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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2017)
9A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2017 Clatsop County graduation rates School year 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Graduation rates for the five area school districts compared to the Oregon state average for the last five years. Percent graduated District 57.9% 63.8 66.7 69.1 74.2 Warrenton- Hammond 59.8 69.2 65.6 74.8 72.9 Astoria 69.2 75.2 76.3 75.4 74.4 Seaside 72.2 64 65.9 66.7 70.3 Knappa Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian The U.S. Coast Guard fired a three-volley salute during the memorial Tuesday for the late Lt. Devin Hepner at Air Sta- tion Astoria. Hepner died of a pulmonary embolism Jan. 16 while attending an investigating officer course in Virginia. 87.5 87.5 100 Jewell Hepner: Memorial full of tributes 64.3 83.3 68.4 68.7 72 73.8 74.8 Oregon Source: Oregon Dept. of Education Edward Stratton and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group Grad rates: Smaller schools can experience signifi cant fl uctuations based on a few students Continued from Page 1A More support “I do think it’s the work we’ve done in my time here that we’re starting to see the effects of,” Warrenton-Ham- mond Superintendent Mark Jeffery, in his sixth year with the district, said of the dis- trict’s continual increases. “We’re hoping to see it to con- tinue to improve.” Jeffery said Warrenton has increased staffi ng for reme- dial support and focused on making sure eighth -graders are ready to enter high school. “I’ve put a lot of empha- sis in math over the last fi ve years,” Jeffery said. “That’s one area that the majority of kids will struggle with coming into high school.” Principal Rod Heyen said Warrenton brought in retired math instructor Kate Gru- etter part time to work with students, and provides after- school opportunities for stu- dents to make up homework and tests. “That has become really benefi cial and become part of our culture here.” Green, yellow, red Each year, Heyen compiles a list of seniors, labeling them the color green if on track to graduate, yellow if one or two credits behind and red if more. “My goal is to get everybody in the green and everybody in the yellow over the hump,” he said. Heyen said he will try to counsel students in the red into a fi fth year of high school, or even toward the GED exam if more realistic. “Then I try to get them into college classes as an incen- tive to get back into school,” he said. “We’re really, really trying to push that. I sit down and show them some of the numbers of money I’m spend- ing on them (in subsidized tuition), and present it as a scholarship.” Part of the challenge, Heyen and Jeffery said, is how small Warrenton is. The district awarded 47 diplomas last year, out of a class of 66. Every student equals 1.5 per- cent of the group, meaning graduation rates can signifi - cantly fl uctuate based on very few students. Bringing them in Heyen said he gets many of his ideas from other districts, including Principal Lynn Jackson at Astoria High School, who, he added, is good about pulling in kids who might be falling through the cracks, regardless of the effect on the graduation rate. Astoria regularly takes stu- dents from around the county into the Gray School Campus Alternative Education Pro- gram, a self-paced, largely online school for students who need to recover credits on their own schedules. Heyen said he recently consulted with a fi fth-year senior, living on her own with a job, who had been to several different high schools with- out fi nishing, but wants to try again. “Behind the grad rate, you have a kid walking in the door saying he wants to try,” Heyen said. “You’ve got to go after that.” Continued from Page 1A “The time that I spent in the military, we had each other’s backs,” Hepner’s father said. “But, we didn’t always have each other’s families’ backs.” Phillips, one of sev- eral speakers paying tribute Tuesday, said he fi rst met Devin Hepner in Hawaii in 2014, after graduating from offi cer candidate school in New London, Connecti- cut. “Literally, from that moment on, we were always by each other’s side.” Phillips described Hepner as the Batman to his Robin, showing him what it meant to be a good offi cer and husband. When Hepner moved on to Sector Columbia River, Phillips said, “I felt like my brother had moved away.” Unglamorous, but essential Hepner had a round- about journey to the Coast Guard. After graduating from high school, he went on a two-year mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he worked in a local hos- pital and helped translate. Hepner met his wife while studying at Utah State Uni- versity, and the y married in 2005. He had been accepted to law school and trained to be a fi refi ghter, but joined the Coast Guard in 2013 at the age of 30. Hepner started as a marine inspector in Sec- tor Honolulu. In his last assignment, he served in Warrenton as a detached duty offi cer with Sector Columbia River’s Marine Safety Unit Portland, inves- tigating spills, accidents and other suspicious activ- ity among commercial and recreational vessels. Capt. Thomas Griffi tts, commander of the unit, said jobs like Hepner’s aren’t glamorous or likely to garner a reality televi- sion show. But whether Hepner was condemning a life jacket or checking for a leak in a hatch, Grif- fi tts said, positions like his help prevent “many bad things from happening on the water.” Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Lt. j.g. Ross Phillips, a close friend of the late Lt. Devin Hepner, accompanied his body from Virginia to his funeral in Utah. He spoke Tuesday at Air Station Astoria of how Hepner had pushed him to become a better officer and husband. Hepner’s memorial was full of tributes by his fellow servicemen, which Capt. Wil- liam Timmons, commander of Sector Columbia River, said was a testament to how much people respected and admired Hepner. “To honor his memory, let us sustain lives forever in the same spirit of generos- ity, friendliness, kindness and goodwill that we know Devin represented,” Timmons said. “To Erin, we will always be here for you and yours. You will always be a part of the Coast Guard family.” Pbace a regubar ad or cbassified ad in T H E D AI L Y A STORI AN between February 1 st & 9 th and be entered into a drawing for 2 free tickets to the Sportmen’s Show in Portband! We Want to Know! Healthcare is a deeply personal experience. Please consider sharing your perspective as part of our Patient & Family Advisory Council (PFAC). This group of communi- ty members is passionate about helping Columbia Memorial Hospital be the best it can be. Join us by calling 503-338-7505. 2111 Exchange St., Astoria, Oregon • 503-325-4321 www.columbiamemorial.org • A Planetree-Designated Hospital
