I he P ortland O bserver • J une 14, 1995
P age A3
Test
Concerns
At Middle
School
▲
Coalition Fights Nuclear Port
Continued from front
▲
o f e n try are lis te d w h ic h in
c lu d e P o rtla n d and T a c o m a
E n e rg y D e p a rtm e n t E IS
P ro je c t M a n a g e r C h a r le s H ead
to ld the P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r that
c o m m e n ts h a ve been p re d o m
in a n t ly n e g a tiv e fro m the w est
c o a s t. H e s a id the d ra ft sta te
m ent re c e iv e d m ix re a c tio n s
in the east c o ast.
O n the s a fe ty o f the s h ip
m e n ts, H ead s a id the P o rtla n d
c o a lit io n s h o u ld not be c o n
c e rn e d .
“ T h e m e c h a n is m s used in
t ra n s p o rtin g the sp e n t fu e l is
Continued from front
w o u ld lik e to a d m in is t e r. T h e
d is t ric t , w h ic h has the la st say ,
u s u a lly c o n c u rs w ith the s c h o o l.
A n o th e r p o in t o f in te re st is
that the m ath m e th o d o lo g y used
v a rie s at P o rtsm o u th fro m the
d is t ric t w id e p ra c tic e . W ith the
h e lp o f a F o rd F o u n d a tio n grant
P o rtsm o u th h a s sp e a rh e a d e d a
te a ch in g te c h n iq u e that v is u a l
iz e s a lg e b ra fo r the past three
ye a rs.
A c c o r d in g to p r in c ip a l Tom
P ic k e tt there is a th ru st at the
s c h o o l to h e ig h te n the p r o f ic ie n
c y le v e l o f s tu d e n ts in a lg e b ra .
I h is w o u ld a p p e a r to in v it e
p ro b le m s w ith re g a rd to d e v e l
o p in g b a s ic m ath s k ills as o u t
lin e d by the n a tio n a l sta n d a rd s
ado pted by the d is t r ic t .
T h e is s u e w a s f u r t h e r
sh ro u d e d in c o n fu s io n by the
fact that o n ly a seg m e n t o f the
stu d e n ts w e re re-te ste d .
A c c o r d in g
to
G age
K in g s b e rr y w h o is in c h a rg e o f
te stin g and e v a lu a t io n , th is o c
c u rre d b e ca u se the stu d en ts w h o
w e re s e le c te d fo r re te stin g had
not met the s c o re o f 2 2 2 m in i
m um c o m p e te n c y . T h e se s tu
d e n ts then b e cam e v u ln e r a b le to
a re q u ire m e n t to m ake up c la s s
es in h ig h s c h o o l.
O th e rs w e re s e le c t e d b e
c a u se they w e re c o n s tru e d to
h a ve the p o te n tia l to po st a sc o re
that w o u ld p ass the test w ith o u t
a c t u a lly h a v in g the m a th e m a ti
c a l k n o w le d g e , K in g s b e r r y sa id .
K in g s b e rr y sa id the c o m p u t
er p ro g ra m that w a s su p p o s e d to
id e n t ify stu d e n ts w ith c h a n c e
s c o r e s , o r th o se s tu d e n t w h o
c o u ld c o r r e c t ly g u e s s the a n
s w e rs , d id not p e rfo rm as it w as
d e sig n e d .
H e s a id M o n d a y ’ s re -te s t
in g c o u ld a ls o h a ve been d o n e in
a m o re t im e ly fa s h io n , i f the
stu d e n ts in q u e s tio n had been
id e n t ifie d e a r lie r .
T h e d e b ate w il l p r o b a b ly
c o n tin u e both in the a c a d e m ia
and the la y c o m m u n it y re g a rd
in g the im p o rta n c e o f a lg e b ra as
o p p o se d to b a s ic m ath and the
m a n n e r an d w e ig h t g iv e n to
these tw o a re as o f m ath.
H o w e v e r , as P o r t s m o u t h
P r in c ip a l T o m P ic k e tt s u g g e st
ed , v e s tin g a c h il d ’ s a c a d e m ic
c a re e r w ith a lo n e test is s o m e
w h at c h a n n e l v is io n .
T h e re are o th e r g a u g e s o f
studen t d e v e lo p m e n t s u c h as s tu
dent p o r t fo lio and p e rfo rm a n c e
o u tco m e s.
P ic k e tt stated that d ia lo g u e
and in p u t fro m c o n c e rn e d c it i
z e n s is one o f the m o st v ia b le
m e a n s to p r o t e c t a c h i l d ’ s
p ro g re ss in s c h o o l an d m o n ito r
the m e c h a n is m s o f the a c a d e m
ic p ro ce ss.
v e ry s a fe ,” the p ro je c t m an ag e r
stated.
T h e d e p a rtm e n t has not c h o
sen a p re fe rre d a lte rn a tiv e at the
m o m en t, p e n d in g a d e c is io n in
S e p te m b e r w h e n a fin a l e n v i
ro n m e n ta l im p a ct statem ent is
s c h e d u le d to be re le a se d .
B u t th e d e p a r t m e n t h a s
d ro p p e d a p ro p o s a l to in c lu d e
H a n fo rd in W a s h in g to n State as
a m o n g f iv e p o t e n t ia l sto ra g e
s ite s fo r the w aste .
K n i g h t , w h o h e a d s th e
H a n fo rd W a tch o rg a n iz a tio n has
s e r io u s d o u b ts.
“ W e are not s a t is fie d w ith
D O E ’ S p re s u m p tio n s and c o n
Portland public schools w il
provide tasty answers to the ques
tion “ W hat’s for lunch?,” for an
estimated 4,900 youngsters from
June 19 through Aug. 17 in a fed
erally funded Summer Food Ser
vice Program.
Free lunches and snacks for
children underage 19 w ill be pro
vided at 5 1 youth centers and parks
in the Portland area.
The program, w hich is spon
sored by the U.S. Department o f
Agriculture, provides mealsto ch il
dren enrolled in summer educa
tional enrichment programs, rec
reation and craft programs and field
trips.
Portland Public Schools has
26 years' experience in the pro
gram , a c c o r d in g to d ir e c t o r
Dorothea Fleskes.
M ore information may be ob
tained from the Portland Park B u
reau or the Portland public schools
nutrition services department.
“ W e c o u ld e x te n d o p en
house d is c u s s io n s u n til d o o m s
d a y , n on e o f u s w il l ch an g e o u r
m in d ” L y n n S im s a m em ber o f
the c o a lit io n te s tifie d re c e n t
ly-
T h e e n e rg y departm ent has
c o n tin u e d to h o ld p u b lic m eet
in g s o v e r the p ro p o sa ls .
More On Electronic Communications:
A New “Net” May Get Us All
by
P rof . M c K inley B urt
I remember when it all seemed
so sim ple; thirty-years ago when I
was ‘grow ing’ crystals for members
o f The Dalles, Oregon ham radio
club. H aving just transferred from
the accounting department to the elec
trical engineering division at the huge
Harvey Alum inum Com pany, I found
m yself with the electronic controls
crew, a gold mine o f science infor
mation and relevant instrumentation.
M uch learned is still relevant.
W ho wou Id have thought, among
all those “ analog” systems we were
servicing and building for industrial
controls and com m unications, that
today the world w ould be “ digital” -
- and that todays technicians (lik e the
pub lic) would be touching bases
through systems that have gone be
yond just “ ce llu la r phones” , and
promise a new imaginative “ Person
al C o m m u n ic a tio n s S p e c tru m ”
(P C S )?
T his is the new “ w ireless net
w ork” I referred to only briefly in last
w eek’s article. However, the con
cerns I expressed throughout were
applicable (at present) to the conven
tional and escalating overload o f in
formation appearing now on our com
puter screens and fax machines. I put
it that it would require for each house
hold an on-line operator w orking 24
hours a day to “ register, sort, file,
collate and archive a ll the megabytes
o f information already promised by
the industry” . O f course, those who
are experienced at information re-
trie va I w i 11 be drawi ng down no more
data than they need from the “ data
bank.”
Not to panic, though, just to be
aware. A ctually, I think the “ W all
Street Journal” has been follow ing
this w ireless personal com m unica
tions spectrum as w ell if not better
than the com m unications media, And
certainly with a more penetrating fi
nancial analysis- -- the controlling
dictum where the pace o f new tech
nology must be evaluated. In these
pages, o f course, my jo b is to extract
what is relevant to you, the reader,
not to bankers. I especially like the
“ Journ al’ s” article o f M ay 11, 1995,
“ A Lot o f Little Hassles Slow Spread
o f W ireless Netw ork.”
A telecom m unications experts
writes, “ P C S prom ises to transform
the way A m erica com m unicates,
beaming phone calls and data to m il
lions o f D ick Tracy gizm os. But as
the spats suggest, this transformation
w ill take a lot longer, cost a lot more
and prove far trickier than many peo
ple believe. It could get snarled in
dozens o f pesky, low-tech hassles.”
So, much o f the scenario has to
be transform ed before our w rist
watches and dashboards become
m ulti-screen auditorium s for M T V ,
Stock Market reports, sportcasts from
anywhere in the w orld, remote mon
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Summer
Lunches Go
Out For Kids
c lu s io n s ,” she sa id .
K n ig h t a rg u e s that the p ro
p o sal to m an age fo re ig n re a c
t o rs ’ sp e n t fu e l is based on the
n o tio n that we c o u ld m anage
o u r o w n spent fu e l in this c o u n
try , w h ic h she s a id w as not
true.
BAR-B-Q DINNER & CREOLE DISHES
PROPRIETORS: EDDIE AND JOSIE RICHEY
New & used books on
Business, Music, &
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POWELL'S
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9 AM - 11 PM Monday through Saturday
9 AM - 9 PM Sundays
Used books bought every day till 8:30 PM
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228-4651
itoring o f industrial processes, geo
logic disasters, crim e-in-progress,
and other type ‘ beam-me-up-Scotty’
phenomena.
W e can breathe fairly easily. We
are told that “ to compete with cellu
lar phones, P C S pioneers must build
1 1,500 cell sites in the first year or
two - a task that took cellular rivals
a decade to com plete... it w ill be five
to six years before the companies
break even in P C S .” I talked to an old
friend in The D alles, Oregon and he
agreed with-the “ Journal” columnist:
“ The radio spectrum that w ill be de
voted to P C S most first be cleared o f
present users. These utilities, fire
departments, police, emergency ve
hicles, loggers and the I ike must move
to new channels.
A ll o f these w ill not be that eas
ily persuaded top move over and it is
speculated that some big bucks w ill
be required to smooth the transition.
What many o f us fear is that in that
old tried-and-true A m erican way the
costs w ill be passed on to us little
guys, just like taxes! And it can be
done in sneaky ways, for come to
think o f it, we are all still paying for
that W ashington State Nuclear Pow
er fiasco. Thats where the public
utilities bonds did an “ Oregon C o un
ty” thing. W hen B onneville Power
pays its part o f the tab for that plan
ning disaster, we all pay indirectly -
- right on our electric bill.
FCC Pioneer
DeBernardis
Honored
Dr. A m o D e B e rn a rd is, the
founding president o f Portland
Com m unity College, w ill be hon
ored with a formal dedication ofthe
Am o DeBernardis C ollege Center
The ceremony w ill take place
June 20 at 7 p.m. at the college's
Sy IvaniaCam pus, 12000 S. W 49th
"H e Put Students First," is the
theme o fth e event, the first build
ing dedication in the college's 34
year history.
Sponsored by the P D C Foun
dation with an honorary committee
chaired by Gwyneth Gam ble Booth,
the dedication honors the man who
pioneered accessible college edu
cation for thousands and thousands
o f individuals in the Portland met
ropolitan area
P C C now serves more than
83,000 students a year and is the
largest post-secondary institution
in the state. Its district covers 1,500
square m iles in five counties.
D eBernardis served as presi
dent o f P C C from its beginning in
1961 until his retirement in 1979.'
He guided the college through its
formative years in the 60s and
through the rapid expansion ofthe
70s.
M any c iv ic leaders give credit
to DeBernardis for the creation o f
the college’s Sylvania Cam pus in
southwest Portland, the R ockCreek
cam pus in W ashington County and
the Cascade College in north Port
land.
He foresaw the role com m uni
ty colleges would play in economic
development and work force train
ing and developed strong partner
ships between the college and busi
ness community.
FonnerGov. Victor Atiyeh said,
"I have no doubt that the providence
o f Portland Community College is
attributed to him He built the iden
tify and it became quite important. .
he was one o f my all-time favorites
among educators.”
A t iy e h a ls o noted the
DeBernardis intensity and said the
“ he knew education, what had to be
done and he d id n ’t tolerate those
who wanted to have things as they
w ere."
Program Gives Glimpse
Of College Life
Summer vacation plans for some
Portland students w ill include a visit
to a college campus.
Portland’s “ I Have A Dream ”
students w ill attend a residential pro
gram at Whitman College that is de
signed to stretch their geographic as
well as emotional and mental bound
aries.
Some o f these youngsters w ill
be leaving their homes and the city
for the first time to participate in the
third-annual summer session on the
W alla W alla, W ash, campus.
G roups o f m iddle school and
early high school-age students w ill
visit the college throughout summer.
In addition to the classes and an
introduction to life on a college cam
pus, students w ill participate in an
exchange with students from the
U m atilla Indian Reservation.
T h e stu d e n ts are the o n ly
“ Dream ers” in the country that travel
to a college cam pus for a summer
program.
The effort has won the praise o f
Eugene Lang o f N ew Y o rk, national
founder o f the “ I Have A Dream ”
program.