Ashland High highlights universal design, stricter cell‑phone use and new ‘Future Foundations’ course

Ashland High School Principal Bell told the Ashland School Board on Feb. 13 that the school is rededicating staff to universal design for learning, tightening enforcement of a no‑cell‑phone policy in classrooms and piloting a new four‑year career and life readiness pathway.

At the start of semester two, Principal Bell said staff had committed to “universal design for learning, UDL,” as a way to remove barriers and give students multiple ways to show learning. “We really wanna make sure that we’re reaching all of our students,” Principal Bell said, adding that staff leaders ran the presentation and that the work will be revisited and systematized over time.

Bell described the phone policy as a campus cultural shift rather than a fully mechanized system: “They’re just not welcome in the classroom,” she said, noting enforcement varies by class layout and schedule. Students currently “voluntarily relinquish” phones for class, Bell said, using pockets or sleeves; the school is researching lockers, pouches and other device solutions but has not adopted a single hardware approach. “We’re all kind of in a state of learning about how to implement this policy to fidelity,” she said.

Counselors and administrators also described a new “Future Focus” pathway — a four‑year sequence that integrates college‑ and career‑readiness (CCR) standards, social‑emotional learning and an annual personal education plan. The district piloted a semester course this year called “Adulting 101” for juniors; Bell said the course will be renamed “Future Foundations” next year and will become a required semester elective for the class of 2027. “We do listen,” she said when noting feedback on the course name.

Athletic director Francisco outlined athletics as a major student engagement tool. He said Ashland offers 19 Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) programs, seven club sports and 29 teams, producing roughly 275 game dates and “about a thousand games a year” across seasons. Francisco reported fall and winter participation at 352 students and projected spring participation could bring the total to 400–450 students, roughly half the high school. He said athletes show higher attendance and grades: “Eighty percent of our athletes have a 3.3 GPA or better,” and he added that seniors participating in athletics graduate at a 100 percent rate, as tracked by the athletic program’s eligibility and coaching supports.

Why it matters: The district is aligning instruction, student supports and extracurriculars to state graduation and CCR expectations while also making operational changes to classroom life. Board members asked about cell‑phone enforcement during open campus lunch periods and out periods; Bell said the school must balance safety and student off‑campus communication while pursuing refinements to the policy.

Principal Bell and Francisco invited the board to future events and noted leadership students are increasingly visible through pep rallies and community outreach. The board asked for follow‑up data on long‑term academic outcomes for students who participate in athletics; Francisco said the district runs eligibility and academic reports and could provide historical data if the board requested it.