Polk County Education
14A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 30, 2016
MES digs out structure
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Stu-
dents, Scouts, parents and
teachers showed up to
Monmouth Elementar y
School on Friday morning,
dodging the rain to dig out
one of three play struc-
tures.
“I’m going to be sore to-
morrow!” MES Principal
Kim Seidel said as she
hauled another load of wet
bark and dirt from the play-
ground.
The outdoor structures at
MES have been flooded for
most of the school year, Sei-
del said.
“Teachers have said how
much of a struggle it’s been
to come outside and play,”
she said. “I had parents ask
about it.”
After talking with people
in the district office and on
the parent-teacher group,
Seidel scheduled a work
day on Friday to get the
playground in playing
order.
Kyleah Medel and Kaily
Jackson, both MES third-
graders, shoveled wet bark
from around the slide into
a waiting wheelbarrow.
“I’m here because I’m
wanting to help the school
get the old bark chips out
and put the new ones in,”
Kyleah said.
The playground was so
bad, caution tape warned
people not to venture onto
the structure, Kyleah said.
“It was really muddy,” she
noted.
“It’s kind of like quicksand
because if you step on it, it
kind of sucks you in,” Kaily
added.
Two tractors were there to
help. One of them, Kyleah’s
dad was driving.
“This is a lot of dirt,” she
said. “So we’re going to have
to work.”
The second tractor was
from someone in the com-
munity, Seidel said. It ar-
rived Thursday night and
got a head start scooping
out the muddy mess.
Board member Steve
Moser directed a group of
Boy Scouts while he shov-
eled.
“What they have here is a
drainage issue,” he said.
“They thought it would
drain into the field. The idea
is that it needs to be raised
up a little so the water can
get out.”
DSD sees uptick
in attendance
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
Kyleah Medel and Kaily Jackson, third-graders at Mon-
mouth Elementary School, help dig out the wet bark and
mud around the playground on Friday morning.
People worked all morn-
ing removing the old materi-
al before putting down a
layer of river rock. On top of
that went some garden
cloth, topped with fresh
bark.
Two more areas need at-
tention, but Seidel said she
will be happy that children
will come back from Spring
Break with at least one area
to get some fresh air and ex-
ercise.
DALLAS — Attendance
rates in Dallas School Dis-
trict are up compared to
the same time last year in
all schools except for one.
Dallas High School,
LaCreole Middle School,
Oakdale and Lyle elemen-
tary schools all had had
higher attendance percent-
ages as of Monday than on
the same date last year.
Whitworth Elementary
School fell just a bit, from
94.11 percent to 94.02 per-
cent.
All schools consistently
exceed the state standard of
92 percent attendance rate,
said Steve Martinelli, direc-
tor of instructional services.
Martinelli said atten-
dance improvement at the
elementary level is largely
due to the implementation
of “positive behavior sup-
port systems,” which rein-
forces good behavior. Full-
day kindergarten, which
began this school year, also
has increased attendance
rates at both schools, mov-
ing from 93.76 percent to
94.02 percent at Oakdale
and 92.35 percent to 94.21
percent at Lyle.
At the middle school,
adding back electives has
helped.
“Students are connecting
to school and enjoying their
course selections,” Mar-
tinelli said.
At Dallas High School, a
mentoring program is help-
ing keep students in class.
“The mentor program has
had an impact giving some
of our at-risk students a pos-
itive adult to connect with at
school,” Martinelli said.
Attendance by percentage
March 2016
Dallas High School
95.41
LaCreole Middle School
94.16
Whitworth Elementary School 94.02
Oakdale Elementary School
94.45
Lyle Elementary School
94.75
March 2015
95.22
93.86
94.11
93.51
93.62
Help us welcome Rev. Fred W. Heard
at his installation as Vicar of
St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Tuesday April 5th 7 PM
EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer
Boy Scouts David Lutz and Sean Stephson help fix the drainage at one of the playgrounds at MES on Friday.
Contact: Janice Wolcott
2484 SW Oakwood Dr., Dallas OR 97338
503-831-5593