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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 2019)
6A | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2019 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Campus from A1 Anderson, Kristina DeVoe and Aydin Berry, walked over to share the meal to- gether. The trio met at Lin- coln Middle School and became best friends. They are regular attenders at the Monday night Campus Life Club. All said they appreciate how inclusive club activi- ties are and they provide a safe and welcoming envi- ronment. “I love all the people in- volved,” Berry said. “They are very nice and caring to everyone.” Anderson agreed and added, “The club activities are fun and very different. We do lots of crazy stuff.” At a different table three other sophomores enjoyed the tacos and each other’s company. Sixteen-year- olds Shelby Trisler and Ian Shepherd and 15-year-olds Evie Smith and McKenzie Baker said they loved the free lunch and it wasn’t as noisy as the high school cafeteria so it was easier SLSD from A1 has been the lead coordi- nator in the SSA process. “This is a pretty big op- portunity for schools in Oregon,” he said. “This kind of funding hasn’t been available in Oregon for a really long time.” Two community input sessions, on Dec. 10 and Dec. 12, saw around 30 community members turn out to ask questions and cast their votes on the best ways to spend the funds. SSA funds are dedicated toward addressing child and student needs, partic- ularly for the underserved segments of the popula- tion. As such, equity is a driving element of the act and members from across the community are re- quired to be part of plan- ning process. Of the SSA’s $2 billion, 20 percent is required to be spent on early learning, 30 percent on statewide initiatives and 50 percent on the Student Investment Account. The Student Investment Account has been the fo- cus of community input sessions. Spending is di- rected toward meeting stu- dents’ mental or behavioral health needs and increas- ing academic achievement by reducing disparities among groups who face challenges and disadvan- tages. Such groups iden- tified by the legislation include students of color, students with disabilities, English language learners, foster children and eco- nomically disadvantaged students. “For about three de- cades in Oregon, we’ve seen a lot of reduction in funding and services that we could provide as pub- lic educators,” said Smith. “Within South Lane, that’s especially difficult because we serve a large amount of students who have those challenges. … Our hope with this is that we start to see more success with those groups of students.” Oregon Department of Education data shows a growing diversity among the student and teacher populations across the state. Though Cottage Grove does not see the same degree of diversity as state averages, partic- ularly among students of color, the district has been able to identify dis- parities among its various groups. In preparation for com- munity input, SLSD un- dertook a data collection Students share a meal Campus Life program. to talk to each other. They don’t attend club meetings but enjoy the weekly free lunch. “The food is good and I love learning more about what’s going on in the community,” Trisler said. His friend Ian chimed in and said the tacos are good and he likes hanging out with his friends. process in which staff pin- pointed trends across the district in specific popula- tions. Data was pulled on more than 20 sources in- cluding reading and math scores, attendance and graduation rates, behavior- al discipline, mental health surveys and participation in career and technical training programs. “We didn’t just ask, ‘What were third graders scoring in reading on the Smarter Balance Assess- ment,’ we said, ‘What are third-grade students of color scoring on the read- ing assessment? What are students that are econom- ically disadvantaged scor- ing on that same gram- mar?’” explained Smith. Based on this data dive, the district presented the community with six sum- mary statements which highlighted areas of con- cern within various under- served groups. Six groups were identified as per- forming lower than peers in at least one area fo- cus: LatinX, black/Native American/American In- dian/multi-racial, special education students, males, homeless or economically disadvantaged, and stu- dents with socio-emotion- al or mental health needs. The statements high- lighted problem areas such as lower test scores, high rates of behavioral disci- pline, low graduation rates and higher levels of stress for particular groups. For example, compared to other students in the state, South Lane eighth- grade students were found to experience more bully- ing, report higher mental health needs and suicide rates, play more video games and get less sleep. The summary state- ments also identified areas where groups performed better than their peers, such as the attendance rates among LatinX stu- dents. Following presentations last week, community members voted on an ar- ray of proposed solutions, which included sugges- tions like increasing coun- As the first students arrived, Lourdes Doer- flinger pulled freshly baked cookies from the oven. She said she has always loved connecting with kids. “I wish I’d had an experience like this when I was growing up,” Doerflinger said. “I do this because I want to create a fun, safe place for kids to enjoy.” High School CL Director PHOTO BY CINDY WEELDREYER Richard New also on ‘Taco Tuesday’ as part of the enjoys the time he shares with youth because After eating, some of the he believes the world is guys gather at the other becoming more and more end of the gym and shoot hoops before heading back challenging for the youth of today. to class. “It seems like there is a When the lunch began lack of available mentors on Oct. 1, the attendance for our next generation,” was 12-15 students. As New said. “I’m just happy I word spread more began have the opportunity to be showing up and now 40- available to be there for our plus students regularly en- future leaders. ” joy the meal. seling services, increasing staff to work with specific populations, expanding Family Resource Center services and providing more afterschool or sum- mer school support. Com- munity members also pro- posed their own solutions. A week prior to the community input sessions, Smith also sat down with 18 students and asked for their opinions on how the money ought to be spent. The students shared stories of adversity and advocated on behalf of the peers in giving feedback. “These are difficult conversations that we’re having — even as adults they’re hard to have — and they handled themselves in an amazing way,” said Smith. Following these input sessions, the district has planned stakeholder meet- ings in January which will focus on input from com- munity members from groups identified in the summary statements, al- lowing different sessions for each group. The district is currently enlisting mem- bers of those groups to es- tablish connections. “All the input we get comes back to our dis- trict-level committee,” said Smith. The committee in- cludes district staff, a par- ent and a student. “That filter is the one we use in order to take a look at all the input that we have and determine next steps.” After distilling the infor- mation, a Student Invest- ment Account plan is slat- ed to be brought before the school board for approval in February and a final ap- plication submitted to the state in March. “It’s a good thing that we’re hearing each other from all different direc- tions,” said Smith. 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