, Man-
ning had previously taught in Clatskanie
and Rainier and is trained in the Willa-
mette Promise, which offers students the
opportunity to receive college credit for
work they do in high school.
Meet the Teacher Night – Vernonia
Elementary School will host a Meet the
Teacher Night on August 31 from 6:00-
7:00 pm. This event will provide an op-
portunity for parents, students and fami-
lies to connect with the school, and will
be in addition to the regular Open House
that will occur after the school year be-
gins.
Building Reports – High school Prin-
cipal Nate Underwood told the Board
that several staff members had partici-
pated in the Advancement via Individual
Training (AVID) conference in Denver,
while other staff attended a workshop in
Portland. The program helps staff con-
centrate on, and assist students with,
college and career readiness, drop-out
prevention, and career and technical
learning.
Underwood told the Board that
new high school science teacher Kelli
Corey will participate in a year-long pro-
fessional development opportunity that
she will share with other Vernonia teach-
ers, which will focus on Science, Tech-
nology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM).
Underwood said Beth Kintz and
Suzanne Meyers attended two trainings
this summer for the Youth Transition
Program.
Underwood reported that, as part
of the Willamette Promise Program, nine
students had earned a total of 76 college
credits in Spanish II last year. Under-
wood said that students would be able to
earn credit in writing, Spanish and math
this year, and that he also hoped to add
science.
Underwood told the Board that
Vernonia High School will host the
Northwest League Jamboree on August
26, which showcases fall sports teams
prior to the start of their seasons and will
feature competition in volleyball, foot-
ball and cross country.
Elementary school Principal
Aaron Miller updated the Board on sev-
eral professional development opportu-
nities that several of his staff have been
participating in during the summer, in-
cluding a Beginning Principals Acade-
my attended by vice principals Michelle
Eagleson and Rachel Wilcoxen, and
the Oregon Department of Education’s
Summer Reading Institute attended by
Mrs. Schlegal (K) Ms. Anderson (1 st )
Mr. Benassi (3 rd ) and Mrs. Taylor (4/5),
along with administrators Eagleson and
Miller.
Board Approves Head Lice Policy –
The Board approved the second reading
of the District Head Lice Policy.
Board Member Asks About Virtual
Learning – New Board member Stacey
Pelster asked if the District has explored
the possibility of creating a virtual acad-
emy as a way to attract home school
students and also retain district students.
Superintendent Aaron Miller told Pel-
ster that the District is considering this
as an option, although barriers appear
to be where to house the online campus
and also how to staff it. Miller invited
Pelster to meet with him to discuss the
options and to also meet with interested
parents.
Board Meets in Executive Session –
The Board recessed into Executive Ses-
sion under ORS 192.660 (2)(b) “To con-
sider the dismissal or disciplining of, or
to hear complaints or charges brought
against a public officer, employee, staff
member or agent...” Upon returning to
Open Session, the Board took no further
action in regards to the Executive Ses-
sion.
Schools Update: Oregon Outreach
By Aaron Miller
The Vernonia School District
(VSD) and Oregon Outreach, Inc.
(OOI) are pleased to announce a part-
nership between their Non-Profit Edu-
cational Programs.
Oregon Outreach is a twenty-
eight year accredited school program
that serves youth who are struggling in
a traditional school setting or who have
dropped out of school but wish to re-
turn. OOI will be opening a new class-
room on the Vernonia Schools campus,
and will initially serve up to 10 local
students.
Oregon Outreach, Inc. is ac-
credited through Advanced Ed and of-
fers a fully accredited high school di-
ploma. In addition to a full academic
curriculum, Oregon Outreach will offer
counseling and preparation for transi-
tioning into post-secondary education
or employment training.
We feel very fortunate to be
able to provide these opportunities for
our students. It will give them options
that fit better with their learning style,
help keep them motivated to complete
high school, and move on to second-
ary education, other job training, or the
workforce.
The goal of this program is to
provide students with an alternative
educational setting that will help them
develop healthy and productive social
and academic skills that will reduce the
drop-out rate and increase the gradua-
tion rate.
If you have any questions re-
garding this new program, please call
the Superintendent at (503) 429-5891.
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