Elkton Charter School

Spring has definitely sprung in Elkton! Although we weren’t sure that it would ever stop raining it seems that it has, at least for now and we are enjoying some of those beautiful spring days that make living here so wonderful. The schools and students have woken up from the rain soaked winter and have a full slate of activities planned from here to the end of the year. We encourage you to look on our website for the latest calendar updates and upcoming events.

Mark your calendar for Friday, May 12th at 6 in the High School library as we have Charan Cline visiting to share his successes on facilities improvements in the Yamhill-Carlton School district. He will be focusing on strategies to look at when planning and considering a bond, pre-planning for facilities upgrades and much, much more. We invite all community members to attend as we begin the process of developing a strategic facilities plan for the grade school. We hope to see you there.

As we head into the budget season we would like to stress that we do not foresee many cuts to existing programs for next year. However, we have not received official word from the Legislature on the amount of money that we will receive. As costs rise to provide services and employ people, funding has to keep pace, or we end up having to look at cuts to balance our budget. Due to diligent planning by the board we can sustain programs through the first year of the biennium. Our hope is that the Legislature will keep pace with funding and pass a budget of at the very least 8.0 Billion dollars. In the interim, we are preparing for a number more likely to be around 7.8 Billion for schools in Oregon. The district continues to pursue grant funding and other revenue streams to help sustain as many programs as possible. We understand that a diverse array of activities is needed to engage and teach our students.

Speaking of engagement, our engagement team is off to Atlanta at the end of the month funded entirely by a grant from the Ford Family Foundation to learn engagement techniques at the Ron Clark Academy. A few years ago we received some startling data about student engagement in our schools, and the perceptions of our students. Since then, we have begun the effort to improve student engagement through professional development. The trip to Atlanta is the first step to learning and bringing back strategies that will reach more students! As always, if you have questions about anything feel free to call or email me at the numbers below. It is an exciting time to be in Elkton, and our “find a way or make one” mentality is alive and well.

Go Elks!!

Andy Boe

541-584-2228

Andy.boe@elkton.k12.or.us