News

The second meeting of the new Anti-Bullying, Anti-Harassment Task Force is scheduled for Feb. 7 at Albany Options School at 6 p.m.

More than 40 parents, community members and staff attended the first meeting on Jan. 24. Participants had the opportunity to share, in small groups, why they were attending and what outcomes they anticipating.

At the meeting, district staff presented and overview of bullying and had participants break into small groups to analyze various aspects and data relating to bullying that they could share out to the larger group.

See the presentation.

At the end of the evening, the small groups focused on beginning to look at the various roles community stakeholders play in addressing the issue of bullying in our community. A summary of those findings will be presented at the Feb. 7 meeting.

The Oregon Department of Education recently released graduation rates for the 2016-17 school year. The report showed the already strong graduation rates in Greater Albany High schools stayed strong for students.

For 2016-17, Albany Options rate is 38.39%; South Albany High School is 88.68%; and West Albany High School is 95.83%. The state graduation rate was 76.65%.

The news was even better for Latino students or students who took at least one career technical class.

At South Albany High School, 92% of Latino students graduated within four years; at West Albany High School, 100% of Latino students earned a diploma.

See the ODE data.

Read more in the Democrat-Herald.

SELCO Community Credit Union has announced application dates for their 2018 SPARK! Creative Learning Grants. Grants are available up to $1,000 for K-12 teachers.

“We love projects that spark something new and want to see proposals for helping kids create and teachers innovate.”

If interested, find details about grant requirements and scoring criteria on the Selco Community Credit Union website.

Please note the following dates:

August 15: Applications open
SELCO SPARK! Creative Learning Grants

September 30: Application deadline
SELCO SPARK! Creative Learning Grants

Visit selco.org/SPARK for details and to apply.

“We can’t wait to see what innovative projects our teachers come up with this year.”

The bond project plan and timeline is nearly complete, and work is scheduled to start this summer at school sites around the district.

This summer, high-priority projects at 18 school sites will begin, including upgrades at 11 elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools, the district office and facility department.

The project list includes Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements, fire alarms and doors, food science classroom and PE locker room upgrades, and improvements to address HVAC, plumbing, paving, roofing and seismic needs.

See the list of school sites and projects. 

Demolition and reconstruction work will also start at Oak Grove Elementary School as soon as school is out for the year.

Designs for the new building are complete. See the latest drawings.

Last night, Superintendent Golden thanked the School Board members for their service to GAPS students. He read the official Governor’s Proclamation and showed a video of students thanking the School Board for their service.

The Proclamation reads as follows:

WHEREAS: Oregonians rely on public education to ensure a prosperous quality of life and strong economic health for Oregon; and

WHEREAS: Locally elected boards fulfill leadership roles and serve as the conduit through which teachers, parents, businesses and conununities demonstrate the care, creativity and support that lead to student achievement; and
WHEREAS: Public schools nurture and train diverse student populations to the best of their ability, whatever the resources, to give students the knowledge, skills and opportunities they need to succeed; and

WHEREAS: Board members build the framework that makes it possible for education organizations to teach Oregon’s children; and

WHEREAS: The committed men and women who serve on the boards of Oregon’s 197 school districts, 19 education service districts and 17 community colleges deserve recognition and thanks for their dedication to the education needs of the people of Oregon.

NOW, THEREFORE: I, Kate Brown, Governor of the State of Oregon, hereby proclaim January 2018 to be

SCHOOL BOARD RECOGNITION MONTH

See the official signed proclamation.