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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2020)
schools january16 2020 13 School Board Report At the January 9, 2020 School Board Meeting: Superintendent Report – Superinten- dent Aaron Miller told the Board he in- tends to continue in his position with the District for at least one more year. Mill- er is eligible for retirement at the end of this school year and had previously in- dicated to the Board he is considering either retirement or a move to another position in another District. Miller told the Board the Dis- trict will form a curriculum committee to work on upgrading the District’s text- books; Miller said the District has fallen behind on current curriculum due to a lack of funds. Miller said District enrollment is holding steady at 570. Miller informed the Board that Charolette Koch and Summer Gonzalez have been hired as Structured Learning Instructional Assistants. Miller told the Board that the Rainier School District has hired Jamie Hamsa to serve as a regional Mental Health Coordinator. Hamsa will split her time between the Rainier, Verno- nia, and Clatskanie districts to meet the needs of trauma-impacted students. Miller told the Board the Dis- trict will be sharing the cost of a reader board with the City of Vernonia, the Ver- nonia Rural Fire Protection District, and the Vernonia Boosters, which will be lo- cated at Spencer Park on Bridge Street. Miller provided the Board with a schedule for the Community Engage- ment portion of the process to access Student Success Act funds, along with samples of surveys the community and students will be asked to participate in. Bus Service Contract – Superintendent Miller updated the Board on the pro- posed renewal of the District’s contract with Curl School Bus Service to provide transport services for the District. Mill- er said Curl has offered to extend their contract for five more years and reduce the cost of service for the first two years of the contract. Miller said the contract will come back to the Board next month for approval. Board Approves New 5 th Grade Teacher – The Board approved the hire of Natalia Balduras to teach 5 th grade; the previous instructor resigned prior to the winter break. Balduras is a first year teacher and a graduate of Pacific Univer- sity; she had substituted in the Vernonia 5 th grade class several times before being hired permanently. Board Approves Revised Human Sexuality Policy – The Board approved a change to the way the District deliv- ers Human Sexuality curriculum to high school students. The previous policy called for students to receive Human Sexuality during two school years be- tween 9 th and 12 th grades. At the request of School Board member Brittanie Rob- erts, the Board reviewed the policy and approved a revised policy which now re- quires students to receive the instruction in all four years of high school. Board Approves Division 22 Stan- dards – The Board approved the Dis- trict’s Division 22 Standards report, which is required annually and shows that the District is in compliance with all Oregon Administrative Rules. Next Board Meeting – The next School Board Meeting will be held on February 13 at 6:00 pm in the Schools Library. Schools Update: The Need for Substitutes By Superintendent Aaron Miller As the largest employer in Ver- nonia, there are 88 staff members work- ing in the Vernonia School District (VSD), and the need for quality sub- stitutes to fill in when people are ill or working on professional development activities is great. Currently there is a real shortage of people available to fill these needs for substitute employees in a variety of posi- tions within the VSD. These same issues are being felt in neighboring school dis- tricts as well. The VSD is in need of dedicat- ed, quality people willing to substitute in our schools. We are looking for people willing to sub in all departments, at all levels, kindergarten through 12 th grade. The district anticipates this issue will only get worse as all school districts in the state will be hiring next year with the onset of increased funding from the Student Success Act. If you are inter- ested in learning more about subbing or working in schools, please contact Su- perintendent Miller at (503) 429-5891. Substitute teachers are one need, but other substitute employees (teach- ing assistants, custodians, food service Vernonia School Board Meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 13 at 6:00 pm in the Schools Library. Vernonia Exchange Student Earns Spot on Local Soccer Club Leonardo Corebetta, an ex- change student at Vernonia High School, is getting a chance to experience play- ing soccer at a fairly high level in the United States. Leo, an Italian student who is spending this school year in Vernonia, has joined the Westside Timbers, a pres- tigious local soccer club affiliated with the Portland Timbers, the local profes- sional soccer organization. He is living with Tyler and Erin Sweptson in Verno- nia. Because Corebetta is a foreign player, he has only been training with the Westside Timbers’ U19 team, while awaiting clearance from FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, to play in competitive matches. His clearance is expected at any time. Corebetta, who will turn 19 this year, plays as a midfielder. He has played in two non-league games, scoring a goal in each game. Westside Timbers play from November through June, so hopefully Corebetta will have a chance to play competitively this spring. Westside Timbers provides youth soccer players with the oppor- workers) are also very hard to find on a regular basis. Substitutes are a daily part of life for students and school staff. Each day there is some position that needs to be filled due to illness, sched- uled appointments, or other life happen- ings. The issue, however, is usually not whether a substitute employee will be needed in the building, but whether there will actually be a person available to fill this need. The number of people willing to substitute in schools is dwindling, whether it be as a teacher, an assistant, a custodian, or an employee in the caf- eteria. This problem is even larger for a community like Vernonia, given the distance from here to other communities of size where more substitutes may live. Substitutes in the education field are be- coming harder and harder to come by these days. Substitutes in the VSD are hired through the NW Regional Educational Service District (NWRESD), and are called through an automated system run through their offices. Anyone interested in subbing for the District needs to reg- ister through the NWRESD Human Ser- vices department, who can be reached at (503) 614-1428. You can also call the Vernonia School District Office at (503) 429-5891, if you have questions you would like answered about potential sub jobs here in Vernonia prior to applying through the ESD. Vernonia Students of the Month December 2019 David Strack Grade 8 David is known as a hardworking student, who tries his best daily and hands in his assignments on time and done well. His teachers say he is kind and is the first to help his classmates if they need help. David plays football, wrestling, baseball, and plans to do track and field. He plays the trombone in the band and is going to learn guitar. In his free time he likes to draw. tunity to pursue soccer at the highest levels of competition. Corebetta’s U19 team is coached by Marc Evans. Ev- ans is a professional coach who won a USYSA National Championship with a U18 Eastside United team. He has won 10 Oregon State Cups and numerous other tournament victories, and has pro- duced 25 Division I players and several professional players. Corebetta thanked his host fam- ily for making this opportunity happen for him, especially his host mom who drives him to practice and games in Portland. Leigha Dolan Grade 12 Leigha is a hardworking and good student. She has played the flute in the band and was also in the choir. She is currently working part-time in her mother's business. In her spare time she likes to draw and paint and is currently working with mentor Tony Hyde on art for her Senior Project. Leigha says she plans to take classes at PCC before transfer- ring to the University of Oregon to study English or Life Sciences. Sponsored by Vernonia’s Voice
