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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 23, 2022)
$1.50 THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2022 1 JUN E 22� 29, 202 2 S E C T IO JUN E 22-2 146th Year, No. 80 WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021 9, 202 2 WW W.G Celebrate High Days Country PA GE 4 INSIDE GO! SEE HIGH COUNTRY DAYS RETURN TO UKIAH Create Chal ng e art sh le ow PA GE 16 OEA STE RNO REG ON.COM N HEAD ER LANEY JONES an d the Spirits Enjoy Shak peare Festiv es al PA G E 8 PA GE 19 PENDLETON Librarian discovers U.S. news ignored Holocaust Exhibit at the library probes what Americans really know By TRISH YERGES For East Oregonian PENDLETON — The “Ameri- cans and the Holocaust” traveling exhibition at the Pendleton Public Library is attracting visitors and raising eyebrows about what Amer- icans knew about the systematic genocide of millions of European Jews and millions of others. Assistant library director James Simpson, who is working on a related project to digitize data on the holocaust for future use by researchers, said, “The information on the (exhibit) panels is supposed to provide the viewer with what we knew.” The exhibit is on display until July 1. Simpson pointed out that during the 1930s there were not a lot of arti- cles in American newspapers that mentioned German concentration camps, and the ones that did rarely mentioned they held Jewish people. Sometimes articles mentioned so-called “undesirables” or Poles were in the concentration camps, he said, and there was no mention in newspapers of mass annihilations going on at these camps until the 1940s. Dachau concentration camp in Germany was opened in March 1933, less than two months after Hitler was appointed as chancellor of Germany. One Associated Press article Simpson found reprinted in the East Oregonian read: “Dachau, Germany — Guards today killed three communists and wounded one who were attempting to escape from a concentration camp.” Other than this brief mention, news on concentration camps and their prisoners was rarely published, Simpson concluded from his research into local newspapers. Denial a common theme However, he did fi nd local news- paper articles about the war in general, articles with anti-Semitic themes, and “articles about Reich- stag laws that prevented German Jews from participating in public See Holocaust, Page A7 ‘AGE BUBBLE’ pushes up class size at McKay Elementary School District shift s resources as fi ft h grade class booms By JOHN TILLMAN East Oregonian P ENDLETON — McKay Elementary School class size looks to grow signifi - cantly from fourth grade last year to fi fth grade for 2022-23. Fourth grade had just 19 students per teacher in 2021-22, accord- ing to Matt Yoshioka, director of Curric- ulum, Instruction and Assessment for the Pendleton School District. But class size could rise to 29 in fi fth grade for the coming year, he estimated. Such a projected sharp spike in the student-to-teacher ratio concerns families with children in grade school. “Several parents have contacted the district to get answers,” said Amy Marvin, mother of a McKay fi fth grader, “and there has not been a response. Funding does not seem to be an issue, according to several educators I have spoken to. This would be a huge increase in class size for kids still catching up from pandemic online school- ing.” She said no other school in the district will have classes this large. Moving resources to meet needs Yoshioka said the class size increase is due to the number of students. “There’s an age bubble at McKay,” he pointed out. “Next year, fi fth grade at McKay will have 29 students per teacher, but the year after that, only 22 per class. Last year the classes were 29 and 30 in fi fth grade at McKay. This year they were 17 and 19 due to a smaller group coming through.” Historically, 29 is not out of line in a fi fth grade class, he said. Washington Elemen- tary had 24 to 25 students per fi fth grade class this year and Sherwood had 27. “A fi fth grade class with a size of 27 to 30 is not out of our norm for any of our schools,” he said. The district shifts around resources to keep class sizes as even as possible, Yosh- ioka explained. But hiring more teachers is tough. Enrollment in the district dropped about 36 elementary students this year, which means less state funding. “When we lose funding, we have to make adjustments.” Yoshioka said. The district had to look at the big picture as a whole to keep class sizes down as best as possible to make decisions based on the resources it has, Yoshioka stressed. We continue to make K-3 classrooms the highest priority in keeping class sizes Yasser Marte/East Oregonian Parents Amy Marvin, left, and Tiff any Tovar on June 8, 2022, talk about their concerns re- garding the fi fth grade class increasing in size at McKay Elementary School, Pendleton, in the next school year. down,” he said, “as these grades have been shown to be the most critical to a child’s academic development.” “A FIFTH GRADE CLASS WITH A SIZE OF 27 TO 30 IS NOT OUT OF OUR NORM FOR ANY OF OUR SCHOOLS.” — Matt Yoshioka, Pendleton School District director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Some parents worry about eff ects of larger classes Marvin noted the Oregon Education Department reported average state class size in 2019-20 for fi fth grade was 22 students and studies show optimal class size is 15 to 20. Marvin said her son isn’t struggling as much as some fellow students because her husband is a teacher. Nursing instruc- tor Tiff any Tovar’s son, however, is falling behind. She is concerned about the eff ect of a 30% increase in student-teacher ratio. “I have seven students in my class,” Tovar said. “I can’t imagine teaching and grading 31.” Her son already was on an Individualized Education Program before online learning during the pandemic put him further behind the curve. He needed extra help in reading and math, requiring in-person instruction. “This year he experienced an exponen- tial amount of growth, being back in school, playing catch up after the pandemic,” Tovar said. “I fear overcrowding and teacher burn- out next year. It’s not reasonable to expect one teacher to meet the needs of 31 students.” Sherwood to have most fi fth graders in district Yoshioka said the district’s largest group of fi fth graders next year will be at Sher- wood Elementary School. “Even larger groups are coming up at Sherwood over the next three years, at 96 to 104 students per year. McKay and Washing- ton do not have such large groups. Sherwood is also our largest school by enrollment, currently at 461 students.” The district has no plans to reduce the number of fi fth grade teachers at any school, he said, but Sherwood is getting another grade teacher. Rather than a new position, he said, the district is shifting staff at Sher- wood. “Based on projections, we will have a smaller group of incoming fi rst graders at Sherwood this fall,” Yoshioka concluded. “We do not need fi ve fi rst grade teachers there. We will have four grade one teachers at Sherwood and one additional fi fth grade teacher, but the number of total teachers at Sherwood has not increased. Class sizes are still projected to be 20 or 21.” A special project Umatilla robotics students build an off -road wheelchair for a young Baker City boy By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian UMATILLA — Gus Macy, son of Levi and Karla of Baker City, is set for a very enjoyable summer, accord- ing to his mother. Team Confi dential, the Umatilla High School robotics team, is responsible for some of his latest summertime plans. The team made a wheelchair specif- ically for 6-year-old Gus, who has spina bifi da and is unable to use his legs. “What we determined to do as a robotics club is to give him a chance to have more activities with his family outside of normal wheelchair activity,” Team Confi dential coach and UHS teacher Kyle Sipe said. He described it as a “trike, retro- fi tted into an e-bike.” It’s electric, so Gus, who is unable to peddle a bicy- cle, can use his thumb to control the throttle and operate the chair. Karla Macy said such chairs, built for off -road adventuring, can cost more than $20,000. This one, she said, will make a big diff erence in her son’s life. “This is a new and exciting way for him to get around,” she said. Umatilla School District/Contributed Photo See Chair, Page A7 Gus Macy of Baker City checks out his new wheelchair that Team Confi den- tial, the Umatilla High School robotics team, built for him.