'Close the gaps': Tigard-Tualatin students begin what will hopefully be a normal school year
This week, students and teachers across all grade levels in Oregon are getting back into their routines.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- This week, students and teachers across all grade levels in Oregon are getting back into their routines.
As they wean off pandemic-era schooling, administrators in the state are now dealing with the aftermath, one of the side effects is lower enrollment in schools.
Interim Education Director Dr. Charlene Williams visited Chavez Elementary School in Salem yesterday to meet students and see firsthand the impact their dual language program is having.
We also talked about declining enrollment in the state and what's being done at a government level to address this.
"That's an Oregon problem. That's a national problem that we are all grappling with. We are hoping with programs like our early literacy piece," said Williams. "We hope that when parents come back they know their students are getting the education they deserve."
Students in the Tigard-Tualatin school district wrapped up their first week of school on Friday in what they hope will be the start of a normal school year.
This year in the district there is a deeper commitment to literacy and math instruction following some gaps in learning that were left behind by instruction during COVID-19.
They as a district want to see growth in students, namely a 5% growth in grade level proficiency for all students and an 8% growth in students who have fallen behind.
Dr. Sue Rieke Smith, superintendent of Tigard-Tualatin schools, said the pandemic impacted every student differently.
"The gaps exist because there's information students didn't get," said Dr. Rieke Smith. "We want to close those gaps, but then we want to push them forward in terms of their academic outcomes."
Dr. Rieke Smith said that in the district they are continuing to prioritize reading aiming to get all students able to read by the third grade.
KOIN 6 News' Emma Jerome spoke with Tigard High School principal Melissa Baran and student body president Julie about their hopes for the new year.
Watch the full video in the player above.