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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, JANuARy 28, 2020
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
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Circulation Manager
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Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
Graduation rates rising — but work still ahead
latsop County educators
should take a brief, but
well deserved, break for a
moment to pat themselves on the
back for a significant achievement.
The celebration marks the latest
reports from the state that highlight
the manner in which on-time grad-
uation rates have improved across
the board.
The statewide graduation rate
for the class of 2018-19 was 80%,
ahead of last year’s rate, though
still below the national high school
graduation rate of 85% recorded in
the 2016-17 school year.
The rates for the county’s three
largest school districts are all
increases from the prior years:
• Astoria, 85.8%.
• Warrenton, 80.5%
• Seaside, 76.8%
Jewell, which admittedly has
one of the smallest enrollments
among school districts in the state,
had every student graduate this
past year.
Knappa, however, showed a
slight decline to 88.8% after a stel-
lar 94.2% in 2017-18 and 90.6%
the year before.
Statistics sometimes mask the
human element when examining
issues, so perhaps we need to state
the issue in another way: Even
these kind of rates still signal that
out of every five students, at least
one is in danger of not graduating.
Astoria’s leaders have been pro-
active about seeing the big picture.
Designating graduation coun-
selors to guide students on a work-
able path has been a good move.
A while ago, school district lead-
C
Danny Miller/The Astorian
Graduation rates are improving.
ers made it a priority to combat
absenteeism; they can chart sig-
nificant progress in this effort.
They acknowledge that students
rarely succeed to their full poten-
tial when enduring hunger, home-
lessness and mental health issues.
The schools have no magic wand
to wave these problems away.
But identifying them, and work-
ing with other agencies to alleviate
problems, are important steps in
the right direction.
Tackling the root causes of stu-
dents missing school is one key.
The other is providing a relevant
and engaging educational expe-
rience. Curriculum should be
under constant review to ensure
it appeals to the broadest range of
abilities and interests.
Much discussion in the mod-
ern era has been about schools
balancing the needs of students
who are bound for higher educa-
tion after graduation with those for
whom more practical skills and
experience will best prepare them
with trade skills for success in the
workplace.
It is pleasing that Astoria offers
an opportunity for students to earn
credit at Clatsop Community Col-
lege by taking more advanced
classes while still in high school.
This stimulates those students who
are high achievers academically
and has the added benefits of sav-
ing money and time for when they
graduate and step up to a two- or
four-year institution.
But the smart districts know that
they also need to invest in prac-
tical classes like shop, automo-
tive and others offering potential
trade skills. Not all students are
destined for further academic edu-
cation beyond high school. Their
contribution to society is no less
valuable.
And let’s not forget about music,
the arts and activities like sports.
Often they are the first to be tar-
geted when the budget ax looms.
But anyone who has worked in our
public schools can point to stu-
dents for whom such enrichment
has been the key to keeping them
in school, maintaining high grades.
An analysis by The Oregonian
of the statewide picture reveals
Clatsop’s gains — which are
reflected from Coos Bay to Klam-
ath County — can be attributed to
several initiatives. These include
adding spending priorities to
assist students, mostly Latinos,
for whom English is not their first
language.
Other strategies include making
sure freshmen students are earn-
ing sufficient credits to qualify for
their diplomas on a realistic pace
without falling behind.
This latest announcement of
improvements in graduation rates
around Oregon is indeed cause
for some celebration. A cou-
ple of years ago, the revelation
that our state’s on-time gradua-
tion rates were the second worst
in the nation was an embarrassing
wake-up call.
We commend North Coast edu-
cators who have played their role
in enhancing this important, mea-
surable achievement. But we know
— as they do — that until every
school district mirrors Jewell’s
success with 100% of students
graduating on time, there is still
work to be done.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Heartfelt
I
would like to convey a heartfelt and sin-
cere “thank you” to the kennel staff and
front office staff of Bay Breeze Boarding
& Grooming in Warrenton.
The choice to leave our pets behind
while traveling is a difficult, but some-
times necessary, decision to make. On the
occasions I have to make that choice, it is
such a relief to know Bay Breeze Board-
ing & Grooming is there to care for my
animal family members.
The staff always puts my mind at ease,
making me feel welcome to call anytime
to check in, generously offering details on
how my pets are doing and generally eas-
ing my worries.
Bay Breeze Boarding and Grooming is
a wonderful part of our community, and I
cannot thank them enough for their dedi-
cation to the safety, health and well-being
of our beloved pets.
ANNA KELLEY
Astoria
Different perspective
A
letter appeared recently titled “Dis-
mantling democracy” (The Asto-
rian, Jan. 9). I would like to offer a differ-
ent perspective on the writer’s comments
relating to the negative impacts on our
democracy by a president.
I am not a fan of everything President
Donald Trump has done in office, but I do
support some of his decisions. Now, is he
leading us to a Russian model of govern-
ment that we should fear? I think not.
He has no more than five years to
accomplish this, while Vladimir Putin has
had more than 20 at the helm of Russia’s
government, which was already commu-
nistic and autocratic. So even if Trump
were to be reelected, it is an overstatement
that we should fear becoming another
Russia. Term limits prevent this type of
long-term influence by a president.
However, I do fear the dismantling of
our democracy from an entirely differ-
ent direction. If the American public is not
judicious, I believe we will set ourselves
on a path to socialism.
Two of the top Democratic candidates
for president have indicated they would
do this, in the form of legislation and for-
mal programs that would be hard to undo.
Other Democrats have challenged our Bill
of Rights.
To me, this would be far worse than
the short-term machinations of a self-ab-
sorbed egomaniac, and would change our
democracy into something the Founding
Fathers would have rejected.
The writer is right in a sense: Moderate
Democrats are not my enemy, but those
at the fringes of their party threaten our
democracy just as surely as the Republi-
can he decries.
NORMAN BROWN
Seaside
Curious
emember when President Donald
Trump said: “Trade wars are good,
and easy to win”?
In the story “Log exporter wants out of
Port” (The Astorian, Jan. 16), the open-
ing sentence of the second paragraph said:
“The company’s log exports have evapo-
rated amid a prolonged trade war between
the U.S. and China.”
As our Republican president continues
to demonstrate his breathtaking ignorance
of how the world’s economy works, other
countries have rushed to fill the orders his
trade wars have lost.
Northwest soybean farmers are watch-
ing Brazil gobble up the business they
once enjoyed with China. Russia has
stepped in to satisfy the Chinese hunger
for Oregon wheat. The timber industry is
watching Russia and other countries fill
the orders Northwest forests used to fill.
With each lost order, ancillary jobs
are lost. The truckers, dock workers and
others who once moved, stored and pro-
cessed those goods are left idle. The guy
who made the farm machinery that now
rusts in a storage yard due to lack of sales
is seeing his job go away.
Much, possibly most, of that business
will be lost forever. What is regained will
come at the expense of lower margins,
meaning continued job, wage and bene-
fit cuts.
I’m curious. Will #TimberUnity try to
get the guy responsible for their job losses
out of office? Will American farmers hap-
pily cash their bailout checks while iron-
ically blaming socialism for their prob-
lems? Will blue-collar Republicans ever
stop voting against their own interests?
BILL GRAFFIUS
Gearhart
R
Pick a side
I
magine my disappointment upon find-
ing out that the letters “NAV” on my
voter registration card mean “Non (party)
Affiliated Voter,” and not “Navy,” like I
was hoping.
I will need to contact the Clatsop
County election office (via SOS.Oregon.
gov or 866-673-VOTE) to choose a polit-
ical party, either Democrat or Republican,
so I can vote in the primaries. Otherwise, I
will not be receiving a ballot.
In 2016, Oregon “bundled” our voter
registration with driver’s license main-
tenance, so it’s easy, but automatical-
ly-registered NAVs are excluded from
participating in partisan elections where
Democratic or Republican party candi-
dates are on offer.
This means if you are currently listed
as a nonaffiliated voter, you have to take
action. Our election primaries are com-
ing up on May 19, and in order to vote
in these contests, you must be registered
with a political party, and you have to pick
one by April 28.
If you do nothing, and languish in NAV
no man’s land, your voice will not be
heard in the primaries, and now is abso-
lutely the worst time to remain silent
about your elected leadership. Do not
give up on this nation, but pick a side and
make your voice be heard.
JULIA STAVENHAGEN
Hammond
Can we agree?
an most of us agree there is nothing
more fundamentally foundational to
democracy’s survival than free and fair
elections? Ask the Founding Fathers.
C
Given the Russian interference in our
2016 election, that they seem to be med-
dling in our upcoming elections, and Con-
gress seems to be in a mood to pass reso-
lutions, may I suggest one?
“We, the U.S. Congress, in order to
form a more perfect union, resolve total
commitment to protecting our free and
fair electoral process. We will finance,
support and defend all measures that
ensure our elections follow election laws,
and are free of all foreign and domes-
tic interference (voter suppression,
etc.).” Translation: Don’t mess with our
elections.
This isn’t a party line issue. It’s a “land
of the free” issue.
Seems like this should be a slam dunk
— 435-0 in the House, and 100-0 in the
Senate. Who’d vote against it?
I think this would restore faith and
pride in our elections, raise voter partici-
pation and make any congressperson who
votes for it wildly popular. What do you
think?
The question is: Is there a congressper-
son who will champion this Civics 101
cause? I’d vote for that person. Would
you?
Calling 202-224-3121 will connect you
to your congresspersons. Free and fair
voting is a privilege easily lost if “we the
people” don’t stand up.
Remind your friends, write it on your
bathroom mirror or yell it from the top
of the Astoria Column, but most impor-
tantly, vote. It’s our country, and it’s worth
defending.
CARL DOMINEY
Astoria