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46 °F 5 Day Forecast Saturday, December 6, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend November 13, 2003 Staffing cuts blamed for failure to meet federal school standards Schools that fall below the mark face funding cuts, staff replacement or state takeover By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Struggling with more students and fewer staff members, Talent Middle School has been stung by a federal report Wednesday that said it failed to meet standards for disabled and special education children. "We have fewer people and we’re doing more with less," said Principal Patti Kinney. At a time when schools have been crippled by staff cutbacks, Talent is one of nine schools in Jackson County cited by the federal government that don’t meet stringent guidelines. If left unchecked, it is a problem that could lead to less funding, replacement of staff or potential takeover by the state. Advertisement A preliminary list released in August showed 11 of the 57 schools in Jackson County failed to meet the federal guidelines, even though many schools meet or exceed state academic benchmarks. Two of the schools — Ashland High and Prospect Elementary — were taken off the federal Adequate Yearly Progress list after finding the data used was incorrect. In Oregon, 328 of its 1,215 schools have been identified as needing improvement in the AYP report, required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Kinney said it is almost impossible to make sure that out of 710 students, the 10 percent who are in special education and the 18 percent in English-as-a-second-language classes meet the guidelines. "The more diverse a school population is the more difficult it is to make adequate yearly progress," she said. It is even more difficult when Kinney no longer has an assistant principal and has fewer teachers than two years ago when the student population was only 640. Still, she plans to continue working to improve the situation, despite being handicapped by a smaller staff. "We’re going to look at the data and do the best we can to meet kids’ needs," she said. The stakes are high for Talent and other schools because the federal government could potentially mete out stiff penalties. Gene Evans, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Education, said schools that fail two years in a row could face a 20 percent reduction in federal money that goes to programs that help socioeconomically deprived students. "That means less money for the kids who need it," he said. Consequences for failing by the fourth year could result in school staff being replaced or the state taking over the school, said Evans. Referring to these penalties, Tom Ettel, principal at Jackson Elementary, said, "If you focus on that, you won’t do anything." He prefers to concentrate on programs that will improve attendance. The school had an attendance rate of 91.33 percent, just shy of the 92 percent set by the federal government. The school has a half-time person, whose salary is funded by a grant, who runs a club for students who are tardy, offering them "punctuality pesos" as a reward for improvement. Another Rotary Club program offers a silver dollar to students with perfect attendance each week. Ettel said the school has stepped up enforcement of truancy. If a child chronically misses school, a letter is sent to the parents. If the parents don’t send their child to school the next day, a meeting is set up with police. And, if that fails, the parents go to court, where they could be subjected to a $150 fine. With all these programs in place, Ettel said, "We have been making steady progress for four or five years." Prospect Superintendent Don Alexander said he is still not sure why his school was taken off the list, although he thinks the original evaluation didn’t take into account the small size of his district — about 160 students. "I was as surprised as anyone," he said. Ken Kigel, Ashland High assistant principal, said his school got a more favorable rating because it found about a dozen students who had withdrawn from school, but had been incorrectly counted as absent. While relieved to be off the list of failing schools, Kigel said these types of standards are unfair because all the schools become lumped together, despite their differences. For example, it is more difficult teaching large numbers of special education students, English language learners or socioeconomically deprived students, he said. "I hate the thought of schools being compared with each other," said Kigel. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, 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 © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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