2C COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL NOVEMBER 29, 2017
Kennedy
SUPPORTING
Continued from C1
Kennedy joined their ranks after Al Kennedy saw his former students playing a knife game outside
a class they were supposed to be in. The kids had been part of the Cottage Grove High School’s
forestry program, led by Kennedy, before it was cut from the curriculum. “…All of the redneck kids
in Cottage Grove took forestry,” Kennedy, a teacher of 45 years, said. “So, I had the badass boys
and then they canceled forestry and I watched my badass boys go into traditional programs and stink
them up and disrupt them because they were confrontational and ornery,” he said.
Kennedy approached the administration.
He was given a classroom and all of the “bad” kids.
Since then, Kennedy has seen the program grow from a classroom of students, to being recognized as
a school and to now having their own campus. “I drove the model-T and they are in a Cadillac,” he
says of the transformation.
“In alternative school the rule is: you pursue your passion and I’ll turn it into math, science and social
studies…Like a kid comes up and says, I’m into tattooing. I said, that’s great. I want a report on the
history of tattooing next week,” he said. “At a traditional school it is more like being in the marching
band and you’ve got to stay in step and play your instrument at the same time. And alternative school
it’s not like being in a band, it’s like taking private music lessons,” he said.
While ideologies and teaching methods between Kennedy and the traditional Cottage Grove High
School are easily compared, the signifi cance of statistics on student performance is more diffi cult to
pin down.
Kennedy’s four-year graduation rate for the 2015-2016 school year was 16.67 percent. Cottage Grove
High School’s was 93.62 percent—the second highest in the state.
“When I look at these statistics, I compare them to other alternative high schools,” said South Lane
Superintendent Krista Parent. “We’re having kids fi nish. Many of them dropped out and we got them
back by offering Kennedy. If it had not been for Kennedy, they would have been high school drop
outs with an eighth or ninth grade education,” she said.
Parent also noted the nature of Kennedy, stating that students often arrive there with large educa-
tional gaps. The school’s fi ve-year graduation rate for the same time period in 2015-2016 was 26.87
percent; more than a 10 percent jump.
“When you look at the Cottage Grove High School graduation rate for the last three years, it’s been in
the top three in the state. But, if not for Kennedy, those kids would have dropped out and counted as
drop outs for Cottage Grove High School’s drop-out rate,” Parent said. The 2015-2016 drop-out rate
for Cottage Grove High School is less than one percent. Kennedy’s was 19.8 percent.
Ketcher acknowledges that the goal is to send kids to college, but that may not be feasible for every
Kennedy student.
They face poverty (X percent of the students attending Kennedy are considered homeless under the
McKinney-Vento Act), teen pregnancy, unstable home lives and learning disabilities but Kennedy has
become more than a statistic. The reasons students fi nd themselves there are varied and weighted by
each individual student’s passions, progress and personal struggles.
One of them
And there is no teacher or administrator more familiar with what the students are going through than
Ketcher.
One of four kids, Ketcher grew up on a farm in Minnesota with a family that did not have money and
did not put an emphasis on education. Her mom dropped out of school the fi rst week of freshman
year in high school and her dad in the fi rst week of his sophomore year of high school.
And so, when Ketcher walked into kindergarten on the fi rst day she did not know any of the letters in
the alphabet. She didn’t begin reading until she was in the third grade.
“I was in Special Ed not because I had a learning disability but because I was a product of poverty,”
she said.
But in fi fth grade when a teacher spent extra time working with her, her outlook changed.
“I had a teacher that stayed after school with me every day and read with me and cheered me up. And
when I would cry she would be like, ‘I’m not going to take that, you’re going to wipe those tears
away and we’re going to read this book and we’re going to do it right now,’” she said.
It was then that Ketcher decided she was going to be a teacher.
With her family living paycheck to paycheck, Ketcher earned straight A’s in high school, was on the
cheer team, worked 30 hours a week and was excited and ready to go to college.
“My mom thought that going to college was the dumbest thing I could ever do. She thought, why
would you pay money to go to school. I would have paid money to get out of school,” she said.
Ketcher got her degree at Arizona State and on graduation day, was offered a teaching job.
Of her 23 cousins, she is the only one to go to college but then, and now, Ketcher believes in the
power of education. She believes that it offers students a way forward and that it can provide a path
to success. And it is why she chose Kennedy.
“This is what took me out of the loop of poverty and so I hope that kids will grasp onto that,” said
Ketcher.
“These kids are me.”
NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION
Thank you to the
following supporters:
Ruth Ackley
Irene Bauder
Angie Borigo
James and Carol Brownson
Cindy Conrad
Russell and Lee Cooper
Robert and Mary Currier
Bob and Janette Dill
Long Family
Jeffrey & Karen Freeman
Kathryn Flynn
Jean Furguson
Mary Gabrielle, MD
James & Barbara Grant
John and Donna Mansfi eld
Lonny Perini
Ron Pupke
Elaine Roberts
Emily Settlemeyer
Donna Shepherd
Robert Swaringin
Jan Thompson
Randy Turpin
Carol Volesky
Students of the Month
DORENA
ELEMENTARY
LONDON
SCHOOL
We would like to nominate
KG
student
Josephine
Eckstine for Student of Th e
Month.
Josephine is in
Mrs. Christianson’s KG/1st
classroom. Josephine notices
when others need a friend and
likes to help her classmates.
Josie takes time to make
sure others feel included
and needed. She has a great
attitude and works extremely
hard at everything she does.
Josephine is conscientious
and polite. She is on task,
diligent and thoughtful. Josie
always has a smile on her
face and comes in each day
excited and ready to learn.
JOSEPHINE
ECKSTINE
541-345- 7570
ADAM WILMARTH
Adam has proven to
be a leader in showing
responsibility
among
his peers. He is oft en
encouraging others to try
their best and stay focused
in a kind, calm manner.
He comes to school with
a positive attitude and
displays respect for his
peers, his school, and his
teachers. Th is year, he has
gained a new confi dence in
reading and enjoys learning
and practicing his new
skills.
HARRISON
ELEMENTARY
GRIFFEY DIMOCK
Griff ey is an exceptional
student. He works diligently
in his academics. He reads
fl uently, writes skillfully, and
especially enjoys and does
well in mathematics. Besides
being a strong student, Griff ey
is a terrifi c person. He is
kind and considerate of the
feelings of others. He treats
adults and peers with respect,
and he consistently models
what it is to be a Harrison
Bobcat. I am delighted to
name Griff ey as this month’s
Student of the Month, and
believe that he truly deserves
this
special
recognition.
STARFIRE
JACK SPRATS
2795 MOSBY CREEK RD, COTTAGE GROVE
510 E MAIN ST, COTTAGE GROVE
4237 W. 5th Ave • Eugene
(541) 942-0168
(541) 942-8408
TRUCK & EQUIPMENT REPAIR
WWW.STARFIRELUMBER.COM
WWW.JACKSPRATSBRATS.COM
LINCOLN MIDDLE
SCHOOL
SHAE VALLEY
Shae Valley is Lincoln Middle
School’s Student of the
Month! Shae’s qualities are
too numerous to count!
It would take a lifetime
to describe how kind,
compassionate, helpful, funny,
intelligent, reliable, and gritty
she is. Shae is a hard worker
but is always willing to stop
what she is doing and assist
at any time. She is also very
polite - wearing a smile on her
face at almost all times. We
appreciate her gentle nature,
positive attitude, and self-
motivation! Shae is a truly
wonderful human being. !
ELKTON
HIGH SCHOOL
Bailey is a responsible and
conscientious student. She
is currently our Student
Body Treasurer. She is
bright, intelligent and an
honor roll student. She is
a very kind and friendly
student that gets along
great with all students and
staff . She is a great student!
BAILEY CARTER
Cottage Grove Sentinel
2775 Row River Rd • 541-942-4415
bradschevy.com
116 N. 6th St. • 541-942-3325
www.cgsentinel.com
