Here's how Salem-Keizer School Board candidates want to improve graduation rates

Natalie Pate
Statesman Journal

Reducing class sizes, adding more mentors and keeping students engaged are among the solutions Salem-Keizer School Board candidates proposed Thursday night to increase graduation rates district-wide.

Three seats on Salem-Keizer's board are up for election May 21, with six candidates in the running.

Four of the candidates gathered for a forum at the Salem Public Library to answer voters' questions, including how they plan to address graduation rates in Salem-Keizer Public Schools, if elected.

Marty Heyen and Chuck Lee, incumbents for Zones 2 and 6 respectively, were unable to attend due to prior commitments.

While graduation rates — often considered the rate of students who receive a traditional diploma in four years — are only one measure of success, it is the statistic frequently referenced to see how well students and schools are doing. 

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Four of the six Salem-Keizer School Board then-candidates, Raul Marquez, David Salinas, Satya Chandragiri and Danielle Bethell speak at a forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Marion and Polk Counties, at Salem Public Library in Salem on May 2, 2019.

This comes, in large part, from the fact that it is a state mandate to progress students through the K-12 system and prepare them for life after. It's also the guiding mission for districts like Salem-Keizer.

Additionally, graduation rates are a large indicator of how well individuals will do later in life. Research shows students who don't graduate from high school are less likely to find full-time employment and more likely to rely on social services and be incarcerated.

As a result, as long as students are not graduating at 100 percent, taxpayers end up spending more on these services and programs, costing communities millions of dollars that could go elsewhere. 

Salem-Keizer's recent grad increases

Salem-Keizer's graduations rates — along with the state as a whole — have seen progress in recent years.

More than 78 percent of all eligible high schoolers in Oregon graduated in four years in 2017-18, according to the latest data from the Oregon Department of Education. This is a 2-percentage-point increase from the previous year and brings Oregon the closest it has been to having 80 percent of students graduating "on time."

Graduates during the North Salem High School commencement at the North Salem High School Stadium on Friday, June 8, 2018. SHANNON MILLARD / Special to the Statesman Journal

Even when looking at individual demographics, Oregon's numbers have all increased. Regardless of gender, disability or economic status, race or language background, every single group saw gains this past school year.

However, even with Oregon's increase, other states have done better, leaving Oregon to drop to the second worst state in the country, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. 

    In Salem-Keizer, the district's overall four-year graduation rate increased this past year from 73.36 percent to 76.56 percent. 

    Students considered economically disadvantaged in the district increased by 5 percentage points, Asian/Pacific Islander students increased by 12 percentage points and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students increased by a whopping 15 percentage points.

    That said, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black/African American students each dropped by about 8 percentage points. 

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    Pushing for smaller class sizes

    Raul Marquez Guerrero, a full-time college student running for Zone 2, said reducing class sizes is one of his top priorities and would significantly impact grad rates.

    As a recent McKay High School graduate, Marquez experienced first-hand what it's like "to be in classes where there's 35-plus students, to see that some of my teachers were worried that if every student showed, they didn't know where four or five students would sit."

    "This directly impacts a student's ability to learn in a classroom setting," he said. "(It) directly impacts an educator's ability to do their jobs, to create the relationships, to invest the time with the students."

    Salem-Keizer School Board candidate Raul Marquez, speaks at a forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Marion and Polk Counties, at Salem Public Library in Salem on May 2, 2019.

    In order to reduce class sizes, especially as enrollment is growing, additional funding is needed for more teachers. Marquez believes that investment — something that could come from additional funding at the state level — is a worthy one.

    "I'm optimistic that, as a board, we can make decisions to help not only reduce class sizes, but to provide students with the resources and opportunities that they need to be able to thrive, so that one day we can lead the state in highest graduation rates," he said. 

    Meet the candidatesMental health, grad rates, funding top lists for Salem-Keizer School Board candidates

    Adult mentorships, engaging students

    David Salinas, a project manager with Cherry City Electric running for Zone 4, and Danielle Bethell, executive director of the Keizer Chamber of Commerce running for Zone 6, both talked about the importance of mentorships in helping students reach the graduation stage. 

    While they both recognized the work of existing district programs — specifically targeted at older students at risk of not graduating — they want to see more.

    "I think having someone to talk to as a youth, someone who has more life experience (and) understanding than most of your peers in school is very important," Salinas said.

    "It's very important to implement these programs prior to them getting in trouble, prior to something happening where we have to step in and kind of direct them," he said. "I would like to see in detail what the district is currently doing and how we can expand that."

    Salem-Keizer School Board then-candidate Danielle Bethell speaks at a forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Marion and Polk Counties, at Salem Public Library in Salem on May 2, 2019.

    Bethell said she would like the see the programs enhanced and extended to freshmen. She described the existing programs as wraparound teams composed of multiple adults — principals, vice-principals, coaches, etc.

    "Every human wants to be seen," she said. "We need to do a better job of seeing our kids, even in the buildings that have 2,000 students in them."

    Bethell said "it just takes one person" to make the difference.

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    "I had two adults in my high school who helped me walk across that stage. And it wasn't like they were dragging me," she said. "They just were paying attention to me. They were just encouraging me. We need to do more of that in our buildings."

    Satya Chandragiri, a psychiatrist running for Zone 4, believes the district needs to start designing programs intended to keep students engaged and show them why what they're learning will help them later in life. Simply put, he said, give them hope.

    "Anytime they stop going to school, drop out or get suspended, the (chance) of graduation is going to be dismal," he said. "The trick is to make sure the programs give them hope, where they see a finished product."

    Salem-Keizer School Board then-candidate Satya Chandragiri speaks at a forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Marion and Polk Counties, at Salem Public Library in Salem on May 2, 2019.

    About the school board, election

    Board members are elected to serve four-year terms without pay. Though they each represent specific zones, the board is responsible for working together to serve all 42,200-plus students in Salem-Keizer Public Schools.

    Voters elect candidates regardless of which zone they live in, meaning the community has a large influence on the overall makeup of the seven-member board. 

    The odd-numbered-zone positions are held by chairwoman Kathy Goss and members Sheronne Blasi, Jesse Lippold and Paul Kyllo, who were elected in 2017.

    Information about the election can be found at https://www.co.marion.or.us/CO/elections. More information on the Salem-Keizer School Board can be found at https://salkeiz.k12.or.us/schoolboard/.

    Questions and answers from each Salem-Keizer candidate: 

    Contact reporter Natalie Pate at npate@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6745 or follow her on Twitter @Nataliempate or Facebook at www.Facebook.com/nataliepatejournalist. To support her work,become a Statesman Journal subscriber and get unlimited digital access to stories that matter.