Alsea School District is pleased to announce that Class of 2023 valedictorian is Dawson Clendenin and salutorian is Tiffany Lile. For Teacher Appreciation Week, LAHO Asst. Principal Tim France sent around emails to the teachers with well wishes and thank yous from their students’ parents. LAHO Teacher of the Month is Jill Taglia, who has been with LAHO since there were only 30 students enrolled.
Sixth grade teacher Mrs. Harris gave a glowing report on Outdoor School. She said that our 6th graders did an outstanding job of representing themselves, Alsea School District, and Alsea by being exemplary campers who participated enthusiastically in all activities, even when it was time to do work! She watched students make new friends and learn how to get along better with their classmates. Ten of our 6th graders are interested in being Forest Camp counselors when they get older. Some favorite activities were dissecting trout and building an “Ultimate Fort.” She also praised the camp staff for keeping everything organized, energetic, and focused. Mrs. Harris had such a great time that she went from thinking camping out with 6th graders was the worst idea possible to wanting to do it again next year.
Chris Giggy gave an upbeat report on the Alsea Bond Project, which can be viewed here. A master schedule for the project is posted on the wall outside the library and will be updated as needed. Design for the VOC building has been turned over to Marlene Gillis, a president of Soderstrom Architects out of Portland, for a revamp to better fit both available funds and input from CTE instructors. Because electrical switches can be delivered much sooner than anticipated, the HVAC project should be complete by next December or January, which should save greatly on heating bills for next school year.
The Superintendent Report included that COVID restrictions for staff and students will end per state regulations on June 16th. Incoming Superintendent Krista Neiraeth visited the school on May 8-9 to meet staff. Lora Nickle has been hired as Executive/Board Secretary. The Reduction In Force (RIF) process is 95% complete, with some certified staff requesting bumping rights in accordance with the negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The Budget Committee voted to recommend that the Alsea School Board accept the proposed budget for the 2023-2024 school year. The public is invited to comment on the proposed budget at a special public hearing at 6:55 pm before the June 8th regular school board meeting. Alsea School District in-person enrollment is now officially higher than Learn At Home Oregon (LAHO) enrollment.
Alsea Education Association (AEA) and Alsea School District have completed a successful negotiations process. The newly amended Article 12, Appendix 1, and Appendix II were approved at this meeting and will be amended in the official CBA. President of the AEA, Catherine Ellis, stated gratitude to those who participated in and facilitated the renegotiations. AEA is ready to work on rewriting the rest of the contract in future years. There are multiple documents on this topic attached to the May School Board Meeting Agenda in BoardBooks at here
Resignations this month were Sarah Harris, 6th grade teacher, Lori Greenfield, curriculum advisor, and Kristina Severns, 1st grade teacher. Resignations last month were Jill Taglia, LAHO, Cheryl Doe, SPED Director, Haylie Rose, guidance counselor, and Joy Jordan, elementary PE instructor.
The proposed English Language Arts curriculum, Savvas, can be viewed in the conference room this week. If you would like to view materials, please come between the hours of 8-3 Monday through Friday, May15-18. Make sure you stop off at the front desk for a visitor’s badge. To view the curriculum online, visit https://www.savvas.com/index.cfm?locator=PS36Cc and https://www.savvas.com/index.cfm?locator=PS2rBh.
There were no public or board comments. After some discussion, the board voted to add vaping to the prohibited smoking activities on the Alsea School campus, but did not amend the concealed carry policy. The board also voted to use “every individual” in the inclusivity statement as that is the most inclusive language possible.
