Document text
34 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, December 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 7, 2004 State report card State report card ranks good with bad Jackson County has one of Oregon’s most outstanding schools, along with two that ranked ‘unacceptable’ By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Of the 10 schools that garnered an unacceptable rating on Oregon’s annual report card, two are in Jackson County. Eagle Point High School, which earned a strong rating in 2001-02 and a satisfactory rating last year, got an unacceptable mark this year. Armadillo Technical Institute, a Phoenix charter school that hasn’t been ranked in past years, also was listed as unacceptable. The county also is home to one of the state’s most outstanding schools, Jacksonville Elementary, which earned its sixth consecutive exceptional ranking. Only three schools in the state have earned an exceptional mark each of the six years the report card has been issued. Overall, 27 of the county’s 57 schools in nine districts earned satisfactory marks. Five were exceptional, 15 were strong and seven were not rated. Prospect earned the only "low" mark. Medford’s schools mostly held steady and all were ranked satisfactory or better. Advertisement "We are pleased as a district, but concerned with sustaining quality," said Phil Long, Medford’s curriculum director. "Consider what is going on in the state with K-12 education with cuts to the system and in instructional days." The Eagle Point district has struggled with those problems and a fire at the middle school in 2002, which got school off to a late start. Classes were shortened so all students could fit into remaining buildings in shifts. Budget cuts further shortened the school year that year and later forced staff cuts, so class sizes increased. "Those are a lot of great hurdles we’ve overcome," Eagle Point High School Assistant Principal Tiffany O’Donnell said. She said teachers and administrators are committed to improvements. A former curriculum specialist in the Portland area, she joined the high school’s administrative team this fall, bringing the number of administrators back to three after cuts whittled it to two last year. The district also hired a director of school improvement to coordinate changes and additional teachers, including reading teachers at the middle and high schools dedicated to helping kids reach federal standards. The high school also has received a state grant to boost student performance by improving reading skills. It’s working closely with a state program that focuses on making sure classes are rigorous and advances students steadily from kindergarten toward college. The school also has added a computer lab for test taking and will test students in fall and spring to track progress, O’Donnell said. The district also instituted a plan to give students credit for completing state tests and earning a certificate of initial mastery. While four schools in the Eagle Point district weren’t rated because they recently had boundary changes, were new or too small, five others were rated satisfactory or strong. Tina Mondale, the district’s new director of school improvement, sees plenty of room for improvement around the district, but also a lot of good things, including a willingness to change and a dedication to kids. "There’s a lot of potential in this district and we’re going to channel that energy forward," she said. Tim Mobley, director of instructional services at the Phoenix-Talent School District, said the Armadillo charter school was designed to attract homeschoolers, drop-outs and other students who didn’t fit in a regular classroom. It got an unacceptable mark because of its high drop-out rate, he said. It also had low math scores, but improved reading and writing scores, boosted attendance and tested nearly all its students, he said. Oregon Department of Education spokesman Gene Evans said several of the schools that rated unacceptable were alternative schools that work with students who struggle to meet standards. "It’s adding insult to injury," he said of their report card ratings. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Educators question adequacy By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune School officials agree that people need to track how schools are doing, but think the state report cards issued today might not be adequate. Even state Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo has called for changes. She would like to combine the data from the state report with the federal adequate-yearly-progress reports mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act. "I am proposing that we make major changes to both the school report card and the federal AYP report to come up with a single measure of school progress," Castillo said in a prepared statement Monday. She said she has directed the state Department of Education to start work on a new report card for next year that would include test scores, reports on majority and minority student populations, information on student behavior and details about school and district financial performance. All the data would be compiled into an overall rating. The report cards currently include a performance ranking based on standardized-test scores, a student-behavior ranking that tracks attendance and graduation rates, a school-characteristic rating that counts the percent of students tested and an improvement rating that measures progress. Schools are rated as exceptional, strong, satisfactory, low or unacceptable. The federal reports measure whether various subgroups of students meet reading and math standards. They also track attendance and the percentage of students taking tests. Schools are rated as meeting or not meeting standards. "This is another way local people can take a look at how schools are doing," Ashland Superintendent Juli Di Chiro said of the report cards. Di Chiro has criticized the federal reports as being unfair and failing to measure students’ progress. However, she questions whether people really understand what the report cards mean. Todd Bloomquist, principal at Central Point Elementary School, said the state report cards are a good tool for people to start asking questions about school performance. Parents and others active in schools can ask about standards and programs to meet them. "Other people are glad that we are ranking the schools and are accountable, but they really just skip over it," he said. Phil Long, Medford’s director of curriculum, suggests people compare a school’s rank with how their children do. "Parents are most concerned with their own kids and they can see if they are making progress," he said. Tina Mondale, director of school improvement for the Eagle Point district, recommends people visit schools and ask questions. "Talk to the principal to see what they are doing to make sure the school works," she said. "My feeling is, if you want to make a difference, get involved." Schools are required to send out the state report cards by March. The information also is available on the Web at www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx . Reach reporter Anita Burkeat 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities