In the News: Review gives small schools high marks

The Newberg School District board of directors recently received a glowing review of the small schools program at Newberg High School. As part of the transition from one comprehensive high school to five small schools, then four due to budget cuts, the district received a grant from the United States Department of Education. The Smaller Learning Communities grant came with a requirement that the small schools by audited annually by an independent third party.

Dr. Deborah Sommer and Dr. Linda Jessell of the Center for Student Success at Portland State University have been doing those audits. Last year they recommended the district focus on increasing the level of expectations for all students. They both also said they were pleased with what they’ve seen.

Jessell hit on six main points. First she noted the increase in students involved in a credit recovery program, with enrollment having doubled since the previous year.

Her second point was the double dosage of math the high schools have been administering by combining principles of geometry and algebra. This contributed to improving math scores, she said, and is a step toward the eventual goal of eliminating remedial math and having students take more advanced math classes.

Third, she said that with roughly 2,200 credits earned Newberg has the second highest number of credit hours in the Portland area for students enrolled in both high school and college.

Fourth, she noted the progress made in meeting Annual Yearly Progress (a federal benchmark) in language arts and math and warned that it would be challenging to keep it up.

Fifth was the improvement in the number of students expected to graduate.

Finally, she said that students felt they belonged and were well known in their small schools. Sommer emphasized the narrowing of the achievement gap between the mainstream population and other demographics, the correction of the gender imbalance in some schools and the more focused advisories.