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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 Preschool: Parents focus more on price, location Continued from Page 1A dividends yet. The program, created by Western Ore- gon University’s Teaching Research Institute, is in its sec- ond year. Not many parents understand what it means yet, Bisping said, and more are focused on price and location. Mestrich said her ofice is now concentrating on expand- ing such professional develop- ment among preschools and daycares, and the understand- ing among parents about qual- ity rating. More than half of the county’s licensed provid- ers are now following in Bisp- ing’s footsteps to become qual- ity-rated programs. “The professional develop- ment aspect is what holds most people back,” Mestrich said, adding the county lacks high- er-level courses in early child- hood education. Clatsop Community Col- lege recently dropped its early childhood education program because of lagging enrollment. Mestrich said her ofice con- vinced the college to bring back an early childhood education class, refers people to online options and provides profes- sional development classes for local providers. They are also planning classes taught to pre- school providers by kindergar- ten teachers in math, literacy and social development. “They’re more excited about being high-quality, of course, because Oregon’s get- ting more money for child care,” Mestrich said. “It’s really kind of changed the look of child care.” Preschool Promise Last year, the state Legis- lature allocated $16 million toward Preschool Promise, an effort to support quality pre- school options through partner- ships with different providers. The effort has led to an addi- tional 1,300 subsidized pre- school slots statewide for kids from families within 200 per- cent of the federal poverty level. Fifteen of those subsidized slots are on the bottom loor of Capt. Robert Gray School, where the Astoria School Dis- trict launched a preschool this fall. Michelle Gardner, head teacher at the preschool, said most of her students are within 100 to 200 percent of the fed- eral poverty level, the next tier of low-income preschoolers who don’t make it into Head Start. The district provides transportation for the Head Start students, and Head Start enrolls students in the district’s preschool. The district, in partnership with the Cannon Beach Pre- school, applied for the Pre- school Promise funding through the states Early Learning Coun- cil. Astoria received funding in part because the state Depart- ment of Human Services iden- tiied large swaths east of the Homes: ‘We need to ind a way for people who work here to also live here’ Continued from Page 1A Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Head teacher Michelle Gardner leads students through a lesson about colors and nouns in the bottom floor of Capt. Robert Gray School Monday. Astoria School District’s new preschool was funded by Preschool Promise, a state effort to expand preschool options for families within 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Seaside receives preschool startup grant from the state By KATHERINE LACAZE For EO Media Group SEASIDE — Seaside School District Superintendent Sheila Roley reported the dis- trict received a $60,000 one-year preschool startup grant from the Oregon Department of Education for the 2016-17 school year. “There is indisputable evidence that chil- dren who have preschool experiences … will thrive in school at a higher level than if they didn’t have those experiences,” Roley said at last week’s district board meeting. “A lot of our students don’t have those naturally pro- vided for them.” In applying for the grant, the school dis- trict did not intend to compete with other pro- viders in the area, but to augment the services so there would be enough spots for all pre- schoolers, she said. The district is partnering with the Sun- set Empire Park and Recreation District, which previously offered a limited preschool option. Astoria Bridge as the county’s only “hot spot,” based on high rates of poverty, public assis- tance and mobility of families with school-age children. Gard- ner said there are already four kids on the preschool’s wait list, some of whom Astoria is refer- ring to Head Start, which is still trying to ind enough students for a third preschool classroom in Seaside. “We’re trying to partner with home preschoolers, just opening up more places,” Gard- ner said. “We’re trying to work with all providers to make sure every child does preschool.” Pay for success More than 2 1/2 years ago, Clatsop Kinder Ready was funded by the Oregon Commu- nity Foundation. “We’ve brought about a great deal of awareness about the ages 0 to 5, and what goes in to helping a child develop, and how critical that is to the rest of their life,” said Dan Gaffney, a former principal in Seaside and head of Clatsop Kinder Ready. In a partnership with Way to The district is taking their partial, three- day-per-week Learning Ladder Preschool program and helping them grow it into a ive- day-per-week, full-day preschool, which is a requirement of the grant, Roley said. The stu- dents must have access to at least 900 hours of instructional time, similar to what a primary student would receive. “It’s really exciting that we’re getting this off the ground,” she said, adding if the pro- gram is successful, the district can reapply for sustaining grants. Part of this initiative will entail monthly professional meetings involving the preschool and kindergarten teachers so they can collab- orate and “try to build a very smooth transi- tion from preschool into kindergarten, so the preschools are aligned with what kindergarten readiness requires,” Roley said. The board unanimously approved a mem- orandum of understanding to work with the recreation district on this program. “The funds are channeled through us; they’re doing most of the labor,” Roley said. Wellville community wellness program, Gaffney is now work- ing on a grant application that would study the feasibility of privately funded, universal pre- school for kids in Clatsop, Til- lamook and possibly Colum- bia counties through the U.S. Department of Education’s Pre- school Pay for Success grants. The model attracts private investors to pay for high-qual- ity preschool programs in a given area, with the under- standing it can help avoid soci- etal costs in the future. Gaff- ney said Clatsop Kinder Ready would be working with exist- ing preschool programs. If a local area meets certain goals, such as reducing special educa- tion usage, it pays the investors back. Goldman Sachs invested in such a program in Salt Lake City’s Granite School Dis- trict, dramatically lowering the number of children kindergar- ten through ifth grade needing special education services. “They see this as a way of improving society,” Gaffney said of Pay for Success inves- tors. “They’re taking the risk … that they may not make back their money. They understand that if we don’t provide a qual- ity preschool experience, that has a lasting effect on society.” The U.S. Department of Education has made available $2.8 million for the feasibility studies. Gaffney said there will be seven to 14 awards worth $200,000 to $400,000 each, with the announcement of win- ners in December. Dave Pollard and his wife, who regularly travel to historic districts, said that introducing miniature dwell- ings does not improve such areas. “We have never seen an area that was successful and presented itself well that had these things like tiny houses, trailers and so forth,” he said. Commission President Dave Pearson later argued that, in his view, historic preservation is “never sup- posed to be a moment frozen in time.” “Astoria’s about so much more than that. We’ve always deied the odds because we’ve never allowed that to deine us,” he said. Cronin clariied that the proposed code changes would not pre-empt the city’s Design Review Commit- tee and Historic Landmarks Commission processes. Several speakers expressed concern that many ADUs would not add permanent housing to Astoria but would be used as vacation rentals. However, Commissioner Daryl Moore pointed out that vacation rentals are not per- mitted in residential zones, though he acknowledged that enforcement is lacking. “They would still be ille- gal, to have a nightly or weekly vacation rental, even if it is an accessory dwelling unit,” he said. Responding to concerns about excess parking, Cro- nin suggested the commis- sion require all new parking associated with ADUs to be off-street. trying to remedy it. Doug Thompson, of Asto- ria, said increasing hous- ing density is “not a politi- cally pain-free exercise, but I believe it’s a necessary one if we are going to increase the supply and, therefore, the affordability of housing all types.” But he and his fellow speakers urged the commis- sion to further investigate the issue, including the chal- lenges other cities have faced after authorizing ADUs. A handful of speakers felt the ADU proposal was moving too quickly and per- suaded the commission to continue the public hearing at the next meeting. “I just don’t think we have enough information as to how it’s going to affect our neighborhoods,” Katie Rath- mell, of Astoria, said. Moore said the commu- nity could beneit from an information session before the commission makes a rec- ommendation to the City Council. Commissioner Jan Mitch- ell, who is sympathetic to many of the community’s concerns, remarked that the people objecting to the ADUs did not also discuss how to provide affordable housing. She said locals need to be careful not to close off all possible housing solutions in Clatsop County. “We do need to ind a way — and it may not be tiny homes — but we need to ind a way for people who work here to also live here,” she said, “and right now, it’s becoming less and less possible.” To be continued Though none spoke in favor of the proposal, resi- dents acknowledged the real- ity of the housing crunch and commended Cronin and the Planning Commission for The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. eomediagroup.com Hospital Volunteers Needed no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted Volunteers Are Vital! he CMH Auxiliary and volunteers have a long history of giving to Columbia Memorial Hospital and its patients. Our volunteers are compassionate, skilled and motivated people who support the CMH mission of caring for our patients in body, mind and spirit. hey are indispensable in supporting CMH’s commitment to provide the best possible care to people in our community. • • • • • • Patient companion Lobby ambassador Gift Shop retailer Courier Pet therapist Reiki practitioner • • • No One Dies Alone (NODA) guardian Cookie baker Seamstress Call our Volunteer Coordinator at 503-325-4321 for more information and to apply. 2111 Exchange St., Astoria, Oregon • 503-325-4321 www.columbiamemorial.org • A Planetree-Designated Hospital
