By the CUJ
MISSION – Seven out of 10 students at Nixyaawii Community School graduate on time, according to the statewide 2019-2020 Report Card issued in November by the Oregon Department of Education.
Pendleton High School graduates about eight of 10 Native students on time.
Among other things, the report card indicates the percentage of Native American/Alaska Native students at each school in Pendleton School District 16R.
It also lists the enrollment for schools as of Oct. 1, 2019 and the percentage of Native American/Alaska Native teachers at each school. The report card provides a percentage of four-year on-time graduation, and also shows the percentage of students who earn a high school diploma or a GED within five years.
At Nixyaawii, as expected, eight of 10 (81 per cent) students are Native, where the enrollment was listed at 93.
The 2019-2020 Report Card provides demographic information that shows 10 multi-racial students and five Hispanic/Latino students at Nixyaawii. It indicates that 6 percent – about three students – are white. Of those NCS students who graduated in the four-year cohort, 83 percent were boys.
The ODE report shows one Native American/Alaska Native teacher at Nixyaawii, with 22 percent multiracial and about one of three teachers who are white.
There are no Native American teachers at Pendleton High School where 7 percent (about 57) are listed as Native American students. Ninety-six percent of teachers at PHS are white, with Asian and Hispanic teachers splitting the other 4 percent, according to the ODE report card.
At Nixyaawii, the four-year on-time completion was 71 percent, with a five-year (diploma or GED) completion of almost 60 percent. At PHS, 80 percent (about 59) Native American/Alaska Native students graduate on time and 88 percent go on to finish in five years.
The school district, including PHS, Nixyaawii, and the Hawthorne Alternative High School, averaged 80 percent for four-year graduation and 84 percent for the five-year completion. The Oregon average is also 80 percent for four-year graduates, and 86 percent for five-year completions.
The report card for Nixyaawii listed the principal, seven teachers, one education assistant, but zero counselors/psychologists. One fourth of the licensed teachers have more than three years of experience.
At Pendleton High School, the report shows 37 teachers, 10 Educational assistants, and three counselors/psychologists. Nearly 90 percent of PHS licensed teachers have more than three years of experience.
The report indicates 77 percent of Nixyaawii students are on the free/reduced price lunch. At PHS it’s 83 percent.
The Report Card also shows that 99 percent of students at Nixyaawii and 97 percent of students at PHS have their required vaccinations.
Hawthorne Alternative High School, which has an enrollment of 50 students, lists 14 percent (about seven) students who claim to be American Indian/Alaska Native. Enrollment also includes Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinos with two students identifying at multi-racial. The report card lists two teachers and two educations assistants. The staff lists zero counselors/psychologists on the staff. Only 22 percent (11 students) at Hawthorne graduate on time with about 50 percent of students finishing in five years.
District wide, 12 percent of the 3,117 student enrollment are Native American/Alaska Natives. (That includes Washington Elementary School with a Native enrollment of 88 students.) About 14 percent of the student enrollment in the District are Hispanic/Latino and about 8 percent listed as multiracial. That leaves 64 percent of the School District student enrollment as white.
Across the district, 71 percent of graduating seniors were on a free/reduced price lunch and 63 percent of those students with disabilities graduated.
Statewide, of 582,661 students there were 8,305 Native American/Alaska Native students, according to the Report Card. That number has consistently dropped each of the last five years. Five years ago, in the 2015-16 school year, there were 8,305 Native students, which means there are about 1,300 fewer Native students this year than five years ago. The decline since 2012-16 school year is about 16 percent.
The state report card shows a total of 21,080 students considered homeless. That number has stayed close to the same for the last five years. (That 21,080 is the number of in-person school days, which was reduced in the 2019-20 school years due to COVID-19. According to the report card, that explains the reduction in the count of students identified as homeless.)
Of those 21,080 homeless students, some 1,584 were in shelters, 15,868 were sharing housing, 2,514 were counted as “unsheltered,” and 1,114 were living in motels. More than 2,300 high school seniors in Oregon were listed as homeless. The smallest number was for pre-school with an estimated 1,281 homeless children.
Across the state, nearly 90 percent of teachers are white, with 24 percent Hispanic, and about 1 percent being American Indian/Native Alaska.
Umatilla County has 229 homeless students, according to the Report Card, which ranks it 20th among the 36 Oregon counties.
Here’s a breakdown for other schools in Pendleton District 16R:
Sunridge Middle School – 748 enrollment
Students – 14 percent (about 100 students) Native American/Alaska Native, 13 percent Hispanic/Latino, 6 percent multicultural, with 66 percent white.
Staff – 24 teachers, 17 educational assistants, one counselor/psychologist with 72 percent of the teacher with more than three years of experience.
Washington Elementary – 443 students
Students – 20 percent or about 88 students American Indian/Native Alaska, 13 percent Hispanic/Latino, 10 percent multi-racial, with 56 percent of the students being white.
Staff – 22 teachers, 17 educational assistants, 1 counselor/psychologist, with 65 percent having more than three years of experience. There were no American Indian/Native Alaska teachers at Washington.
McKay Elementary – 258 students
Students – 5 percent American Indian/Native Alaska, 7 percent Hispanic/Latino, 9 percent multi-racial, and 78 percent white. White men and women accounted for 94 percent of the teachers.
Staff – 14 teachers, 7 educational assistants, 1 counselor/psychologist, with 69 percent of licensed teachers with more than three years of experience.
Sherwood Heights Elementary – 439 students
Students – 3 percent American Indian/Native Alaska, 19 percent Hispanic/Latino, 10 percent multi-racial and 65 percent white.
Staff – 24 teachers (100 percent white), 17 educational assistants, one counselor/psychologist, with 72 percent of licensed teachers with more than three years of experience.
Pendleton Early Learning Center – 247 students
Students -10 percent (about 25) American Indian/Alaska Native, 18 percent Hispanic/Latino, with six out of 10 teachers who are white.
Staff – 15 teachers, 11 educational assistants, one counselor/psychologists with 94 percent being white and 88 percent of licensed teachers with more than three years of experience.
Pendleton School District 16R – 3,117 students
Students – 12 percent (about 374) Native Indian/Alaska Native, 14 percent Hispanic/Latino, 8 percent multi-racial, and 64 percent white, with 94 percent of teachers also described as white.
Staff – 11 administrators, 154 teachers, 76 educational assistants, nine counselors/psychologists and 75 percent if licensed teachers with more than three years of experience.
Oregon State – 582,661 students (8,305 or about 1 percent) American Indian/Alaska natives.
