As the graduation rate for all Oregon students , it grew even more in some places among specific student groups.
In some districts, the improvement outpaced the state. OPB spoke with officials in Salem-Keizer, Lincoln County and Portland Public Schools about efforts to improve graduation for students who are Black, Native American, experiencing homelessness, or part of a migrant education program.
Personal connections build lasting progress in Salem-Keizer
In the Salem-Keizer School District, 81.5% of migrant students in the Class of 2022 graduated. That鈥檚 a more than 10-point increase from the previous year, and slightly higher than the state average of 81.4%.
Griselda Hernandez is the administrative assistant for the district鈥檚 Migrant Education program. She was a migrant student who started working as a student worker in the district鈥檚 migrant education preschool program. As a student, she was a part of the program to support migrant students, but she did not feel connected to it.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get much contact with my own migrant specialist,鈥� Hernandez said. 鈥淪o when I started working with the migrant program, I wanted to make sure that every single student was met. We need to talk to and reach out to every single migrant student to make sure that all their needs are met.鈥�
Salem-Keizer鈥檚 migrant education program serves about 1,600 students with 20 staff members, the . When it comes to seniors, the district offers support through dedicated staff, including a graduation coach.
Hernandez said personal connections with adults, such as coaches, keep students engaged in school. She mentioned a student this school year 鈥� a 鈥渧ery discouraged senior鈥� who was not attending school. Her graduation coach encouraged her to go on a field trip to a college campus and attend a few workshops.
鈥淓ver since that first field trip and that push, her attendance has increased,鈥� Hernandez said.
The district has used community resource specialists to for the district鈥檚 Pacific Islander and Black students. Like the staff in those positions, the district鈥檚 staff dedicated to migrant students work to make sure students remain on target for graduation, even if they have to leave the district.
鈥淭hese are students who might be at risk because of our mobility, where migrant families are in and out of our district because of our work,鈥� Hernandez said. 鈥淲e all make sure they keep on target to graduate by doing those extra resources that we might need 鈥� before or after school tutoring.鈥�
Hernandez also highlighted the migrant education summer program that serves students across all grades, including students traveling through Oregon to California, Idaho and Washington.
鈥淲e make sure that they attend summer school so they don鈥檛 fall behind when they get back to their own district,鈥� she said.
When students end up in Salem-Keizer schools from another country, Hernandez said it鈥檚 now easier for their credits to transfer from their previous schools in Mexico or countries in Central America and South America.
鈥淪o students don鈥檛 get discouraged, so they don鈥檛 have to be repeating a lot of information that they鈥檝e already done in their home countries,鈥� Hernandez said.
This is Hernandez鈥檚 24th year in the district. She said it鈥檚 been amazing to watch the progress and increased support for migrant students and their families. In the future, she wants to better highlight and acknowledge students鈥� achievement in graduating from high school.
Personal connections build lasting progress in Salem-Keizer
For the last couple of years, not only have officials in the Lincoln County School District been sharing information with the Siletz tribe 鈥� they鈥檝e been asking for advice.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really just true collaboration with the education department of the Siletz tribe,鈥� said Majalise Tolan, Lincoln County鈥檚 Director of Secondary Education and a candidate for .
鈥�... It is seeking their input and their advice, and hearing from them and what they鈥檙e hearing from families that we can do to better support.鈥�
The district learned tribal members were interested in career technical education. Families wanted tutoring and more resources, like Chromebooks and better access to the internet. They wanted more help in the transition from middle to high school.
The district has also been working on building cultural awareness between the Siletz tribe and staff, through annual professional development days related to , a law passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2017 that requires a curriculum statewide on Tribal History/Shared History.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e not watching a slideshow, we鈥檙e not showing a film, but we鈥檙e learning from people who live here, and from families that we support,鈥� Tolan said.
Sessions have focused on the history of the land and the Siletz tribe, as well as the history of tribal boarding schools.
鈥淭hey were a totally underserved population in our school district,鈥� Tolan said.
There are also now three full-time staff members supporting Native American students in Lincoln County, funded through the state鈥檚 programs, as well as from federal Title VI funds for Indian Education.
Like Salem-Keizer, graduation coaches have helped students from freshman year through graduation.
Lincoln County saw increased improvement for its small cohort of American Indian/Alaska Native students in the Class of 2022, with 80% of students graduating, compared to the statewide rate of 68.9%.
Tolan said the district is creating more opportunities for Native students to build connections with one another, while also involving general education staff so they can build better relationships with students.
Lincoln County also saw an improvement in students experiencing homelessness, with 76.9% of those students in the Class of 2022 graduating, compared to the statewide rate of 58.6%.
Tolan credited the school district鈥檚 efforts to identify students experiencing homelessness, but she also pointed out .
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we would have the results that we have for our families and students with the graduation rate if we didn鈥檛 have so much support at the county outside of the school system,鈥� Tolan said.
In Portland, community partnerships help improve outcomes for Black students
Portland Public Schools, Oregon鈥檚 largest school district, also serves the largest number of Black students in the state. District officials have made a point of focusing on improving academic outcomes for Black students, as well as Native students.
For the Class of 2022, 79.4% of Black seniors in the district graduated from high school in four years, an increase of four percentage points from the previous year. The statewide graduation rate for Black students increased for the Class of 2022, though it鈥檚 slightly below Portland鈥檚 mark, at 73.7%.
The district noted graduation rates for its small cohort of Native students increased by 11.5 percentage points.
Kimberly Armstrong is the district鈥檚 Chief Academic Officer.
To explain the graduation rate improvement for these groups, Armstrong points back four years to the district鈥檚 Ninth Grade Academies as well as freshmen success teams. She says those efforts helped support students at the beginning of their high school careers.
When it came to helping Black and Native students, she credited culturally- specific community organizations that contract with PPS and offer support for students both inside and outside the classroom.
鈥淲hen I think of the work that they鈥檙e doing to come alongside and partner with us, to provide that wrap-around service is what鈥檚 making the difference,鈥� Armstrong said.
Armstrong said the district is spending federal funds on summer learning and intervention programs to help get students to graduation.
At the same time, she said holding students to high expectations and offering advanced coursework contributed to improved graduation rates.
She鈥檚 thinking about how Portland students fare even after high school graduations.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about just getting a paper and being done, hitting the graduation rate number and saying, 鈥榞reat, you鈥檝e completed and you鈥檙e good,鈥欌�� Armstrong said.
鈥淚 want to know that our students sitting in those college classrooms are just as prepared as students down the street or across the state, that there isn鈥檛 any gap in learning or understanding 鈥� that they can analyze and debate and critique with the best of them.鈥�
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