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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
A8 News wallowa.com February 18, 2015 Wallowa County Chieftain County schools graduate students on time nicate with parents to make sure the student attends class- es. “We know our kids here, Recent statistics released whereas I think it might be by the U.S. Department of tougher to track them down in Education show the state of a bigger school,” Shirley said. Oregon at the bottom of the Low income, another rea- nation’s heap in graduating VRQFLWHGE\VWDWHRI¿FLDOVIRU high school students on time. the low graduation numbers, A mere 69 percent of Oregon’s doesn’t appear to derail stu- high school students don their dents quite so easily in Wal- cap and gown in a four-year lowa County, which has the period. second-lowest income average Not so in Wallowa County, in the state. where all three high schools Shirley again attributed this graduate over 90 percent of to small school size. “We do WKHLU VWXGHQWV LQ WKH VSHFL¿HG one-on-one conferences with time. kids and their parents to see if Rhonda Shirley, super- we can put a plan together for intendent of Joseph Charter anyone falling behind. It’s usu- School, says her school grad- ally successful,” Shirley said. uated 95.45 percent of its When school staff mem- students on time, with only bers become aware of a stu- one student missing the mark dent contemplating dropping during the 2014 school year. out, the staff immediately goes Chronic absenteeism is one into action to convince the stu- reason given for Oregon’s low dent to stay in school. “Some- graduation marks, and Shirley times we need to modify their said that Joseph’s small size schedule if they’re feeling allows the school to commu- overwhelmed,” Shirley said. By S.F. Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Rob Ruth/Chieftain Schools in Wallowa County perform well above the state average in on-time graduation. She added that JCS also offers after-school tutoring programs that parents greatly support. Although all Wallowa County schools pursue four- day school weeks, the class- room hours actually surpass state requirements for each level of student. Enterprise School District Superintendent Brad Royse said Enterprise High School boasts a 97 percent on-time graduation rate. Like Shirley, Royse credits the school’s size for keeping the levels up. “The beauty of small schools is that kids have an opportunity to participate. About 84 percent of our kids participate in extracur- ricular activities,” Royse said. Students who participate in sports, drama, FFA and FC- CLA are less likely to call it quits. “From my perspective, your faculty know you. You’re not a number. The faculty show in- terest in those kids, and I think those kids are critical to reten- tion,” Royse said. He added that as a former large school administrator, larger schools do not have the time for personal- ized student attention. If the school notices a child with excessive absences, the staff and administration reach- es out through letters, phone calls and home visits to get the student on track. “When that teacher knows that kid’s name and his parents, it makes a sig- QL¿FDQW LPSDFW´ 5R\VH VDLG He added that children out and about during the school day face likely recognition from an adult who knows them. Wallowa High School cur- rently boasts a 100-percent graduation rate. Like the coun- ty’s other superintendents, Bret Uptmor credited the school’s small size and person- alized education as factors in their success. Uptmor did not see ab- senteeism or poverty as ma- jor contributing factors in his school’s graduation rate although he acknowledged using the law on occasion for chronic absentees. Uptmor credited a number of factors that can help the school staff recognize a strug- gling student. “The reality is every student is an individual and we need to identify when a student is struggling. Staff, students, parents, administra- tion and community all play a big role in providing key piec- es of information about a stu- dent’s success.” If the staff or Uptmor know a student is thinking about dropping out, the school sched- ules a meeting with the parents to get the student pointed on a path of success. He also said that although tight budgets limit the amount of electives offered, the school tries to make solid offerings with the possibility of more offerings if budgets increase in the future. Uptmor saw the key to overall student graduation suc- cess as a team effort rather than hinging on any one facet of ed- ucation. “The piece that is im- portant is that all the partners are working together to give the student the tools to make it to the end,” Uptmor said. Shirley assesses wind damage at JCS By Stephen Tool Wallowa County Chieftain The blustering winds of Feb. 6 that wreaked havoc throughout Wallowa County took a heavy toll at Joseph Charter School, where more Grande Ronde Model Watershed Board of Director's Meeting #"! "! """" #"""" " """! "" #"""! " #"! " "" " #"" " " Main Street, Joseph 541-432-1917 February 24, 2015 - 5:00 pm Wallowa Community Center 204 East Second Street Wallowa, OR If you have any questions, please call 541-663-0570 is now known about the damage. A large tree next to the school fell onto the roof, causing gutter damage. The process of removing the tree caused a broken window in the office of JCS Superin- tendent Rhonda Shirley. Winds also blew out two windows of the school’s music room, breaking over- head lights as well as scat- tering shards of glass and sheets of paper throughout the room. School employ- ees quickly patched the two windows with plywood to avoid further damage. Shirley said the winds also wrapped a newer set of bleachers from the foot- ball field around the school building. Shirley said those bleachers were a total loss. The door to the bus shed sustained irreparable dam- age and an old greenhouse on the school grounds had plastic blown off the top. The wind also blew away a large amount of insulation from the construction site of the new gym. Shirley said the school had insurance coverage for the damage. “We just felt fortunate the school didn’t suffer more losses,” she said. GO ONLINE www.wallowa.com IT’S NOT TOO L ATE! You can still sign up for insurance through the Oregon Health Plan Spanish and English speaking application assisters are available to provide you with information and help with questions at Winding Waters Clinic. 541-426-4502