Schools — Former assistant to the superintendent Mikaela Schamp returns to school district in a new role

Mikaela Schamp left Newberg for just five months earlier this year, but that was long enough for the former assistant to the superintendent to really appreciate what she missed about working in the Newberg School District.

Schamp took a compliance position at the Oregon Health Authority in February, but with a major reorganization effort under way, she found  it wasn’t the best time to make a shift in her career.

So when the opportunity to return to the Newberg School District arose, Schamp jumped at it and will now serve as its high school dropout prevention and credit recovery coordinator.

“This community is like home to me,” Schamp said. “I love it. I love the people that I work with, so it was just a treasure to get to come back, especially that connection with the high school.”

The district is equally happy to have her back, especially to lead an initiative that is so central to its mission and a high priority for the administration.

“In analyzing our dropout and graduation data, we know we need additional layers of intervention and supports to help kids reach the finish line,” Superintendent Kym LeBlanc-Esparza said. “Mikaela knows the vision, she knows the data and knows students. She is the right person for this position and she’s ready to go.”

Schamp said she intends to address the problem slowly and deliberately, conducting research into the best practices in the state and across the country. Her goal is to build programs one at a time, rather than making sweeping changes all at once.

“In order to make sustainable change you have to understand why things are occurring,” Schamp said. “If you don’t know why they’re occurring, you might be putting in solutions that don’t meet that need.”

In her first year Schamp said she plans to focus on three areas, beginning with identifying the barriers students are facing and the needs of those who are dropping out or losing credit.

She will also survey all the options the district can provide students to return to school, increase their credit recovery and be successful once back in class.

Lastly, she wants to begin building infrastructure, focusing especially on building the communication pathways that will make it easier for students to get back on track and building the relationships inside and outside of the district that will benefit struggling students.

“What do we do really well already and how do we get kids plugged into that?” Schamp said. “I think that this job is as a conduit. I’m at the center of the wheel and I can point people in the right direction, get them to the services they need, get them to the people they need.”

In addition to strong relationships with area colleges, Schamp feels the district already has or is building strong programs to which she will be able to connect students, like the Catalyst alternative high school program.

She also pointed to the professional development initiative led by director of teaching and learning Stafford Boyd and director of instructional technology Luke Neff’s ongoing digital conversion process as pieces that national research indicates are powerful tools for combating dropout and boosting graduation rates.

With the recent shakeup at Newberg High School, which has seen assistant superintendent Dave Parker named interim principal, Schamp will also assist in covering some of Parker’s duties at the district office, including complaint resolution.

In her nearly four years as assistant to the superintendent and school board secretary, Schamp also served as an assistant coach with the NHS dance team. Although she will not be able to return to that position, she said she is excited to once again play an active role at the high school.

“I’m also just excited to build relationships with kids,” Schamp said. “That’s something that’s going to be great about this job, meeting kids and families where they’re at and getting to know them.”

written by: Seth Gordon