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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2023
VOL. 131, NO. 39 Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
School districts respond to graduation rate report graduation rate. The Rainier School District’s 4-year graduation rate has seen an increase every year (2017-18 was 87.3% and 21-22 was 89%) with the exception of 2020-21 school year which dropped to 65%, according to Hattrick. “One can assume that the 2020-21 school year was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic which decreased our entire county’s graduation rate to 67.57%,” Hattrick said. “Over the past few years, the Rainier School District has done a great deal to address the learning needs of all students.”
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latskanie and Rainier School District officials were unavailable as the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) last week released the annual statewide Graduation Rate Report. The statewide rate for the class of 2022 is 81.3 percent, marking gains for every student group compared to the previous year. It is the secondhighest statewide graduation rate ever recorded in Oregon, according to the ODE. In this edition, the Chief is able to include comments from Clatskanie and Rainier School District officials concerning the graduation rates. Clatskanie Interim Superintendent Ken Parshall and Clatskanie Middle/High School Principal Jeff Williams share their insight into the numbers in the following conversation with The Chief. The Chief: What is the latest graduation rate for Clatskanie/ Middle High School and is that up or down compared to the past few years? Ken Parshall/Jeff Williams: The most recent 4 Year graduation rate moved from 67% for class of 2021 to 70.21% for the class of 2022. In addition, the five-year graduation rate moved from 62.5% to 74.47%. The Chief: What are the factors that keep students from graduation? Parshall/Williams: Factors that impact students from graduation today still have a gap in learning from covid, and student attendance due to covid. We are teaching students and staff what in person learning is and
Those efforts include:
Graduation rates improve in Clatskanie and Rainier.
we are closely monitoring current data to close the gaps. The Chief: What programs are in place to help lead students to graduation? Parshall/Williams: We have 9th grade success, a program that provides students the opportunity to build skill sets to be successful in learning. A certified staff member works with each 9th grade student to closely monitor grades, progress and sets up interventions for student learning. Also, this is the first year of a new Language Arts curriculum K-12 that is aligned to state standards. This year the district is planning on a new math K-12 adoption.
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The Chief: What other programs/services are necessary to ensure that all students have the opportunity to graduate? Parshall/Williams: Fine tune our tiered intervention system to address gaps in learning. We are working with staff to develop a weekly schedule which allows for additional time and support for students to learn essential standards for each course. Rainier School District The Chief also reached out to Rainier School District Superintendent Joseph Hattrick for his insight into the Rainier Jr./Sr. High School
• Summer school programming. • After-school tutoring. • Implementation of an internal assessment system to support educators targeting and addressing student learning needs. • Inclusive practices for our student services department. • Addressing school climate through increased instructional, administrative, and clinical staff. “While we’re pleased that our graduation rate is above the state average, we believe that we still have work to do until every student graduates on-time,” Hattrick said. “As we progress through the school year, we continue to review all student data available to us as a means of modifying our interventions to make meaningful improvements for our students. These improvements will be reflected in our schools’ improvement plans.” Statewide assessment “Each graduate represents an individual and family success story, a point of pride for their
community, and a stronger future for Oregon,” Gov. Tina Kotek said. “It will take focused leadership and increased accountability to continue our recovery and ensure that all of Oregon’s children are better served by our investments in K-12 schools. All of our education investments must be paired with specific strategies to ensure we know how the dollars that are spent are connected to the education priorities that Oregonians care about. Every child is full of promise, and I am committed to creating the conditions for them to thrive.” After a slight drop due to the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the statewide 2022 graduation rates are a positive sign that Oregon’s students and school systems are continuing to recover, according to ODE Director Colt Gill. Notably, students completing two credits in an approved Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program of Study significantly exceeded the statewide average, graduating at a rate of 93.0 percent. Students who successfully completed English Learner programs prior to entering high school in Oregon graduated at 86.4 percent, 5.1 percentage points higher than the statewide average and an all-time high for that student group. “When we combine the tremendous resilience of Oregon’s youth, the courageous, tireless, work of our educators, and the individualized, student-centered resources made available through the Student Success Act and other key initiatives, we’re able to make meaningful progress for Oregon’s students,” Gill said. “There is more work to do, and we are ready to keep working to make sure all students have what they need to succeed.”
Gov. Kotek outlines state budget priorities JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.
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regon Gov. Tina Kotek has unveiled her budget recommendations for the 2023-25 biennium, titled “Mission Focused.” The recommendations focus on three top priorities: • Building more housing and reducing homelessness. • Improving access to mental health and addiction services. • Improving outcomes in early literacy and K-12 schools. “Every Oregonian, no matter their race or zip code, deserves to have the same chances,” Kotek said. “My mission as Oregon’s Governor will always be to deliver results and move the state forward to build the Oregon we all want to live in. This vision for Oregon’s future cannot be realized in one budget cycle. But this plan provides a roadmap for how we are going to reach our state’s longterm goals.” Oregon is entering a challenging and complex budget environment with about $3.5 billion of one-time
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The Governor is urging the legislature to move forward with this initial investment as quickly as possible, and released the details last week.
able homes, including manufactured homes.
New affordable housing
$73 million: Create an on-going homelessness prevention program in Oregon.
$770 million: General obligation bonds to build more affordable homes for both renters and new homeowners. Moving Oregonians out of unsheltered homelessness Courtesy photo from YouTube
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s budget priorities include funding for homelessness solutions, mental health and schools.
funding, spurred by resources from the federal government, about to expire, according to Kotek, adding that the recommended budget still includes a path to make targeted investments because of prudent budget management to build historic reserves in recent years. Kotek has recommended keeping the existing $2 billion of reserve funds in place, and redirect $765 million that would have been automatically added to these reserves into targeted investments aimed at better
serving Oregonians in these three key areas. Highlights of the budget recommendations include:
$172.2 million: Rapid rehousing resources and connections to long-term rent assistance to maintain housing stability. This reflects the state’s first investment in an on-going, long-term rent assistance program.
Housing and homelessness
New permanent, supportive housing
To reduce unsheltered homelessness, rehouse Oregonians, build and preserve more affordable housing, and increase homeownership, Kotek included the following investments: An urgent, $130 million package to reduce unsheltered homelessness.
$130 million: Create new units of permanent supportive housing, and maintain the rent assistance and services needed for this housing. Affordable housing preservation $118 million: Lottery and General Fund to preserve existing afford-
Ongoing homelessness prevention
Maintain shelter operations $24.1 million: Maintain shelter operations in the state, including the operation of the 600 new shelter beds created through the early investment package and Project Turnkey projects. Housing Production and Accountability Office (HPAO) $2.2 million: Create a new state office to reduce land use and permitting barriers that stand in the way of building more housing. Mental health and addiction services To disrupt the harmful and
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Officials issue skin cream product warning
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igh levels of lead have been found in two tubes of a skin cream known as Diep Bao that’s advertised as treatment for eczema in young children. State and local health officials are warning parents to avoid using the product while its safety is investigated. Two Portland-area children were recently found to have elevated blood lead levels. The children, one in Washington County and one in Multnomah County, are both younger than a year old.
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Contact The Chief Phone: 503-397-0116 Fax: 503-397-4093 chiefnews@countrymedia.net 1805 Columbia Blvd., St. Helens, OR 97051
The investigations
Courtesy photo from the OHA
State and local health officials are warning parents to avoid using the product while its safety is investigated.
During investigations by state and local lead experts, parents of the children pointed to Diep Bao as the product they recently used on their babies’ faces to treat eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, a condition common in young
children that causes dry, itchy and inflamed skin. Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Coordinator Ryan Barker said laboratory tests on samples of the product provided by the families showed the product in the Washington County case contained 9,670 parts per million (ppm) lead, while the Multnomah County sample contained 7,370 ppm lead. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been alerted and is investigating. Only the two tubes of the cream have been tested so far, so whether lead is present in other tubes of Diep Bao is still being investigated. Diep Bao is promoted primarily by online retailers in Singapore and Vietnam, with one seller advertising it as “a cream that supports skin problems such as eczema, heat rash, rash, redness, dry chapped skin, skin care, skin cooling, skin healing.” Health investigators say the product is manufactured in Vietnam.
OHA, Washington County Public Health and the Multnomah County Health Department are jointly investigating the cases. They are asking families who have the product to avoid using it while its safety is investigated. What parents can do Parents can help the investigation by providing tubes of Diep Bao in their possession to investigators so the product can be tested. They also are asking parents to learn about the risks of exposure to other lead-tainted products and make sure children’s blood levels are tested if they have been exposed to them. “We are concerned this product caused or significantly contributed to the elevated blood lead levels in these children,” Barker said. “Any product containing high lead levels should be considered extremely
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