Document text
3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Another wolf makes its way into Southern Oregon ... Our View: Let Medford voters decide on marijuana sales ... Reopening of the Siskiyou Line means trucking companies will take a hit ... Another wolf makes its way into Southern Oregon ... Our View: Let Medford voters decide on marijuana sales ... Reopening of the Siskiyou Line means trucking companies will take a hit ... EDUCATION Falling behind New report cards show local high schoolers must play catch-up their freshmen year Comment By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 16, 2015 at 10:25 AM By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 16, 2015 at 10:25 AM » Social News Nearly 30 percent of Medford’s high school freshmen already were playing catch-up by the end of the last school year, according to district report cards released Thursday. In Eagle Point and Rogue River, 40 percent of freshmen had not completed a quarter of the credits required by their high school to graduate, compared with 20 percent of freshmen statewide. “As students fall behind, they’ll fall further and further behind and, ultimately, will not graduate,” said Oregon Department of Education spokeswoman Crystal Greene. “This is an early indicator of needing more help.” These statistics were just one component of the school and district report cards which ODE released Thursday. This year, unlike previous years, districts and schools were not given an overall or comparison school rating. The U.S. Department of Education allowed Oregon to skip the rating this year as it transitioned to the new Smarter Balanced assessment. Although the results of the assessment are included in the report cards, they represent a new baseline for the state and cannot be compared to the results from the state’s former assessment. However, the 2014-15 report cards include several new pieces of information, including median class sizes, student mobility rates and comparison of school performance, Greene said. Not only does Medford’s report card acknowledge many of the district’s new programs, it also reminds the district that it needs to continue to reduce class sizes, which currently exceed state averages in many grades and subjects; diversify its staff, which doesn’t resemble its student population; address student attendance, which continues to be a problem particularly at the high school level; and attend to the needs of its high school freshmen, district officials say. North Medford High School Principal Dan Smith said rigorous academic standards and poor attendance are two of the primary reasons freshmen fall behind. The state’s numbers don’t reflect the students who are making up credits over the summer to get back on track, he said. This year, academic counselors are monitoring freshmen progress every grading period so they can get students in credit retrieval programs earlier rather than waiting until the end of the year, Smith said. In 2016-17, NMHS will reinstitute freshmen academy to help students transition successfully to high school. Freshmen historically have earned more credits when supported by freshmen academy, Smith said. Meanwhile, the district’s human resources department is working with principals and colleagues at Southern Oregon University to create pathways for bilingual students from the area to become teachers, said Chief Academic Officer Michelle Zundel. As of last year, about 25 percent of students in the district were Hispanic, while only about 3 percent of staff were Hispanic and about 95 percent were white. Nonetheless, according to a statement included in its report card, the district has "broadened its recruitment strategies to increase the diversity of the applicant pool." This year, the district also reinstated parent-teacher conferences, which had been cut in 2011. Zundel said she hopes that teachers will use the conferences as an opportunity to talk with the parents of students who are frequently absent about barriers that exist and how those can be remedied. According to the report card, 17.5 percent of kindergarten through third-grade students, 13.2 percent of fourth- and fifth-grade students, 19.6 percent of sixth-through eighth-grade students, and 32.3 percent of high school students missed at least 10 percent of school year — in Medford, that's 17½ days — in 2014-15. At the next administrators’ meeting, principals will focus on attendance and look at schools that are performing well and ask them to share their strategies, Zundel said. “For example, if you look at a school like Jackson Elementary and compare the demographics there with Jacksonville Elementary, they are very different,” Zundel said. “Yet because of the level of community and family engagement, Jackson has a similar attendance rate as Jacksonville.” According to the school report cards, more than 90 percent of Jackson’s students live below the federal poverty line and nearly 40 percent are English language learners (ELL). At Jacksonville, 32 percent live below the federal poverty line and less than 5 percent are ELL. Nonetheless, Jacksonville’s attendance rate is only 2 percentage points higher than Jackson’s. Jackson Principal Kelly Soter said staff try to reach out to students before they’ve missed 10 percent of the school year and are considered “chronically absent.” The school awards a pizza party every month to the class that has the highest attendance, and teachers are given lists of students who are habitually absent and call them personally. “They’ll make a phone call and say, ‘Hey, I really missed Johnny today. I really hope we see him tomorrow,’ ” Soter said. They also talk to parents about bedtime, transportation and motivation issues, Soter said. And some students are awarded root beer floats, 15 minutes of free time in the gym with a friend and, for one student, a pet goldfish for good attendance. Jackson also is the only school in the district with a Family Neighborhood Center, and it also offers weekly food and diaper giveaways, preschool play dates and a mom’s group in order to get the families more connected with the school. “Our philosophy is that children live in families, and we have to support the needs of the families if we want to support the needs of the child,” Soter said. District and school report cards are available at http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx . Graduation, completion and dropout rates for 2014-15 will not be available until January. “What inspires me about this process of studying the data with principals and teachers is how committed people are to improving the results and how engaged they are in learning new strategies, curriculum and creating new structures that are more supportive of students and families,” Zundel said. Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt . Jackson County Schools Report Card 2014-15 by Mail Tribune By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 16, 2015 at 10:25 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » 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. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.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 Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site 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. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501