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.