Jefferson County is shaking up its schools

Madras-area schools will get a shakeup next year, as the Jefferson County 509-J School Board recently approved a new high school and reconfiguration of two elementary schools.

Superintendent Rick Molitor told KTVZ on Monday the district is opening its first alternative high school in an effort to boost graduation rates and offer more learning choices for students.

The district estimates up to 150 students will join the new school that will be housed in the current Westside Elementary building.

That facility has not operated as an elementary for several years. Currently, it serves as other purposes — including an early learning center and a credit recovery program for Madras High students who have failed mainstream courses.

“They need some other options,” said Madras High Principal Mark Neffendorf, who is helping the district develop the curriculum and planning for the new school. “Not all kids fit into a regular, comprehensive high school. It will be a combination of direct instruction and learning online.”

Graduation rates at Madras High are grim — much like other schools in the state. A federal report released last year shows Oregon has the worst graduation rate in the country.

The Oregon Department of Education reports that only 57 percent of Madras High students graduated on time last year.

However, that number also includes students involved in a fifth-year program that allows them to earn free college credits while technically still being enrolled in the high school.

The report said 48 seniors dropped out of high school last year — meaning only about 25 percent of students truly left school without earning a diploma.

Neffendorf hopes an alternative school will boost graduation rates to over 80 percent.

“You have to give them the opportunity to be successful,” he said.

An alternative-learning program has already been successful at Madras High, according to the district. The credit recovery classes held at Westside School allow students to learn independently online, in a quiet setting.

The program allowed fifth-year senior Hector Beaz to turn his life around: He’s on track to graduate this spring.

“I connected more with the teachers here,” Beaz said. “They gave me more confidence in myself, and they saw the potential in me.”

As for the two elementary schools go, the reconfiguration is all about offering fewer transitions for students and planning for the future.

Currently, students attend a K-2 school and then a 3-5 school. With the changes, each school instead will offer K-5 classes.

Because each school is already nearly full, the district originally pitched moving fifth-graders at Buff Intermediate School and Metolius Elementary to a wing of Jefferson County Middle School.

It was push-back from parents and lawsuit unrelated to the district that made school leaders rethink the plan.

“The spotted frog water issue with the farmers is a big, big issue here,” Molitor said.
“That could have some negative impacts on the school population.”

Two environmental groups recently sued federal water managers and Central Oregon irrigation companies over management of flows on the Deschutes River, saying too much water is removed for irrigation and it’s hurting the spotted frog and fish habitat.

The district worries if a federal judge rules in favor of the lawsuit, farmers will have less water, won’t produce as many crops, and families working in the agricultural industry will leave Jefferson County.

“It’s scary,” Molitor said.

He said the district’s population has been stagnant for the last couple years, and with so much uncertainty around growth, it makes more sense to keep students in one school longer.

“Parents will be able to connect with one school for their (student’s) elementary career,” Molitor said. “It will have that community feel, that community bonding, and knowing that they’ll have one less transition as then they move to the middle school.”