Superintendent's Update

Winter continues in the Pacific Northwest, and this was particularly evident a couple of weeks ago when schools across Centennial were closed for a week due to prolonged inclement weather conditions in the region. Our schools and community contended with power outages, broken pipes, and other weather-related issues.

I want to commend our operations departments for their work addressing the damage caused by the storms. In particular, our Maintenance, Custodial, and Instructional Technology department staff and leaders were onsite throughout the week, providing remediation and cleanup support to impacted spaces. This helped keep operational impacts minimal as we weathered the storm.

In some schools, students experienced displaced classrooms. For this reason, I want to thank our staff, students, and families for their flexibility and understanding as we address these damages.

Despite these temporary challenges, we continue to progress in implementing our Strategic Plan, Roadmap ‘27, and I invite you to read more about the excellent work happening.

Topics in this month’s Superintendent’s Update Newsletter include:

• National School Counseling Week
  
• Black History Month
• National CTE Month 2024
• Presidents Day Observance - Monday, Feb. 19
• Student Leadership at Powell Butte ES
  
• Classroom Improvement Fund at Patrick Lynch ES
• Seismic Improvements at Powell Butte ES

National School Counseling Week takes place February 5 - 9, 2024. School counseling is over 100 years old and evolved from various economic, social, and educational forces guided by the work of many individuals. By embracing knowledge from the past, we can learn how school counseling evolved from a position to a service to a program. By welcoming the future, we can combine the insights gained from the past with new knowledge, enabling us to continue to develop and fully implement comprehensive school counseling programs in every school district in the country.

We appreciate the tremendous work our school counselors provide to our students across all our schools. School Counseling: Standards-Based, Student-Focused.

February is Black History Month. This annual observance originated in the United States and is also known as African-American History Month. Gerald R. Ford was the first US president to issue a message urging Americans to recognize Black History Week in 1975. The following year, Black History Week was expanded to a month-long observation.

Black History Month has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and has been most recently observed in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Career and Technical Education Month® is a public awareness campaign hosted by the Association for Career & Technical Education® and sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, that takes place each February to celebrate Career and Technical Education (CTE), the accomplishments of CTE programs, and the importance of CTE for all students of all ages.

Centennial School District proudly provides CTE pathways to more than 800 students in 33 CTE classes, which vary in fields, including cybersecurity, fashion & housing, tech theater, accounting, and child development. The power of CTE at Centennial extends beyond theoretical knowledge, focusing on practical applications that equip students with employable skills. Collaborative efforts among students in these programs result in a vibrant learning community where creativity and innovation thrive.

As students immerse themselves in CTE programs, Oregon's impact on graduation rates becomes evident. These programs' hands-on learning experiences engage students and contribute to higher retention rates and academic success. CTE programs at Centennial play a crucial role in shaping the future workforce with well-prepared, skilled graduates ready to tackle the challenges of the professional world.

Monday, Feb. 19, all Centennial School District Schools and Offices will be closed in observance of Presidents Day. Classes resume and offices offices reopen at normal operating hours on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.

To access your student's school academic calendar, visit our website or click here for more details.

Roadmap '27 Goal #3: Centering Student Voice, Empowerment & Leadership

Powell Butte Elementary School students are equipped with essential classroom skills for the realities of our future economy and the world. One of the most critical skills of all is Leadership. Thus, several 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students at Powell Butte are taking part in the Powell Butte Student Leadership Team, giving them a voice in the decisions made at their school.

According to Jared Austin, principal at Powell Butte Elementary, students who participate in the school leadership team stay informed and are the student body's voice. "We value what they have to say. They become a connection between student empowerment and leadership development among themselves and their peers," said Austin. "We want to ensure they receive the support they need to build that leadership skill and grow."

A key finding of the District-wide Equity Audit commissioned last year was the physical condition of our facilities and how, in some cases, these conditions were a deterrent to making students and staff feel appreciated.

Therefore, the 2023-2024 school year kicks off the inaugural year of the Classroom Improvement Fund. In Spring 2023, the Centennial School Board and Budget Committee approved the creation of this fund to support the maintenance of all classrooms and annually complete updating or improvement of four to five learning spaces where our students spend most of the time each day.

Thus, over the summer and into the fall, Facilities Director Jason La Farge and Director of Business and Operations Paul Southerton toured every school to evaluate classroom technology, furniture, flooring, ventilation, lighting, and other aspects that impact the learning environment.

The data collected enabled us to determine the order in which classrooms will be updated on an evaluation scale.

Beginning with the classrooms that scored lowest on the scale, we identified five classrooms at Patrick Lynch Elementary to be the first spaces improved with these funds. These include the music room, which every student uses, and 3rd and 4th grade classrooms.

Three meetings are being held with stakeholder groups this winter which include teachers, the school principal, the facilities department, capital projects manager Scott Rose from R&C management, and Architects from DLR.

At the first design meeting on January 4, the committee was introduced to the classroom improvement fund timeline, process, and logistics.

On January 25, the second meeting was held to inform the plan and design of the improvements we will be making this summer with these funds. This meeting again included educators and designers, but also added student voice. Planned layout as well as examples of various types of seating, cubbies, and desks were shared with students.

Students had the opportunity to use the furniture and provide feedback to educators and designers on what they liked and what they didn’t like, which is critical since the goal of these projects is to support students and their learning environment.

This feedback will be incorporated into our final design meeting which will occur on February 8.

Powell Butte Elementary School is getting seismic improvements during the 2023-24 school year as part of the State of Oregon Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program (SRGP). The grant value is $2.5M, and the project will add up to $2.8M, of which $300,000 is for school roofing work, including repairs and replacements.

We are ecstatic to get these improvement dollars from the SRGP to benefit our school, students, and staff. Powell Butte qualified for the grant by meeting the eligible criteria, which included needed updates to structural improvements, architecture, engineering, and project management.

Other public K‐12 school districts across the state, community colleges, and education service districts were also eligible for the grant program and received varying dollar amounts.

The SRGP is a competitive state grant program that provides funding for the seismic rehabilitation of critical public buildings, particularly public schools and emergency services facilities.