December 20, 2006

Schools eye full-time kindergarten
Possibility of change puts classroom space at premium

By ED COX
of The Chronicle

     North Wasco County School District 21 is seriously considering full-day kindergarten to start in fall 2007, despite differences of opinion among school board members and district leaders about how it should be implemented.
     That is the message observers took away from Thursday’s school board meeting, where Chenowith Elementary School Principal Matt Ihle made the case for the program and outlined a complicated — and slightly controversial — plan for implementation.
     Ihle, who cited research showing the value of full-day instruction for all kindergartners, said the district wants to be able to put the program into place in the event that federal reimbursement funds are forthcoming.
     Although the availability of those funds may not be known until the state legislature approves the budget in June, Ihle explained that the district wants to be ready anyway.
     “I’d hate to be in a situation where there’s no time to get it together.”
Superintendent Candy Armstrong echoed Ihle’s remarks, saying she does not think keeping kindergarten at a half-day for one more year is in the district’s best interests.
     “We need kids better prepared earlier,” she said.
     Board members agreed, but found the devil to be in the details as they considered ways to free up five more classroom spaces at the three elementary schools to accommodate the change.
     One board member, LeAnn Ellett, was openly skeptical of Ihle’s plan, which was billed as the “best” and “lowest cost” option.
     Ihle’s proposal involves moving just over 100 fifth-graders from the three elementary schools into The Dalles Middle School, which in turn would send half its eighth-graders to the high school’s Wahtonka campus.
     That would permit the utilization of available space at Wahtonka, said Ihle. He said his proposal was guided by principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness as well as a desire to have the lowest impact on students in the district as a whole.
     Ihle and Armstrong said they had considered other options, including re-opening Joseph G. Wilson school, putting elementary students at the Chenowith Middle School site, and even splitting the the middle school population.
     The first proposal was deemed too expensive, they said, while the second was ruled out because the building was not appropriate for younger elementary students.
     Finally, the third option was seen as working against the recent district consolidation by reverting back to two middle school sites.
     “There wasn’t anything that wasn’t put on the table,” Armstrong told the board.
     Characterizing Ihle’s proposed option as “horribly the wrong thing to do,” Ellett questioned the wisdom of dividing the eighth grade and sending half of those students to Wahtonka campus, which she thought they might find intimidating.
Both Ellett and high school band teacher Paul Viemeister expressed concerns about how a physical separation would affect school-wide programs such as band and sports.
     Armstrong stressed that it was only a proposal.
     “This is the best thinking at this point,” she said, adding that she does not want to “close the door on full-day kindergarten.”
     “There will be impact,” she said. “There may be a better option.”
     In other business, the school board:
     • swore in new member Wayne Haythorn, who represents Zone 1 (Mosier)
     • heard from city planning director Dan Durow and county surveyor Dan Boldt on development options for the district’s Columbia Heights property
     • learned that Region 9 Education Service District will provide the local district with more cash and fewer direct services under its Local Service plan for 2007-2008
     • gave its blessing to the plan of Stephen Jupe, principal at The Dalles Wahtonka High School, to implement a six-period day for grade 9 next year, and grade 10 the following.
     • granted an out-of-state travel request for the high school’s band and choir programs
     • expressed its intention to renew the charter of the Mosier Community School after some discussion of details