September 7, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A
Looking ahead to the new school year
Merging climate
and culture
More school days might
not equal more school time
By Katherine Lacaze
For Cannon Beach Gazette
By Paris Achen
The eventual campus relo-
cation, slated for 2020, is an
ever-present focal point for
the Seaside School Districts,
but administrators remain con-
centrated on day-to-day oper-
ations and long-term strategic
planning as they head into the
2018-19 school year.
Teachers returned to their
respective schools to prepare
for classes to start after La-
bor Day, when an estimated
1,580 students – kindergarten
through 12th grade — will
continue their education.
“The momentum of our
school district right now is
really strong,” said Jeremy
Catt, who is transitioning into
a position as vice principal of
both The Heights Elementary
School and Gearhart Elemen-
tary School. “With the strate-
gic planning work we’re do-
ing, the building work on our
new campus, and the reorga-
nization of our administrative
staff, there’s a lot of energy
and positive momentum.”
With John McAndrews
departing as principal of The
Heights, the school district
began blending the adminis-
tration for the two elementary
schools in preparation for the
eventual relocation to the new
campus currently under con-
struction.
“It gives us a really good
opportunity to start merging
our climate and culture at both
buildings,” said Juli Wozniak,
who will be principal of both
schools. “When we come to-
gether (in 2020), both staff
will know both Jeremy and I,
so it will be a much smoother
transition, is what I’m hoping
for.”
Wozniak will have her
office at The Heights while
Catt will be headquartered in
Gearhart. Both administrators,
however, will share responsi-
bilities at the two facilities.
“Juli and Jeremy will be a
great team,” said Sheila Roley,
who is going into her third year
as the district’s superintendent.
In the past, the elementary
schools have worked togeth-
er frequently through regu-
lar grade-level meetings and
teachers collaborating with
and supporting one another
for professional development,
Capital Bureau
KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Parents and students attend registration at Gearhart Elementary School in preparation for
the start of the 2018-19 school year.
lesson-planning and prob-
lem-solving. They will contin-
ue focusing on and increasing
that collaboration moving for-
ward, Wozniak said.
The school district also has
hired 21 new staff members,
including teachers, education-
al assistants and administrative
staff. Lynne Griffin is the new
director of special services, the
position formerly held by Catt.
Strategic planning
As with each new school
year, Roley said they are ap-
proaching the 2018-19 year
with a “fresh new mindset,”
and other administrators
shared a similar attitude.
“It’s very exciting for ev-
erybody,” director of curricu-
lum Sande Brown said. “It’s
an opportunity for a new start,
to be the best we all can be and
do the best job we can.”
Since the beginning of the
calendar year, the school dis-
trict has been in the process
of forging a strategic plan
containing long-term goals to
“make sure we’re always in a
continuous mode of improve-
ment for the outcomes for our
kids,” Roley said. The process
began with a survey and focus
groups to obtain buy-in and
opinions from stakeholders
across a broad spectrum, from
administrators and teachers to
parents and community mem-
bers.
During a regular meeting
Aug. 14, the Seaside School
Board adopted a new mission
statement and beliefs and val-
ues statement as part of the
strategic planning process.
The district will create goals
within a five-year time frame,
and then work backward to de-
termine what steps need to be
taken in what order to move
toward those goals, Brown
said.
“They’re all our kids, what-
ever level they’re at,” she said,
adding the district’s responsi-
bility is “making sure we have
the right scope and sequence
in place to support them all the
way through.”
According to Roley, the
district has not had a strategic
plan that’s been so formalized
and comprehensive in years
past.
“We’ve always had goals
for our students, at both a
classroom level and building
level,” she said. “We’re tak-
ing a fresh look to make sure
all the things we do for the
students is going to get them
where they need to be.”
Roley herself is balancing
the campus relocation and con-
struction project, which she
described as “a big part of my
work,” with business as usu-
al and day-to-day operations.
She feels, though, that from
the project consultants and the
school board to principals and
assistant principals, she has
“wonderful people with me
every step of the way.”
In the long run, she said,
“both our strategic plan and
our physical location will give
us a lot more tools to support
kids.”
Evolving approaches
As for instruction, the dis-
trict is adopting new health cur-
riculum at the middle and high
school levels. Each year, the
district re-adopts the curricu-
lum for one area of instruction,
so subjects are updated every
seven years. They choose one
subject per year for budgetary
reasons and to not strain the
instructional staff, Brown said.
Next year, the new curriculum
will be for social studies.
Additionally, “as a district,
we are kicking off our move to
training our administrators and
teachers, and eventually teach-
ing assistants, in Constructing
Meaning strategies,” Brown
said.
Constructing
Meaning
— although originally an En-
glish Language Development
curriculum based in language
acquisition research — is a
comprehensive approach for
Gov. Kate Brown
and Rep. Knute Buehler,
GOP nominee for gover-
nor, have both proposed
a mandate for a minimum
180-day school year — in
line with the national av-
erage.
At an average of 162
days (it differs for each
school district), Oregon
has one of the shortest
school years in the nation.
The only state law that
dictates how long students
have to be in class sets a
minimum number of in-
structional hours: 900 for
elementary and middle
school pupils, 990 for
grades 9-11 and 960 for
grade 12.
Yet neither candidate’s
education policy proposal
specifically augments the
number of instructional
hours.
When asked how Bue-
hler would address in-
structional hours, he said
he would “increase the
minimum required aca-
demic hours proportionate
to the extra days.”
“Every Oregon child
deserves a full and quality
developing English proficien-
cy to help students read, write
and speak more proficiently,
which then helps them prog-
ress in all areas of learning,
Brown said.
In conjunction with strate-
gic planning, staff district-wide
has been divided into three co-
horts to be trained in the Con-
structing Meaning instruction
method during the next three
years. In Brown’s experience,
for students exposed to this
approach, “their writing is
so much more polished and
thoughtful and supported.”
It also encourages them to
education,” he said. “Un-
fortunately, too many kids
for too many years have
been denied this,”
Kate Kondayen, a press
secretary in the governor’s
office, said a longer school
year would “likely” re-
sult in more instructional
hours “but not automati-
cally.” It would depend on
the district and its existing
school calendar.
“The governor wants
to ensure that Oregon’s
students have the same
access to opportunities for
learning as students in oth-
er states that have longer
school years,” Kondayen
said.
An increase in instruc-
tional time with a certified
teacher has shown to im-
prove literacy and math
achievement, though with
small effects, according
to a study by the Nation-
al Center for Education
Evaluation and Regional
Assistance in July 2014.
Longer instructional time
had a greater impact for
students who were previ-
ously performing below
standards or who had at-
tention deficit, hyperactiv-
ity or other disorders, the
study found.
speak more in the classroom to
practice processing ideas and
thoughts out loud.
Brown also is looking
forward to consolidating the
district’s schools into one
campus for both primary and
secondary education, and they
are testing programs and cur-
riculum in anticipation of that
transition.
“There are some opportu-
nities that will present them-
selves by having all our ex-
perts and kids in one place,”
she said. “We’ll be able to
more efficient in our services
and our time.”
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I’d like you to join me in welcoming, Eric J. Anderson , who is a new
addition to our community. Eric is no stranger to the area or to the Hughes-
Ransom Mortuaries, and has on occasion temporarily filled in to help at both
the Seaside and Astoria Mortuaries. Some may recall that Eric was one of the
funeral directors involved in the 2016 funeral services for fallen Seaside Police
Officer, Jason Goodding, when he was tragically killed in the line of duty.
When a full time vacancy became available at Hughes-Ransom, Eric moved
back to Oregon to from Park Rapids, MN. His arrival this spring has been a
most welcome and much appreciated addition by the professional staff.
Eric was born and raised in Fosston, Minnesota the youngest of seven chil-
dren. Being 100% Norwegian, Eric is very familiar with our local European
heritage. Eric attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota before
graduating from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor’s Science Degree
in Mortuary Science. Soon after graduating from college, Eric moved to
Eugene, OR and worked in the funeral business 18 years.
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Eric is the proud father of three children, a son Drew who is in the Marines,
currently stationed in Twenty Nine Palms, Ca and two daughters, Isabella who
are attending college in Wyoming and Olivia whom in attending school in
Minnesota. Eric enjoys the outdoors, golfing, fishing, hunting and camping.
Eric’s experience with midwestern traditions and west coast experience is a
great addition to the community.
~ The Hughes Ransom Family
Member FDIC
Equal Housing Lender