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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 23, 2015)
FROM PAGE A1 A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 3UHVHQWDWLRQVSURPRWHEHQH¿WVRIHDUO\FROOHJHVDYLQJV started in 2001 and is avail- Staff Writer able in all school districts, A pilot program will re- the new Be College Ready mind parents about the im- program was designed portance of saving for their to better educate parents DERXWWKHEHQH¿WVRIKLJK- children to attend college. Michael Parker, execu- er education and how to tive director of the Oregon reach their college plan- College Savings Plan, said ning goals, Parker said. Hermiston elementary children whose parents have a savings account in students received folders, the child’s name are three bookmarks, pencils and times more likely to enroll pens as a reminder about in college and four times college savings earlier this \HDU DQG QRZ 2&63 RI¿- more likely to graduate. To help stress the impor- cials will provide informa- tance of college savings, tive sessions and answer Parker said the organiza- TXHVWLRQV GXULQJ SUHVHQ- tion created the Be College tations for their parents. Ready program this year. The presentations will take +HUPLVWRQZDVRQHRI¿YH place in English from 5:30- school districts in the state 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at both selected to participate in Sandstone Middle School and Armand Larive Middle WKH¿UVW\HDU While the Oregon Col- School, followed by Span- lege Savings Plan — a ish versions from 6:30- state-administered plan 7:30 p.m. Free pizza will ZLWK WD[ EHQH¿WV ² ZDV be served at the events. Although the Be Col- lege Ready program tar- gets elementary students, the information is valuable for any level of students saving for college. Parker said many peo- ple are not aware of the WD[EHQH¿WVRIXWLOL]LQJWKH Oregon College Savings Plan. Earnings from the savings plan are tax free at the state and federal level, he said, and the state also offers a tax deduction each year deposits are made. Parker said parents have three primary options to help their children avoid student debt: savings, scholarships and current income. “The more you can put in a plan over time, the less you’re going to have to borrow or the less you’re going to have to shell out as you’re working,” he said. “Saving for college is really the way to offset those costs.” Michelle Jensen, Herm- iston School District’s co- ordinator of strategic ini- tiatives, said the district is excited to participate in the program that she believes ZLOOKDYHDVLJQL¿FDQWLP- pact on college attendance. -HQVHQ VDLG ¿QDQFLDO barriers are a large concern IRU¿UVWJHQHUDWLRQFROOHJH students. While working on her Ph.D. dissertation, she said she presented in- formation with different themes about going to col- lege to young students. “The day that I present- HG D OHVVRQ DERXW ¿QDQFHV and college was the day WKDW,VDZDVLJQL¿FDQWLQ- crease in the way that stu- dents felt about themselves going to college,” she said. “The bottom line is, as we teach students about how to pay for college, they be- lieve they can go.” Many students have of- ten decided whether or not to attend college by the seventh grade, Jensen said, and a major factor in that GHFLVLRQ LV WKH ¿QDQFLDO ability to pay. She said one of the best aspects of the Be College Ready program was that it targeted not only the students but also the parents with informa- WLRQ DERXW WKH EHQH¿WV RI saving when the students are young. “When parents are sav- ing for college, the stu- dents know they have their family’s support to go to college,” she said. For more information about the Oregon College Sav- ings Plan, visit oregoncol- legesavings.com or call 866-772-8464. INSKO: up at the university. Ins- ko then attended himself, playing basketball and earning a degree in math and a degree in business and economics. “This is truly a position of passion for me,” he said. “I’m really excited about what we’re going to do at EOU.” Cam Preus, president of Blue Mountain Commu- nity College, which hosted the reception at the Eastern Oregon Higher Education Center where both schools provide services, said she wanted to introduce Insko to the “progressive and energet- ic and visionary” Hermiston community. She said he is a JUHDW¿WIRUWKHXQLYHUVLW\ “I think he’s the real McCoy,” she said. “He has a deep private sector busi- ness background, and he is somebody who, as he said, will listen, not tell you what he’s going to do. He’s a very good choice for Eastern Oregon University and a very good partner for BMCC.” Preus said the insti- tutions work together to provide better opportuni- ties for students. Through the CUESTE elementary education program, for ex- ample, students can earn a four-year degree without leaving BMCC’s Pendle- ton campus, she said. The Hermiston site is also important for the col- lege. Preus said about 2,000 BMCC students current- ly use the Eastern Oregon Higher Education Center. Hermiston School Dis- trict Superintendent Fred Maiocco said EOU and BMCC are “critical part- ners” in educating the Hermiston community. He was pleased Insko visited the community. “My hope is that he sees how important this grow- ing, prosperous, thriving community is to the future of Eastern Oregon Univer- VLW\´ KH VDLG ³,¶P FRQ¿- dent that the business case and the demand for educa- tion services will make the case that we need expand- ed offerings from EOU here in Hermiston. ... We need more collaborative work with them on a num- ber of different fronts, so we’re very excited about the opportunities in the fu- ture working with them.” By SEAN HART continued from Page A1 serve,” he said. The university is not of- fering face-to-face courses for fall term at the Hermis- ton facility, but 171 active students are being advised there while completing 12 different online degree programs, according to Ja- celyn Keys, EOU’s Herm- iston center director. She said the university antici- pates offering winter term classes at the center for its business administration program. Insko said he wants to determine what the needs of the community are, so he can develop systems to meet those needs. OUTREACH: continued from Page A1 The discussion was part of the Hispanic Advisory Committee’s new focus on education. Chairman Eddie de la Cruz said he was ex- cited that the school district was willing to listen seri- ously to what the commit- tee had to say and partner with them on making pa- rental involvement oppor- tunities more accessible to Hispanic parents. Committee member Clara Beas Fitzgerald said for parents who don’t feel FRQ¿GHQW DERXW WKHLU (Q- glish skills and have little formal schooling, the pros- pect of heading into a big, formal school to talk to highly educated teachers in English is intimidating. She agreed with the suggestion of Fiesta Foods manager Leo Leal. He rec- ommended that schools in Hermiston adopt a tradi- tion that has been success- ful elsewhere of hosting a Latino parent night with food, childcare and transla- tors to teach parents about everything from checking their child’s grades online WR DSSO\LQJ IRU ¿QDQFLDO aid. “They feel welcome. They feel special because it’s their night and they don’t have to be intimidat- ed wondering if they’re going to be the only parent who speaks Spanish,” Beas Fitzgerald said. She also said a personal touch is important. In the Latino culture a mass au- tomated phone call shows that the school doesn’t re- ally care if parents show up to the event, she said, while teachers or volun- teers making a personal phone call signals that it is important to the school that the parent come. Audience member Blanca Rodriguez said as a parent she can testify to the importance of either providing childcare or making it clear children are welcome at events. She said for large families with children attending multi- ple schools it can be hard otherwise to make the ar- rangements to be able to attend a conference or par- ent night. Eddie de la Cruz said he and the rest of the His- panic Advisory Committee “I want to make sure we deliver and we’re not just talking about it,” he said. Prior to starting at the university July 1, Insko worked for Boise Cascade for 20 years, most recently as an area manager of 18 manufacturing facilities DQG SODQWV LQ WKH 3DFL¿F Northwest based out of La Grande. He holds a mas- ter’s degree in business administration and said he is driven by achieving de- sired outcomes. Insko has close ties to EOU. His father spent time as the university’s head football coach, head men’s basketball coach and dean of distance education be- fore retiring in 1994. Insko said he practically grew were willing to make sure there were volunteers at evening ac- tivities like parent teacher Fitzgerald c o n f e r e n c e s to welcome Latino parents and possibly provide some translation. Commit- tee members also talked De la about helping Cruz Hispanic stu- dents. Manuel Gutierrez said extracurricular activi- ties like sports or band or 4-H can be important to helping a student succeed, but sometimes they are held back by not having the money to pay club fees or rent a musical instrument. He suggested the com- PLWWHH ORRN LQWR ¿QGLQJ D way to sponsor students in those activities. “If they are in sports, they do not have time to be running around in the streets,” he said. Beas Fitzgerald said, even though it was rep- resentatives of the high school present at the meet- ing, it was important that outreach to parents begin in elementary school when Hispanic kids are much more likely to listen to their parents. Older stu- dents tend to look to teach- ers or counselors for help instead, she said. “They’re becoming pro- ¿FLHQW LQ (QJOLVK7KH\¶UH becoming acculturated,” she said. “They don’t need their parents anymore be- cause they think they know everything.” Maria Duron, who was present as a representative of Umatilla Electric Co- operative but also serves on the Hermiston school board, said the district is making an effort to involve Hispanic parents through hiring more bilingual staff EOTEC: continued from Page A1 what stakeholders want. The biggest portion of that number comes from the barns, which were bud- geted at $500,000, and the lowest bid that came in this month was for more than $2 million. Rushing to complete the project by spring without raising more money would PHDQ VDFUL¿FLQJ WKH TXDO- ity of the project, he said, from building smaller barns to putting in only the bare minimum of lighting need- ed to function. After Frew spoke, Dor- ran said the EOTEC board’s executive committee had worked out a “very aggres- sive” plan with stakeholders come up with at least $2.3 million by spring. He said they weren’t ready to share details yet, but everyone was FRQ¿GHQWLWFRXOGEHGRQH “I truly believe we can get there, just like everyone else,” he said. Other stakeholders in the URRPH[SUHVVHGFRQ¿GHQFH as well. County Commis- sioner Larry Givens said +HUPLVWRQ LV D XQLTXHO\ “can-do community,” and Mayor David Drotzmann pointed to the success of Kennison Field, where the school district set out with a goal of $300,000 and in- stead raised more than $1 million in nine months to create a stadium that is the envy of other communities. He said he believed they should strive for the “high- end” alternative plan of $4 million that Frew Develop- ment had put together. “Let’s make sure this is the crown jewel promised for Eastern Oregon,” he said. and hosting speeches in Spanish by education re- former Dr. Luis Cruz. She said the district is always looking for ways to boost involvement. “It’s one of the biggest puzzles,” she said. Paid Advertisement Rogers Toyota of Hermiston 1550 N. 1st St., Hermiston, OR 97838 SEPTEMBER SALES EVENT DOLLAR DAYS Friday, September 18, 2015 – Wednesday, September 30, 2015 It’s that time of the year at Rogers where Every 2015 Toyota Must Go! We’ve got our biggest discounts, great incentives from Toyota and over 100 NEW Toyotas (Highlanders, Tacomas, 4Runners, Venzas, Tundras, Camrys, Corollas, Prius). This is one of the biggest model year end sales events we’ve ever had! 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