La Grande Pride Spring 2024

EARLY ORGANIZATION

BY TRISH YERGES

The La Grande High School (LHS) fall and winter sports events have featured another talented team of athletes making their debut, the Tigers cheerleading team, led by head coach Kimberly Westenskow and assistant coach Kearsten Conner.

“I don’t think we’ve had a cheerleading program for over ten years,” Chelsea Hurliman, LHS principal said. “It’s just a great addition to the high school, and I’m very proud of them.”

The team has a good time practicing, and their parents are supporting them by attending the games where they perform. “It has brought a layer of team spirit and school spirit to our assemblies and sporting events,” Hurliman said.

Head Coach Westenskow has been teaching with the district for five years, teaching Health I & II, English Language Learners for grades 6 -12, and Fitness for Life for grades 9 – 12.

She became interested in forming a cheerleading team when she noticed there was no dance or cheerleading team. This seemed unusual to her because she had come from a high school whose dance team won national championships, so she wanted to do something for La Grande High School and at the same time boost the school spirit among the kids.

Some kids were showing an interest so Westenskow approached administration. She was advised to put on a summer camp to see what kind of interest it would attract. She did that during Covid, and eight girls attended.

She returned to the administration and proposed that she get the cheer team up and running, but since it was during Covid, it just wasn’t the right time to organize this. After things settled down, even more girls expressed an interest, so she again returned to administration and said, “Okay, let’s do this.”

“I put up a sign-up sheet at the high school, and we had try-outs. Before I knew it, we had 21 girls on the team,” Westenskow said. “That was in May 2023, and then we started practicing throughout the summer.”

To help the team get organized initially, Margo Kiki, offered her assistance through the summer, and she got the cheers together. “She was just so helpful,” Westenskow said. Then Kearsten Conner was hired as assistant coach, which was a big help to Westenskow.

See Cheerleading on page 11

From the Superintendent’s Desk

George Mendoza

LA GRANDE SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community Members, Happy Spring! The weather has finally improved, Spring has sprung and it is my hope that all families and community stakeholders reading this newsletter have enjoyed this past spring break and look forward to a smooth ending of the school year. La Grande School District (LGSD) has many things to be proud of this school year. We have increased graduation and completer rates, increased student attendance rates, shown strong progress with student growth goals in reading and math, our girls wrestling program won their first ever state wrestling title, we are moving forward with great success with our new Wildcat Center and we increased safety practices around recognizing intruders with our annual perimeter assessment with the goal of improving our safety protocols.

Graduation and Completer rates in 2023:

La Grande High School (LHS) continued to exceed the state average in 4-Year Graduation and 5-Year Completer rates. An analysis of the data provided by the state shows the following:

• Class of 2022 had an 87.8% 5-Year Completer Rate –

• Class of 2023 4-Year Graduation Rate at 84.5%; Our 4-year completer rate was 89.9%

• Students with Disabilities graduated at a substantially higher rate than in the previous year at 83.3%

• Students that participated and completed a CTE Pathway (3 or more CTE credits) graduated at a rate over 97%

State Assessment Reminder:

As a reminder, this time of year is when students begin to take state assessments. I ask our parents/guardians to take the time to talk about state assessments. Please provide the needed encouragement to your student around doing their best. State assessments do not define our education system or determine the overall success of an individual child or their school. However, they are important and they are an important part of how our state collects data, determines progress on outcomes and much more. As the superintendent of our school system, I ask that each child do their very best if they opt in to take our state assessments. I know that education in LGSD is much more than a single test score. Overall, we typically outperform the state as a school district and we are often pleased with our results. Your encouragement to your child, as well as providing a good night sleep and hearty breakfast is appreciated. Each school will let students and families know when the assessments will be taking place.

Finally, graduation is about two months away and it feels like we still have so much good work left to do before we release students for summer break. We will soon begin the enrollment process for next school year. I know our high school and middle school are currently working through this process and our elementary schools are now establishing dates. Please be on the lookout as you receive enrollment information regarding next year.

Love, Care, Serve

George Mendoza

This publication serves as a platform to keep our community informed and connected to the school district. We appreciate your involvement and support Should you wish to contact me my phone number is 541-663-3201; email: george.mendoza@ lagrandesd.org

HEALTHY SCHOOLS

Grant Aims to improve District Health & Wellness

BY ROBIN MAILLE

Over the next five years LGSD will have consistent support to improve health and wellness policies and practices in every school thanks to a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). La Grande was selected by Oregon Department of Education as the only school district in Oregon to receive funding for this next phase of CDC Healthy Schools. The full title of the grant is “School-based interventions to promote equity, and improve health, academic achievement and well-being of students.”

Through this work the district is assessing eleven different areas or modules that include health and physical education, school health services, nutrition environment and services, and school health and safety policies. These areas align with the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) Model. The goal is to identify strengths and weaknesses in our current policies, practices, programs, and services and then prioritize actions to make improvements that support student and staff wellness. We know that when students are well nourished, well rested, feel like they belong at school, and have health and safety needs met, they are more ready to engage in classroom and extracurricular activities.

The CDC grant funds will help maintain wellness programs for students and staff that have been paid for with OEA Choice Trust and ESSR (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency

Relief) funds, both of which are ending this year. These programs include wellness champions in each school, access to outdoor play equipment and recreation opportunities for staff, as well as elementary school intramural volleyball and basketball programs. Some of the funds also support the district project coordinator position that interfaces with ODE Child Nutrition Programs staff, CDC program staff, and the Oregon Healthy Schools advisory council. LGSD established an agreement with Oregon State University Extension Family & Community Health faculty to facilitate this work.

In the fall, district administrators, teachers, staff, and community partners met to complete six of eleven modules of the CDC School Health Index Assessment. The other five modules will be completed next school year. The assessment measures how well LGSD policies and practices align with policies and practices that have been shown to reduce youth health risk behaviors. Based on assessment results each school will identify at least one policy or practice that can be improved that will become part of the district action plan. Stay tuned for updates on the project. If you would like to participate in future modules and planning, please contact Robin Maille at robin. maille@oregonstate.edu For more information on CDC Healthy Schools visit: https://www.cdc. gov/healthyschools/

La Grande School District congratulates Coach Klel Carson as National Coach of the Year for 22-23 by the NFHS!

Carson has coached the La Grande High School boys’ wrestling program for 31 years and:

• Coached 28 individual state champions and 328 state qualifiers

• His teams won the OSAA team wrestling championship four times & the OSAA state dual-team championship three times

• Named Oregon’s Class 4A Coach of the Year twice

• Named Oregon’s 2023 Wrestling Coach of the Year

• Inducted into the La Grande High School Hall of Fame in 1996

NFHS is the National Federation of State High School Associations.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Wildcat Center and greenhouse compound erected

BY TRISH YERGES

What a difference nine months can make at the La Grande Middle School campus as parts of the complex have undergone demolition, excavation, ground preparation and construction for the new Wildcat Center and greenhouse compound.

It’s impossible to miss the colossal structure of the new Wildcat Center being erected on the corner of Fourth Street and M Avenue in La Grande. It’s a head-turner, and what an impressive facility it is going to be in August when students start using it for the first time.

The Wildcat Center is designed as a multi-purpose academic and athletic center, including three multi-use sport courts, a softball and baseball indoor facility, space for LMS classes for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), and physical education classes. It is funded through the school district’s General Obligation bond passed in May 2022.

GROUND PREPARATION

Since its groundbreaking ceremony last June 6, steady progress has been made, recounts La Grande Middle School Principal Chris Wagner. There was a huge amount of excavation that took place first because there was a previous building there, and all remnants of that had to be removed from the ground. It also meant disassembling the old greenhouses, removing trees, and removing all other items on the grounds.

“We built a gorgeous, new, state-of-the-art greenhouse,” Wagner said. “It has all the up-to-date electrical service, faucets, and HVAC that we need for it.”

The greenhouse is one large building with temperature settings that can be remotely controlled by LMS science teacher and greenhouse manager Kathy Nickerson. Conveniently located nearby are two new storage sheds, so greenhouse materials are now in one centralized area. A six-foot fence will be erected around the perimeter of the greenhouse compound to secure the area.

“It feels like we’re living in the lap of greenhouse luxury there,” Wagner said.

No one feels the luxury more than Nickerson and her students. The kids are very impressed with their large greenhouse, and they are already using it to seed plants for their upcoming plant sale.

“We are moving into our greenhouse and building furniture as well as arranging and adjusting our workstations for maximizing space and efficiency,” Nickerson said. “Mike Becker General Contractor has done a great job for us.”

Nickerson is especially excited to have everything in one location because in the past, materials were spread out and stored in seven different locations. She loves the greenhouse amenities and the thoughtful layout of the grounds.

“I love the gravel path to the school,” she said. “No more mud on our shoes is a great thing for our school and greenhouse.”

WILDCAT CENTER CONSTRUCTION

Project leader, Jarod Teeter of Mike Becker General Contractor in Island City, has been working at a steady pace with crews of 8 to 10 men, and they have accomplished a lot with the new building.

“The concrete was poured on schedule in November of last year, the steel frame has been erected, and the insulated wall

panels have been installed as of late February,” Teeter said. The exterior wall panels are pre-insulated, high-density foam covered with metal and prefinished with the color that the building will be. The same is true for the roof panels.

Teeter’s crew is working on the trim portion of the building. The ridge cap hasn’t been put on yet because Teeter needs to seam the roof with a machine, which he has recently rented.

Most of March will be spent on the mezzanine and framing inside.  When they are completed, Teeter will have the classroom walls up and electrical put in.

He cut the windows out of the walls for ventilation and light in mid-February, but they won’t be finished until the end of the project.

At this point subcontractors are bringing in different materials to get started on the mezzanine, the classroom areas, and will start to build the two locker rooms and six bathrooms in there, Wagner said. The mostly enclosed shell has electrical and plumbing run into it, but nothing connected for service yet.

The Wildcat Center has a second floor on the south third of the building where the classrooms, bathrooms, the elevator, and locker rooms are located. On the second floor there is also an open mezzanine so that people can overlook the three gyms below.

The gym floors will be covered with high-density, durable composite flooring that is prefabricated to withstand heavy sports traffic and multi-use functions.

“Yesterday we had our first meeting to pick out furniture for the classrooms, so we’re in that process,” Wagner said. “We’re also picking out tables and chairs that we’ll have available for multi-functional events, like banquets or conferences.”

Two staircases and an elevator bring access to the mezzanine and classrooms. Subcontractors are starting to come in. “I’ve got the fire sprinkler folks putting the mains in, and my mason is working on part of the mezzanine and elevator shaft as well,” Teeter said.

Most of March will be spent on the mezzanine and framing inside. When they are completed, Teeter will have the classroom walls up and electrical put in.

“This is essentially a building within a building where the mezzanine is,” Teeter said. “We’ll put up a steel structure and install a deck pan on which four inches of concrete will be poured. The flooring will be adhered right to the concrete.”

The internal portion of work at the Wildcat Center will be finished so that the school can occupy the building by August 1. After that, Teeter and his crew will demolish the nearby Annex building, haul it away and make room for a new parking lot.

“Overall, we’re on track with this project, and we have through the summer to get this dialed in and finished,” Teeter said. “We are very excited to see the students and community start using the greenhouse this spring and the Wildcat Center later this summer.”

BANDING TOGETHER

Alex Justice, teacher and conductor of bands

BY TRISH YERGES

When you think of the heart of a band, you probably think of the one that every musician watches and follows, the one waving the baton and possessing seven types of hearing. In La Grande School District, that person is band director, Alex Justice.

He’s been with the district four years and since then has pumped new life into the band program, teaching eight band classes between La Grande Middle School (LMS) and La Grande High School (LHS) and infusing a love of music into his students.

LMS Principal Chris Wagner appreciates what Justice has achieved with his band students.

“We are fortunate to have somebody with Alex’s talents and abilities, not just with the instruments he plays and his knowledge of his subject, but he’s incredible with students and runs a classroom and a band with expertise, precision, and professionality,” Wagner said.

As principal, he has also noticed the growing popularity of the band program.

“We just continue to see our band program improve and our student numbers in our band program go up each year,” Wagner said. “That’s kudos to Alex and a reflection on his ability and his success.”

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Justice received his bachelor’s degree in 2018 from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. During two of those years, he took classes in instrument and band pedagogy, which taught him how to listen, critique, and evaluate what he was hearing. His student teaching especially helped him to learn how to give in-the-moment feedback to band students.

He earned his master’s in music education in 2022 through Central Washington University. “The master’s program was an intensive one that involved some classroom work and recording myself teaching,” Justice said.

As a musician, Justice studied the French horn, but he realized that as a band director, he would have to learn how to play all the other band instruments. “Now I’m comfortable playing all those instruments, but it took playing alongside my students in class to learn how to play them,” he said. Along with teaching and directing, Justice also has administrative duties to perform whenever his band participates in competitions, away-from-home festivals, and tours, involving advanced planning, bussing, and hotel reservations. To afford these trips, he organizes a fireworks tent fundraising. With all the demands of his profession, Justice tries to get home by 5 p.m. to rest because his jazz band class the next day starts bright and early. (See Conductor on page 5)

Conductor (continued from page 4)

A TYPICAL DAY

“My day begins a little before 7 a.m. and ends at 4:30 or 5 p.m. so I can be there to help students if they need to be there after school ends,” Justice said. “This is the schedule I keep in order to create high-quality ensembles and experiences for the kids.”

Currently, Justice teaches 60 band students at LHS and 140 band students at LMS. To provide instruction for all of them, he teaches beginning band (6th grade), intermediate band (7th grade), and advanced band (7th/8th grade). At the high school, he teaches jazz band, wind ensemble, symphonic band, marching band (all students), and pep band.

To accomplish this, he walks between buildings throughout the day: first at LHS his day begins with jazz band at 7:15 a.m., then he walks to LMS to teach beginning band (6th) and then back to LHS to teach wind ensemble and symphonic band and then back to LMS to teach intermediate (7th) and advanced band (7th and 8th).

“There are a lot of moving pieces and parts to my daily schedule, and a lot of extracurricular stuff that we do in addition to this,” Justice said.

BAND SCHEDULE

“Every year we go on a band tour,” Justice said. “Last year we went to Seattle, the year before we went to Portland, and this year we went to Spokane. Every summer we use our fireworks tent to fundraise for that trip.”

On March 20, the wind ensemble will go to Pendleton to compete in the district band festival with Greater Oregon League bands from Ontario, Pendleton, La Grande, and Baker. If they qualify for state, the band will compete in early May.

Justice has already taken his wind ensemble to the state competition twice, and in 2022 the ensemble placed third at the OSAA State Band Championships.

“The reward is going to state and listening to all those other bands and then performing in a new environment they are not used to playing,” Justice said.

In addition to these events, the jazz ensemble is looking forward to.going to the Gene Harris Jazz Festival at Boise State in early April. For the LMS band, they are going to the regional small school festival in Elgin on April 23. Justice said he was looking for something to send his more advanced middle school band students to, so he reached out to inquire about attending the festival in Elgin, and the organizers said yes.

“For me it’s about building a culture where kids feel comfortable and where they feel they can have success,” he said.

When it comes to the LHS band, Justice said he’s got a lot of freshman musicians this year and that’s promising.

“These next couple of years are going to be a lot of fun, watching them grow and achieve more and improve,” he said. “I’m excited to see where this will take them because with only five seniors graduating, we’re going to have relatively the same group of musicians here for the next three years.”

Justice warmly welcomes all the district families to come to their band concert on May 16 at the LHS auditorium starting at 7 p.m. and support their band students throughout the year.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Band Concert May 16 at LHS auditorium

LMS band at 7 p.m. • LHS band at 8 p.m.

DID YOU KNOW?

Band directors utilize 7 different kinds of hearing when they conduct: harmony, pitch and intonation, dynamics, timbre, rhythm and articulation, and balance and orchestration aspect.

THE BEST WAY TO PRAISE CHILDREN

BY CARA GOODWIN, PH.D.

Parents are proud of their children. They express pride in their children and in what they do through praise and expression of approval. But some experts suggest that praise — some kinds of praise — may be counterproductive for kids. Instead of motivating them to keep trying and improving, it could be ineffective or even demotivating.

Praise is important, and research suggests that there are ways to praise children that will give them a sense of pride in learning and encouragement to continue trying to improve.

THE BEST PRAISE IS CLEAR AND MEANINGFUL

Researchers who have studied the effects of feedback on student performance suggest that too much praise or vague positivity is not believable, and students lose trust in the source or don’t listen to the comments they feel are inauthentic or insincere. Another effect could be that they become overly dependent on seeking approval from others and are reluctant to act without an assurance of being praised.

We actually know quite a lot about effective feedback, and that knowledge is summarized nicely by the educational researcher John Hattie:

“To be effective, feedback needs to be clear, purposeful, meaningful, and compatible with students’ prior knowledge, and to provide logical connections.”

I suggest that it would be extremely difficult to deliver feedback that is clear, purposeful, etc. in the context of voluminous praise. Eventually, the parent, teacher, or coach simply ends up making vague, meaningless or tenuous platitudes. And this can cause more damage to the learnerteacher relationship than criticism.” - https://bit.ly/47GHaE9

HOW TO PRAISE CHILDREN

Researchers have found that children benefit from being praised, but the type of praise matters. Here are tips for the best way to praise from Cara Goodwin, Ph.D. in Psychology Today, “Should Parents Really Stop Praising Their Children?”

1. Praise the process, not the person. Praise the effort, strategy and process, rather than the traits they cannot change (i.e., intelligence, athleticism and beauty). Research finds that this type of “process praise” enhances a child’s internal motivation and encourages persistence. “Person praise” — praising traits associated with the person — tends to make children focus on mistakes, give up more easily and blame themselves for shortcomings or performance.

2. Use praise to support not control. Research suggests that praise should support your child’s autonomy and encourage their own judgement of themselves. For example, “It looks like you really enjoyed that” rather than “It makes me so happy when you score a goal,” Make praise about the individual and their efforts, not about parental pride.

3. Avoid praise that compares one child to other children

When you use praise to compare your child to other children, it seems to enhance performance in the short term. However, in the long-term, this practice may be related to individuals judging their performance only in relation to other people rather than meeting their own goals or enjoying it themselves. Praise is better when it is about the individual’s efforts and improvement rather than as a measure of competition against a peer or sibling.

4. Be specific when praising. Avoid general praise. Research finds that praise with specific information helps children learn how to improve. Saying, “great job putting your toys away when you were done playing,” helps children learn a specific expectation. If you simply say, “great job” after your child cleans up their toys, they may not understand why they were praised. General praise is not necessarily always negative or harmful, but it may not give children an idea of how to improve.

5. Use gestures as praise. Research suggests that giving occasional gestures (high fives, thumbs up) to encourage their children can be effective encouragement. Research finds that gestures may even be effective in helping children improve their own judgement of their performance and skills.

6. Be sincere with praise. If the praise is excessive or inadequate, children can sense the insincerity or lack of attentiveness, which could actually be harmful to children. In some cases, it could contribute to feelings of depression or lower academic performance. Excessive praise, such as, “That is the most beautiful drawing I have ever seen,” can be harmful and may contribute to lower self-esteem or a dependence on praise related to participation in activities and skill-building.

7. The best praise includes attention. The most effective praise combines positive attention or a positive nonverbal gesture (hug, smile, pat, or another type of physical affection). Research shows that this combination is effective in motivating children to continue improving.

Praising children can have a positive impact on children’s motivation and desire to try new activities and continue efforts to improve. According to Goodwin, praise is important, but it doesn’t have to be perfect. “It is important to note that parents do not have to follow all these rules perfectly. For example, research finds that as long as most of the praise that children hear (at least three out of four times) is process praise, children show increased persistence and improved self-evaluation.“In summary, praise enhances motivation and perseverance and improves behavior when it is sincere, suggests that the child has control over improving the outcome, is supportive rather than controlling, encourages internal motivation, does not compare the child to others, and is specific and accurate.” -

https://bit.ly/4aZXnan

References

Gunderson, E. A., Sorhagen, N. S., Gripshover, S. J., Dweck, C. S., Goldin-Meadow, S., & Levine, S. C. (2018). Parent praise to toddlers predicts fourth grade academic achievement via children’s incremental mindsets. Developmental psychology, 54(3), 397.

Ulber, J., Hamann, K., & Tomasello, M. (2016). Extrinsic rewards diminish costly sharing in 3-year-olds. Child Development, 87(4), 1192-1203.

Shinohara, R., Sugisawa, Y., Tong, L., Tanaka, E., Watanabe, T., Onda, Y., ... & Japan Children’s Study Group. (2010). The trajectory of children’s social competence from 18 months to 30 months of age and their mother’s attitude towards the praise. Journal of Epidemiology, 1002160139-1002160139.

BY TRISH YERGES

PARTNERS FOR LEARNING EOU partners with district to support students

For years, Eastern Oregon University (EOU) and the La Grande School District (LGSD) have been partners in supporting learning, physical wellness, literacy, and choosing a career pathway for success.

Among those partnership programs, Assistant Superintendent Scott Carpenter mentioned Lunch Buddies, GO-ASAP for middle school students, and the EOU Wellness program for the district’s staff.

“I have also really appreciated the work of Kathleen Brown to support the partnership with EOU and be a visible space and person to our students regarding early college initiatives (dual credit courses) or helping them fill out college applications and apply for financial aid,” Carpenter said.

New programs are currently under discussion, but let’s take a look at two very successful programs, Early College Initiatives, and a new one---the EOU Reading Tutoring Services for grades K-2.

DUAL CREDIT COURSES

Early College Initiatives (ECI), supports high school students who are interested in taking dual credit courses at high school. These credits are locked-in and recognized by EOU and Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC), and they count toward any degree from these academic institutions.

EOU Associate Director of Early College Initiatives, Kathleen Brown, interfaces with students at their high school each week. “Early College Initiatives (ECI) is focused on creating a college-going culture,” Brown said.

Currently, ECI is in its second year of a grant that has allowed the program to expand its influence to include freshman to seniors.

“Our goal is to help students figure out where they want their future to be, whether that’s college or a career and technology education (CTE) or going directly into employment,” Brown said. “We want them to open every door they possibly can so they can be successful at whatever they want for their future.”

To assist in this goal, Brown is at LHS each Thursday all day, and there is also an EOU admissions counselor there on Mondays; BMCC has someone there part-time on Wednesdays.

On Thursdays, Brown invites one or two faculty members with different disciplines to the hub, and they stay for two hours. Kids can stop in during fourth period or at lunch and ask them questions about their career.

Brown also has a new grant called Strong Start, which allows her to reach out to kids who have already graduated but didn’t go on to college or trade school. “I’m reaching out to them specifically for summer and fall, giving them a $500 scholarship if they want to take a (single) class, or an entire term,” Brown said.

Alumni interested in this option should call EOU to inquire about this or visit eci@eou. edu. Dual credits earned at their high school are locked in, so, if a person wants to follow a certain career ten years from now, they can use those credits and go on to obtain a degree.

On April 10, EOU is hosting its first annual barbeque meet and greet on campus. All dual credit students will be invited. “We’re going to celebrate any student who has taken 15 or more credits from EOU, and they will receive EOU honor cords created for them so they can wear them for their graduation,” Brown said.

READING TUTORING SERVICES

A second EOU and district partnership

program that is new this year is the reading tutoring services program that began last fall, assisting grades K-2. Jessica Hagedorn is the EOU Reading Clinic Director of Tutoring Services.

Eleven EOU student tutors have tutored 43 district students this past fall and 15 tutors are currently tutoring 41 additional students this winter. In spring they anticipate serving around 45 students. The tutors visit K-2 kids at Greenwood, Island City and Central elementary schools four times a week for 20 minutes each. The kids receiving tutoring services are selected by their teachers.

“This tutoring program is only meant to help support our schools, students, and families on top of the incredible effort La Grande School District staff puts into helping students succeed every day,” Hagedorn said.

Hagedorn and Associate Professor of Education at EOU and Director of the Reading Clinic, Dr. Ronda Fritz, won a grant to fund the tutoring services program from the Benedict Silverman Foundation of New York. “We were privileged to be one of eight universities nationwide to win a grant from Benedict Silverman Foundation, and the only university on the West Coast and the only rural university to partner with the foundation,” Hagedorn said.

Hagedorn and Fritz did a trial run last spring at Central and Greenwood schools using the foundation’s curriculum called Reading Ready. “The curriculum is designed for struggling first and second graders,” Hagedorn said. “What we found is that it was also a great fit for our kindergarten students.”

The need for this program is evidence based, Hagedorn said, because in Oregon and nationwide, there is a literacy crisis. Based

on the 2022-23 school year assessments, only an estimated 33% of fourth grade students nationwide are proficient (meeting grade-level expectations) in English and Language Arts (ELA).

Reading proficiency is important because studies have shown that students who are behind in reading by third grade will find it difficult to ever catch up, Hagedorn said. Some estimate that these students are four times more likely to drop out of school.

In a comparative analysis, Hagedorn said that Greenwood Elementary has the highest need in the district for tutoring services with 26.8 % of all students showing proficiency in ELA; Central Elementary has 51.2 % proficiency in ELA; and Island City Elementary has 56.2% proficiency in ELA.

Consequently, the EOU student tutors worked with select kids for 2-1/2 months and conducted 800 one-on-one tutoring sessions of 20 minutes each. Was it successful? Yes! “The average literacy growth we saw was about a half year’s growth in that short period of time,” Hagedorn said. “For the winter, we’re about halfway through our projected sessions with about 600 sessions completed so far, and I hired a few more tutors to help.”

Due to their dedication to the program, EOU has delivered the most student tutoring sessions out of all the Benedict Silverman Foundation’s partners, with the exception of their biggest partner, City University of New York,” Hagedorn said.

It is therefore with deep appreciation that EOU and the school district hope for continued funding so that the reading tutoring services may continue next year and help improve literacy skills for many more children.

FIDDLERS INTO THE FUTURE

Fiddle club develops over two decades

BY TRISH YERGES

What’s the difference between a violin and a fiddle? Violin and fiddle are two terms for the same stringed instrument, but it’s the genre of music that dictates the term used. Classical symphony music is typically played by a section of violins in an orchestra, but if a musician is playing lively folk-dance, country, or bluegrass music, then fiddle is the term to use.

Fiddles came to America in hand-held cases by European immigrants like the Irish, Scottish, English, and Germans, to name a few. Their Irish country dance music and German polkas are still popular today. To keep the skill and traditions alive, many school districts have organized fiddle clubs and so has the La Grande School District.

About 22 years ago at the previous Central Elementary School, Carla Arnold, a K-5 music teacher, started an after-school fiddle club with four students. It seems like a long time ago, but if a person teaches long enough, life has a way of reminding you of the passage of time; and oddly it did for Arnold, whose current student teacher in her classroom is the sister of two charter members of the original club. She also participated in the fiddle club.

With perseverance and increased interest, the club started the 2023-2024 year with 88 student musicians from third grade to sophomores in high school.

“I’m very impressed with Carla’s longevity and passion for fiddle club. Fiddle club has become more of an inclusive group over time, allowing kids to play percussion, and ukuleles and participate with their peers in her program,” said Scott Carpenter, assistant superintendent.

After 28 years of teaching general music classes, Arnold will retire from class instruction at the end of this school year, but she is not ready yet to let go of her affiliation with the fiddle club.

“She is going to retire from teaching but still do fiddle club for at least a year,” Carpenter said. “I’m excited for Carla to enter a new phase of life. We will miss her in the classroom, but we’ll still see her in and around the building supporting fiddle club, at least in the short term.”

EARLY BEGINNINGS

Arnold grew up in the Salem-Keizer School District where there was a very good strings program. She began playing cello in third grade and switched to violin in sixth grade, playing through high school. “Then I put it away until I graduated from college and my husband said,

‘Let’s get you off the accordion and get you onto a guitar.’ Her guitar teacher said, ‘Do you have any other instruments?’ She replied that she had her grandfather’s violin, and he excitedly said, ‘Let’s make you into a fiddler.’”

“It was great and that was 37 years ago,” Arnold said. “So, I picked up the classical violin and learned the genre of fiddling.”

Fiddlers are known for developing good ear skills, so fiddling is ideally learned by ear. Arnold can read music and play by ear. Some of the songs played on a fiddle might include the classic “Boil Them Cabbage Down”, “Arkansas Traveler”, “Buffalo Gals” and then there are about 30 sub-genres of fiddling like “old-time fiddling”, “Cajun fiddling”, “French-Canadian fiddling” “Celtic fiddling” and “New England fiddling”. Each of those have their own list of tunes.

“A lot of the tunes of the Oregon Trail came from the Eastern part of the United States that traveled here like the Midwestern tunes, Irish, Scottish, Southern and Texas tunes,” Arnold said. Adding, “I love the Irish tunes.”

Arnold also teaches old time dancing, and her fiddlers from school come and play for it. Her next dancing event is on Thursday, April 18 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Willow School gymnasium. The public is warmly invited.

“Last time we had 66 fiddlers, 100 dancers and it was just delightful!” Arnold said.

“Our fiddle players represent all the schools in town, even the private schools.”

The fiddle club also likes to jam routinely at Tap That Growlers, 1104 Adams Avenue. This is also open to the public to enjoy.

FUNDS TO FIDDLE

As the fiddle club continued to grow, the Grande Ronde Symphony approached Arnold and said they would like to see strings instruction put back into the schools, and they wanted to work with Arnold to promote that.

“So, they got a grant of $80,000 and the district partnered with them, and they bought about $40,000 worth of instruments five years ago,” Arnold said. “The district decided to pay me for directing the fiddle club, and I also got two assistants from the Grande Ronde Symphony, Denise Hattan and Kathy Thimmes, as well as five volunteer helpers.

In January, Arnold also received a $750 donation from the Optimists International Club, which will be used to pay for a cello instructor. Arnold is very grateful for the support and donations from the community.

Arnold directs a staff now, and there are fiddle groups that meet at all three elementary schools. The public is invited to follow their calendar of events and watch them perform. A big concert will be held on May 17th, at the LHS auditorium.

Fiddle Events Calendar 2024

APRIL

April Spring Term begins

April 18

Family Dance at the Willow Gym 6:30-7:30 PM (Fiddlers provide music)

April 19

All Fiddlers Tour Of Schools (8-11 AM) Meet at Central Elementary School

April 24

First Monthly jam of Spring term at Tap That

MAY

May 11

La Grande Farmers Market -All District Fiddlers Play between 11-noon. (TBA)

May 17

Gigantic Fiddle Show at LHS Auditorium 7 PM

May 22

Monthly Jam at The Local

May 29

7:00 PM Symphony Concert levels ¾ perform

May 30

Fiddle Clubs Concert Riverside Park 6 PM (pre-sign up for Fall Term)

JUNE

June 17-21

Bernie Park Fiddle Camp 8-11 AM

JULY

July 7-12

Wallowa Fiddle Tunes Camp (scholarships available)

WINTER SPORTS UPDATE

High school girls wrestling team pins down state championship with state titles

BY TRISH YERGES

Our winter sports teams had a fantastic season at the Greater Oregon League competitions and at state, especially the girls wrestling team, who claimed the first state title in their program history.

The girls wrestling team, which is in its third season, cruised to the OSAA 4A/3A/2A/1A girls wrestling title on February 23, by 22 points over Harrisburg, 102-80, claiming the first state crown for the Tiger program, a large jump from fourth place last year. This year, Coach Krystal Fabricante and Assistant Coach Rusty Gulzow were both recognized as 4A Girls Wrestling Coaches of the Year.

“Last year, we were hoping to get our first title, but this year really solidified how well the program is growing and how much the team is progressing,” head coach Krystal Fabricante said.

Among the individual state title holders, first place went to Lyndie Isaacson, at 115 pounds. She pinned her opponent in 1:31 seconds in the finals. Second place was earned by Maleigha Azure, at 125 pounds. Her performance was a strong showing for her first year in the program after moving in from Montana. Page Allen, at 135 pounds, placed third by pinning her opponent in 22 seconds in the thirdplace match. Maddy Armstrong, at 170 pounds, placed third when she pinned her opponent in 50 seconds in the third-place match.

“The girls wrestling team were District Champions with three individual titles, and 13 girls qualified to go to state---a new state record,” La Grande School District Athletic Director Darren Goodman said.

Competing at state in February, the boys wrestling team placed third overall with three wrestlers earning individual state titles: Kai Carson,132 pound class, (a three-time state champion), Tommy Belding, 144-pound class, and Ridge Kehr in the 165 pound class. Five additional placers for the Tigers were Bragen Anderson, 106, placed second; Kenai Huff, 285, placed second; Mason Wolcott, 132, placed third; Preston Westenskow, 175, placed third and Dex Dunlap, 215, placed fourth.

The Tigers basketball teams had a solid season. The girls basketball team won first place in league, and the boys basketball team won second place in league, Goodman said.

In girls swim competitions at state, La Grande Tigers finished in second place. In the 200-medley relay, the Tigers won the state championship. The four swimmers in this event were Hannah Zamora, Rinnah Lynch, Mckinley Kruse and Shiloh Lynch.

The boys swim team finished third in state, and swimmer Zane Ricker earned a state champion title in the 500 Free.

“We want to congratulate all of our teams for how they performed this season,” Goodman said. “They were awesome!”

Do you want to know about the good things happening in the La Grande School District?

Check out the district’s Our Work in Action videos!

These videos invite viewers to learn about construction, academic programs & learning opportunities for students in the district.

They highlight all of the schools in LGSD.

Check out all the Our Work in Action videos on this page of the district website: https://www.lagrandesd.org/page/our-work-in-action

Our Spring play

“Out of the Frying Pan”

has been moved to Friday, April 26th, and Saturday 27th at 7:00 pm

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

Graduation and achievement rates on the rise.

BY TRISH YERGES

When increases in graduation and achievement rates happen, the entire school district celebrates because it takes a village to raise a graduate.

That’s the feeling of La Grande Middle School Principal Chris Wagner, whose faculty and staff help prepare kids to become future graduates of La Grande High School (LHS).

“We’re excited to see graduation rates increase, and it reflects back on the entire school district, not just the high school,” Wagner said. “So, whenever we see that grad rate go up, that’s definitely kudos to the high school and what they are doing up there and also makes the rest of us feel good with the time we spent with those kids as well.”

Graduation is everyone’s goal K-12, he said. When students reach the point of graduation, all the teachers who ever taught them feel their professional investment in those kids has paid off. It’s their first great milestone achievement in life, and parents and teachers share a common pride in helping the student reach it.

“A lot of the communication here at the middle school with our kids and their parents centers closely on graduation and what we need to see now in order for them to get across that stage,” Wagner said.

At the high school level, administration and counselors are carefully keeping record of how the students are fulfilling their required credits.

“We have been working with high school counselors, administration and teachers as teams to track and monitor student progress at high school,” Carpenter said. “We appreciate their efforts, and right now we’re looking at a high school completer rate above ninety percent, which is what we annually strive to do.”

A completer rate includes all students with a four-year diploma, which includes a La Grande High School diploma, a State of Oregon diploma, a State of Oregon modified diploma and those who complete their GED.

“If they achieve any of these four types of diplomas, they count as a completer, and we’re excited about so many of our kids completing high school with something they can take into college or a career that will benefit them down the road,” Carpenter said.

The expected completer rate is 95% which would be 3% higher than last year. This can change between now and the end of the year, but currently these are the figures based on district data.

“The farther away we get from Covid and the impact of it, the better graduation rates we seem to achieve,” Carpenter said. “If a student fails a class, we have become quicker to assign credit recovery and reassign classes, so that helps. We have staff that work tirelessly to help students pass their classes.”

LHS also offers a summer credit recovery program that allows kids to finish classes over the summer so they can begin the next year on track.

We’re on track to have 112 CTE Pathway recipients and that’s the same as last year, but this year’s class is 30 students smaller. So, we’re seeing higher percentages of kids become CTE Pathway completers.

“Anytime you see a student take three credits of CTE, we are almost guaranteed to see them graduate,” Carpenter said. He appreciates that there are so many seniors who have worked hard to take credits for the semester to stay on track and those who are working toward GEDs and diplomas for their continued focus for semester two. They are staying strong and on track.

“This year’s graduation will be one enjoyed by our students, their families, and our community,” Carpenter said.

This year’s graduation commencement will be held on Saturday, June 1, at the LHS gymnasium.

“We’re excited to see graduation rates increase, and it reflects back on the entire school district, not just the high school. So, whenever we see that grad rate go up, that’s definitely kudos to the high school.

CHRIS WAGNER

LA GRANDE MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

Cheerleading continued from page 1

Kearsten has cheerleading experience from high school and at EOU, and she was helpful in getting additional cheers together.

The first week of school was the first football game, so they had to be ready to go. They had three sources of funding to cover the cost of the uniforms and “it was just incredible to receive this help,” Westenskow said.

One of the highlights of the season was when Westenskow put on an after-school mini Tiger clinic for 56 little girls who practiced with the cheerleaders on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Then on Thursday night they got to perform at the boys varsity game during half-time. They had white t-shirts and pom-poms, and they performed three cheers and a one-minute dance. The audience couldn’t get enough!

“We’ll be doing this again next season,” Westenskow said. “They were so entertaining.”

Heading into the future, the team will be participating in a camp where they will learn choreography. Then they will also have a choreographer come to them and teach them a dance routine. “So, we have it all dialed in,” Westenskow said.

Also, Westenskow wants to prepare her team to participate in the OSAA 4A Cheerleading Sanctioned Competition. She is very excited about that opportunity because the Tigers cheer team has strong athletes, some of whom are also on the girls wrestling and volleyball teams.

Mark your calendar for their next cheerleading performance on August 30, at the first home football game. “We would love to invite the entire community to come out and watch our new cheer team. They are fun to watch!” Westenskow said.

Prepare ahead and join in the cheer: “Are you ready for La Grande Tigers because we are ready for you!”

THE BIG CHILL

What’s new with the district’s food service program?

BY TRISH YERGES

It’s been a little over a year since the La Grande School District returned to a self-operated model of food service for its five schools. Previously, Taher Inc. managed nutrition services for the district, but in fall 2022 they gave the district a 60-day notice that they would be discontinuing their service.

To manage the self-operation of the food service program, the district hired Lindsey Meinhard, who stepped into her role in December 2022. Since then, she has made great strides in serving the children nutritious breakfasts and lunches.

“From my position, things have been running a lot smoother this year with Lindsey taking over and being the manager of our food service program,” La Grande Middle School Principal Chris Wagner said. “She’s been listening and working very hard, and we appreciate all the work she is doing.”

Meinhard said that the district had been thinking about returning to a self-operated food service program anyway because of the economic advantages involved.

“All the money we get from reimbursements from the federal government, we can put toward the program, feeding kids, and buying equipment. There’s no one looking to take a cut,” Meinhard said.

A CHILLING ANNOUNCEMENT

Working as a self-operated food service allows the district to make some capital equipment purchases. Consequently, Meinhard made a “chilling” announcement that the district will be installing a major piece of equipment this summer. “We will buy a new, walk-in freezer that will be located at the Plant and Operations Center’s warehouse,” she said.

The new freezer will replace one that is over 30 years old, but more importantly, it will allow Meinhard to order food supplies several weeks in advance and have it on hand in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency that closes I-84.

“So, we are using grant money that we were given during the pandemic that has to be used by the end of this year,” Meinhard said.

With these funds the freezer project will move forward. The project was bid out and the district is waiting to hear back from three companies. The freezer dimensions will measure 24 feet long x 14 feet wide x 8 feet 3-5/8 inches high. The freezer will have 2,479 internal cubic feet of storage capacity, large enough to drive a pallet jack into and to store supplies two pallets high.

One of the maintenance employees, Andy Hibbert, will manage the stocking and inventory records for the freezer. He will also make the daily food deliveries from the freezer to the five schools.

“This is something we’ve been trying to do for a long time,” she said.

WHAT’S NEW TO CHEW?

Meinhard also announced that with Farm to School funds, the food service department has switched their pizzas to an all Oregon-produced pizza by Wild Mike’s Ultimate Pizza, headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon.

“It’s a higher quality pizza than we’ve been able to source

before,” Meinhard said.

Wild Mike’s Ultimate Pizza is made with a 51% whole grain crust, low sodium, and no artificial ingredients. Presently, Wild Mike’s is serving their pizzas to kids in 15,000 schools nationwide.

Besides the taste, the kids are more inclined to like wedgecut pizza from a round pie than square-cut pan pizza. It’s a psychological factoid that food presentation makes a strong first impression on a young eater. “Wedge-cut pizza seems like real pizza to them because they eat with their eyes first, especially the little kids,” Meinhard said.

Meinhard related an incident when one fourth-grade student going through the lunch line at Greenwood Elementary saw the round pizzas and was heard saying, “I’ve been dreaming of this day.” Meinhard is gratified when the kids respond so well to the nutritious foods that she is sourcing for them.

“Since we went to self-operation, we’re seeing an increase in breakfast and lunch participation in K through 8th grade, with the biggest increase occurring at the middle school,” Meinhard said.

As a direct result of increased student participation, the entitlement the district receives from the government to spend on USDA foods has significantly increased from $66,000 last year to $90,000 this year.

“Some of that entitlement money can be set aside for food we order from the Department of Defense Produce Project, and they send the food we order directly to our schools every week,” Meinhard said.

INTRODUCING NEW FOODS

Another federal grant program that Meinhard is using for elementary school kids is the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program (FFVP). It’s not a snack program but an educational program, Meinhard said.

According to the USDA website, “The goal of the FFVP is to introduce children to fresh fruits and vegetables, to include new and different varieties, and to increase overall acceptance and consumption of fresh, unprocessed produce among children.

Long-term studies have shown that when nutritious foods are introduced to children when they are young, it has a lifetime impact on that person, Meinhard said. On the other hand, kids who don’t try a lot of new fruits or vegetables when they are younger, become adults who don’t eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, and this can have a huge impact on their health over their lifetime.

“For the FFVP, we have partnered with Safeway because they have a huge catalog from Melissa’s Produce Company that they are able to access a ton of unusual fruits and veggies,” Meinhard said.

This winter the kids are being introduced to fruits like Moon Drop grapes, Kiwi berries, Finger Limes, red pears, and colorful cauliflower to name a few. Early introduction to these foods helps children recognize them at the local grocer, and they are more apt to ask a parent or other caregiver to buy them for home meals.

Meinhard is pleased to take advantage of all these federal programs that help kids live healthy lives now and mold their food choices into the future.

Looking for some great plants and flowers for Spring?

La Grande Middle School Annual Plant Sale

Thursday, May 9th from 8 AM – 5 PM

Friday, May 10th from 8 AM – 5 PM

Saturday May 11th from 8 AM to Noon

La Grande Middle School’s *NEW* Greenhouse!