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He
They know what you call them...
"BAD KIDS"
But they're taking the title back. Because this is their school. And their story.
On an early September morning, the staff of Al Kennedy High School gathered in a room at the South Lane
School District offi ces. The Sentinel had approached the district in the prior weeks about chronicling the
teachers and students at Kennedy to tell the story of alternative education through the lens of those on the
ground. District administrators thought it was a great idea. Kennedy staff had questions. Eight educators sat in
a room with a newspaper editor and had a conversation. At the end, they’d come to an understanding: The truth
is the truth and the kids come fi rst. Over the course of the 2017-2018 school year, the Sentinel will tell the story
of these educators and their students as they navigate a location change, funding gaps and the unfortunately
true narrative that sometimes working hard isn’t enough and an education doesn’t fi x everything.
We’ll tell stories of triumph, tragedy and truth as the tribe at Kennedy makes the most with what it has in its
continued effort to slingshot students up and over the barriers to progress through understanding, commitment
and engagement while acknowledging the reality that some kids won’t make it.
Part two of a seven-part series
By Caitlyn May and Zach Silva
cmay@cgsentinel.com & zsilva@cgsentinel.com
I
t’s Christmastime at Kennedy.
Once upon a time, that meant a family dinner, prepared by students and staff in the kitchen of their old portable trailers
in the footprint of the old high school. But Delight Valley isn’t the old portable trailers. Its kitchen is responsible for turn-
ing out six meals a day—plus snacks for a pack of hungry preschoolers and has little room for a casual, lighthearted and some-
what haphazard cooking parties meant to mark the start of the holiday season and the end of the fi rst half of the school year.
So, on Dec. 14, in the minutes before winter break would see the school empty for two weeks, there weren’t several courses
of food laid out on the cafeteria tables. But, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a party.
“Hey! Guys!” Kennedy Principal Halie Ketcher really likes Christmas. In Christmas leggings, a Christmas sweater and a
necklace of fl ashing Christmas lights, she shouts over the restlessly excited chatter of approximately 40 students. They’re 30
minutes away from winter break and even closer to getting one of the Christmas presents Ketcher guards. Their conversations
come to a California stop, some still rolling on. “Are you buying it for her?” “He’s not a super senior.” “We have to pay for
Snapchat now because of that Internet stuff.” (The FCC voted earlier in the day to eliminate net neutrality).
One more shout from Ketcher and the road is clear.
It’s time to recognize outstanding students of the month and hand out presents: lotion, soda, candy, gloves, knick-knacks and
gift cards that Ketcher warns are worth $5 each, encouraging students to repeat the amount back to her because she will not
repeat herself.
Each month, Kennedy recognizes a student who has shown growth, determination, passion and persistence and for Decem-
ber, it’s Sophie. She’ll speak at the next South Lane School Board meeting as a reward. She’s nervous.
And while the celebration normally ends with a round of applause for students like Sophie, today is different. There’s a spe-
cial announcement. There’s a new Kennedy graduate.
Nathaniel Mulhall will return this spring to walk with his class but today, he’s done. He’s completed all 75 credits required
by the state of Oregon in time to qualify as a four-year (not fi ve-year) graduate.
It’s easy to see the pride among his teachers and the excitement in his peers as the cafeteria explodes in congratulations for
the boy in the back hiding under his hood.
The thing that’s a bit harder to single out though is what it took to get here, to this moment of jubilee because at Kennedy,
things work a little differently.
Mulhall was part of the cohort group of students. It’s one of three options for students who choose Kennedy over the tradi-
tional Cottage Grove High School and most resembles a schedule one might fi nd there. Students have different teachers and
rotate classes throughout the day with a lunch period in between. But it’s only one option. Kennedy also offers a GED program
and something called Odysseyware that can be combined with the cohort or GED program.
Telling stories
Danny Henson doesn’t teach Odysseyware or GED. No one does, really, in the traditional sense. He mans the language arts
class and storytelling spark--a unique component of the cohort model.
At Kennedy though, not everything is black and white and so Henson has students who are in Odysseyware class in the
morning and spend the afternoon with him. It’s part of what draws some students to this school: the ability to choose and re-
ceive dedicated time from their instructors.
In his storytelling spark students explore different ways to tell stories and the fundamentals that build narrative. They
complete assignments that ask them to interview their favorite characters from their favorite stories. Who are the character’s
friends and family? Where were they born? Where do they go when they’re angry? What’s their favorite possession? Some
questions are obvious, others, students have to use their storytelling chops to create the answers.
When they indulge in typical high school griping over assignments, he refocuses their attention and doesn’t let anyone off
the hook.
It’s part of Henson’s teaching style; reassurance with a dash of tough love.
It’s why his language arts class can descend into a conversation about space travel and veer back to align with a discussion
on topic sentences and thesis statements. Students get two-minute cell phone breaks and when they work independently to
Please see KENNEDY PG. A3
SLTV
users
must
rescan
today
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
South Lane TV watchers who
want to continue watching pro-
gramming will have to rescan
today, Wednesday, Dec. 20.
The rescan will resolve tech-
nical changes made to comply
with a new governmental man-
date that will see SLTV vacate
seven of its 10 transmit chan-
nels.
"T-Mobile is poised to begin
utilizing television frequen-
cies they won in a 'repacking'
of the television spectrum by
the FCC," a release from SLTV
read.
"The good news for SLTV
viewers is that the FCC ap-
proved our request for replace-
ment channels," it continued.
Channels viewers see will
remain the same. For example,
AMG will still be on channel
47.1. The change affects the
backend of the system.
To rescan, viewers must go to
their TV menu and select either
"scan," "autoscan" or "rescan"
depending on the age of their
television and then select "an-
tenna."
Programming should be unin-
terrupted.
Coming
to terms
with
zombies
City's lease
revealed
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Cottage Grove City Manager
Richard Meyers announced at
the Dec. 11 council meeting that
the city had signed a lease with
the "zombie house" located on
46th St.
The home, which was aban-
doned physically and fi nancial-
ly, had attracted squatters who
altered the structure and created
a sanitation issue without run-
ning water.
Under the terms of the lease,
the city will pay $12 a year with
the option for a second year.
According to Meyers, the in-
dividuals currently living in the
house were given a 48-hour no-
tice to vacate the property.
"If they leave things behind,
we have to hold it for a certain
amount of time," Meyers said.
As a cost-saver, Meyers said
Please see ZOMBIE PG. A3
CRIME
Summer's days
Teacher charged
Summer begins to say
goodbye but not before
helping a new puppy say
hello. PAGE A7
Former Springfi eld teacher
from Cottage Grove
charged with sex crime.
PAGE A6
INDEX
COMMUNITY
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
cgnews@cgsentinel.com
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P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove
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