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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2004)
Page 16 The INDEPENDENT, February 19, 2004 School Improvement Plans and Measure 30 impacts discussed From page 15 he would be presenting them with a policy before next year to further define the isssue. School Improvement Plans Part of the 21st Century Schools Act requires every school to have a SIP and each district to have a District Im- provement Plan. Prior to the beginning of Funderburg’s ad- ministration, each school site council developed a SIP. Unfor- tunately, with a change in ap- proach and a funding crisis, the existing SIPs have not proven effective. At the beginning of this school year, Funderburg asked each school to develop a SIP to outline what they want to accomplish this year, using the district’s motto, vision state- ment and guiding principles as a starting point. Each school was charged with developing two academic goals and a school climate goal. Grade lev- els at WGS and Lincoln Grade School (LGS) have also been realigned to correspond better with state testing. Principal Anne Kingsley told the board that reading is the number one activity at Lincoln Grade School, with a focus on literary forms (an area of need identified by state tests). The staff is also working with a new math textbook and program that they are very excited about. LGS works with the Ef- fective Behavior Support (EBS) system, the Second Step pro- gram and counselor Ann Ma- son to deal with any personal or behavior isssues students may have. Underwood told the board that the primary goal at WGS is to improve school climate. Staff has developed and adopted five guiding principles and val- ue statements for WGS: We…honor and respect differ- ences; solve problems peace- fully, take responsibility for learning, value our community, have the power to make a dif- ference. WGS also uses EBS, has reading and math goals that correspond to AYP targets, and has staff members attend- ing the Columbia County Math Academy to increase the effec- tiveness of math instruction. Scholl stressed the bottom- up development of the SIP. Staff was presented with infor- mation from past assessments and developed goals based on data. They have developed cross-curricular instructional stategies, connecting different areas of the curriculum, ie., math and reading, which are also required by the 21st Cen- tury Schools Act. All of the principals praised the effectiveness of the early student release on Fridays, de- Say NO to ANOTHER TAX INCREASE No 666% Rock Tax Increase No on Measure 5-115 tailing its effectiveness for in- creased teacher training. Funderburg concluded by asking the board, “If you don’t have a plan, how will you know when you get there?” The SIP is the plan to guide the district. Impact of M30 Funderburg briefly reviewed the potential impact of the fail- ure of Ballot Measure 30, re- minding the board that the dis- trict cut almost $900,000 from last year’s budget. Further salary cuts and reductions in supplies are unrealistic so the challenge will be to develop a sustainable contract through negotiation with both unions. The effect on staff last year was comparable to taking an 18 percent reduction and Fun- derburg asked the board to consider how that would affect their own lifestyles. Further, he said, think about the impact of an additional 12 percent cut. Krahn said that it was unfair to ask staff to do more with less, while continuing to cut salaries. In the worst case, Funder- burg said, the district would re- ceive $700,000 less from the state school fund. In the best case, revenue might be re- duced by $350,000 - $400,000. Banks Fire District #13 Abbreviations: EMS, Emer- gency Medical Service; MVA, Motor Vehicle Accident JANUARY 2004 Jan 1 Jan 2 Jan 3 Jan 4 Jan 5 Jan 6 Jan 7 Jan 8 Jan 10 Jan 14 Jan 18 Jan 19 No More Taxes Jan 20 Jan 22 Jan 23 Jan 25 Jan 27 Paid for by the Committee Against Unfair Taxes, 737 13th St. SE, Salem, Oregon 97301 Jan 28 Jan 29 Jan 31 – EMS Assist – seizure Power lines down (2) – Power lines down (3) – EMS Assist – chest pain Miscellaneous fire (2) MVA – Hwy 6 at Cedar Canyon – EMS Assist (2) – EMS Assist – overdose – Residential fire – Miscellaneous fire – EMS Assist – fall – EMS Assist – seizure Residential fire – Auto Alarm (2) – EMS Assist – trauma Smoke Detector – MVA – Sunset Hwy at MP 42 – EMS Assist (2) – cardiac – EMS Assist (2) – fall & overdose – MVA – Hwy 26/47 – MVA – Hwy 26/6 – MVA – Hwy 26 at Sellers Rd. – Residential fire – Residential fire – EMS Assist – hemorrhage MVA (2) – Hwy 26 & Hwy 47 at Johnson Rd .
