4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • JUNE 13, 2018 •
O PINION
Thank you, Kennedy
T
here was a
time I didn’t
want to do
this anymore. It was
14 months ago; and
then 10 months ago;
and then again a bit
before Christmas.
By Caitlyn May
It’s always been
cmay@cgsentinel.com
hard, but it got harder
and felt like it had
stopped yielding enough of a profi t because
if the cost of anything is the amount of life
you exchange for it, than the price tag of
local journalism began to feel like a noose
by which to hang my future.
But in the heartbeats between my
frustration and the constraint to withhold
my resignation, there was a constant that
dimmed the former and ensured the latter.
Kennedy.
On the face of it, it would seem as though
it’s because it’s diffi cult to hold a grip on a
handful of misfortunes when stereotype
demands the understanding that the kids at
Kennedy have mountains' full.
And they do.
But that’s not the lesson.
I don’t remember when I thought it would
be a good idea to write about Kennedy.
Somewhere between the ebb of spring
and fl ow of summer, I’d heard the school
mentioned benignly here and there and
malignantly everywhere else.
“Th at’s where the bad kids go.”
Reason dictated that simply couldn’t be
true. And for the last eight months, I’ve
been writing the same thing:
“On an early September morning, the
staff of Al Kennedy High School gathered
in a room at the South Lane School District
offi ces. Th e 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: Th e truth
is the truth and the kids come fi rst.”
Th at’s how we got here. Aft er eight months
of reporting, I suppose, like everything else,
it’s possible there’s a school somewhere in
the South Lane School District that houses
the “bad kids.”
But Kennedy isn’t it.
Yes, a higher percentage of Kennedy
students are homeless. More of them go
hungry and fewer of them are from two-
parent households. Many of the girls in
South Lane who get pregnant end up
fi nishing their high school education at
Kennedy rather than Cottage Grove High
School. And Kennedy teachers have more
children who qualify as special needs
students in their classrooms.
So, if being poor, pregnant or in need of
some extra help is a pre-requisite to be being
“bad,” an argument could be made there
are bad kids at Kennedy. But also, Cottage
The First Amendment
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ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of
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Grove High School — because there are
poor and pregnant teens there too. Th ere’s
also students with individualized education
plans (IEPs) walking the hallways at CGHS
under the umbrella of its reputation, while
Kennedy kids are being crushed by the
weight of insinuation.
Th at’s the lesson.
Th ere is no inherent diff erence between
the students at Kennedy and the students
at CGHS. Th ey all struggle with the same,
sometimes unfortunate set of circumstances.
Th e only thing that separates them is the
way their community perceives and treats
them based on those perceptions.
Th ere is no normal; only our relentless
drive to draw the line and place some people
on the other side of it.
Th e kids at Kennedy will be fi ne. Th ey’re
resilient. Th ey’re smart. Th ey’re passionate
and driven. Curious and hardworking.
Th ey’ll do just fi ne — if given the same
opportunity to succeed as the resilient,
smart, passionate, driven, curious and
hardworking kids at CGHS. It's an
opportunity not usually extended to them
but should be. Not just in the form of
opportunity not being utilized by someone
else, or an opportunity that’s good enough
because they’re just alternative students
— but an honest-to-God, real, equitable
opportunity.
Because they’re good kids who reminded
me the story is always worth it, and they
deserve it.
Just like everyone else.
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Teachers are the stars at Kennedy
B
efore
this
year,
I
knew
next
to nothing about
alternative schools.
I
studied
education, primarily
kindergarten
through fi ft h grade,
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com as an undergrad
at University of
Oregon’s College of Education — and still
this was a foreign topic until I traveled to
Saginaw to visit Kennedy.
I didn’t know who the students were
that attended this school. I knew they had
generally left CGHS for various reasons
including credit defi ciency; I knew for
many, the traditional model of schooling
had not worked for them; I knew Kennedy
may be the last chance to right the ship for
some.
But before I met the students, I met the
one guiding the ship: Haile Ketcher.
In her fi rst year as principal, it was Haile
who was now calling the shots at Kennedy.
In meeting Haile for the fi rst time, my
excitement to be at this school only grew.
Over the course of an hour, Ketcher, who
is ever-so-quick to deliver a joke or show
you a picture of a bear that showed up on
her property, kindly walked me through the
ins-and-outs of the school.
Like teaching a child to ride a bike,
she was kind and patient and helped me
prepare.
She didn’t mind my simple questions
as I tried to fully understand what exactly
this place was. She guided me through the
convoluted (at least to an outsider) workings
of their daily schedule and its intricacies.
(Wait, there are how many cohorts? What
is Odysseyware? What is a Spark? Which
students go to the GED program?)
In one meeting, I understood why a
student, who is going through a number
of struggles both academically and in
their personal life would — and should —
seek out Kennedy. But while Haile’s kind
demeanor and welcoming attitude is at the
forefront of the school, she is certainly not a
one-person show.
In seeing the nuts and bolts of Kennedy, it
is abundantly clear the success comes from
the staff . In general, teachers as a whole are
some of the most overlooked hardworking
individuals. And so, at Kennedy, a school
that is already oft en overlooked, the tireless
work done by the staff can certainly go
unnoticed to an outside observer.
However, with a front-row view to the
teachers, it was impossible to miss the
impact they make.
Whether it’s in their job description or
not, the role of teachers at Kennedy extends
well-past the confi nes of the classroom. For
students who have, in general, had unsteady
lives that are full of question marks and in
many cases a sense of self-doubt, a teacher
is there to both help them learn as well as
help them grow.
And the teachers are the stars of the show.
Th ere is Jess, who was best described
lovingly by Star Posthumus as being
“absolutely amazing. I love Jess. She’s
hilarious. I think it’s because she’s so short,
got so much energy packed into a small
space.”
It’s also Brandi who does everything she
can for students — especially McKinney
Vento students and teen parents — short
of housing them. It’s David and Daniel who
are a powerful one-two punch of charm,
wit and logic. It’s Vickie and Aimee with
Odyseyware; it’s Girin with South Lane
Mental Health; it’s Matt with the Crew
team; it’s Jolie in the offi ce.
It’s all of these pieces together to give
the students more than just a chance to be
successful once they are out of school. It’s
them getting a second, and sometimes third
and fourth and even fi ft h, chance because
that is what they need to fi gure it out and
make things work.
It’s being a place for good kids.
It’s Kennedy.
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS
Oregon state
representatives
Oregon federal
representatives
• Sen. Floyd Prozanski
District 4 State Senator
PO Box 11511
Eugene, Ore. 97440
Phone: 541-342-2447
Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@
state.or.us
• Rep. Cedric Hayden
Republican District 7 State
Representative
900 Court St. NE
Salem, Ore. 97301
Phone: 503-986-1407
Website: www.leg.state.or.
us/hayden
Email: rep.cedrichayden@
state.or.us
• Rep. Peter DeFazio
(House of Representatives)
405 East 8th Ave.
#2030
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: defazio.house.gov/
contact/email-peter
Phone: 541-465-6732
• Sen. Ron Wyden
405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: wyden.senate.gov
Phone: (541) 431-0229
• Sen. Jeff Merkley
Email: merkley.senate.gov
Phone: 541-465-6750
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