Shannon Ashby

The meeting featured presentations highlighting various district activities, commencing with elementary school updates focusing on student engagement in reading and writing, fostering a positive school climate, and creating welcoming, student-centered communities. Specific examples included student dream reflections related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day and service activities such as preparing community gardens and assembling explorer kits. Elementary school specific highlights covered initiatives like the Oregon Battle of the Books participation, writing activities related to the Iditarod, and student recognition programs such as 'Grizzly Upstanders' and 'KAS' award slips honoring district agreements. Furthermore, efforts to build positive school climate through gratitude mugs and coat drives were detailed. High school updates focused on career and technical education, including the Survey of Trades class featuring numerous industry speakers and a presentation to the Chamber of Commerce about the district's 14 career pathways and programs of study, showcasing student work in areas like welding, graphic design, and robotics.

The Community Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) held an informational meeting on January 5th to explain the bond process, focusing on the methodology used to determine and adjust costs over time due to scope or cost changes. Following a presentation by Superintendent Spitzer on the bond cost process, the CBOC engaged in a structured discussion regarding the committee's role, goals, and actionable steps members could take to support the school district in fulfilling these responsibilities.

The meeting commenced with recognizing National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, specifically honoring two dedicated school resource officers for their roles as mentors and educators in building positive relationships and maintaining safe learning environments. A significant portion of the agenda featured a presentation on the Bridges to Independence program, which supports young adults who have graduated with modified diplomas, focusing on life skills, employment goals, and post-secondary goals. Key program activities detailed included community access, independent living skills (cooking, laundry), financial literacy via a school store and banking practice, healthy relationship education, and a sewing class. The program also engages in community partnerships, including work at local farms, Gleaners Food Bank, and Phillips Foster Farms, as well as television production ("Bridges Bites") and travel training using public transit. Post-secondary goals involved access to Clackamus Community College resources. Special activities highlighted were a Thanksgiving dinner, the annual holiday bazaar fundraiser, and a highly anticipated Spa Day focusing on personal hygiene. Board members expressed appreciation for the program's foundation in fostering student independence, and there was discussion regarding expanding unified sports programs to include track and field, similar to those observed in other districts.

The session involved training for the board members on transitioning from BoardDocs to the new platform, Diligent Community. The discussion covered the new platform's features designed to enhance community transparency, user-friendliness, and accessibility, including user sign-on processes, general navigation, the search functionality with advanced filters (by file type, date range, meeting details), accessing help guides, and updating personal user profiles (username, password, contact information, notification preferences). The transition to Diligent Community is scheduled for January.

The meeting featured presentations highlighting activities related to Native American Heritage Month across the district's schools. Key segments included updates from Hulcom Elementary regarding a book reading and fry bread event, and a presentation from Beaver Creek Elementary on storytelling sessions with Allan Town, which focused on Native American history and culture. Furthermore, presentations detailed the Native American Heritage Month initiatives at Gardner Middle School, including historical biographies and land acknowledgment discussions, and updates on classroom lessons concerning salmon and Northwest Native American tribes. The district also reviewed its Business Career Technical Education (CTE) program and DECA activities at Oregon City High School, with student officers detailing coursework in business communications, personal finance, accounting, finance, and marketing, alongside the role of DECA in preparing leaders through competitions and community engagement.