HOOD RIVER — Coming off a week of school closures due to inclement weather, Hood River County School District Board members received an update on how staff determines when to cancel classes and a report on operational and transportation staff charged with getting students to and from building sites during the Jan. 12 virtual meeting.
Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn.
“When the forecast calls for bad weather, we have a crew of staff members that are out driving the roads across the county starting at 3:30 a.m.,” said Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn. “Our operations director, Todd Rainwater, is in close contact with the city and county road crews for their assessment of when/if they will be able to open roads. Todd and I are on the phone by 4-4:30 in the morning and we make a decision about our ability to safely operate — yes, no or delay,” he continued.
Because the district covers the entire county, and conditions can vary widely, “We have to be able to get students to their neighborhood schools safely, and we have to be able to get students from all corners of our county to (Hood River Valley High) as well,” he said.
“What you can be assured of is, if school is closed due to unsafe conditions, we have driven the roads across the county, unceasingly reviewed the weather forecast, consulted with the county and city road crews and made a decision that has been well informed; we have no other safe and viable option,” he said.
Catherine Dalbey, human resource director, gave an update on the district’s operations and transportation staff. “They’re the first people the kids see in the morning, and the last people they see at night,” she said. “It sets the tone for the day.”
There are 22 bus drivers covering the 533 square miles in the county — together, they drive 2,365 miles each day, picking up and dropping off children (which works out to around 100 miles per driver per day).
“It’s complicated to determine what’s happening in Cascade Locks (situated at 60 feet above sea level) and how that affects students in Parkdale (1,726 feet), and everyone funnels into the high school eventually,” she said.
There are also six maintenance staff for the 11 district facilities; responsibilities include repairing buildings, plowing snow and mowing grass, as well as preventative maintenance. They are also out during inclement weather, making sure those areas around the county where busses turn around are also plowed, she said.
The department includes Rainwater, Office Manager Cindy Beth and Secretary Laurie Hicks; bus drivers Becky Adams, Bobbie Huskey, Cheriece Millard, Crispin Valle, Debbie Nunez, Don Howell, Emily Graves, Erin Gehrig, Jennifer Springer, Jeri Whitecotton, JJ Robinson, Joni Capps, Leslie Smith, Lori Fortune, Molly Barber, Molly Booth, Nancy Rowely, Paul Askins, Rick Meyers, Steve Mason, Tammy Ambers and Karen Loomis; mechanics Ish Quintanilla and Shown Osbourn (who at times also drive routes); and maintenance crew Adam Herman, Jesus Ledezma, Mario Ramirez, Pepe Quintanilla, Scott Lamb and Ben Bisbee.
SEL curriculum adoption
Student Services and Special Education Director Anne Carloss, Mental Health Support Specialist Erin Rust and Student Services Coach Mara Lynaugh updated the board on social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum adoption, which they hope will be ready for implementation this fall.
Rust said the district’s SEL mission is to “empower young people and adults through social and emotional learning by teaching them self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision-making, self-management and relationship skills.”
“One of the things we are absolutely committed to is involving many different stakeholders in this process. We want to hear from everybody. We want to take their information. We want to get back to them and we will adjust and change our course as necessary,” Carloss said. Those stakeholders working with the district curriculum adoption team (as well as subcommittees) include student support staff, community partners, families, administrators, staff, and students.
“It is absolutely essential for us to have a student voice, and varied student voice, as well as voices from our community partners — we cannot do this work alone,” she added.
Lynaugh said the State of Oregon is adopting SEL standards, but they are not yet in place. “We felt like it was a great opportunity for us to really speak with our students and hear what they feel is needed at this point.” She estimated that she and Rust have talked with more than 200 secondary students.
“Our team’s next step is (to) start digging into that and analyzing it, and using that to guide our identification of priorities and needs for the curriculum,” she said.
The group is still gathering input and finalizing priorities — including talking with elementary students; next steps include determine the format for supporting SEL and selecting curriculum(s) and/or programs.
Capital improvements
Chief Financial Officer Doug Holmes and Dale Kuykendall, Wenaha Group, gave an overview of projects under consideration (such as updating the Mid Valley Elementary parking lot to ADA standards) and those which have been completed (such as the May Street Elementary construction project). Kuykendall also reviewed the upcoming Hood River Middle School entry project, which has a target completion date in March 2023.
Bid documents are being prepared this month, and subcontractor bidding will take place in January and February. Kuykendall said the list of projects under consideration are from the original facilities assessment that bond funds did not cover.
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