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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Resident vows fight after TID cuts back bushes Voter turnout at 29 percent for Jackson County pot tax Famed 'Star Trek' producer Harve Bennett dies in Medford Ashland friends remember Lee Perlman as writer, officer ... and mensch Police Reports Education Willow Wind students raise money for water Getting its balancing act together Pulling strings for youth music education Bee college takes to the air Grizzlies shine at Eugene speech tourney Environment With pre-season conditions worst in 25 years, catastrophic wildfires expected in region this summer Legislature might be divided on clean fuels bill, but these Ashlanders weren't Ashland Rowing Club members put their backs into Emigrant Lake clean-up The birdman of Bellview Controlled burn planned for Ashland watershed on Friday Business Ride & Drive: 2015 Chrysler 300 Silvio Calabi: Volvo XC60 is sexy safety in an SUV Ride & Drive: 2015 Audi R8 Locally grown businesses bid for micro-investor attention Ride & Drive: 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Politics and elections Oregon's governor appoints new secretary of state Ballots on Jackson County marijuana tax go out today Kate Brown sworn in as Oregon's 38th governor Gov. 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Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Voter turnout at 29 percent for Jackson County pot tax ... Famed 'Star Trek' producer Harve Bennett dies in Medford ... Ticket Availability ... Voter turnout at 29 percent for Jackson County pot tax ... Famed 'Star Trek' producer Harve Bennett dies in Medford ... Ticket Availability ... EDUCATION Ashland School District learns why anti-bullying rating was low District learns why anti-bullying rating was low, may revise policies By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Mar. 4, 2015 @ 12:48 am By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Mar. 4, 2015 @ 12:48 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> When the Oregon Safe Schools & Communities Coalition’s annual report for the second year in a row gave the Ashland School District the lowest rating possible, a bronze star, it did not go unnoticed by district officials. Situated in a community that prides itself on its progressive practices, including a decision by the high school’s leadership last fall to abandon the traditional homecoming king and queen format in favor of a gender neutral homecoming court, the subpar grade seemed “curious” to school board chairman Jim Westrick. Besides, explained Westrick, ASD meets all of the criteria to receive a gold star rating, and anybody with five spare minutes and smartphone can view the proof on the district’s “policies and regulations” web page. “I absolutely think we deserve the gold star, the platinum star, the pulsar,” Westrick said. So director of student services Samuel Bogdanove contacted the OSSCC to try to find out what happened, and what the district needed to do in order to receive a gold star rating next year. After further review, it turns out Westrick and the Safe Schools group both are right. The Ashland School District does have policies in place to meet the gold standard, but it’s the spliced way in which those policies appear online that ultimately cost the district a higher rating, Bogdanove says. A Portland-based nonprofit, the OSSCC works in collaboration with the Q Center, the Oregon School Boards Association, the Pride Foundation and 18 other public and private agencies to examine each school district’s policies regarding harassment, intimidation, bullying and cyberbullying. According to the third annual State of the Safe Schools Act report, released two weeks ago and available at oregonsafeschools.org, the project “looks beyond whether entire districts are formally in compliance with the law and instead digs into the spirit of the Safe Schools Act — why it was established in the first place.” In Ashland’s case, the investigation showed that while the district has up-to-date policies, the format through which those policies are disseminated to the general public are lacking. Bogdanove talked with Q Center safe schools and training institute manager Neola Young, who helped write the report, Friday morning. Bogdanove said Young made some valid points and that the district has some work to do to reach gold star status before the OSSCC begins examining the district for next year’s report. “(Young) said they go from the perspective of, if I was a student or parent of one of these classes,” Bogdanove said. “While we’re legally compliant, we should have another piece of language in the bullying policy.” Indeed, the district has detailed policies which can be viewed online at Ashland.k12.or.us that cover everything the OSSCC looks for, filed under “nondiscrimination,” “equal educational opportunity” and “hazing/harassment/intimidation/bullying/menacing/cyberbullying/teen dating.” What does the OSSCC consider gold-star material? According to the report, a top-tier district is one in which its “governance documents regarding harassment, intimidation, bullying, dating violence, and cyberbullying are substantially compliant with current Oregon statutes and expressly reference gender identity and gender expression as protected classes.” In Ashland, the nondiscrimination policy, last revised in 2010, states that the district “shall promote nondiscrimination and an environment free of harassment based on an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, marital status or age or because of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or age of any other persons with whom the individual associates.” It also includes a notation tied to sexual orientation which defines the term as “an individual’s actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality or gender identity, regardless of whether the individual’s gender identity, appearance, expression or behavior differs from that traditionally associated with the individual’s sex at birth.” The district’s bullying and harassment policy, last revised in 2013, states that the board is committed to providing a positive, safe and productive learning and working environment and that “hazing, harassment, intimidation, menacing, bullying including cyberbullying or teen dating violence by students, staff or third parties is strictly prohibited and shall not be tolerated by the district.” So the policies required by the state are all in place, but Bogdanove said Young advised the district to include the breakdown of protected classes to the bullying policy as well. Young also suggested the district consider updating the website and parent handbook to “better inform victims of bullying and harassment about available counseling through the school and the reporting process at the district level,” and take a closer look at administrative regulations. “We’ll review (Young’s suggestions) with administrative folks,” Bogdanove said. “Our goal is to serve the kids and the families, so if there’s a way we can do that better I’m always going to look at it.” ASD superintendent Jay Hummel agrees. “We actually are awfully good in that particular area when it comes to results,” Hummel said. “But I think in our regular policy review, that’s something we’ll always want to be taking a look at.” Joe Zavala can be reached at 541-776-4469 or [email protected]. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Mar. 4, 2015 @ 12:48 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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