Oregon City Schools earn 4‑star district rating; career technical program rated 5 stars

Mrs. Koy, a district staff presenter, told the Oregon City Schools Board of Education on Sept. 17 that the district earned a 4‑star overall rating on the state report card and that the district''s career technical program earned a 5‑star rating.

"So we should feel very good about the work that we continue to do with kids on a daily basis because we wouldn't be able to achieve these levels without all the work that everybody does," Mrs. Koy said, adding that "the report card is just 1 measure. It certainly does not define us, and it doesn't tell our whole story."

Nut graf: The state report card aggregates multiple components — achievement, progress (growth), gap closing, graduation, early literacy and a separate college/career/workforce report — and the board heard detailed component scores, subgroup breakdowns and career‑technical outcomes that school staff say are used by the district to identify strengths and target areas for improvement.

Koy said achievement and progress are the most heavily weighted components (about 28.6% each). She reported the district held steady at 4 stars for both achievement and progress. On progress specifically, she said the district''s value‑added measures have been a long‑standing strength: "progress has always been, a really strong area for us."

The presentation listed several school‑ and grade‑level highlights: fourth‑grade English language arts (ELA) at Jerusalem rose 13 percentage points year over year; fifth‑grade ELA was up 8 points; seventh‑grade math up 10 points; biology up 9 points; and American history up 7 points. Koy also discussed Algebra I performance across two sites she named as Fassett and Clay.

Gap closing, however, was the largest area of decline. Koy said the district''s gap‑closing percentage was 43.1% and that the district earned 25 points out of 58 possible in that component. She told the board the gap‑closing component now bundles multiple measures — subgroup achievement and progress, English‑learner proficiency, chronic absenteeism and gifted identification and services — and that the district lost points this year in chronic absenteeism (zero of five possible points), English‑learner proficiency improvement (zero points) and subgroup progress in some groups.

On graduation, Koy provided component figures used to arrive at the graduation score: a four‑year graduation rate of 93.4% and a five‑year rate of 95.2%, which combined to a 94.1% graduation component and a 4‑star rating for that component.

Koy said the early‑literacy component was 73.9% overall. She described the three parts of early literacy used by the state: third‑grade ELA proficiency (40% of that component), promotion from third to fourth grade (35%), and multi‑year improvement for students previously identified for reading support (25%). Koy reported third‑grade proficiency at about 78.0% and promotion to fourth grade at about 99.1%.

On career technical education, Koy credited district staff and data work for the program''s 5‑star rating. She singled out EMIS coordinator Nate Quigg by name: "the importance of our EMIS coordinator, the importance of Nate Quigg is absolutely unbelievable. Because if he doesn't get this stuff right, it doesn't then report accurately." The board was given the career technical program''s component figures: an overall achievement measure of 95.3, a performance index of 70.2%, a four‑year CTE graduation rate of 98.2% and a five‑year rate of 98.8%.

Koy also summarized post‑program outcomes and credentialing data: 97% of career‑technical students were employed, in a military or service program, or enrolled in postsecondary education within six months of leaving high school; 89.2% earned at least one industry‑recognized credential; and 52.1% earned at least 12 credential points in a single career pathway.

The presentation was informational; no board action on the report card was taken. Superintendent Hal Gregory and staff members thanked the principals, teachers and data staff for the results. Board members and district leaders noted the star ratings represent one measure among many and that staff plan to use component‑level detail to target improvements in subgroup growth and chronic absenteeism.

Ending: Board members asked questions and praised staff for the work required to collect and report the data. Koy and other district staff said they will continue to dig into subgroup progress and absenteeism to identify next steps and supports for students and schools.