The Current
LOSD News • Jan. 15, 2021
In this Message:
Message from the Superintendent
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Holiday Meal Schedule
School Board Appreciation Month
Consider Serving on LO School Board
Budget Committee Seeking New Members
Board Appointed Committee Applications Open Feb. 1
Plans to Begin Returning to In-Person School
School Bus Registration Closes Jan. 19
New Interim Assistant Principal for LMS
Foundation & LOSD Partnership: Wednesday Workshops for Elementary Students
Recognizing Our Champions for Children
TAG Advisory Committee
Student Services Parent Advisory Committee
New Student Registration Opens Jan. 20
Spanish Immersion Kindergarten Registration Opens Feb. 24
LOSD CARES Connection and Resilience in Education Series
Elementary Standards-Based Report Cards
Rotary's SASEE Award Nominations Open
Regular Reminders:
- Get Social: Follow, Share, Engage @wearelosd
- What's New at Community School
- Subscribe to Lake Oswego Schools App
- 3 Ws: Watch Distance, Wear Mask, Wash Hands
- Safe Oregon
Message from the Superintendent
This is an extremely charged time with a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt. I want our learning community to know that we are working with our teachers and staff to hear ideas, support, and concerns so that we can make reasonable accommodations. Our district nurses have been meeting with all of our elementary staff, spending extensive time answering health and safety questions. Next week I, too, will be hosting meetings to hear directly from our teachers and staff for the sake of our district now and moving forward. My intention is for us to build understanding and ease concerns as we prepare to transition to in-person learning.
Please consider listening to the School Board meeting discussion about reopening, shared in this newsletter. It provides insights into the thinking and planning going into our reopening efforts. The most important message is that we are committed to being flexible. We are all going to need to support each other as we navigate these complex circumstances by being both nimble and resilient.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Always celebrated on the third Monday in January, this federal holiday honors Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and commitment to equality and unity. The Day of Service encourages citizens to follow King's words: "Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve." Volunteers of all ages work on projects in their communities to honor King’s dedication to community service.
Schools are closed Monday, Jan. 18 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
School Board Appreciation Month
It's School Board Appreciation Month and we’re celebrating our School Board “Heroes”! Thank you to our LO School Board members Chair Sara Pocklington, Vice Chair Kirsten Aird, Director Neelam Gupta, Director Liz Hartman, and Director John Wallin. You work tirelessly and courageously to advocate for the successful education of our children. Thank you!
Considering Serving on LO School Board
LO School Board elections are coming up. Filing for board positions begins on Feb. 8.
Directors Kirsten Aird and Liz Hartman are hosting virtual meetings for community members interested in serving on the board.
- Tuesday, Jan. 26, 12-1 p.m.
- Wednesday, Jan. 27, 8-9 a.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 4 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Please email either liz.hartman@loswego.k12.or.us or kirsten.aird@loswego.k12.or.us to RSVP and receive the meeting Zoom link.
LO School Board members serve four-year terms. Following are the board positions up for election this year:
- Position 2: Currently held by Neelam Gupta
- Position 3: Currently held by Sara Pocklington
- Position 4: Currently held by Liz Hartman
For more information about the LO School Board, please visit the district website School Board page or the Oregon School Boards Association at www.osba.org
Budget Committee Seeking New Members
LOSD is currently accepting applications for two open positions on the Legal Budget Committee. The Legal Budget Committee consists of members of the LO School Board and five citizen members who are charged with reviewing and approving the budget for the upcoming school year. Citizen members are appointed to three-year terms and typically meet three to four times in the spring.
Click here for an application or visit the district website, Business & Finance Department. Applications are due Feb. 5, by 5 p.m.

Board Appointed Committee Applications Open Feb. 1
Please consider serving on one of the district and board appointed advisory committees. As part of continuous efforts to increase communication with the public and to provide for citizen involvement, the LO School Board appoints advisory committees to consider matters of district-wide importance. Committees meet monthly, September through May.
Bond Accountability Committee (BAC)
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Advisory Committee
Long Range Facilities Planning (LRFP) Committee
Student Services Parent Advisory Committee (SSPAC)
Talented and Gifted (TAG) Advisory Committee
School Advisory Committees (SAC) for each school
Committee members are appointed to serve two-year terms, except SSPAC is a three-year term. For terms beginning in June 2021, applications will open Monday, Feb. 1.
Plans to Begin Returning to In-Person School
A video of the School Board meeting discussion on Tuesday, Jan. 12 can be found on the School Board page, under Meeting Archives. Please click here.
School Bus Registration Closes Jan. 19
Click here to register for bus transportation for 2020-21 school year.
Registration closes Tuesday, Jan. 19 in order to begin finalizing exact bus routes. The sooner people register, the fewer route changes will need to be made once bus service begins. Thank you in advance for your prompt response in this essential preparation for in-person school.
New Interim Assistant Principal for LMS
We are delighted to announce Ryann Furrer has been appointed Interim Assistant Principal for Lakeridge Middle School. Ryann is filling the position made vacant by Jennie Knapp's move to Lake Grove Elementary. Ryann will start her new position February 1.
Ryann brings to the assistant principal position more than 20 years of experience as an educator and coach for teachers and students. Most recently Ryann has served as the district teacher coach for LOSD, in which she has coordinated with school administrators to support new and striving teachers to improve student learning outcomes. Prior to her mentor role, Ryann served as the Response to Intervention (RTI) coordinator at Hallinan Elementary and Westridge Elementary and a classroom teacher at Lake Grove Elementary. Ryann also has coached high school and club soccer teams for many years.
Ryann holds an administrator license and a Master of Arts in teaching, early childhood/elementary from George Fox University, Portland, Ore. and a Bachelor of Science, administration of justice, from Portland State University, Portland, Ore.
Please join us in welcoming Ryann to her new position and to the Lakeridge Middle School Community.
Foundation & LOSD Partnership: Wednesday Workshops for Elementary Students
Through a partnership with the Lake Oswego Schools Foundation, LOSD is pleased to offer enrichment classes on Wednesdays to create more connection experiences for our LOSD elementary students and offered free of charge.
The goal of Wednesday Workshops is for elementary students to take one, 60-minute enrichment class virtually that will run 4 to 6 weeks, from approximately February 10 to March 17, 2021. Classes will be scheduled from 9:15-10:15 a.m. and 10:30-11:30 a.m. and can accommodate both the AM and PM cohort schedules. Experience will determine if the program extends for a second session in the spring.
Wednesday Workshops will be offered through LOSD Community Schools, through approved third-party instructors in science, engineering, art, world languages as well as activity classes in leadership, movement, and drama.
Sign ups will be available soon.
Recognizing Our Champions for Children
Dawn Young, Forest Hills, has been adding to her teaching practices a balance of academics but also social and connecting time to focus on the whole child upon learning that some of her students were missing friends and needing more social time. Shifting her practices to, as she said, let kids be kids.
Rose Freeman, Hallinan, relayed she has been paying attention to social-emotional learning needs of children, and being flexible with students and their needs including how and when they show what they are learning. She sometimes invites the counselor to join conversations with kids to check in on them. She also sent a picture of her whole class surprising her by holding homemade thank you signs they had made to send her off on a high note to winter break
Barb McQuillen, Oak Creek, shared fun examples of the students collaborating with her to help her teach remotely and ways she has engaged students to own their learning and demonstrate learning in creative ways. She conveyed she is excited and inspired by the ingenuity and positivity of students!
Kelly Hutchison, River Grove, described her favorite moment this year as a breakthrough with a student whose parents were having a difficult time getting him to even log onto the Zoom class each day. She thought about an interactive activity they could do that might interest and engage him and his interests, emailed his parents to ask them to tell him about it and he logged on that day and each day after.
TAG Advisory Committee
All are welcome to observe the advisory committee meeting.
Wednesday, Jan. 20
6-7:30 p.m.
Please click here for Zoom link posted on the district calendar.
Student Services Parent Advisory Committee
All are welcome to observe the advisory committee meeting.
Thursday, Jan. 21
6-8 p.m.
Please click here for Zoom link posted on the district calendar.
New Student Registration Opens Jan. 20
Registration for the 2021-22 school year will begin soon.
- January 20, 2021 for registering new students enrolling into grades 1–12 who have never enrolled in Lake Oswego before and returning students enrolling into grades 1–12 who are not currently enrolled but will re-enroll for next year.
- February 24, 2021 for registering new students enrolling into kindergarten for the 2021-22 school year.
- Students who are currently attending LOSD during the 2020-21 school year do not need to register for the 2021-22 school year.
LOSD is pleased to offer online registration through its parent portal, ParentVUE (contact your resident school for help with logging in). See the Registration & Verification page of the LOSD website for guidance.
Spanish Immersion Kindergarten Registration Opens Feb. 24
- Application available on the District website: February 24, 2021
- Application Deadline: March 12, 2021, 3:30 p.m.
- Lottery Date: March 17, 2021, 3:00 p.m.*
- Lottery Notification: March 19, 2021
*Should the district receive more applications than spaces available, a lottery will be held. Those wishing to participate in the lottery must submit their application to the District Administration Office no later than 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 12, 2021.
*Younger siblings of students currently in kindergarten through 4th grade of the Spanish Immersion program have priority for enrollment only at the kindergarten level. Sibling priority does not apply to current siblings on the waitlist. If you currently have a child enrolled in LOSD’s kindergarten through 4th grade Spanish immersion program, you will have the first choice for enrollment in the kindergarten program. You will not be entered into the lottery, but you must submit an application to the program prior to the March 12, 2021 (3:30 p.m.) lottery deadline to be assured a slot. Slots not filled from sibling applications will be available in the general lottery.
Visit the LOSD Spanish Immersion Website for more details.
LOSD CARES: Connection and Resilience in Education Series
These are challenging times and almost everything about our daily lives looks different. LOSD strives to support our community and mental health continues to be a top family concern. In partnership with the LOSD Wellness Team (school counselors, social workers and district psychologist) and community mental health partners, LOSD is developing a workshop series for parents and guardians to support, inform, and empower families on issues surrounding mental health.
Workshops will be held virtually via Zoom and will include focused discussions and question and answer opportunities. Please mark your calendar for the first workshop Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, 5-6 p.m.: “Resilience Panel” with Shannon O’Dell, PsyD & Pediatric Associates of the Northwest.
Please contact your school counselor or social worker with any questions.
Elementary Standards-Based Report Cards
This year, LOSD is shifting to a standards-based report card for students in elementary schools. This new report card measures a child’s progress toward proficiency or mastery of the priority standards in Reading, Writing, Language, Speaking, and Math.
This approach provides the means for communicating a child’s learning in more specific terms. Standards-based reporting articulates clear end-of-year grade-level standards for each subject. Using the scale below, teachers will communicate where a child resides on a learning continuum by indicating the student’s progress toward mastery of each identified grade-level standard.
The standards-based reporting scale:
4 = The student is highly proficient and works consistently at an in-depth and complex level within or beyond the end of year standard*
3 = The student is proficient and meets the grade-level expectation of the standard
2 = The student is nearly proficient and nearly meets the end of year standard
1 = The student is developing and demonstrates limited proficiency on the end of year standard
Important notes about the scale:
- Reporting is based on the end-of-year grade-level expectation. Therefore, proficiency would not be expected in the middle of the school year.
- A “2” represents the expected target for the majority of the school year as this indicates the child is progressing with the standard as expected. A “3” will be given when the student completely meets the grade-level standard.
- Details of what is expected at mastery level can be found on the report card or on the list of assessed grade-level standards.
- A “1” may prompt additional communication from the classroom teacher so parents will better understand their child’s learning journey.
*It is rare that a child will receive a “4” especially at the end of the first semester. A “4” score may prompt additional communication from the classroom teacher to discuss ways he/she is meeting the child’s unique learning needs.
Behavior Learning Targets are approached differently than end-of-year standards. For more information about your child’s progress, contact the classroom teacher.
Rotary's SASEE Award Nominations Open
Lake Oswego Rotary Club is seeking nominees for this year's SASEE Awards, which honor service above self in educational excellence.
Do you know an educator, support staff member, student or citizen who demonstrates a commitment to education through work, projects and activities that emphasize "service above self?" LO Rotary Club wants to recognize and support the people who make education in Lake Oswego exceptional.
Please click here to learn more and nominate someone.
LO Rotary Club awards thousands of dollars in cash and scholarships in several SASEE categories. In each case, SASEE Award recipients have the opportunity to “pay it forward” by passing their monetary award on to their school or project.
- Teachers, administrators and support staff: $1,000 for their school or project
- Students: $1,000 for their school or project
- Citizens: $2,500 scholarships awarded in their names to students who also demonstrate "service above self"

Get Social: Follow, Share, Engage @wearelosd
What's New at Community School?
The LOSD Community School is offering virtual enrichment programs and activities for students of all ages including culinary, STEM, arts, language, and athletics.
Subscribe to Lake Oswego Schools App
3 Ws: Watch Distance, Wear Mask, Wash Hands
SafeOregon
Parents who have concerns about a student’s well-being are encouraged to reach out to their principal, and to maintain strong lines of communication and partnership between students, families, staff, and other resources.
SafeOregon is also an effective way to report a tip regarding safety threats or potential acts of violence to our students or schools.
(Students should also be aware that intentionally providing a false report is a serious offense.)