November 2, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A
Seaside struggles most with chronic absenteeism
Statewide rate
has worsened
By Edward Stratton
The Daily Astorian
Seaside students contin-
ued to struggle the most with
chronic absenteeism rela-
tive to their peers in Clatsop
County and statewide last
school year.
Chronic absenteeism is
defined as missing at least
10 percent of the school year.
Nearly one-quarter of Sea-
side students were considered
chronically absent last school
year, according to state atten-
dance reports, a nearly 1 per-
cent increase from the year
prior and up 7.5 percent from
2014-15.
Around one-third of Sea-
side kindergartners and high
schoolers last school year
were considered chronically
absent.
“I think that we certainly
need an improvement in our
attendance,” said Sheila Ro-
ley, the school superintendent
in Seaside. “It has become
close to the top of our priority
list.”
The school district has a
highly mobile population,
with families sometimes
moving out of the district and
not letting the district know,
Roley said. Families busy
with work during the summer
also take breaks during the
school year to spend time to-
gether, racking up absences,
SEASIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Seaside School District’s new campus under construc-
tion in the Southeast Hills could impact absenteeism rates.
she said.
The district this year start-
ed a colloquium period during
which students check in with
a teacher or other staff mem-
ber four to five days a week.
Having adult mentors is key
to keeping students engaged,
along with creating interest-
ing academic opportunities,
Roley said.
Seaside will soon move
to a new K-12 campus in the
hills east of the city center. It
remains to be seen whether a
more rural campus cuts into
absenteeism, but the district
will be taking certain mea-
sures in response to the new
location, such as closing cam-
pus during lunch, Roley said.
More than one-fifth of stu-
dents statewide were consid-
ered chronically absent last
school year. The rate is one
of the worst in the nation and
has consistently grown worse
over the past several years
from 15.2 percent in 2013-14.
Aside from Seaside, coun-
ty schools have shown more
progress in regards to the
absenteeism rate and trended
lower than the state. Fewer
than 9 percent of the 157 stu-
dents in the rural K-12 Jewell
School last school year were
chronically absent, far below
the district’s 21.5 percent
rate in 2016-17 and 24.5 per-
cent in 2015-16. Jewell’s rate
was the lowest in the county,
followed by 15.9 percent in
Astoria and 16.8 percent in
Warrenton. Knappa’s chronic
absenteeism rate surpassed
the state’s at 21.7 percent last
year, but was down from 22.3
percent the two years prior.
Astoria’s chronic absen-
teeism rate last school year
decreased by 4 percent over-
all from 2016-17. The school
district recently began the
Strive for Five campaign to
publicize the importance of
attendance. Craig Hoppes,
the school superintendent in
Astoria, said the district has
made a lot of progress, and
has seen the results borne out
in better test scores, but ulti-
mately wants to get below 10
percent chronic absenteeism.
“We’ve never commu-
nicated like this at the high
school or districtwide to par-
ents about the importance of
attendance,” he said of Strive
for Five.
The rate of chronic absen-
teeism has traditionally been
highest among kindergartners
and high school juniors and
seniors. While more than one-
fifth of kindergartners state-
wide were chronically absent,
the rate was only 10 percent
in Jewell, 12.3 percent in As-
toria and 12.8 percent in War-
renton. More than 30 percent
of kindergartners in Knappa
were chronically absent last
school year, along with one-
third in Seaside.
More than 29 percent of
high schoolers were chron-
ically absent statewide,
compared to 23.4 percent
in Astoria and 24.3 percent
in Warrenton. Seaside and
Knappa were the only dis-
tricts to surpass 30 percent
and the statewide rate.
State schools chief Colt
Gill, an appointee of Gov.
Kate Brown, has faced crit-
icism for planning to with-
hold completed school report
cards until after the Novem-
ber election. The report on
chronic absenteeism was due
out more than a week ago, but
had been tentatively pushed
back to Nov. 1 without ex-
planation before a surprise
decision to release complete
school performance data Fri-
day, according to The Orego-
nian.
The state recently created
its own attendance campaign,
Every Day Matters, as part
of a goal of Brown’s to have
90 percent of incoming high
school freshmen graduate
with a diploma or through a
GED exam.
“We know that every day a
student attends school means
an additional opportunity for
learning,” Gill said in a news
release. “Our Every Day Mat-
ters campaign is one part of
a larger effort throughout the
state to improve attendance.
Reducing chronic absentee-
ism requires all of us to do
our part. Schools need to
make sure students are wel-
comed and engaged. Families
need to recognize the impor-
tance of attendance and every
community needs to look at
local barriers that can impact
student attendance.”
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Congresswoman
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Cannon Beach
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
National issues, such as con-
cerns about climate change and
partisan gridlock in Congress,
were at the forefront at a town
hall hosted Sunday, Oct. 21, by
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici.
The visit was a part of a
tour across the 1st Congres-
sional District to answer ques-
tions from constituents. Most
concerns were centered around
whether any progress could be
made on Bonamici’s priorities,
such as expanding health care,
college affordability or curbing
climate change, with a Repub-
lican-held Congress and White
House.
“When I got elected to Con-
gress, I knew I’d be in the mi-
nority, but that doesn’t mean I
expect my constituents to expect
I do nothing because I’m in the
minority party,” the Demo-
crat said. “You find common
ground.”
Bonamici cited her work
with Rep. Don Young, R-Alas-
ka, to develop the Save Our
Seas Act, a bill that reautho-
rizes the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s
marine debris Program through
2022. She also mentioned bipar-
tisan work with then-Rep. Jim
Bridenstine, R-Okla., that was
necessary to pass the Weather
Forecasting Improvement Act
of 2014, a bill aimed at better-
ing coordination of NOAA’s
research and forecasting opera-
tions.
While bipartisanship is pos-
sible, Bonamici said she is con-
cerned about the lack of over-
sight she feels lawmakers have
over the Trump administration.
Bonamici highlighted the U.S.
Department of Education and
the Environmental Protection
Agency, in particular.
“The current Congress has
not done a good job to provide
oversight to this administra-
tion,” Bonamici said. “We’ve
seen story after story about them
not doing their job or about a
culture of corruption … we need
to crack down where oversight
is needed.”
This issue dovetailed into
the concerns some in the audi-
ence had about whether a recent
report published by the Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate
Change — a group of scientists
convened by the United Nations
— was being taken seriously by
Congress. The report described
the global effects of climate
change by 2040.
Bonamici said, as a member
of the House Science, Space
and Technology Committee,
she was disappointed by the
Trump administration’s lack of
response to the report.
“The administration didn’t
even understand who (the Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate
Change) were,” she said.
Bonamici said she still be-
lieves progress can be made
through educating people and
communicating about issues
like ocean acidification and re-
newable energy resources, and
that those conversations need to
be tethered to job retraining and
education in the oil and coal in-
dustries.
“We can grow our renew-
able energy industry,” Bonamici
said. “But we have to talk about
it in a way where those work-
ing in industries like coal don’t
feel like we’re taking away their
livelihood and their whole his-
tory.”
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CANNON BEACH POLICE LOG
Oct. 12
Four incidents of overnight camp-
ing are reported.
11:05 p.m., 400 block 12th Avenue:
Police assist Seaside Police breaking
up a house party where subjects
were arrested.
Oct. 13
One incident of overnight camping
is reported.
10:15 p.m., Second Street: Police
respond to a report of an intoxi-
cated female who ran away from
her mother following a verbal argu-
ment. Police are unable to locate.
Mother called police back later to
say her daughter was returning to
the hotel.
Oct. 14
Seven incidents of overnight
camping are reported.
Oct. 15
11:22 a.m., 300 block N. Chinook:
Police respond to a request for a
welfare check. The person is fine.
Oct. 16
4 p.m., Highway 101: Police assist
Oregon State Police with a motor
vehicle accident.
who tells police she is concerned
her neighbors are bikers and devil
worshippers. Police speak with the
neighbors, who are a family with
young children. No bikers or devil
worshipping found.
Oct. 22
5:11 p.m., 1100 block Spruce: Police
respond to a disturbance between
neighbors.
Oct. 20
Oct. 17
Three incidents of overnight camp-
ing are reported.
6:18 p.m., Haystack Rock: Police
assist with a water rescue.
Oct. 18
One incident of overnight camping
was reported.
11:56 a.m., Police headquarters: A
lost necklace is reported.
2:09 a.m., Police transport to
hospital for medical attention an
intoxicated woman reported on
Broadway for refusing to leave
a business; in the patrol car, the
woman banged her head against
the cage in the car.
Three incidents of overnight camp-
ing are reported.
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Oct. 24
8:53 a.m., Highway 101: A possibly
injured owl reported on the highway
is gone on police arrival.
3:24 p.m., Police assist a person
locating their vehicle.
Oct. 25
Oct. 21
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5:37 p.m., Police assist motorist with
a dead battery.
7:36 p.m., Highway 101: Police assist
with a situation where a car drove
into a ditch.
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One incident of overnight camping
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