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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2001)
Page 8 The INDEPENDENT, February 7, 2001 “Surplus” to PA is a 100 computer treasure to school district Enjoying the transfer of equipment from BPA to the Ver nonia School District were, from left, school board mem ber and WOEC employee Carla Strand, WOEC General Manager Russell Green, BPA economist Theresa Lock- weood, Superintendent of Schools Larry McClellan, school district technology coordinator Glenda Delemos, and Paul O’Neil, BPA account executive for WOEC. Surplus equipment at Bon neville Power Administration is a bonanza for Vernonia School District in the form of 100 Pen tium computers and 50 moni tors. This is the second time some of Bonneville’s surplus has come to Vernonia. The first shipment was two-three years ago, not long after former Pres ident Clinton signed an execu tive order directing federal agencies to donate surplus Student equipment to schools and oth er non-profit agencies. The three-way effort in volves West Oregon Electric Cooperative, which buys its wholesale power from BPA, the school district and BPA. BPA account executive Paul O‘Neil and economist Theresa Lockwood arranged the dona tion. The computers will help the district achieve its goal of one computer per four students. A lot of help made quick work of unloading 100 pentium computers and 50 monitors. Washington Grade School honor students named The following students were named to the 2000-2001 Honor Roll for the second quarter at Washington Grade School. Principal’s Honors, 4.00 Grade Point Average, 8th Grade - Tiffany Cutright, Luke Enneberg, Royd Johansen, Mary Richardson, Natalie Rom baci), Kyle Suess, Danielle Young. 7th Grade - Marisol Bor- quez, Laura Brookins, Kristin Cota, Timothy Hein, Akeshia Maldonado, Ben Schorzman, Heather Smith. High Honors, 3.5 - 3.99 GPA, 8th Grade - Alex Barton, James Benes, Ashley Forster, Rebecca Knowlton, Brandon Peura, Christopher Richard son, Heather Robertson, Tiffa ny Snook, Torin Tierney. 7th Grade - Mackenzie Bassett, Cassie Fogel, Heather Hennessey, Kristina Lamping, Kristel Norby, Jacob Rice, James Rode, Jessica Shaw, Danyelle Thomas. Honors, 3.25 - 3.49 GPA, 8th Grade - Elizabeth Bobbitt, Torie Clement, Gina Cropp, Jessica DuPuis, Nicolas Phelps. 7th Grade - Larinda Botchie, Kristin Kelly, Nicholas King, Jonathan Kintz, Katie Roberts. Honorable Mention, 3.00 - 3.24 GPA, 8th Grade - Andrew Grittman, Samantha Gunter, Julie Hales, Jason Hennessey, Brandi Johnston, Lisa McMil len, Shirea Ray, Zack Rum- bolz, Eric Schmidlin, Jessica Westlake. ehavior” means only attendance on state report card From page 1 Student Performance ple choice and math problem solving scores, but improve ment over time (1997-2000). Banks Elementary School (BES) Student Performance rating fell from strong to satis factory because of significant declines in reading, writing and math problem solving scores, even though there was im provement in math multiple choice scores. It was also rated as showing improvement over time. Student Performance rat ing for Banks Junior High School (BJHS) increased from satisfactory to strong, with higher scores in reading and math multiple choice, lower scores in writing and math problem solving, and continued improvement over time. Banks High School’s (BHS) Student Performance rating increased from satisfactory to strong. BHS showed significant in creases in all four areas, partic ularly in writing, where BHS had one of the highest scores in the state. BHS also contin ues to show improvement over time. Ratings for Student Perfor mance are based on the per centage of students meeting state standards in reading, writing, math multiple choice and math problem solving. The rating is heavily weighted by improvement in test scores over time. The emphasis on improvement over time is based on a belief that every student, given time and oppor tunity, can make substantial progress toward meeting state standards. This section of the report includes a graph com paring scores in each school with schools that have similar demographics, and to state wide scores. Washington Grade School (WGS) received a Student Per formance rating of satisfactory, in spite of a slight decrease in writing scores, because of sig nificant improvement in read ing, math multiple choice and math problem solving scores, and improvement over time. Vernonia High School (VHS) received a Student Perfor Student Behavior mance rating of strong. Test scores showed a significant im Student Behavior is based provement in writing, stayed on statistics on student atten nearly constant in reading, had dance in the 1999-2000 year small decreases in math multi and changes in attendance over time. At the high school level, the dropout rate and changes in the dropout rate over time also affect ratings of Student Behavior. Other as pects of student behavior such as participation in extra-curric ular activities or student disci pline are not included. It is noteworthy that while the dropout rate at VHS is less than that at BHS the atten dance at BHS is nearly 12 per cent higher than the atten dance at VHS. WGS' Student Behavior rat ing declined, falling from satis factory to low because of a de cline in attendance. VHS’ rating increased from unacceptable to low, apparently due to two years of significantly reduced dropout rates, although the at tendance rate was only 84.2 percent. BES’ Student Behavior rat ing fell from strong to satisfac tory. BJHS retained its excep tional rating and BHS’ rating in creased from strong to excep tional. School Characteristics School Characteristics is the third area of individual school ratings and, at this time, it is based only on the percentage of student participation in state testing. It does not include in formation on class size, school safety or other characteristics that would seem to define a school. Therefore, in order to ensure that schools can be compared over time and across the state, it is important that a high percentage of stu dents participate in state test ing. Any school with less than 85 percent of students partici pating will receive a rating of unacceptable. At WGS, students participat ing in state tests rose from 97 to 98 percent, increasing the rating from satisfactory to ex ceptional. Increased participa tion, from 93 to 97 percent, also changed the rating for VHS from satisfactory to ex ceptional. BES had 98 percent partici pation for both 2000 and 2001 and, due to a drop in the state participation rate from 99 to 98 percent, BES’ rating rose from satisfactory to strong. Similarly, BJHS, with 99 percent partici pation, had an increase in rat ing from satisfactory to excep tional. BHS’ 99 percent partici pation in state tests also in creased their rating from satis factory to exceptional. Instructional Staff and SAT Scores Additional information on the school report cards concerns instructional staff and, for high schools, SAT scores. VHS showed an increase from 34 percent to 55 percent of stu dents taking the SAT, and BHS participants increased from 50 to 61 percent. The education and experience of VHS staff is slightly lower than the state av erage. In Banks the level of ed ucation and experience is slightly higher, or nearly the same, as the state average. Jew ell School Well-funded Jewell School received an Overall rating of strong for both 2000 and 2001. It was not included in the com parisons given above because the 2000 report was not avail able for comparisons by cate gory or subject area. Student Performance is rated as strong and improved over time in the 2001 report. Student Behavior was rated low, with an atten dance rate of 90.3 percent but a dropout rate of 11.4 percent. Jewell received a School Char acteristic rating of exceptional, testing 100 percent of its stu dents. t j I 1
