Roseburg Public Schools
Community Corner - October 2019
IN THIS ISSUE...
- Students Walk and Bike to School (video)
It's National Principals Month!
- Staff dive into Conscious Discipline
- ... and much more!
_________________________________
Walk and Bike to School Day
MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
Roseburg Public Schools has a lot to celebrate this month!
The district hosted the first-ever Safer Together gathering of local educators and public safety representatives with the goal of building stronger relationships and improving communications around safety at our schools. It was a huge success, with many partnerships formed and representatives excited to continue the quarterly educational meetings.
State school report cards were released this week, and although there is a lot of work to be done in several assessment areas, there have been improvements. Roseburg High School’s rate of freshmen on-track to graduate, for example, hit 90 percent! That’s a 5 percentage point increase over last year, and 5 percentage points higher than the state average. The academic progress measure for students in grades 3 through 8 also increased from “average” to “high.” This measure indicates that a greater number of our students are making increased academic growth and improvements, which is what we expect to see as we strengthen our instructional practices and increase learning opportunities for our students. You can read more about the report card data on our website.
Feedback from the community so far about the Student Success Act has been much appreciated and will be factored into our planning for how best to spend those funds. The district will be allowed to spend the funds on elements that reduce class sizes, create a well-rounded education, increase instructional time, and improve health and safety.
At the same time, the district is working on a Capital Improvement Bond to address aging facilities. Funding from this bond, which will appear on the May 2020 ballot, can only be used to address capital improvements, including those identified in our long-range facility plan. We will begin polling community members soon, and the district will be updating the public frequently on the bond campaign’s progress.
These are exciting times for our students, families, staff, and community members. We are grateful for the wonderful support of our community and feel blessed for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these amazing children and families we serve.
All my best,
Jared Cordon
National Principals Month
Did you know that October is National Principals Month? Roseburg Public Schools is grateful for the hardworking and dedicated school leaders who have an immense impact on the success and well-being of the children we serve.
In advance of this special month, the Roseburg School Board adopted a resolution to recognize the district's elementary, middle school and high school principals. The resolution notes that principals are educational visionaries, community builders, collaborators and much, much more.
We encourage you to thank a principal this month for his or her passion for student success.
COMMUNITY EVENTS FOR THE FAMILY
Zoobilee at Wildlife Safari
Enjoy an extra-family-friendly Halloween festival at Wildlife Safari in Winston, sponsored by Umpqua Health, Banner Bank, Umpqua Orthopedics, Brooke Communications and The News-Review.
- 5 to 8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26
- Cost: Free to $13.
- More details: Wildlife Safari website
Gateway Community Garden Work Party
Blue Zones Project, SERVICE, NeighborWorks Umpqua, and Boy Scout Troop 304 invite the community to a Garden Work Day to prepare for the brand-new Gateway Community Garden to launch in the next few months. The mission of the Gateway Community Garden is to bring people together with the opportunity to grow their own food together.
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26
- Roseburg Senior Center, 1614 SE Stephens St., Roseburg
- Family-friendly volunteer tasks available.
- More details: Facebook event page
Neewollah Parade
Enjoy a Halloween parade for the whole family.
- 5 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 31
- Downtown Roseburg
- Family-friendly and free admission
- More details: Facebook event page
FENCING PROJECTS HELP SECURE SCHOOLS
Several fencing projects have been completed or are underway around the district to help secure our schools and keep children and staff safe.
- Fencing was installed at Joseph Lane Middle School in the northeast corner of campus to prevent access to the area.
- Higher fencing was also put in behind the Roseburg High School grand stands to better secure that space.
- At Winchester Elementary School, work is underway to install or replace more than 200 feet of fencing along the northeast and northwest property lines to discourage unwanted people from using the campus as a shortcut.
Fencing projects are one of several measures the district is taking to maintain and increase safety, from security cameras and new intercoms to seismic rehabilitation work. If you have questions, please contact the district office at 541-440-4014.
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Roseburg Public Schools hosts Conscious Discipline training
Educators from around Douglas County joined together this month to learn how to improve their relationships with students in ways that address challenging behaviors in the classroom.
For the third year in a row, Roseburg Public Schools invited Conscious Discipline Master Trainer Kim Hughes to provide training opportunities for district staff. Conscious Discipline practices, which involve trauma-informed social and emotional learning, have been implemented throughout the district over the past several years. Member of the district’s Elementary School Conscious Discipline Action Teams also received coaching from Hughes.
This month’s training, held at the Danny Lang Teaching, Learning & Event Center at Umpqua Community College, was made possible through Ford Family Foundation innovation grant funds, and this year, the district was able to invite other districts and organizations to participate. About 90 people attended each day of training.
Sam Moore, Roseburg Public Schools’ Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports coach, said it’s difficult for rural districts to retain high-caliber training such as this, and Roseburg wanted to share the opportunity.
“We know many other districts and organizations in our county are, like us, either doing work or needing information on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and trauma, and many are using Conscious Discipline (or wanting to!) in their work with children who are impacted by those things,” she said.
Staff members from Riddle, South Umpqua, Yoncalla and Sutherlin school districts attended the training, as well as employees from the Boys and Girls Club of the Umpqua Valley, Head Start and substitutes from Douglas Education Service District.
Dawn Parker, Green Elementary School behavior and instruction support specialist, said as students’ behavioral challenges have increased, educators are looking for better strategies.
“We just need to change our toolbox … Reinforcing building those relationships with kids,” she said. “You’re not going to change behavior if you don’t have a relationship with the kids.”
Fullerton IV Elementary Learning Specialist Kristen Coopride said she was glad to have the chance to dive deeper into the concepts of Conscious Discipline.
“It looks at behavior in a new way. Instead of doing lots of punishments and rewards, it’s talking about why kids are behaving in certain ways, how do we teach them the skills that they’re lacking,” she said.
Moore said Conscious Discipline concepts help adults improve their relationships and interactions with students by improving their own social and emotional behavior. That in turn helps improve their classroom and school climates.
“When school is a safe place for children where adults are calm and trusted, children are better able to relax, learn to self-regulate their anxiety, impulsivity and other behaviors and are able to increase their personal and academic success,” she said.
Roseburg Public Schools
Website: http://www.roseburg.k12.or.us
Location: 1419 Northwest Valley View Drive, Roseburg, Oregon 97471, USA
Phone: 541-440-4014
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoseburgPublicSchools/?ref=bookmarks