Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 2016)
Polk County News 14A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 29, 2016 SCHOOL NOTES CCC renames Dallas location Polk DALLAS — Chemeketa Community College’s board of edu- cation voted last week to change the name of its satellite cam- pus in Dallas to “Chemeketa Polk.” The switch more accurately reflects the area the school serves in Polk County, said Board Chairwoman Betsy Earls. “We offer classes in Independence as well as Dallas, and we want all the residents of Polk County to think of Chemeketa as their college,” Earls said. Chemeketa offers a range of college classes at its locations in Dallas and Central High School. This year a building inspec- tion degree program has been added to the college curricu- lum at the Polk Center. There are no plans to move operations and classes from Chemeketa’s Dallas location, added Glen Miller, director in charge of the location. “We’re changing signs and such, but we have no plans to leave our home at 1340 SE Holman Ave.,” Miller declared. DSD board adopts 2016-17 budget JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer file Lyle Elementary School kindergarten teacher Kari Witt reads a book to her class at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. The first year of full-day kindergarten classes had academic highlights, and challenges in other areas. Full-day kinder offers lessons Successes and challenges mark the first year kindergarteners attended all day By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The first year of full-day kindergarten in Dallas School District had students making academic strides, but they had difficul- ty adjusting to spending six hours in class each day. The 2015-16 school year was the first many district across the state held full-day kindergarten, after the state agreed to pay for the added class time. In Dallas, kinder- garteners attended class for six hours and 10 minutes per day, up from two hours and 30 minutes per day in previ- ous years. Kindergarten classes are offered at two elementary schools, Oakdale Heights and Lyle. The principals of those schools, Todd Baugh- man and Caleb Harris, out- lined the successes and chal- lenges of the year for the Dallas School Board at its JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer file Kindergartens at Lyle Elementary line up for recess. June 20 meeting. “I think we’ve learned a lot about what to do with 5-year- olds for six hours and 10 min- utes,” Harris said. “I think our teachers would choose to do things, not completely differ- ent, but they are going to take different approaches, I think, when it comes to September.” The percentage of stu- dents recognizing letters and letter sounds increased from 83 percent at the end of the 2014-15 school year to 92 percent in 2015-16. Harris noted that mid-year assess- ments showed about 80 per- cent of students had mas- tered letters and sounds. Reading achievement in- creased even more. The per- centage of students assessed at or above grade level for kindergarten jumped from 71.5 percent to 84.5 percent. Of those, 64 percent scored very well. Though no formal assess- ments were given, Baugh- man noted that students reached higher levels in writing and numbers. Baughman noted another highlight. “On attendance, overall, we have great news in kinder- garten,” Baughman said. Lyle had 22 students at- tending less than the 92 per- cent threshold, a reduction by half from 2014-15. Oak- dale’s attendance had 23 of 84 (27 percent) students falling below 92 percent compared to 26 of 76 (34 percent) students the year before. Academic improvement in 2015-16 means expectations for what can be learned in kindergarten may need to be revised, Baughman said. See FULL DAY, page 13A DALLAS — The Dallas School District Board adopted the dis- trict’s 2016-17 budget on June 20 with no major changes from the original proposal. The total budget is $47,287,906, with $31.2 million in the general fund. Other funds include: special revenue and grant projects — $2.9 million; debt service fund — $2.2 million; stu- dent activity funds — $1.1 million; capital construction bond projects fund — $7.8 million; and unappropriated funds — $825,000. Polk Parent program expands to Yamhill Itemizer-Observer staff report POLK COUNTY — On Friday, the Polk County Parent Education program will expand into Yamhill County through Yamhill Community Care, thanks to an award from the Oregon Parent Education Collaborative (OPEC) Expansion Grant. The $100,000 grant will be used to coordinate parent education, increase the number of trained parent facil- itators, and expand parent education to all the com- munities in both counties. This award is part of a multi-year initiative developed by The Oregon Com- munity Foundation in partnership with the Meyer Me- morial Trust, The Ford Family Foundation, The Collins Foundation, and Oregon State University. Organizations in Polk and Yamhill have partnered for the past three years with the Mid-Valley Parenting website (www.midvalleyparenting.org) to connect par- ents, caregivers, and the community with parenting classes, workshops, resources, and community family events. Parenting does not come with a handbook; the evi- dence-based parent education classes offered through the grant will help all parents gain some new tools for their parenting toolbox that include child develop- ment, setting rules, school readiness, positive disci- pline strategies, and most importantly self-care strate- gies for parents. Families will also be able to connect with other par- ents and learn that they are not alone in their parent- ing struggles. All parenting classes will be offered with a free meal and free child care. To learn more about parenting education, when the next class is offered, and to register for classes visit www.midvalleyparenting.org.
