Before Dean McAllister was on the school board representing Zone 2 in North Wasco County School District 21, he was a grandfather reading in the classrooms of his three grandchildren.
McAllister was taught the importance of learning how to read at an early age from his own grandmother — a teacher in one-room schools in Dufur who would say “You learn to read and then you read to learn the rest of your life.”
That adage has stuck with McAllister.
“I think that’s [pre-school through third grade] the most important time for our kids,” he said. “If they can learn to read, they can do anything. It’s a lot easier from there. By third grade, it’s harder for them to learn and pick up these skills.”
McAllister first ran for the school board unopposed in 2013 and will be back on the ballot, this time as the incumbent, on the May 19 election.
“I just want to give back,” said McAllister, who has owned an orchard on Three Mile Road since 1975.
Along with making sure students can read by the third grade, McAllister would also like to see the schools teach to each individual child’s ability rather than to just the test.
“Kids are kind of like popcorn, they don’t all pop at the same time,” McAllister said. “Some kids are a little slower to develop. Testing is good to see where we’re at but on the other hand I want to teach to the talent. There’s kids that are good at calculus. There’s kids who could be plumbers, carpenters or electricians or engineers. I’d like to see us get back to catering to the trades, more vocational. Agriculture is a big deal in Wasco County and those seemed like the programs that went first.”
McAllister said District 21 lost 33 teachers in 2008 but were able to hire back 14 last year.
He would also like to see smaller class sizes but pointed out that’s mandated by the state.
“That depends on funding,” McAllister said. “We have a budget so we’re somewhat limited.
It’s a like a business. We might want to do this but how do we pay for it? We’re going to lose $450,000 with this budget. The legislature has a lot of control with what we can do in District 21 but culture and community wise, we can make up some of that difference and that’s the idea. I think we can set the tone for the schools in the community as far as how the board interacts with everyone in the community.”
McAllister’s slogan is “Educate, motivate, graduate.”
“That pretty much emphasizes what we’re trying to do,” McAllister said. “I think teachers and students have to be motivated. If you have teachers that are not going to be motivated, they are not going to teach well.
“If you have students that are not going to be motivated, they are not going to learn well.”
McAllister is running against John Fredrick, owner of ELF Cleaning Service and Property Management, who previously represented Zone 2 from 2011-2013.
McAllister welcomes the opposition.
“I’m friendly with John and I welcome the competition because a lot of time it’s unopposed,” he said. “I would like to see more community involvement, more parental volunteers. I think that’s important. The school can’t do it alone.”
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