A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
O ur readers write
JOE PETSHOW
Publisher/President,
Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
CHELSEA MARR
General Manager
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Advertising Manager
DICK NAFSINGER
Publisher, Emeritus (1933-2011)
TOM LANCTOT
Past President,
Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
Editor
TONY METHVIN
Columbia Gorge Press Manager
DAVID MARVIN
Production Manager
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Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County
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Governor’s Exit
Kitzhaber served well, but now serves
by ending the distraction – for now
T
he circumstances surrounding Oregon Gov.
John Kitzhaber’s decision to leave office today
remain cloudy at best, but the governor made
the right move. Kitzhaber was simply a distrac-
tion at a time when state lawmakers need focus.
Kitzhaber and his fiancée Cylvia Hayes are part of
a federal criminal investigation, as well as an Oregon
Department of Justice criminal investigation. The
baggage of those investigations prompted requests by
Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker
Tina Kotek for the governor to resign because he was
a liability.
Kitzhaber admitted as much during his resignation
statement. “I understand that I have become a liabili-
ty to the very institutions and policies to which I have
dedicated my career and, indeed, my entire adult life.
As a former presiding officer, I fully understand the
reasons for which I have been asked to resign.”
Among the charges: that Hayes benefited financial-
ly from her personal relationship with the governor
(and thusly, that Kitzhaber also benefitted because
they were living in the same household); and that
Hayes didn’t properly disclose all the consulting fees
she had been paid.
Part of Kitzhaber’s legacy will be determined when
the criminal and ethics investigations are complete.
Despite that outcome, Oregon’s only four-term gover-
nor should be remembered, in part, for his ability to
cross the political aisles that often ground the state’s
governing process to a halt.
Things were hardly amicable within the marbled
walls of the Capitol during Kitzhaber’s first two terms
as governor. But the past four years things have
brought about marked improvement in this regard,
and more of a collaborative atmosphere in Salem —
for that, Kitzhaber deserves at least partial credit.
That said, nobody — not even, arguably, the most
popular governor in Oregon history — is above the
law. There should be no pardons — no backroom deals
in the criminal and/or ethics investigations. If he is
true to his word; if he has the deepest respect for that
office; that’s how Kitzhaber himself would want this
situation to play out.
See ‘Full Monty’
Over the past few years, thanks es-
pecially to the Columbia Center for
the Arts, HRVHS, and the Hood River
Middle School, we’ve been offered ex-
cellent theatrical productions focus-
ing on women and our body images,
our insecurities, and ultimately our
self-acceptance.
Some of the stories shared or en-
acted have been tragic, some comic.
Currently we have the opportunity to
see body image, self-acceptance, and
much more through the lens of male
experience … in the very adult come-
dy playing for two more weekends at
the CAST Theatre, “The Full Monty.”
Opening night last Friday brought a
lively audience to its feet, and rightly
so.
Kudos to director Bruce Ludwig, a
terrific cast (with some very brave
men in the spotlight!), great musi-
cians, and ingenious crew. Stereo-
types around race, class, gender
roles and sexual orientation are sur-
faced by the story ... and transcended.
Love of family and friends is the
bedrock theme.
In case all this sounds too serious,
the bottom line is “It’s a hoot.” If
you’re a grownup with a sense of
humor, don’t miss “The Full Monty.”
Once again, our dedicated all-volun-
teer arts community enriches us.
Tina Castañares
Odell
Nestle
clarification
In response to a recent letter on the
proposed Nestle Waters project in
Cascade Locks, I want to clarify mis-
perceptions and reiterate our invita-
tion to address questions and com-
ments from anyone interested in the
project.
Nestlé Waters is not an applicant in
the water rights process, and under ei-
ther the Cross Transfer or Exchange,
all water rights would remain with
public entities — no water rights go to
our company.
Claims have been made that the
cross transfer process would elimi-
nate the opportunity for the public to
discuss and/or protest this project.
That is not the case. The cross
transfer is another regulatory option
that still provides for public input
while reducing staff time and re-
sources spent on the process. This in-
cludes, but is not limited to, a 30-day
public comment period after the ap-
plications are first filed and a 30-day
protest period on the preliminary de-
termination to address any assertions
of injury to existing water rights. All
the entities involved in the proposed
project — the City, ODFW and Nestlé
Waters — are conducting due dili-
gence to ensure the project makes
sense, operationally, environmentally
and economically.
Since we first came to Cascade
Locks in 2008, we’ve worked with a
wide range of stakeholders to answer
questions and address concerns. We
believe strongly in transparency and
have worked continuously to keep the
residents of Cascade Locks and other
stakeholders informed through six
town hall meetings and one communi-
ty newsletter to date, as well as a pro-
ject website (nestlewaters-pnw.com),
toll-free phone number at 1-877-441-
0444 and frequent office hours in Cas-
cade Locks.
We have a strong positive track
record in the communities where we
operate, and representatives from
those communities including King-
field, Maine and Mecosta, Mich., have
independently noted that our hiring
practices reflect the promises we
made during the project planning
phase. We have always tried to be as
direct and forthright as possible with
information on this project, and re-
main available for questions and com-
ments from the public.
David Palais, Nestle
Redding, CA.
Thankful for
vaccines
I read the measles vaccination re-
port with great interest.
As one born in 1934, I was expected
to have and indeed did have measles,
mumps, and chicken pox in first, sec-
ond, and third grades. There were no
vaccinations in those days. The recov-
eries were in dimly lit rooms to pro-
tect your eyes, with bad-tasting medi-
cines and war nings of “Don’t
scratch!”
Then came the vaccines, And by
then our age group were having chil-
dren.
And we didn’t want our kids to have
to go through what we went through.
We had had firsthand experience.
Our kids grew up with no first-
hand knowledge and only our direct
parental experiences to fill them in.
And now, many years later, our kids
have kids and we have grandkids who
have never really seen or heard about
these all-but-eliminated diseases.
The point of the article is that more
education is needed. This is, in my
opinion, absolutely right. I am afraid
that because the diseases are not seen
as common occurrences, they have
been relegated to the status of “not a
problem” or “a vaccination is worse
than the disease.”
Will polio (formerly “infantile
paralysis”) be the next disease to have
its vaccination deemed unnecessary?
Dick Swart
Hood River
100 percent
immunity
The article (Feb. 14) on measles and
“herd immunity” is somewhat mis-
leading. Parents who choose not to
vaccinate their children might as-
sume that as long as 95 percent of the
Hood River community is vaccinated,
their children are safe.
But, actually their risk is greater.
Anti-vaccine families tend to cluster
together — going to the same schools,
belonging to similar groups — so
their risk is significantly higher. If a
measles outbreak begins among these
families, their children are more like-
ly to get it and to pass it on to others.
For more on this topic, and why this
“goal” of 95 percent underestimates
what’s really needed (a goal of 100 per-
cent), Google “Washington post, mar-
cel salathe.”
Measles is a highly contagious, se-
rious disease. A personal example: I
had it when I was about six, before the
vaccine was available. It permanently
closed one of my Eustachian tubes re-
sulting impaired hearing, numerous
infections, eardrum lancings, mas-
toiditis, and major surgery. In a way, I
was lucky.
The complications can include
pneumonia, fits or convulsions, men-
tal retardation, and inflammation of
the brain (encephalitis), hospitaliza-
tion, and death.
The right message is 100 percent
“Community Immunity.” Let’s do it
Hood River!
Lawrence Jones
Hood River
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ANOTHER VOICE
Assessing a new opportunity for improving Oregon education
By NANCY GOLDEN
Oregon Chief Education Officer
A
s Chief Education Offi-
cer, one of my roles is to
listen to feedback about
what is working well and
where there are opportu-
nities to improve our systems to
better support students. One of the
concerns often voiced as I travel
across the state is about over-test-
ing.
As many of you know, Oregon’s
current system of assessment is
largely based on one significant
test at the end of the year. This as-
sessment offers valuable informa-
tion to use as we set state priori-
ties, but doesn’t offer any real-time
indication of student comprehen-
sion or effectively support educa-
tor instruction.
In response to the concern about
over-testing, I worked in partner-
ship with the Oregon Education
Association to convene a group of
teachers and school administra-
tors from across the state along
with leaders from the Oregon De-
partment of Education (ODE) and
a national expert on assessment,
to propose an “ideal” system of as-
sessment for both students and ed-
ucators.
The group has met regularly
over the last year to examine cur-
rent assessment practice in Ore-
gon as well as strategies used in
other states and ultimately worked
towards a co-crated shared vision
for assessment that beset supports
students and educators.
We’ve written a white paper
from which came a list of 12 rec-
ommendations that span policy,
systems building and educators’
professional development and ef-
fectiveness. I believe that we have
a tremendous opportunity to
weave assessment more deeply
knot the teaching and learning
process to more effectively meet
the needs of each learner in real
time. Through a variety of ap-
proaches we are recommending a
shift to a more balanced system,
of assessment where formative
(while teaching is happening)
and interim assessments are con-
ducted more often to support
teaching and learning.
Over the course of the next few
months we’ll be engaging exten-
sively with stakeholders and edu-
cators across the state seeking
feedback on the preliminary rec-
ommendations and a proposed
timeline for implementation.
This work presents a critical
opportunity to take the steps nec-
essary to ensure the success of
every student in our state. It rep-
resents our commitment to make
the systemic changes necessary
to close the opportunity gap and
support our educators in being
more effective in their practice.
I am grateful to the educators,
state leaders and in particular,
OEA President Hanna Vaander-
ing who contributed countless
hours toward this important
work.
■
According to Golden, the draft
recommendations identify factors
to consider in transitioning to a
new system of assessment for stu-
dent learning, developed by mem-
bers from Oregon Education Asso-
ciation (OEA), Oregon Education
Investment Board (OEIB), Oregon
Department of Education (ODE)
and school district advisors. (See
education.oregon.gov the full text
of the recommendations.)
Recommendation 1: Advocate
and prepare for reauthorization of
ESEA that allows states to develop
a system of assessment that truly
supports student learning through
greater emphasis on “valid, reli-
able and unbiased high quality
classroom, interim assessments
and addresses the role of account-
ability in the system.”
Recommendation 2: Support
the “Student’s Assessment Bill of
Rights” to ensure students know
and understand the purpose of as-
sessments…
Recommendation 3: Develop,
fund, and implement extensive
professional development, with a
commitment to a multiyear pro-
gram, to develop and enhance as-
sessment literacy of educators …
Recommendation 4: Create a
taskforce to conduct an audit of
the type and number of assess-
ments currently administered in
Oregon schools.
Recommendation 5: Advocate
for state and federal funds to initi-
ate and maintain statewide class-
room and interim assessment
banks for formative and summa-
tive use.
Recommendation 6: Invest in
the technology necessary to ad-
minister high quality formative,
interim and summative assess-
ments focused on learning not just
for administering standardized
tests, and to ensure students have
access to technology for college
and career readiness.
Recommendation 7: Examine
the current state of accommoda-
tions for special education stu-
dents, English language learners,
and other populations of diverse
students to determine the impact
of the additional testing and deter-
mine an appropriate level of as-
sessment for every subgroup of
students. constructing a new sys-
tem of assessment
Recommendation 8: Research
the feasibility of reducing the fre-
quency of administering the annu-
al statewide standardized summa-
tive assessment while ensuring ac-
curate yearly disaggregated data
by subgroups …
Recommendation 9: Advocate
for state and federal funds to devel-
op and use high quality formative
and interim assessments chosen
by educators from a menu of op-
tions vetted at the state and dis-
trict level that meet the needs of
their students and high standards
of quality …
Recommendation 10: Allow
high school students to opt-in to
the Math or ELA section(s) of the
Smarter Balanced Assessment ear-
lier than 11th grade so that they
take the assessment as it coincides
with their actual academic course
load …
Recommendation 11: Enhance
and expand options to demonstrate
essential skills. Determine if other
measures of essential skills exist
and promote them as options for
students.
Recommendation 12: Suspend
the use of Smarter Balance As-
sessment results during 2015 for
school ratings on report cards, but
allow students to use their 2015 ...
results to demonstrate Essential
Skills for high school graduation
and allow for comprehensive
analysis of Smarter Balance to de-
termine the value in relation to
student learning. Continue to sus-
pend the use of Smarter Balance
Assessment results for educator
evaluation during 2015-16 while de-
veloping a more balanced system
of assessment.