10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015
Grad rates: ‘It’s a myth that education is this linear progression’
Continued from Page 1A
Jackson added he has three
or four students attending a
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GED diploma and two transfer
students not on track for grad-
uation. Most high schools face
similar situations, except for
Jewell, which graduated all nine
of its seniors and released anoth-
er to get a GED diploma through
the college.
Highly transient
Seaside High School Princi-
pal Sheila Roley said her school
can add and drop a quarter of its
student population each year.
High schools serve an of-
ten transient student population,
which administrators say makes it
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from four-year graduation rates.
Of the 103 seniors who started the
year at Seaside, 95 got their diplo-
mas Monday, one is coming back
next year and a few others are pur-
suing GED diplomas.
“Then there are a few who
just leave school and choose not
WR¿QLVK´5ROH\VDLG³,W¶VKDUG
to keep them here with us.”
The challenges students face
and the reasons they drop out are
as unique as the students them-
selves, Roley said.
There are often socioeco-
nomic challenges, Jackson
said, and it is not uncommon to
see students rack up transcripts
moving between multiple coun-
ty high schools.
Warrenton High School
Principal Rod Heyen said he
focuses more on individual stu-
dents than on graduation rates,
adding he has put kids on the
GED route as early as 16 years
old after determining they likely
would not be able to overcome
their challenges to graduate.
He and other principals can
also send students to Gray Alter-
native High School, a program
run by Astoria School District
DON ANDERSON — for The Daily Astorian
Superintendent Alice Hunsaker, left, of Jewell School tells its nine graduates Saturday to move their tassels from right to left during their graduation
ceremony. Graduates, from left to right, are Tristin Alderson, Avery Anderson, Victor Berg, Dylan Cavin, Tony DiMaggio, Moira Hammerberg, Chase
Kaminski, Rachel Stahly and Robbie Williams.
EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian
Astoria High School graduated 116 students Saturday.
where students with children of
their own, jobs and other adult
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to study online with the help of
district staff. Eleven of the 25
students enrolled in the program
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uates.
“As part of our program,
we’re discovering the popu-
lation (of) students who come
really close, and have a little bit
more to do” to graduate, Alexa
Knutsen, the program’s director,
said of the kind of students her
program attracts.
For students who have lit-
tle chance of graduating before
aging out, districts at times look
outside their own schools.
“I had a couple kids opt
for Job Corps,” Heyen said.
“They’re not counted as com-
pleters for us. It really doesn’t
EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian
Warrenton High School graduated 41 students Friday.
matter to us, as long as they’re
moving on.”
The free, federally funded
workforce training program
helps low-income youth ages
16 to 24 complete high school,
earn a variety of professional
FHUWL¿FDWLRQVDQGEHWUDLQHGIRU
a high-demand career.
Going to college early
More than half of the 58 peo-
ple who earned their GED diplo-
mas at the college this year were
from Tongue Point Job Corps.
Several GED graduates and
their families gathered Monday in
the college’s meeting room, where
they were honored for earning a
high school equivalency.
Each year, the college’s GED
program takes on teenagers re-
leased by their respective dis-
tricts and those generations older
coming back to accomplish a
lifelong dream. The graduates
Monday ranged from 18-year-
old home-schooler Nora Koch
to 24-year-old Sri Lankan im-
migrant Maria Dineshan Francis
Lambert.
Koch has siblings in high
school, but said studying in
groups did not work for her, nor
did the slower pace of studies.
Lambert had already graduated
high school and earned a two-
year college degree in Sri Lan-
ka. But his education did not
transfer to the U.S., meaning he
has to do it all over again. Both
Koch and Lambert are already
enrolled in college to study sci-
ence and civil engineering, re-
spectively.
“This is in some ways, argu-
ably, the most important gradu-
ation,” college President Law-
rence Galizio said to graduates at
the Monday ceremony, intoning
them to take stock of their ac-
complishment and plot their next
moves. “It’s a myth that educa-
tion is this linear progression.”
Tsunami: Rule change will affect different towns in different ways
Continued from Page 1A
“I can not even hazard a
guess,” Ryan said.
The rule change will have
ramifications for private de-
velopers, too. Builders are
legally required to consult
with the department before
planning
high-occupancy
structures, like a hotel or
retirement home, within the
inundation zone.
But builders don’t have
to listen to the state’s rec-
ommendations, and the
department has no formal
method of monitoring com-
pliance.
“Nobody has totally
blown us off,” Madin said.
“But informally, it seems
like they are paying atten-
tion.”
Madin said the depart-
ment has been asked to con-
sult about seven times in the
last 20 years, reflecting the
slow pace of development
on the Oregon Coast.
No matter when the re-
drawing happens, the rule
change will affect different
towns in different ways.
In low-lying areas like
Seaside, a worst-case sce-
nario tsunami would flood
the city hospital, fire de-
partment and municipal air-
port, as well as every pub-
lic school, according to the
Seaside Signal. In contrast,
Newport’s unelevated South
Beach is already zoned for
flooding under the outdated
water line, while houses on
the bluffs would remain un-
affected by the new rule.
College: ‘There’s no more
important decision that we make’
Continued from Page 1A
Galizio reached out to the
Oregon Community College As-
sociation for recommendations
on interim possibilities, got a list,
winnowed it down and relayed his
recommendations to the board.
“Three people were given
to us in the executive session,”
Monaghan said. “I suggest we
interview any number of those
persons.”
The board voted 6-1 to hold
a closed executive session to go
over the questions it wants to ask
interim candidates, and to inter-
view three of them. Monaghan,
Esther Moberg, Robert Dueh-
mig, Paul Gillum, Patrick Wing-
ard and Karen Burke voted yes.
Tessa James Scheller voted no.
“I’d like to be working on
this currently,” Scheller said,
adding she would rather form a
subcommittee to begin work im-
mediately. “There’s no more im-
portant decision that we make.”
The board set the closed
meeting for 3 p.m. June 24, with
a public session at 7 p.m. to ap-
point an interim president.
In other news:
• The board adopted a 2015-16
budget of more than $36 million
and a tax rate of 77.85 cents per
$1,000 of assessed value. Its gen-
eral operating fund will be $10.2
million, including $4.1 million
for instruction and $5.7 million
for support services. More than
40 percent of the budget is $16
million in state and local bonds
earmarked for the Patriot Hall
Redevelopment. The entire adopt-
ed budget will be posted at http://
Angela
Fairless
Larry
Galizio
tinyurl.com/q6cluzd
• It unanimously approved a
new associate degree program in
computer science starting next
year. Kristin Wilkin, dean of
workforce education, said fac-
ulty tell her the college regularly
misses out on students because
it does not have such a pro-
gram. Students in the college’s
program will also be enrolled
at Western Oregon University,
which will provide the computer
science courses via video con-
ference. College students can
then transfer to the university for
its bachelor’s program.
• The board unanimously
approved expenditures for the
Patriot Hall Redevelopment.
They include $51,000 for a ge-
otechnical report, foundation
observation and testing; up to
$75,000 for consultation ser-
vices for 23 months; and more
than $50,000 for inspection and
testing services.
,WKHOGWKH¿UVWUHDGLQJRID
social media policy and proce-
dures for students and staff, its
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college has mulled over such a
policy for two years. The policy
Rosemary Baker-
Monaghan
must go through a second read-
ing before adoption. At its June
24 meeting, the board will likely
adopt a revised nondiscrimina-
tion policy. View the policies in
the board’s Tuesday board pack-
et, online at http://tinyurl.com/
npcl7jj
• Galizio reported the college
is close to selling the Josie Peper
Building at 1642 Franklin Ave.,
next to the Performing Arts
Center. JoAnn Zahn, vice pres-
LGHQWRI¿QDQFHDQGRSHUDWLRQV
said the closing date is Oct. 30,
contingent on a rezoning change
from commercial to residential.
• Angela Fairless, a student
at the college, a former candi-
date for Seaside City Council
and a community organizer, said
she would like to offer her help
in restarting the college’s news-
paper, The Bandit, which went
dormant last year. Fairless is a
former editor of the Bandit. She
also touched on what she said is
a socioeconomic divide, point-
ing out the more than $140,000
salary for the college president,
compared to the median house-
hold income of $44,000 in Clat-
sop County.
Lawsuit: Grimes was appointed to
county clerk position in August 2011
Continued from Page 1A
“Ms. Grimes’ procedure
was consistent with what other
clerks were doing and complied
with SOS requirements and had
been in use for several election
cycles,” Altschul wrote.
Kennedy Grimes started
working for the county in the
'LVWULFW $WWRUQH\¶V 2I¿FH LQ
2007, before being appointed
to county clerk in August 2011.
She worked as county clerk un-
til March 2012, then returned to
the position in June 2013.
Valerie Crafard, former
clerk of the Clatsop County
Board of Commissioners, was
hired as Clatsop County clerk
in March.
Our people make
The Planetree Difference
Congratulations Spirit of Caring Award
Winner Kelsey Betts!
The Spirit of Caring
Awards honor individuals
who personalize, humanize
and demystify the
healthcare experience.
“ I am truly impressed with the
nurse and person that Kelsey
is. Her passion for maternity
nursing and CMH is clear in her
everyday work.”
– Award nomination for Kelsey Betts, RN
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