NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Thursday, May 4, 2017 State plans broader rating system for schools Former official sues lottery for $2.75M By BETSY HAMMOND The Oregonian/OregonLive PORTLAND — Oregon intends to shift how it evaluates schools and intervenes in those with the poorest results, moving from the rigid model required under No Child Left Behind to a more nuanced approach shaped by Oregonians. State leaders plan to make that offi- cial this week when they submit their 136-page plan to the federal education department. Under the new approach, beginning with results from the current school year, Oregon schools’ performance will be judged on a wider array of factors than reading and math scores and graduation rates alone. State officials express optimism that the switch will make a positive differ- ence for students. “This extends the promise of a well-rounded education,” state schools chief Salam Noor told The Oregonian/ OregonLive in an interview Monday. “All over Oregon, we hear that’s what parents and students want... This is an opportunity to think about education as a local endeavor.” Technically, the rules won’t change all that dramatically. Schools still will be judged on statistical outcomes for students, including standardized test scores, not by a more subjective judg- ment about which schools are offering a truly well-rounded education. But Noor and other Oregon Depart- ment of Education leaders say they’ll combine new messages about what’s important and new flexibility granted by the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, to drive more emphasis on science, social studies, career-technical education and the arts. It remains to be seen whether a new era of well-rounded education will in fact emerge. Students’ performance on state reading, writing and math exams, and their growth over time as measured by those tests, will still count more heavily than any other factor in a school’s rating. And most Oregon schools have a very long way to go to get all or nearly all their students to show mastery on those tests. But under the new approach, schools will face demands to do other things well. Their ratings also will hinge on getting students to attend regularly and, for high schools, ensuring that freshmen earn six credits by the start of sophomore year — the two strongest factors determining whether a student is likely to make it to high school graduation. Schools’ performance will also be judged on English language acquisition by their non-native speakers and on graduation rates. And, thanks to Oregon’s senior U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s influence on the new law, any high school that fails to graduate at least 67 percent of its students in four years will automatically be in line for Alleges retaliation for reporting management issues By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — A former Oregon Lottery official is suing the lottery commission and the lottery’s director and CFO, claiming they retaliated against him for raising the alarm about management issues at the agency. Trinh Tran, a lawyer who worked as a contracts and procurement officer for the agency, filed suit against the lottery commis- sion, director Barry Pack and CFO Kathy Ortega in Multnomah County Circuit Court April 17 seeking $2.75 million. Tran alleges Pack retaliated against him for reporting management issues to the lottery commission, another lottery employee and to governor’s staff; and that lottery officials violated his privacy when they initiated an investigation of him by the state’s attorney general. Tran also claims Ortega, who was also Tran’s supervisor, violated his Fourth Amendment rights by accessing his work computer and emails. According to the lawsuit, Tran first voiced concerns about “mismanagement and abuse of authority” to a lottery commissioner, Liz Carle, in March 2016, and then the next month, to two employees at the lottery including his direct supervisor. He also mentioned his concerns to Heidi Moawad, Gov. Kate Brown’s lottery adviser. In what the lawsuit characterizes as “apparent retaliation” against two commissioners who inquired about manage- ment issues at the agency, Staff photo by E.J. Harris Parents and students fill out paperwork in their classroom during an open house in September 2016 at the new Washington Elementary School in Pendleton. state help. For the class of 2016, about 55 alternative high schools and 16 regular high schools, including Portland’s Roos- evelt High, hit that trigger level. Unlike with the widely unpopular No Child Left Behind law, which governed the way U.S. schools were rated for more than a decade, a school won’t come under fire for a singular failed result with a single student population. But the federal law still requires the state to release key school performance measures for numerous student popula- tions, including racial and ethnic groups, low-income students, students with disabilities and students learning English as a second language. And schools that show high perfor- mance overall but have one or more student groups struggling badly in many areas will be singled out for extra state attention. Unlike under No Child Left Behind, that consequence will apply to all schools, not just those that receive federal Title I money to help disadvan- taged students. “We will be putting a priority on advancing equity in Oregon,” Noor said. “This (federal education) law is a civil rights law.” State officials say they’re also excited about a big change Oregon will make in the way it holds schools accountable and helps low-performing ones get better. Instead of working directly with individual schools, the state will work with school districts to assist them with turning around their problem s schools. Trying to fix a school without pulling bigger levers throughout the school district too often meant a school didn’t improve or a turnaround didn’t persist, said Dawne Huckaby, assistant state superintendent for teaching, learning and assessment. “This changes our role,” she said. “We will be supporting districts who will be supporting their schools.” Schools whose performance places them in the bottom 5 percent statewide among schools that receive Title I aid statewide will be tentatively identified late this summer based on test scores, chronic absenteeism rates, English language learners’ progress and ninth- grade success rates. High schools with graduation rates below 68 percent will also be singled out. The final list of schools that fall into the lowest 5 percent or have unaccept- ably low graduation rates will be made in summer 2018, using results from the 2017-2018 school year and class of 2017 graduation rates. Working with their school districts, those schools will have to evaluate where they aren’t meeting their students’ needs and make a plan to fix that. They will be watched over by the state as they carry out those plans in from 2018 to 2021. Those that aren’t making enough progress along the way will get added pressure and help from the state. In scores of public hearings and specially convened meetings, Oregon teachers, parents, employers and child advocates said they want Oregon schools to be judged holistically, not on standard- ized statistical outputs. Oregon Department of Education officials pushed back against throwing measurements of the richness of a school’s curricular offerings or the health of its social/emotional climate into the ratings equation because there is no reli- able way to objectively measure those characteristics. But they did agree to create a space on schools’ official state performance reports for district officials to provide a short narrative about such offerings as arts education, career-tech instruction, library services and after-school programs. And they say they will continue to explore ways to add more nuance to the state’s school rating systems. Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255 before noon Tuesday through Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday for same-day redelivery — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. 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Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY SATURDAY FRIDAY Partly sunny and very warm Cooler with a heavy thunderstorm 86° 61° 65° 44° Cooler; a few morning showers SUNDAY Partial sunshine MONDAY Mostly sunny and nice PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 57° 44° 66° 45° 71° 48° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 71° 46° 90° 61° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 75° 67° 94° (1900) 50° 43° 25° (1897) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" Trace 0.10" 8.21" 4.35" 5.21" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 80° 70° 92° (2016) 55° 43° 28° (1928) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" Trace 0.12" 5.88" 2.98" 4.11" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Full Last May 10 May 18 New May 25 72° 47° 77° 50° Seattle 75/52 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 64° 46° 5:38 a.m. 8:06 p.m. 1:56 p.m. 3:01 a.m. First June 1 Today Spokane Wenatchee 80/57 85/60 Tacoma Moses 77/51 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 87/60 80/58 71/50 78/50 86/58 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 80/53 87/66 Lewiston 90/62 Astoria 85/60 62/51 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 82/53 Pendleton 76/55 The Dalles 90/61 86/61 86/60 La Grande Salem 81/59 82/52 Albany Corvallis 83/51 81/52 John Day 82/60 Ontario Eugene Bend 85/58 81/52 81/49 Caldwell Burns 85/59 80/52 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima Hi 62 78 81 63 80 76 81 84 90 82 82 81 79 87 59 62 85 89 86 82 85 82 80 81 83 87 86 Lo 51 51 49 49 52 55 52 57 61 60 49 59 57 53 49 50 58 59 61 53 50 52 57 54 53 66 58 W sh s t pc s s t t pc pc pc s s t pc pc s pc pc t t t s pc t s pc NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Fri. Hi 55 70 60 55 71 68 59 66 71 69 62 67 64 60 54 55 83 75 65 60 63 59 68 63 58 72 74 Lo 41 40 32 44 39 41 39 40 46 38 36 41 38 42 41 44 50 47 44 43 32 40 44 37 41 48 43 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W c t t sh t t sh t t t t t t sh sh sh t t t sh t sh t t sh t t WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 80 84 71 58 78 51 63 68 80 70 70 Lo 55 76 53 48 55 30 46 52 57 57 61 W s t s c pc pc sh pc pc pc c Fri. Hi 70 83 72 58 73 55 66 70 77 71 71 Lo 47 75 54 49 53 43 51 52 51 57 62 W pc pc s c pc pc pc s pc pc pc WINDS Medford 87/53 (in mph) Klamath Falls 82/49 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: A shower or two across the north today; partly sunny in central parts. Clouds, then sun in the south. Eastern and Central Oregon: Sunshine and patchy clouds today; a thunderstorm in spots near the Cascades. Western Washington: A strong thunderstorm across the south today; showers around at the coast. A thunderstorm in central parts. Eastern Washington: Mostly sunny today. A shower or thunderstorm in spots tonight. Cascades: Very warm today with a strong thunderstorm. Northern California: A thunderstorm in spots in central parts today; clouds, then sun at the coast. Mostly sunny in the interior mountains. Today Friday NE 4-8 ESE 6-12 W 10-20 W 8-16 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 1 4 6 7 4 then-Director Jack Roberts drafted, but did not submit, a Bureau of Labor and Industries complaint against them, and placed on administrative leave another employee who reported management problems to the Gover- nor’s Office. Roberts was removed from his position in late April of 2016, and Barry Pack was named acting director. Pack announced a personnel investigation by the state Department of Justice against the deputy director, Roland Iparraguirre, and started an investigation against the two commissioners that was based on Roberts’ draft BOLI complaint. Those two commis- sioners, Mary Wheat and Liz Carle, resigned from the commission after the lottery announced the alle- gations against them were “baseless.” The lawsuit alleges Pack falsely claimed Tran’s employees complained about him, and that Pack started a DOJ investigation of Tran, which found “no evidence of inappropriate conduct or violations of policy,” the lawsuit states. After DOJ concluded its investigation, the lawsuit claims, Pack and Ortega reduced Tran’s responsibilities, excluded him from meetings, and wrote a work plan that the lawsuit characterized as a step in the disciplinary process and a warning of possible dismissal. Tran resigned from the lottery in October. The lawsuit also claims Brown and her office “either authorized or were aware of and acquiesced in defendant Pack’s ... retaliatory actions” against Tran and other employees who blew the whistle. A spokeswoman for the lottery declined Wednesday to comment on the lawsuit. 1 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017 -10s -0s showers t-storms 0s 10s rain 20s flurries 30s 40s snow ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low National Summary: Rain will drench areas from the middle Mississippi Valley with river flooding to the mid-Atlantic today. Severe storms will roll across the Southeast states. Much of the Plains and West can expect sunshine. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 105° in Thermal, Calif. Low 16° in Aspen Springs, Colo. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 77 68 60 66 76 67 85 57 82 72 51 62 75 69 48 83 60 73 84 75 56 87 65 96 60 82 Lo 52 50 53 56 50 48 61 45 61 54 42 55 53 42 43 58 36 44 74 55 46 57 46 74 51 58 W s t pc pc s t s s t t r r s s r pc s s s s r t sh s pc s Fri. Hi 84 56 64 73 83 57 83 54 72 64 57 64 79 77 49 91 59 79 84 80 53 76 70 98 71 75 Lo 57 48 57 52 53 46 49 52 52 44 41 43 54 49 40 65 35 42 73 53 39 52 49 73 47 58 Today W s pc t t s sh c r r r pc r s s r s pc s sh s sh s s s s pc Hi Louisville 66 Memphis 56 Miami 88 Milwaukee 53 Minneapolis 67 Nashville 68 New Orleans 67 New York City 62 Oklahoma City 69 Omaha 69 Philadelphia 66 Phoenix 102 Portland, ME 59 Providence 61 Raleigh 78 Rapid City 70 Reno 86 Sacramento 88 St. Louis 52 Salt Lake City 76 San Diego 73 San Francisco 71 Seattle 75 Tucson 100 Washington, DC 69 Wichita 69 Lo 51 46 77 41 45 47 54 51 46 44 53 74 40 45 63 44 59 56 46 55 62 54 52 69 60 45 W t sh pc pc s t c pc s s pc s s s pc s pc s r s pc pc t s pc s Fri. Hi 58 63 89 55 73 56 74 64 72 73 70 105 51 59 73 78 77 77 65 85 71 64 60 100 76 73 Lo 44 46 69 41 47 44 55 56 46 50 54 76 45 56 51 47 49 50 50 63 61 50 44 68 55 48 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W sh pc t pc s sh s r s s r s r r r s pc pc pc s pc c sh pc t s