September 1999

BACKGROUND: North Clackamas School Board maintains a priority focus on "what is best for student achievement" in every aspect of their involvement - through setting policy, working with staff and parents, making budget decisions and increasing their communication with the community about how the district is helping students meet Oregon's new academic standards under the Educational Act for the 21st Century. This increased effort, called "Toward A New Excellence" began four years ago.

Maintain lower class sizes - The board has lowered class sizes through several budget reductions in the past 10 years.

Set and require high standards for all students - The board established standards for all students in all grades in several subjects. These have been aligned with state standards.

Create more demanding graduation requirements, including the Certificate of Initial Mastery: Entering high school freshmen will see increasingly higher demands before they can graduate from a North Clackamas high school. For current seventh-graders, they will also need to earn a Certificate of Initial Mastery in language arts and math before they can graduate.

Guarantee a successful start - The board launched a pilot program to explore the most effective methods to guarantee that all students can reach standards in reading by the end of the third grade.

Middle school accountability - Middle schools now have coaches to help students achieve the Certificate of Initial Mastery. This is part of an extensive program for middle school, including exceptional parent participation, summer classes and afterschool programs.

Offer alternative opportunities - North Clackamas has long offered alternative opportunities to students to help them succeed in school, and it was also one of the first in the state to offer summer school to elementary students who faced the possibility of not reaching standards.

Expanded response to English as Second Language needs - With the minority population doubling in the past eight years, the school board dramatically increased English as Second Language Services.

Making a community connection - North Clackamas schools have a long history of parental involvement, business partnerships, and opportunities for the community to be involved in school decisions. Advisory boards and site councils provide constant communications. With a theme of providing equal opportunity for all students, school board members played key roles in the passage in November 1998 of a $94.4 million bond to expand and improve schools.

Impact

Testing - Math and reading scores continue to rise, and continue to be above the state average at all grade levels. SAT scores are above the state average.

Awards - North Clackamas staff excel as evidenced by several awards in the past 18 months, including Teacher of the Year, Principal of the Year, Assistant Principal of the Year, Special Education Teacher of the Year, First Year Teacher of the Year, and Chemistry Teacher of the Year.

Graduates - Graduating seniors earn more than $3 million in scholarships each year. More than 90 percent of graduates exceed state graduation requirements. More than 67 percent of district seniors pursue further education after graduation.

Dropout level - At 5.6 percent, the district dropout rate continues to fall. It is well below the state average and among the lowest in the Portland region.

Expanding community role - The number of volunteers, especially non-parents, has risen to more than 4,000 annually. The district has seen a dramatic increase in parent participation at teacher conferences - as high as 95 percent at middle schools. More than 550 businesses help guarantee that students receive real world experiences.

Choices and opportunities - Students take advantage of several special programs:

Sabin Skills Center, a unique technical-professional opportunity;

The district's first charter school, PS 2005, focuses on music and foreign language.

Several second language opportunities, including American sign language.

Character Education, nationally acclaimed, is now in its eleventh year.

Multiple business partnerships, including Junior Achievement, apprenticeships and job shadows.

Results

Results are encouraging. Data from the first two compete years of the program demonstrate growth in the following areas:

Oral language proficiency - 1996-98 test results show greater than expected gains among students with limited English proficiency in oral, conversational English in all grades.

English academic language proficiency - Sample data from tests demonstrate greater than expected gains in both oral and written English in grades 3-10.

Basic skills, grades K and 1: Students receiving first-language instruction demonstrated major, measurable progress in both English and primary language in basic skills areas.

Formal testing in academic subjects: Achievement Levels tests in math and reading, 1997-98, show percentages of students with limited English proficiency making expected gains.