Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 4, 2004 - THREE
State report cards in need of improvement
By Wade Smith, Heppner Schools
State o f O regon At the high
principal
s c h o o l w e r e c e iv e d a
R ecently I received “ S atisfactory” rating under
the State R eport C ards for academ ic achievem ent when
b o th H e p p n e r H ig h an d 70 percent o f our students met
Elementary Schools Needless the reading know ledge and
to say, I am frustrated with the skills tests (11 percent above
ratings that we received In my the state average), 70percent
opinion, there are severe flaws o f our students met the math
in the State R eport C ards, knowledge and skills tests (16
e s p e c ia lly w h e n w e ll p e r c e n t a b o v e th e s ta te
perform ing schools such as average), 86 percent o f our
H eppner’s are graded under students met the math problem
the S ta te ’s “one size fits all” so lv in g te s ts (3 4 p e rc e n t
grading schem e A lthough I above the state average!) and
have voiced my concerns with 78 percent o f our students met
the State of Oregon by phone, the w riting benchm arks (a
email, and fax, I have yet to mere 4 percent below the state
h e a r b a c k r e g a r d in g th e average). W hat percentage
questions that I posed Below above the state average does
is a b rief synopsis o f a letter a school need to be to at least
that I posted to M r D oug be considered “ Strong?”
Im provem ent:
Kosty, Director ofTechnology
W
e
r e c e iv e d
a
and Inform ational R esource
“
Stayed
A
bout
T
he
Sam
e”
M anagem ent at the O regon
rating for the im provem ent
Department o f Education
c
a te g o r y
at
H eppner
A s m any o f you
Elementary
with
the
following
know , a school can receive
data:
reading
scores
improved
any o n e o f th e fo llo w in g
ratings: Exceptional, Strong, from 90 percent to 93 percent
S a tis f a c to r y , L o w , an d and m ath im proved from 80
U n a c c e p ta b le T h is y e a r percent to 90 percent since
H eppner High School again last year. O ver a four-year
received a “ Satisfactory” and trend Heppner Elementary has
Heppner Elementary received im proved 16 percent in our
a “ S trong,” dow n from last reading scores, 13 percent in
y ear’s “E xceptional” rating o u r m a th s c o r e s , an d
T he ra tin g sc a le u se d to decreased a mere 1 1 percent
determ ine a sch o o ls’ overall in atten d an ce rates (w hich
s c o re is b a s e d on th e pencils out to a handful o f
students missing only one more
following:
day o f school!) H ow is a 29
|Overall Rating = "‘Student
percent im provem ent in test
Performance + * Student
, Behavior + "‘Improvement + scores and a mere 1 1 percent
decrease in student attendance
""School Characteristics
“
Stayed A bout The Sam e9”
Following is the letter
H ow m uch im provem ent do
I sent to M r Kosty:
we
have to m ake over a four-
D ear M r Kosty,
y
e
a
r tre n d to re c e iv e an
I have a few questions
“
Improved”
rating9 Have you
ab o u t o u r re p o rt card for
made
any
adjustments
in your
H eppner Elem entary School
and Heppner High School, and “ form ulas” for schools, like
look forward to your response ours, that have reached the
9 0 lh p e rc e n tile in te s tin g
to the following questions:
perform ance9 W hat happens
A c a d e m i c
if
and w h e n ,w e reach 100
A chievem ent:
p
e
r c e n t o f o u r s tu d e n ts
At
H eppner
E le m e n ta r y S c h o o l w e p a s sin g ? H o w a re w e to
received a “ S tro n g ” rating receive an “Im proved” rating
under academic achievement when you can’t improve on a
w h e n 93 p e r c e n t o f o u r 100 percent passing rate9 I
students passed the reading find it extremely ironic that we
tests (which by the way is 10 received an “ Improved” rating
p e r c e n t a b o v e th e s ta te last year with similar results
average) and 90 percent o f our Likewise, at the high school,
students passed the math test w e also received a “ Stayed
(11 percent above the state About The Same” rating with
average) W hat percentage the follow ing data: reading
p e e d s to be rea c h e d by a im proved from 62 percent to
-school to be c o n s id e r e d 70 percent, m ath im proved
e x c e p tio n a l9 95 p e rc e n t? from 63 percent to 70 percent,
“Every single student passing at and o u r a tte n d a n c e ra te s
100 percent9 In my opinion, I im proved to 93 1 percent
will be celebrating o u r 90+ L ik e w is e , h o w can a 15
percent scores w ith my staff percent increase in testing and
and students as “Exceptional” im p ro v e d a tte n d a n c e be
testing results I find it ironic considered “ Stayed A bout
that 90 percent will earn any The Same?”
student an “A” in any class, but
is not good enough for the
A tte n d a n c e a n d
B ehavior:
At o u r e le m en ta ry
school we received a “Strong”
rating under attendance and
behavior and the high school
receiv ed an “ E x c e p tio n a l”
rating A lthough I agree that
these scores are reflective o f
our school ’ s strong attendance
and extrem ely low dropout
rates, I find it questionable that
“ Student B ehavior” can be
ju d g ed solely on attendance
and dropout rates
School
C h a ra c te ristic s:
Both schools received
“ E x c e p tio n a l” ra tin g s fo r
school characteristics with our
high student test participation
s c o r e s a n d a 0 p e rc e n t
ex p u lsio n ra te I have no
concerns over this category
and rating scale
Again, I em phasize
t h a t th e r e a re s e v e re
inadequacies in the State o f
O r e g o n ’s R e p o r t C a rd
system The D epartm ent o f
Education has touted that the
report card is valuable in that
it,
“ ..c o m m u n i c a t e s
inform ation to parents about
school
p ro g re ss
and
achievem ent
in a clear,
concise, w ell-defined, and
understandable [way] ” You
a ls o s ta te th a t th e “ . .
inform ation is valid, stable,
and reliable.” I disagree It is
discouraging that schools that
start “tow ards the bottom ” o f
p e r f o r m a n c e le v e ls an d
increase their test scores to
“ a v e ra g e le v e ls” receiv ed
“ Im p ro v e d ” ra tin g s [(ex.
M eadow Park Middle School:
reading scores (65 percent to
72 percent), math scores (55
percent to 75 percent) and
declined attendance scores by
1.1 p e r c e n t r e c e iv e d an
“ Improved” rating)] where as
w e h a v e “ r e a c h e d th e
perform ance ceiling” at 90+
p e rc e n t
at
H eppner
Elementary School and earned
a discouraging “Stayed About
The Same” improvement and
m ere “ S tro n g ” perform ance
ratings
I am proud o f my staff
and students w ho have put
forth trem endous tim e and
effort into their performances
on the S tate T ests I look
forw ard to celebrating our
a c h ie v e m e n ts w ith o u r
stu d e n ts and c o n stitu e n ts
A lthough our R eport Card
ra tin g s do n o t a c c u ra te ly
reflect our accom plishments,
the discouragem ent it brings
will not slow our steadfast goal
o f continued im provem ent
W e will ju st have to sit and
wait for the rest o f the state to
“ c a tc h
up”
to
our
“ Satisfactory” scores
Respectfully,
W ade A. Smith
Principal
H eppner Schools
* Behavior Rating For
elementary and middle schools
the Student Behavior rating is
based on a tte n d an c e rates
during the tw o m ost recent
school years, 2001-2002 and
2002-2003 For high schools
the Student B ehavior rating
will be based on attendance
and dropout rates during the
tw o most recent school years,
2001-2002 and 2002-2003
"■ Im p ro v e m e n t
R ating T he Im provem ent
rating is based on improvement
during the past four years in
perfo rm an ce on statew id e
assessments, attendance, and
dropout rates
* S c h o o 1
C haracteristics The School
Characteristics rating is based
on o n e in d ic a to r
th e
percentage o f eligible students
that particip ate in O regon
Statewide Assessments
“Sad is Not Bad" program receives
donation
"■St ude nt
Perform ance: T he Student
Perform ance Rating will be
based on student performance
o n O re g o n
S ta te w id e Arletha Brannon, treasurer for the Morrow County
A ssessm ents during the tw o Employees AFSCM E Union Local 2497 (includes
m ost recen t school years, employees from the court house, road department and
2001-2002 and 2002-2003. the hospital) presented Molly Rhea, Hospice Director,
For elem entary and m iddle with a check for $350 for the "Sad is Not Bad” program,
which helps educators and others talk to children about
s c h o o ls
th e
S tu d e n t
grief.
P erfo rm an ce ratin g is the
average o f scores on Reading
and M ath K now ledge and
Skills statew ide assessm ents
over the last tw o years For
high sc h o o ls the S tu d e n t
Perform ance rating will be
c a lc u la te d as a w e ig h te d
com pilation o f the Reading,
M ath Know ledge and Skills,
W riting, and M ath Problem
Solving tests
50th Anniversary
Debt Free class
to be held in
Boardman
D ebt
F re e
and
Prosperous Living is the title
o f a s e m in a r o f fe r e d on
Thursday, Feb. 19. The class
is scheduled from 6-9 p.m., at
the Boardman Center of Blue
Mountain Community College.
T h is w o rk s h o p is
d e sig n e d for m iddle class
A m ericans who want a debt-
fre e , stre s s-fre e life sty le .
Would you like to pay off your
consum er debt, credit cards,
car payment, etc. in one to five
years? Then pay o ff your 30-
year mortgage in another three
to four year? You can do this
with your current income- no
second jo b or living like a
h e r m it. L e a rn s p e c if ic
powerful and proven strategies
that work- every single time.
This workshop utilizes
a linear m ath, critical path
technology to eliminate all your
debts. Bring a list o f your
debts w ith current balances,
monthly payments and interest
rates (principle and interest
only for mortgages) along with
a calculator to class. D uring
the seminar, you will develop
your own debt elimination plan
th a t can be im p le m e n te d
immediately into your lifestyle.
Tuition is $35 and pne-
r e g is tr a tio n is r e q u ir e d .
Minimum enrollment level must
b e m e t in o r d e r fo r th e
instructor to hold the class. Call
4 81-2099 or 4 2 2 -7 0 4 0 for
more information.
Rebekah Lodge
hosting card
party
The Holly Rebekah
Lodge will hold a card party
this Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7:30
p.m . at th e lo d g e h all in
L exington. C ost is $4 per
person. Everyone is invited to
attend.
Give the gift of Fitness
for your Valentine!
Buy one month for him / her,
get one month free for yourself!
(Good through February only)
G ift c e rtific a te s a v a il
able
Fitness Center
/if the Heffner video Store)
676-8223
Wisharts
Jim and Cam Wishart are celebrating their 5011’ wedding
anniversary with an Open H ouse at the H eppner U nited
M ethodist Church, Saturday, Feb. 28,2004, from 2-4 p.m.
The W isharts were m arried Feb. 20, 1954. at St.
M ark’s Episcopal Church in Hood River.
They have four children. Sally Brown of Bonneau. SC,
Susan Combs o f Prairie City. Jimmy Wishart o f Pendleton and
John Wishart o f Hood River. They have six grandchildren and
three great-grandchildren.
Jim is retired from banking and Cam works part-time
at Murray Drugs. During their marriage, they have lived in H<xxJ
River, Union. Prairie City, Arlington and Heppner.
Please join them in their celebration. No gifts, please.
Dave Hall takes office as NASAE
H eppner FFA chapter.
president
[From the laiCirande Observer!
Former Wallowa High
Sch(X)l FFA advisor Dr. David
H a ll, to o k o f f ic e a s th e
P resid en t o f the N ational
Association o f Supervisors of
A g r ic u ltu r a l E d u c a tio n
(N A SA E) on Jan. 1.
H a ll, a g r ic u ltu r e
education specialist for the
M ontana O ffice o f Public
Instruction, has been serving
as the president elect of the
N A SA E. His election to the
presidency took place during
the NASAE Annual meeting in
Louisville. KY. The NASAE
represents the hundreds of
state staff working in behalf of
Agricultural Education/FFA,
across the nation.
O ne o f H all’s duties
will be to continue serving a
three-year term as a m em ber
o f th e U n ite d S ta te s
D epartm ent o f E ducation's
N a tio n a l
C o u n c il
fo r
A g r ic u ltu r a l E d u c a tio n .
According to Dr. Larry Case.
U S D E C o o r d in a to r fo r
A g r ic u ltu r a l a n d R u ral
Education. 'T heaxincil serves
as the voice for agricultural
education. Dr. H all’s peers
have placed significant trust in
his abilities”
Hall has been involved
in agricultural education and
the FFA O rganization since
1964. w hen he jo in e d the
<
He
was a very active m em ber
during high schtxil and served
the O regon FFA A ssociation
as a state FFA officer. He was
later elected student body
p resident at O regon State
L lniversity w here he a lso
se rv e d as c o lle g ia te FFA
president. He taught high
s c h o o l a g r ic u ltu r e f o r a
c o m b in e d 14 y e a rs at
W allowa and C rook County
h ig h s c h o o ls . He w a s a
member o f the ag ed faculty at
Penn State University for eight
years and has been the ag dd
specialist/state FFA advisor in
M ontana since 1997.
Hall is the son of Gene
and Harriet Hall of Heppner.
Spaghetti Feed at
basketball game
T h e r e w ill be a
Spaghetti Feed on Saturday.
Feb. 7 from 4-6:30 p.m.. at
Heppner High Sch(x>l during
the Heppner versus Sherman
County games. Menu includes:
s p a g h e tti. F re n c h b re a d ,
salad, dessert and beverage.
Cost is $5 per plate.
CUSTOM
BANNERS
Heppner
Gazette-Times
676-9228