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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 2015)
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 28, 2015 17A Polk County Schools/Education Central School District seeks survey feedback By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer Oregon State University student Sara Black shows Oakdale Heights first-grader Gabe Decker, center, his fingerprint, which he is examining closely with a magnifying glass. Science: Demonstrations provide hands-on learning Continued from Page 18A “We want kids excited about science and have the understanding that science is something you do, not something you read about,” Haak said. It didn’t take much to con- vince Oakdale third-grader Ariana Bobeda of the fun that could be had with science. She and her younger sister, Addison, spent a lot of time at the booth that looked as though it featured a witch’s caldron. Actually, the steam bubbling out of the glass jar was the combination of dry ice and warm water. The girls — and many other interested students — filled plastic cups with the steam, which looked like dense fog, and watched with amazement as it evaporated before their eyes. When asked what her fa- vorite booth at the event was, it didn’t take Ariana long to answer. “I like this one,” she said, pointing to the frothing jar and then explaining the reac- tion. “It’s a huge bubble of steam. … It’s carbon dioxide.” Ariana said she’s thinking about being a scientist when she grows up, saying, “I want to experiment with water, make it fizz and bubble. “I love science,” she con- tinued. “You get to experi- ment and do cool stuff.” Oakdale Heights Principal Caleb Harris said a parent of a student, Marita Barth, a chemistry instructor at OSU, suggested and helped coor- dinate bringing the event to Dallas. “This is one of the areas, because of time constraints, that we don’t have the op- portunity to do as much,” Harris said. “With this, we can invest time back into it.” Barth said the kid-friendly experiments — some of which, like the fingerprinting booth she hosted, were de- lightfully messy — served as a great introduction to science. “They think things are cool and that is a good start,” she said. “That’s how kids get into science.” Whitworth teacher is honored Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — Lynden Jones, a fourth- grade teacher at Whitworth Elemen- tary School in Dallas, was presented with the Dallas Distinguished Educa- tor Award for January on Friday. Jones was nominated by Jeff and Jaime Hevener, parents of a student in her class. “Words cannot describe how much it has meant to us as parents for a teacher to care so much about our child,” Jaime said. “She has greatly impacted our child’s life.” Her son added: “Mrs. Jones is pretty awesome.” The Distinguished Educator Pro- gram recognizes “excellence in teaching and learning” in Dallas School District schools. Jones INDEPENDENCE — Cen- tral School District wants to know what you think about how it communicates and where you get your infor- mation about the district. To investigate how to bet- ter improve communica- tion, Jill Love, who is a pri- vate contractor in marketing and communication, was hired on a six-month con- tract to survey the commu- nity and district employees. “I will focus on improving communication both inter- nally within the district as well as externally to parents, businesses and the commu- nity,” Love said. Communication is key, said Superintendent Buzz Brazeau. “It’s not necessarily some- thing we feel we’ve done as good a job at lately, and we want to get better,” he said. The first steps in reaching out include a survey — available both online and in paper format. The paper surveys are available at each school building and at both Independence and Mon- mouth public libraries. Love hopes the survey will reveal how district employ- ees, students and the com- munity view Central Schools, what they see as its strengths and weaknesses, and how they get their information. “I will analyze (the re- sults) for themes and a clear picture of how Central School District is perceived internally as well as exter- nally,” Love said. The information then will be taken to the board to de- cide how to use it, Brazeau said. The contract with Love is capped at $20,000 and charged on an hourly basis. Afterward, the cost will de- pend on what steps the dis- trict takes to improve com- munication, such as a new website. A new website would need to be maintained, which also would cost money, Brazeau said. “We’ll have to make deci- sions,” he said. “It’s budget time, so it’s the perfect time to do it.” The survey is 18 ques- tions in both English and Spanish. Including identify- ing information such as name and phone number is optional. Take the online survey at: https://www.surveymon- key.com/s/13JCommunica- tion. Dallas superintendent search committee appointed by board By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The commit- tee charged with narrowing the field of Dallas school su- perintendent applicants will be getting to work soon. The Dallas School Board approved the list of commit- tee members, 27 in all, rep- resenting district adminis- trators, teachers, classified staff, parents and commu- nity members, city officials and business leaders. Community members on the committee include: Dal- las Police Chief Tom Simp- son; George Fisher, repre- senting Dallas Rotary Club; Brittney Rettler-Thomas and Bob Brannigan, repre- senting the Dallas Area Chamber of Commerce; Mi k e Ho l l a n d ; A n g e l a Munkers; Marita Barth; Dal- las City Councilor Jim Fairchild; Clinton Branum, representing Rotary; and Brent DeMoe, Polk County’s Family & Community Out- reach manager. The screening committee will meet Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. for training and to begin screening applicant resumes with the objective determining which candi- dates should be scheduled for interviews. A potentially lengthy process, the committee also is scheduled to meet Feb. 12-13 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days. If needed, com- mittee members could meet Feb. 14, as well. The school board will meet Feb. 16 to review the screening committee results and officially select those candidates to be invited for interviews. If all goes according to plan, initial interviews and community meet-and- greets with finalists will be conducted in February and early March, with the dis- trict possibly naming its next superintendent in March. The new superin- tendent will begin July 1. In other business on Monday, the Dallas School Board: • Learned that imple- menting a full-day kinder- garten program during the 2015-16 school year would only cost an additional $4,000, most of which would be in equipment and supplies costs. That figure is assuming no substantial in- crease in enrollment. Nine classrooms between Oak- dale Heights and Lyle ele- mentary schools would be needed to accommodate moving to a full-day sched- ule, if the board decided to go that route. If enrollment stays steady, class sizes are estimated to be about 20 to 21 students.