FROM PAGE A1
A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
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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.
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