January 2020 • www.baker5j.org
Bulldog Pride
Student Success
The Student Success Act will provide
additional funds in key areas
T
he Student Success Act was signed
into law in May 2019. When fully
implemented the act will invest ap-
proximately $1 billion annually for early
learning and K-12 education.
The SSA will be divided into three
areas: 20% to Early Learning; 50% to the
Student Investment Account; and 30%
for Statewide Education Initiatives.
Half of the SSA funds — $500 mil-
lion — will be designated as the Student
Investment Account and made available
to school districts and charter schools
through non-competitive grants.
Student Investment
Account
The Student Investment Account has
these key areas for improvement:
• Reducing class size
• Increasing instructional time
• Addressing health and safety needs
• Ensuring a well-rounded education
Betty Palmer, assistant superintendent,
helped draft a Continuous Improve-
ment Plan that addresses needs in Baker
School District. She said reducing class
size doesn't apply locally because class-
es are already fairly small compared to
districts on the west side of Oregon.
The health and safety needs compo-
nent, she said, refers to both mental
health for students as well as the safety
of the district's facilities.
Well-rounded educational opportuni-
ties refers to college and career guidance
and counseling, STEM, community
involvement, accelerated learning, and
subject including music, art, history, civ-
ics, economics, geography, government,
foreign language, and environmental
education
The SSA requires school districts to
engage their community to determine
the best investments for students while
What is the Student
Success Act?
From oregon.gov:
During the 2019 legislative session,
Oregon’s leaders made a real com-
mitment to our children, our educa-
tors, our schools and our state with
the passage of the Student Success
Act. When fully implemented, the
Student Success Act is expected to
invest $2 billion in Oregon educa-
tion every two years; that’s a $1
billion investment in early learning
and K-12 education each year. Of
those funds, $200 million goes into
the State School Fund and the re-
maining is distributed into three ac-
counts: the Early Learning Account,
the Student Investment Account
and the Statewide Education Initia-
tives Account.
How do districts get funds?
Some funds are distributed by the
Oregon Department of Education.
For specific programs, districts can
apply for grants.
focusing on mental and behavioral
health, addressing disparities based on
race or disability, and improving teach-
ing and learning conditions.
Palmer presented information about
the SSA at a parent advisory meeting,
and elementary school principals have
included the topic in their talks at the
parent-teacher organizations.
Applications for funds from the
Student Investment Account are due in
March.
7
Meet your
school board
We asked: How long have you lived in Baker City?
How long have you served on the board?
What's your favorite school memory ?
Chris Hawkins
I have lived in Baker for 15 years. I have been on the
school board for six years. My favorite memory from school
is graduating!
Andrew Bryan
Ann and I moved to Baker the first of September 2003.
This is my 10th year on the board.
My favorite memory from school, other than chasing
my friend Noel around the playground in 1st grade in San
Antonio, Texas, at the Keystone School, was being a part of
a small group who started my new public high school's first
literary magazine, Endymion, at James Taylor High School
in Katy, Texas. Did we ever think we were on the road to be
the next Whitmans, Frosts, and Kerouacs!
I later repeated the same experience in college as a Poet-
ics student in the General Honors Program at the University
of New Mexico, where another small group of us students
created Scribendi, a national literary magazine for honors
college students from across the country. This magazine is
still in publication today.
Chris Hawkins
Andrew Bryan
Kevin Cassidy
I was born in Baker in 1970 at what is now St. Elizabeth
Towers. I have served on the school board since 2013 so ap-
proaching seven years.
My fondest memory is the continued lifelong friendships
amongst my classmates and teachers that I still enjoy today!
Kevin Cassidy
Katie Lamb
We've lived in Baker City for 18 years. I've been on the
school for 2.5 years.
My favorite memory is the day I met my best friend. We
met the first day of third grade. Thirty-seven years later, she
is still my best friend.
Katie Lamb
Julie Huntington
I've lived in Baker since 1981. I've been on the school
board for two years. I remember being really excited to be
heading to a new junior high in Great Falls, Montana, from
my small base elementary school. We toured it and were so
excited about the new opportunities we would have.
Julie
Huntington