Candy Armstrong, Superintendent North Wasco County School

Candy Armstrong, Superintendent
North Wasco County School District #21
3632 West 10th Street
The Dalles, OR 97058
541-506-3420
www.nwasco.k12.or.us
North Wasco County School District 1
2011 - 2012
North Wasco County School District #21 was created in 2004
when the community voted to create a single District to serve all
students in the Northern Wasco County region including the city
of The Dalles, the city of Mosier and outlying areas.
The District is organized with a seven-member elected board of
directors. The District receives funding through the Oregon
Department of Education based on Oregon’s funding formula for
education as described in ORS 336.675, which is determined largely by ADM (Average
Daily Membership). The District seeks some additional support in the form of grants
and funding for special projects through both federal and private funding sources.
The Mission of the North Wasco County School District is to “Provide foundational skills
that encourage life-long learning and positive citizenship.” The district is committed to
providing a safe educational environment with curriculum choices that challenge every
student while focusing on increases in academic acheivement with special emphasis on
reading, writing, and mathematics gains. The District also makes special efforts to
consistently increase parent involvement and encourage effective community
partnerships.
North Wasco County School District 2
2011 - 2012
ENROLLMENT
Current enrollment in North Wasco County School District #21 is 3,071 students.
Historically, enrollment at the District fluxuates and is traditionally somewhere
between 2,900 and 3,000 students. In 2011, enrollment has held steady at about 3,071 for
the majority of the school year. The graphs presented below outline the demographics
of the student population:
In terms of Ethnicity, the
largest percentage of students
enrolled in the District report
that they are White. The
largest minority group report
that they are Hispanic.
North Wasco County School District 3
2011 - 2012
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

North Wasco County School District contributes $12,600,000 per year to the local
economy in payroll costs, that translates to $1,050,000/mo.

North Wasco County School District has 349 Regular Employees

91% of the positions at North Wasco County School District qualify as Family
Wage Jobs in our region.
North Wasco County School District 4
2011 - 2012
CHENOWITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Chenowith Elementary School has been a leader in the
District in the implementation of School-wide Positive
Behavior Interventions and Supports. Since
implementing this framework for addressing student
behavior, Chenowith Elementary has experienced
overwhelming positive changes in school environment.
This framework provides a menu of behavioral
interventions along a continuum. Largely due to the
success at Chenowith Elementary, all of the other schools
in the District have now adopted the School-wide Positive
Behavior Interventions & Supports Framework for
addressing student behavior.
QUICK FACTS
 Established in 1961 – serving
students in The Dalles for 50
Years
 Currently serves about 450
students in grades K-5
The Structured Learning Center for the elementary level
 Providing about 51 jobs
population of students with severe handicaps and learning
disabilities is housed at Chenowith Elementary School. This
 77% of students at Chenowith
Elementary are on the
program provides specialized educational and therapeutic
learning for students with a high level of special needs.
Free/Reduced Lunch Program
Chenowith Elementary School has the highest percentage of
 Serves up to 80 students with
students living in poverty in the District. Recently, Gateway
quality After School
Presbyterian Church made a 10-year commitment to support
Programming
Chenowith Elementary School providing volunteer time and
effort.
North Wasco County School District 5
2011 - 2012
COLONEL WRIGHT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Colonel Wright Elementary is committed to helping out
in their community. Every month, students and staff
collect specific food items for local food pantries in a
program they call Neighbor to Neighbor. Last month
they gathered peanut butter and Mac-N-Cheese. Classes
take turns delivering the goods to St. Vincent DePaul, a
local charity within walking distance of the school.
In 2008-2009 Colonel Wright did not meet the Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP) standards set out by the federal
No Child Left Behind Act. Since then, the school has
worked with a Math Specialist and adopted the
Professional Learning Communities model of working
together in grade level groups to develop learning
QUICK FACTS
strategies together. Staff have also participated in a pilot
project with Education Northwest and the Columbia
 Established in 1924 – serving
Gorge ESD to implement Rapid Inquiry Cycles – a
students in The Dalles for 87
method for identifying problem areas and finding quick
Years
solutions to get results. With these changes Colonel
 Currently serves about 315
students in grades K-5
 Providing about 33 jobs
 65% of students at Colonel
Wright are on the
Free/Reduced Lunch Program
 Colonel Wright is supported
by an active Parent Teacher
Association (PTA)
Wright has pulled out of school improvement status and
has met AYP for the past two years.
North Wasco County School District 6
2011 - 2012
DRY HOLLOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Staff at Dry Hollow do an amazing job of motivating
students to learn. In November, Dry Hollow Elementary
held a Masquerade Ball and a Sock Hop for students who
met their reading goals. In fact, Dry Hollow has “MET”
the targets for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) every
year so far. This is a huge accomplishment as the targets
continue to increase by 10% each year under the Federal
No Child Left Behind Act. Dry Hollow uses Literacy
Blocks to teach reading, grouping the students by skill
level vs. grade level and measures progress using the
Accelerated Reader Program.
QUICK FACTS
 Established in 1960 –
serving students in The
Dalles for 51 Years
 Currently serves about 500
students in grades K-5
 Providing about 44 jobs
 53% of students at Dry
Hollow are on the
Free/Reduced Lunch
Program
 Dry Hollow is currently
hosting a Pre-Kindergarten
program funded through
the Safe Schools Healthy
Students Initiative
North Wasco County School District 7
2011 - 2012
THE DALLES MIDDLE SCHOOL
Community service is important to students and staff at
The Dalles Middle School. Every year the school puts
together a large event to recognize Veterans in our
Community. This year 600+ students sat quietly giving
their full attention as Veterans spoke at an assembly
about their experiences. After the assembly, many
veterans stayed to have lunch with student leaders.
This year, Mid Columbia Fire & Rescue asked schools if
they wanted to participate in the annual ELFF Food
drive. Fire Fighters were litterally shocked when they
arrived at The Dalles Middle School and collected 2,000
cans of food. These students and staff are impacting our
community in a big way.
QUICK FACTS
 Established in 2004 –
serving students in The
Dalles for 7 Years
 Currently serves about
613 students in grades
6-8
 Providing about 57 jobs
 63% of students at
TDMS are on the
Free/Reduced Lunch
Program
North Wasco County School District 8
2011 - 2012
THE DALLES WAHTONKA HIGH SCHOOL
The Dalles Wahtonka High School (TDWHS) has
been a leader in the state in terms of progressive
academic education. In 2010, TDWHS adopted the
evidence based Credit for Proficiency grading
model. This model gives students high school
credits based of their ability to demonstrate a skill or
knowledge rather than credit awarded for time spent
sitting in class. This model has proven to better
prepare students for college and the workforce. Last
year the High School implemented Credit for
Proficiency in core classes, such as Language Arts,
Math & Science. This year, the High School is
expanding the model to other areas of education and
the District is expanding the model to The Middle
School level.
QUICK FACTS
 Established in 1940 – serving
students in The Dalles for 71
Years
 Currently serves about 870
students in grades 9-12
 Providing about 74 jobs
 51% of students at TDWHS
are on the Free/Reduced
Lunch Program
North Wasco County School District 9
2011 - 2012
DISCOVERY HIGH SCHOOL
The Wahtonka Campus now houses the
Discovery High Schoo, alternative education
program. The District is also renting space in
this building to Mid Columbia Children’s
Council to provide increased capacity for the
Early Headstart and Headstart programs.
This is a wonderful pairing to meet the needs
of teenage parents in our commnity. Mid
Columbia Children’s Council holds some
slots in the Early Head Start Program for
students who are enrolled in Discovery High
School and who are teen parents. They can
QUICK FACTS
complete their education while ensuring that
their child is well cared for, all under one roof.
 Bldg. established in 1965 –
serving students in The Dalles
for 46 Years
Students at Discovery High School are currently
utilizing an on-line learning program. They
come to school part-time and they take classes
 Currently serves about 75
students in grades 9-12
on-line part-time. This is a great option for
those students who need to hold full time jobs in
order to support themselves, while they
 Providing about 6 jobs
 67% of students at Discovery
High School are on the
Free/Reduced Lunch Program
 Provides Alternative Education
and credit recovery for students
who are struggling in the
traditional school environment.
complete their High School education.
North Wasco County School District 10
2011 - 2012
MOSIER COMMUNITY SCHOOL
North Wasco County School District is the
sponsoring District for Mosier Community
School and the Mosier Middle Middle School,
both of which are public charter schools
according to ORS 338.005. According to statute,
the District is required to provide a minimum
of 80% of ADM (Average Daily Membership) or
the amount of funding that the District receives
per student in the general fund. The District
has negotiated a contract with Mosier
Community School to provide 83% of ADM as
originally requested. In addition, North Wasco
County School District provides transportation,
QUICK FACTS
 Established in 1920 – serving
students in Mosier and
surrounding areas for 91 Years
 Currently serves about 217
students in grades K-8
 NWCSD provides about 3.8 FTE
who work at Mosier Community
School
 35% of students at Mosier
Community School are on the
Free and Reduced Lunch
Program
special education and a share of the Title I
federal grant for reading specialists.
North Wasco County School District 11
2011 - 2012
TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT
When the Director of Transportation retired last year,
the District re-organized the department and placed it
within the Maintenance Division. This year,
Transportation has been working towards
implementation of new Transfinder software. This
software has the capacity to map the address of every
student in the District and calculate the best routes for
better efficiency.
The boundaries of North Wasco County School District
cover approximately 192 square miles. Each day, school
busses travel about 1,367 miles just to get students to
and from school. Bus drivers are among the most vital
employees in the District, they are the first people to
greet the children each day.
QUICK FACTS
 NWCSD21 transports 1,388
students each school day
 Traveling 257,406 miles/yr. to
bring students from home to
school and back (1,367 mi/day)
 Traveling 38,216 mi/yr for
educational field trips
 Traveling 46,472 mi/yr for
athletic trips
 Providing about 15 jobs
 Avg. length of bus rides is
57min. from home to school
North Wasco County School District 12
2011 - 2012
FACILITIES MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
The Facilities Department at North Wasco
County School District cares for about
545,995 square feet of building space and
100 acres of green space. The facilities are
used year-round by students and
community groups. Next month, January
2012, the calander shows that a community
based group is using at least one of the
District facilities on 29 out of 31 days. The
District provides facilities for several
QUICK FACTS
annual community events such as Relay for
Life.
 The Facilities Dept. maintains
545,995 sq. ft. of building space
Each year, the District contracts with a
number of local businesses to for facilities
 The District provides 100 acres of
projects large and small. In the past three
green space for the community
years, the District has spent approximately
$4,188,155 on Fixed Asset additions or repairs.
 There are about 28 jobs provided
in the Facilities/Maint. Dept.

While some of these projects did require
consultation with specialists from out of the
area, the District’s standard policy is to seek
services from local contractors first.
North Wasco County School District 13
2011 - 2012
NUTRITION SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Sherri Kennedy works in Nutrition Services at
The Dalles Middle School. She does it because
she loves the interaction with the students. A
few years ago, North Wasco County School
District was awarded a federal Safe Schools
Healthy Students grant and part of the
funding was intended to provide after school
programming for middle school age students.
For this program, staff wanted to help
students not only with homework but with
skills that they could use right now. The idea
for the Simple Chef program was born.
Sherry ran with the idea and created a
program that would help kids learn about
food safety while also learning to prepare
quick and easy meals and snacks for
QUICK FACTS
 Nutrition Services provides
512,000 meals for students each
year
 Breakfast and Lunch are served
daily and many students also eat
dinner during after school
programming
 There are about 15 jobs in
Nutrition Services
 Nutrition Services works yearround providing a summer meal
program that all children ages 121 can access at meal sites
throughout The Dalles.
themselves and their families. The Simple
Chef activity has become the FAVORITE
among youth in the program. They just rave
about Sherri’s tacos!