schools
march21
2019
13
Schools Update: Attendance
By David Spackman
Attendance has become a recent focus of ed-
ucation in our nation. There is good reason for this.
Good attendance is a requirement of just about any job
we can think of. One of the most important goals of
education is to equip students to do well beyond school
and of course this requires gaining some basic academ-
ic skills. Having highly developed academic skills will
not be enough in today’s workplace though. Students
need to develop habits of good attendance to be suc-
cessful.
The Oregon Department of Education defines
chronic absence as missing 10% or more of school
days. For Vernonia Schools this amounts to a maxi-
mum of 16 days in a school year.
There is a statewide initiative in Oregon to get
school districts to reduce chronic absence. In Oregon,
about 1 in 6 children are chronically absent. The state
does not make a distinction regarding the reason of ab-
sence because it is known that every absence results
in missed instruction and that affects achievement.
Studies show that continued chronic absence can sig-
nificantly compromise a child’s ability to read at grade
level by the end of the third grade and children who
are not reading at grade level by then are less likely to
graduate on time.
Building good attendance habits early can
go a long way to help solidify students’ own expec-
tation of their attendance. Morning routines can cre-
ate a readiness for school that is carried clear through
to high school and beyond. Evening routines are also
important. Having homework, backpack, and lunches
ready to go, as well as laying out clothes the night be-
fore, and a reasonable, consistent bedtime are all help-
ful. We try to encourage good attendance at school by
giving awards each quarter for perfect attendance and
improved attendance.
Of course there are good reasons for students
missing school and we expect parents to keep their ill
children at home. If a child has a fever, is vomiting or
has diarrhea, they should not be at school. But if they
have the common cold, sniffles, a mild stomach ache,
or are tired, they need to be in school.
As always, call the school if your child needs
to be absent and if there is any way that we can help,
please let us know. Call one of the counselors or an ad-
ministrator if you have concerns that we can help with.
David Spackman is the K-6 School Councilor with the
Vernonia School District.
School Board Report
At the March 14, 2019 School Board
Meeting:
Bond Update – Superintendent Aaron
Miller told the Board after having 11
contractors express interest in the four
classroom addition construction project,
only one contractor made a bid, which
was $800,000 over the proposed $1.7
million budget. He said the District is
unsure how they will proceed at this
time.
Board Approves Administrative Con-
tracts – After recessing to Executive
Session under ORS 192.660(2)(i) “To
review and evaluate the performance of
the chief executive officer or any other
public officer, employee, or staff...” the
Board voted to approved Resolution
1819-08 and extended the administrative
employee contracts as presented.
The Board Accepts Resignations/Re-
tirements – The Board voted to accept
the retirements of middle school math
teacher Nga Frederiksen and elementary
teacher Linda Hobart, along with the
resignations of music instructor Kather-
ine Brown and middle school special ed-
ucation teacher Debbie Stahlnecker. All
are effective after the conclusion of the
school year. Both Hobart and Frederik-
sen said they would be interested in sub-
stitute teaching in the future.
Snow Make-up Days – Superinten-
dent Aaron Miller told the Board the
VHS Hall of Fame
Class of 2019 Announced
The Vernonia High School
Hall of Fame Committee met recently
and selected the following people to
be inducted into the 2019 Class of the
Vernonia High School Athletic Hall of
Fame.
Jim and Kathy Eckland
Class of 1962 & 65 respectively
Community Volunteers, Founders of
the Vernonia Education Foundation -
Vernonia Sports Initiative
Larry Elton
Class of 1968
Outstanding Football and Basketball
Bill Howard
1970s
Coach of Vernonia Middle School
and Vernonia High School
Kris Crowston
Class of 1976
VERNONIA
C H I RO P R AC T I C C L I N I C, I NC.
VernoniaChiro.com
Shrine Team Football
Nathan Fleck
Class of 2013
State Champion and
Record Holder in 800 meters
1989 Cross Country Team
State Champion
The Hall of Fame Dinner,
Silent Auction, and Induction Cer-
emony will take place at the Cedar
Ridge Conference Center on Saturday,
April 20 starting at 6:00 pm with a so-
cial time and dinner starting at 6:30.
Ticket Prices are $20 and are avail-
able at the door or through Vernonia
High School. Please call Vernonia
High School (503) 429-1333 and let us
know how many people in your group
will be attending so we can prepare the
correct number of meals.
District will make-up three more missed
snow days on April 22 and June 10 and
11; one missed day was made up on
March 15.
Board Appoints Titus to Budget Com-
mittee – The Board voted to appoint
Kimberly Titus to a three year term on
the Budget Committee. There are still
several openings on the Committee.
Board Receives Calendar Proposals
– The Board received three proposed
school year calendars from the Calendar
Committee. All three proposals include
“1-hour late start Wednesdays” and all
proposals increase student contact days
by three or four days over the current
calendar. The Board will make a final
decision on the 2019-20 calendar at a fu-
ture meeting.
Student Reports – Self Managers from
the elementary school helped explain the
program, along with School Councilor
David Spackman. Self Managers are
students who are recognized for being
safe, kind, respectful, and responsible.
They are assigned special duties each
month and receive a badge to identify
them. Spackman said the program was
started about 10 years ago. One of the
students, Koa, explained that to become
a Self Manager a student needs to get
the signature of their parent, a teacher,
and someone else, indicating that they
meet the goals of the program.
School Reports – Elementary Vice Prin-
cipal Michelle Eagleson provided a writ-
ten report that noted that K-2 students
made a field trip to the zoo on February
22, and said an Oregon Coast Aquarium
Shark presentation has been rescheduled
for May 15. Eagleson reported that au-
thor Trudy Ludwig was at the school all
day on March 14 and made presentations
to students and staff, and met with par-
ents in the evening to talk about bullying
and friendship issues.
High School/Middle School
Principal Nate Underwood provided
a written report that noted state testing
through Smarter Balanced will begin
soon. He said 8 th grade presentations
were scheduled for March 22, and the
8 th grade Close-Up trip is scheduled for
April 14-19. He said the No Name Cof-
fee Company, started by the HS Transi-
tion Class has been successful, with staff
ordering coffee while students deliver
and learn about business and customer
service. He said students in the Proj-
ect Based Learning Class have started a
clothes closet to benefit students in the
Life Skills program.
Superintendent Report – Superin-
tendent Aaron Miller told the Board he
is moving forward with the At-Home
School Program, and plans to hire an
instructor for next fall. The program
will provide instructional assistance for
home-school students.
Miller said the plan to add stu-
dents and another instructor to the Mist
School has not received enough interest
at this time, and will probably not go for-
ward.
Miller told the Board he has
proposed a “1-hour late start” for every
Wednesday next year for the 2019-2020
school calendar. The time would be used
for Staff Development.
Miller told the Board he has
heard there are plans for a one-day
Teacher Walkout across the state on May
8, to demand more education funding
from legislators in Salem. He said the
Administration and Board will need to
devise a plan in case it occurs.
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