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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2016)
Polk County Education 16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 13, 2016 SCHOOL NOTES Dallas Lions to offer scholarship DALLAS — Dallas Lions Club is ofering a $1,000 scholarship to one graduating high school student who is a Dallas resident. The funds are to be used for tuition at an accredited universi- ty, college or vocational school. Students graduating from Dallas High School, Morrison Cam- pus, an accredited home-school or online school program are eligible to apply. Applications are available at the Dallas High School Guidance Oice. Check www.polkio.com for an online link to an application. All applications must be received by April 1 and may be sub- mitted to the DHS Guidance Oice or Teresa Ozias at Shetterly Irick and Ozias, 189 SW Academy St., Dallas. For more information: 503-623-6695. Kings Valley thanks garden donors JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer Ethan Tingler, left, and Danyelle O’Homeier work with a reading program in Teresa Larios’ class on Thursday. TECH IN THE CLASSROOM LaCreole teachers, students see results with ‘bring your own device’ By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The bell rings, marking the end of Teresa Larios’ reading support class at LaCreole Middle School. A student piped up: “I don’t have to leave, do I?” Larios smiles. She’s heard similar comments from stu- dents since the beginning of the school year, when the school embraced a larger use of technology. “See that? They don’t want to leave,” she said. The source of their enthu- siasm? A program called Reading 180, which is help- ing many of her students improve their reading skills in a familiar way. “They are engaged with technology,” Larios said. “That’s the way they like to learn.” Larios said the program is only one third of the instruc- tion in the class, but it’s pro- ducing results. “Some of these students who are working on their reading have made a year’s worth of progress in two months,” she said. “I don’t know that that is always going to happen or typical, but it’s definitely had a posi- tive impact.” Larios’ students are using Chromebooks purchased by Dallas School District for student use, but in an inno- vative move, the school also is encouraging a “bring your own device” culture. Principal Jamie Richard- son said school staff recog- nized that using technology like cellphones and tablets as a tool for work, not just for entertainment, is an es- sential skill. He said, surprisingly, many students didn’t know how to do that. “It sparked our interest in trying to prepare our kids a little bit better for the futures they going to have,” Richard- son said. “That’s the reason, I think, that we’ve been more willing to step out there be- cause we understand that the skills the kids are going to need, we have some gaps in that, especially when it comes to technology.” All students at LaCreole are taught how to use their personal devices for learn- ing, as well as how to be a “good digital citizen” and digital literacy. “BYOD” comes with some guidelines, as cellphones could be a distraction, but there is a tradeoff: Richard- son said one of the pro- gram’s biggest successes is student engagement. “ T h e r e’s t h a t s h i n y screen,” he said. “It’s typical- ly a little bit more enticing than a textbook.” Larios can attest to that. “It’s changed my teach- ing,” she said. “The kids are more motivated. They are more self-directed and they are more creative.” As if on cue, Ethan Tingler raised his hand to give a re- port on his progress. He was on his way to meeting his next goal. “I like this period,” he said, smiling as he packed up at the end of class. “It’s my favorite period of all.” He said using technology makes reaching his reading goals easier — and more fun. “Sometimes, if we have enough time, we get to play games,” he said. Larios said those aren’t just games, they are replac- ing traditional methods of reviewing material. “It’s a lot more fun than sitting there filling out a worksheet,” she said. She added technology is helping with the age-old teacher’s challenge of engag- ing all students. See BYOD, Page 15A KINGS VALLEY — Kings Valley Charter School’s garden pro- gram is of to a busy year with a new garden to chart out, grants to write and apply for, donations to pick up and structures to build, said Lua Siegel, gardening teacher. Students in the class have been learning how to ind and identify insects, build garden boxes, plant trees and how to use cardboard to kill weeds and prepare for spring planting. Donations have been coming in, Siegel said. Oregon State University 4-H Wilderness donated $200 for Kings Valley Charter School’s garden program. Philomath Shon- nard’s Nursery donated $1,500 in ornamental plants; Seed- Money collected $400 in donations and a lavender sale organ- ized by students raised $7. The program still needs volunteers, Siegel said. Also, as peo- ple split plants in spring, she said the garden program could make use of the excess. “We’d love your edibles or insect-attracting plants,” she said. For more information: lsiegel@kvschool.org. Literacy focuses on close reading INDEPENDENCE — Dori Vickery, in charge of curriculum for Central School District, and three elementary school teachers presented information at Monday’s school board meeting on how fourth-graders are learning to read. The teachers said they are using “close reading” techniques, where students take a short text and read it three times: once for understanding, once to analyze the author’s craft, and once for vocabulary. Students are presented with “stop signs,” which trigger dis- cussion points: contrasts and contradictions, “ah-ha” moments, tough questions, words of the wiser, again and again (repeated words and phrases), and memory moment. Looking for those “stop signs” helps students make intelli- gent predictions and foreshadowing, the teachers noted. Central budget on target for fiscal year INDEPENDENCE — Central School District business manager Cec Koontz said the district is right where it should be at this point in the year, with about 50 percent of expenditures and 50 percent of revenue. She noted that a new freezer had been purchased for Tal- madge Middle School. The budget committee has vacancies in zones 2, 3 and 6. Ap- plications are due by Jan. 22 at 4:30 p.m. The irst budget com- mittee meeting is scheduled for April 18. Koontz said the current budget committee will be recon- vened to make an additional transfer from the curriculum re- serve to the curriculum fund, so that it can be spent on curricu- lum. Also, the committee will need to approve an unanticipated grant from Oregon Department of Education to purchase more local foods from farmers.
