Celebrating Oregon schools reaching high standards

SEASIDE HIGH SCHOOL, Seaside
Dr. Doug Dougherty, Superintendent
2002 Oregon Report Card Rating: Strong
Tel.: 503.738.5591

It’s noon at Seaside High School and you can practically hear a pin drop. Everyone in the building is reading silently. For twenty minutes, students, teachers and administrators pick up the book of their choice and engage in a program called sustained silent reading. As English teacher Mark Mizell describes it, “ sustained silent reading makes reading fun, even habit forming. Kids choose what to read -– novels, textbooks, or even comic books. It doesn’t matter because it all exposes students to different types of writing styles which can positively affect their own reading and writing skills.”

The approach seems to be working. In 2002, 70% of Seaside’s 10th graders met or exceeded state reading benchmarks, compared with 53% of their peers statewide. Sustained silent reading is just one of the programs implemented over the last ten years to raise student achievement at Seaside high school.

Located on Oregon’s north coast, the Seaside School District is comprised of one high school, one middle school and three elementary schools. In 1992, when the Oregon Education Act for the 21st century was implemented, Seaside’s students were performing at or below the state benchmark. Determined to increase student achievement at all levels, the district took action. It became obvious that the many requirements of the Act would need coordination to provide common understanding, grade level articulation, and district-wide consistency. Doug Dougherty, now the district’s superintendent, established the District School Improvement Steering Committee to analyze, implement, and monitor all school improvement decisions for the district five schools.

The Steering Committee includes teachers, site council chairs, and administrators representing each school and each grade level. Since 1992, it has met before school twice a month to focus on increasing student achievement in reading and mathematics. Sub-committees are responsible for a range of topics related to this larger goal, including analysis of student assessments, curriculum improvement, professional development, school schedules that better meet student needs, and increasing parent and community involvement.

For example, the Communications sub-committee has developed a presentation entitled “Route to the CIM” to inform students, parents, and community members about the Certificate of Initial Mastery. Using the analogy of obtaining a driver license, a significant event for many sophomores, the presentation clarifies the importance of performance-based standards.

The District’s hard work has increased student achievement on the Oregon Statewide Assessment two full grade levels from where they were ten years ago. These efforts have moved the District from its students achieving below or at the state averages in the early 1990s to consistently surpassing the state average at almost every benchmark year for reading and math.

Seaside School District continues to strive to increase student performance. There are many opportunities to improve but it is clear the District School Improvement Steering Committee has been, and will continue to be a powerful tool in facilitating and supporting instructional change.

Fred Meyer and E3 salute the students of Seaside for their steady academic progress, and the district for their collaborative processes, creative problem solving and innovations.

Click here to read about student success at other Oregon schools.