Columbia Gorge News
www.columbiagorgenews.com
Equity report presented to board
Trisha Walker
■ By Columbia
Gorge News
HOOD RIVER — Hood
River County School District
Superintendent Rich
Polkinghorn and department
heads Catherine Dalbey,
Bill Newton, Anne Carloss
and Patricia Ortega-Cooper
presented an update on the
district’s equity plan at the
May 26 board meeting.
The update was a way to
illustrate to the board “how
equity is woven through all
different aspects of our orga-
nization,” Polkinghorn said.
“When we talk about equi-
ty, equity really is what hap-
pens when student outcomes
are no longer predictable by
any social, cultural, edu-
cational need or economic
factor,” he told the board.
“That really requires us to get
every child what they need
to develop fully to their aca-
demic and social potential.
That requires us then to real-
ly look at data and outcomes
and be analytical in terms
of our approach to our work
and identifying practices that
are leading to inequity and
addressing those.
“Sometimes those prac-
tices are hard to see and we
have to do a lot of self-re-
flection and examine our
biases and create conditions
for students to be successful
that maybe weren’t there
previously,” he said. “That
allows us then to discover
and see the gifts that each
child brings to our schools
and to honor those gifts that
they bring.”
Polkinghorn said that
while equality is about
sameness — giving everyone
the same thing — equity is
about fairness — making
sure everyone gets access to
the same opportunities.
“We must ensure equity
before we can enjoy equali-
ty,” he said.
The board of directors
adopted Policy JBB in 2017,
which aimed to eliminate
“historically predictable
achievement disparities.”
Dalbey, human resources
director, said the goal of her
department is for district
staff to mirror the diversity
and makeup of its students.
“That’s also called out in
the equity policy that the
board has adopted,” she said.
“The quote from the policy is,
‘Hire the very best candi-
dates in all positions that
reflect the diversity of the
community that we serve.’
“… We’re really focusing on
recruitment and retention;
we want to make sure our
kids have the best of the best.
They deserve that,” Dalbey
said. “And with that is mak-
ing sure we’re checking our
biases at the door as far as
hiring practices. We all have
our own individual cultures,
our own individual back-
grounds, and I think people
kind of gravitate towards
sameness … but we don’t
want a team of the same. We
want divergent thinking, we
want people that have differ-
ent perspectives, we want to
make sure that we eliminate
that bias when we’re trying to
make hiring decisions …”
Once staff is recruited and
hired, then the job becomes
retention — and to support
staff. On that end, the district
has a wellness group and
affinity groups.
“People do not come to
the district to work in a job,”
she said. “It’s really a lifestyle,
a commitment —there’s a
real reason why we do we do
and we cannot do the work
of the school district without
every person and position
that we have.”
Newton, curriculum and
instruction director, said his
department is focused on
helping teachers meet the
needs of diverse learners.
One example is the dual
language program at Mid
Valley Elementary, which
is expanding in the fall with
grades K-1.
“We know research shows
dual language is most
impactful way for students
to learn a first and second
language, and we know
academically our students
achieve at greater speeds
when they’re first learning
their native language before
they transition to their sec-
ond language,” Newton said.
The AVID program —
Advancement Via Individual
Determination, an elective
college prep class for intend-
ed to close the achievement
gap — is another example.
The program has expanded
to include middle and high
school students, as well as
at Cascade Locks this year.
Staff is looking for ways to
expand the program to other
elementary schools in the
future.
Carloss, student services
department, began her pre-
sentation by saying, “I know
you’ve heard this before,
but I’m going to say it again:
We believe that kids do well
if they can, not if they want
to … We also say that the
kids who are struggling the
most are trying the hardest.
Because if you could do it,
you would do it. If you knew
how to read, you’d read.
“We are totally commit-
ted to equitable practices in
order to identify the kids who
need extra supports,” she
said, noting that using data
to guide decision-making
means the results are more
equitable for all students.
“One of the things we are
constantly looking to do in
our school system is, the kids
who kind of rise to the top of-
ten on the behavioral/social/
emotional side are the kids
who are externalizing behav-
ior,” she said. “… But we’re
also very concerned about
the internalizers. We’re trying
to develop a refined systems
that are equitable to look at
the kids who might get lost
in the school district … We’re
looking at the attendance,
behavior and academics
because research will show
you that if you have, even
by third grade, having poor
attendance, poor academics
and one behavioral incident,
your likelihood of dropping
out of high school becomes
exponentially higher.”
One positive outcome
of COVID has been the
acknowledgment that SEL —
Social Emotional Learning —
is important. “We under-
stand in our department that
if you cannot regulate your
body and your brain, you
cannot access your cortex to
learn,” she said.
Ortega-Cooper, equity and
family partnerships, said her
department facilities oppor-
tunities for people to gather.
“Not to create comfortable
spaces — we have been com-
fortable for too long, that’s
why I think we haven’t made
progress,” she said. “We
facilitate opportunities for us
to get real, to learn how we
act in the skin we’re in and to
have difficult conversations
… In Hood River, we are
changing that conversation.
I’m very proud of our admin-
istrators as well as teachers
because we’re talking about
rigorous classes, we’re
talking about how to create
access for students who have
the potential but they need
this specific support — they
don’t need the same.
“… I know you’re going to
get a lot of criticism because
of our stand but I want to
urge you, stand with us
because we are committed
to ensure that Hood River
is highlighted because
we’re getting to the point
of providing ‘excellence for
every student every day,’” the
district’s motto, she said.
Polkinghorn acknowl-
edged there is more work
to do and the work never
ends. He also recognized
that some will find the work
controversial.
“We can open doors for
students and put them in
more honors and AP classes,
but if the conditions in that
classroom aren’t created in a
way for the students not just
to feel welcomed but to be
welcomed and be included,
that’s not going to be a suc-
cessful model,” he said.
“We stand behind the
work, we stand behind ad-
dressing the needs of every
single student in our school
district systematically, stu-
dent by student, so all of our
students are successful. I’m
don’t know anyone who can
criticize that work because
that’s the right work to be
doing, ensuring success for
all of our students,” he said.
“Equity is not a thing that
we do in our school district,
and I’ve said this before —
it’s not a thing that we do,
it’s how we do our thing,” he
said. “It’s interwoven into
every aspect of our work. So
we’re going to continue to do
that work because we believe
in the work … absolutely
we have work to do. We’re
committed to doing it.”
Wednesday,June9,2021
D 21 expects to
welcome back
students full time
Kelsie Cowart
■ By Columbia
Gorge News
documentation verification,
and administration staff de-
cided to continue set mask
THE DALLES — North
requirements, with “mask
Wasco County School
breaks,” as they have since
District 21 is planning full
the beginning of the year.
time, in person instruction
Other business included
for the upcoming 2021-22
recognizing the high school’s
school year.
current AP Scholars, it’s
“Planning for next year,
cheerleaders for winning
we are planning on wel-
state championships, Track
coming students back
and Field athletes for their
full time for regular, in
participation and victories at
person instruction,” said
the Wilsonville High School
Interim-Superintendent
Theresa Peters. The Oregon invitational. The board also
Department of Education is took the time to recognize
gathering input from around both new and retiring staff.
Meeting action items
the state and is scheduled to
release final guidance at the included the unanimous
“Ready School Safe Learners passing of Resolution 20-21-
Forum” on July 22, Peters
15, a resolution requesting
said. The Board of Directors a transfer of appropriation,
discussed plans for the
moving $204,000 of unused,
upcoming 2021-22 school
authorized funds from the
year at their regular meeting Student Investment Account
May 27.
into Federal Programs
According to Oregon.gov, [grant] to cover part of
Ready School Safe Learners the required 25 percent of
is a “framework for schools
the ESSR III fund, going
… that ensures the health
towards Summer School and
and safety of all students
Enrichment Programs.
and staff and the families
A request to approve
they return to each day,”
authorization
to negotiate
put together by the Oregon
and approve a Guaranteed
Department of Education
(ODE) in coordination with Maximum Price contract
the Oregon Health Authority with Griffin Construction
LLC for the Kurtz Gym
(OHA). It is the guidance
Seismic Rehabilitation Grant
that District 21 has been
Capital project, as well as the
following for the entirety of
motion to add two addi-
the 2020-21 school year.
A scheduled session for
tional projects of replacing
school superintendents was windows on the north side
planned June 1, to preview
of the gym and repairing
what is being looked at in
the gym’s heating system
regard to plans for full-time (neither of which were a part
reopening and provide for
of the original seismic grant
input.
project), was also unani-
•••
mously approved.
The district also reported
Other action items includ-
that for the remaining weeks ed approving the 2021-22
of the school year, mask re-
quirements were to continue School Board meeting
unchanged. Due to a clarifi- calendar, as well as adding
cation from the Department a clarification statement to
of Education, District 21 was May 4 Budget Committee
Meeting Minutes, clarifying
given the option to adjust
the budget committee’s
their mask requirements
request for additional infor-
for vaccinated individuals
(student’s, staff, and specta- mation regarding FTE for a
tors) but would be required Communication Specialist
position in the proposed
to follow requirements
such as OHA’s vaccination
budget document.
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