August 31, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 7A
Strategic plan issues values, mission statements
District aims to provide ‘safe
learning environments’
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
Seaside School District
laid out its mission and vision
statements for its upcoming
strategic plan. “This is kind
of the ‘what do you believe’
and ‘why are we here,’” Sea-
side School District Super-
intendent Sheila Roley said.
“The next part is what are we
going to do.”
In their “Beliefs and Val-
ues statement,” committee
member Lori Lum said “The
Seaside School district is ded-
icated to providing equitable
safe learning environments
and engaging well rounded
education and focus on col-
lective wellness and commu-
nity partnerships.”
In the mission statement,
“the Seaside school district
is committed to ensuring op-
portunity, strengthening com-
munity and inspiring possi-
Seaside School District expresses values:
BELIEFS AND VISION STATEMENT: The Seaside School dis-
trict is dedicated to providing equitable safe learning
environments and engaging well-rounded education
and focus on collective wellness and community
partnerships.
MISSION STATEMENT: The Seaside School District is
committed to ensuring opportunity, strengthening
community and inspiring possibility.
bility.”
The two statements are
a prelude for the upcoming
five-year strategic plan, ap-
proved by the school district
board in December.
With a new campus ahead
after the approval of a $99.7
million bond last November,
the time is now for a strategic
planning process, members
felt, as building and reloca-
tion will likely dominate dis-
cussions in years to come.
Twenty committee mem-
bers have been meeting
monthly to develop the state-
ments and plan, under the
director educator Jerome Col-
onna.
Colonna, who brings more
than 45 years experience in
Oregon education, is the for-
mer superintendent of Bea-
verton and Redmond schools.
He served on the board of the
Oregon Department of Edu-
cation until last year.
The group received input
through online surveys, pub-
lic meetings, staff, parents
and focus groups.
“We received over 200 re-
sponses of what people would
like to see us do better,” Lum
said.
The strategic plan com-
mittee will continue to meet,
with a vision statement antici-
pated in November regarding,
strategic goals, performance
indicators as well as how we
will implement it and, how
we will monitor it.
Uber simplistic: A&B
Pizza opens in Seaside
Mike Kaffer’s art
of the pizza pie
By Brenna Visser
Seaside Signal
KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL
Parents and students attend registration at Gearhart Elementary School in preparation for the start of the 2018-19 school year.
Seaside school district practices the art
of collaboration with new year ahead
School from Page 1A
said Juli Wozniak, who will
be principal of both schools.
“When we come together (in
2020), both staff will know
both Jeremy and I, so it will
be a much smoother transi-
tion, 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 Ro-
ley, who is going into her third
year as the district’s superin-
tendent.
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,
lesson-planning and prob-
lem-solving. They will con-
tinue focusing on and increas-
ing that collaboration moving
forward, Wozniak said.
The school district also has
hired 21 new staff members,
including teachers, educa-
tional assistants and admin-
istrative staff. Lynne Griffin
is the new director of special
services, the position former-
ly 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 curric-
ulum 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 contain-
KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR THE SEASIDE SIGNAL
Gearhart Elementary School holds an open house for
students to get registered for classes ahead of the 2018-19
school year.
ing long-term goals to “make
sure we’re always in a contin-
uous mode of improvement
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 admin-
istrators and teachers to parents
and community members.
During a regular meeting
Aug. 14, the Seaside School
Board adopted a new mis-
sion statement and beliefs
and values statement as part
of the strategic planning pro-
cess. The district will create
goals within a five-year time
frame, and then work back-
ward to determine what steps
need to be taken in what order
to move toward those goals,
Brown said.
“They’re all our kids,
whatever level they’re at,”
she said, adding the district’s
responsibility 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
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
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.”
Mike Kaffer is giving Sea-
side locals simple, quality piz-
za another go.
Kaffer briefly owned and
operated Avenue Q pizza be-
fore having to close in March
due to mechanical issues with
the building. But when he saw
the vacancy on Avenue B left
by Gray Whale BBQ earlier
this summer, he decided to
give his dream of starting a
pizza parlor of his own anoth-
er chance.
“Life is so complicated
now. I’m not into smart phones
or computers. I just like mak-
ing food,” Kaffer said. “It’s a
simple, old school thing.”
Simple and old school is
what Kaffer is trying to en-
capsulate at A&B Pizza. The
shop is a one-man operation.
The entire menu consists of a
concise list of classic toppings
scribbled onto a chalk board,
such as pepperoni, sausage,
mushroom, olives, basil and
pineapple. To drink? A small
selection of water and soda $1
a piece. Only full 16-inch thin
crust pizzas will be offered,
created with a handmade,
long-fermented pizza dough.
At A&B pizza, his goal is
to not only create quality piz-
za, but quality connections
with the local community.
“I really like the model of
The Stand,” Kaffer said, refer-
BRENNA VISSER/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Mike Kaffer opens a new
pizza shop on Avenue B
and U.S. Highway 101.
ring to the Mexican restaurant
on Holladay Drive. “Being
conscious to the locals is im-
portant. I want a personal re-
lationship with my customers,
so that when you walk in I
know if you want more or less
char on the crust than I nor-
mally do, or how much cheese
you like. I don’t want to just
capture the people driving by
the highway.”
Growing up in Tennesee,
Kaffer has been making piz-
za for the majority of his life.
While he’s ready “to be his
own boss,” he has no desire to
be a restaurant manager or to
start a small pizza empire.
“If I did that, I’d be spend-
ing less time making pizza,
which is what I love to do,” he
said.
Although the interior still
has a minimalistic aesthetic to
it, Kaffer is open for business
Tuesday through Saturday
from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“I love Seaside, and Sea-
side has been very accepting
to me,” Kaffer said.
DINING
on the
NORTH COAST
Great Restaurants in:
GEARHART • SEASIDE
CANNON BEACH
Excellence in family dining found
from a family that has been serving
the North Coast for the past 52 years
Great
Great
Great
Homemade
Breakfast, lunch and
pasta,
Clam
but that’s
dinner
steaks &
Chowder,
not all...
menu,too!
seafood!
Salads!
Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days)
Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily)
Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144
MAZATLAN
M E X I C A N R E S TA U R A N T
Phone 503-738-9678
1445 S. Roosevelt Drive • Seaside
County employment sizzles with summer
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County’s season-
al unemployment rate in July
was the 10th-lowest in the
state, according to the state
Employment Department.
Seasonal rates compare
forecasted
employment
changes with reality. The
county’s seasonal unemploy-
ment rate was 3.7 percent in
July, down from 3.8 percent
in June and slightly below
the state and national aver-
age of 3.9 percent.
The county was expected
to gain 140 positions in July,
but only added 40. The pri-
vate sector added 510 jobs
with the busy summer sea-
son, while government em-
ployment fell by 470 during
the break, including 410 in
education.
Total nonfarm payroll
employment was at 18,600
in July, a 140 increase from
the year prior. Leisure and
hospitality added 260 jobs
over the past year, along
with 120 in retail trade and
60 in construction. Profes-
sional and business services
lost 180 jobs over the past
year.
WANNA KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO?
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
BEST
BREAKFAST
IN TOWN!
• Lighter
appetite
menu
• Junior
Something for Everyone menu
Fish ‘n Chips • Burgers • Seafood & Steak
Friday & Saturday - Prime Rib
Lounge Open Daily 9-Midnight
All Oregon Lottery products available
1104 S Holladay • 503-738-9701 • Open Daily at 8am