Graduation date: 1955

A survey was made of the status of public school districts in Oregon with regard to growth or decline in enrollment and the uses or disposition of excess space resulting from a decline. A questionnaire was mailed to superintendents in each of the 126 districts which had declined in enrollment during the years between 1970 and 1983. Of the 106 districts which returned the questionnaire, 53.7% had experienced a decline of sufficient magnitude to require some adjustment in the ways in which building space is used. This excess space was used for classrooms, curriculum centers, office space, community programs, and for programs mandated by state, federal, or local governments. Districts used varied means to inform or involve the public in decisions concerning excess space. Administrative decision was the most often reported method; the use of a task force or citizens' advisory group was less often used. To explore the issues which might be factors contributing to conflict surrounding the closure of a school, the 33 last closed schools were examined in detail. Pearson correlation computations revealed a significant inverse relationship between the level of opposition to the closure and the presence of a task force in the decision-making process. An inverse relationship was also found between the level of opposition and the average length of time that school board members had served. No significant correlation was found between the level of opposition to the closure and the financial result of the closure. Of the 33 schools examined in the study, 29 had resulted in a financial saving; the remaining four had been closed so recently that the financial result was not yet known.

Programs that engage middle students in participatory, real-world, and hands-on field based instruction can be a powerful asset to the educational experiences for students; motivating and inspiring some to appreciate and value school in a different way. Overnight environmental science programs have a unique opportunity to support students by creating experiences where students can participate in learning in vastly different ways from what they may engage with in the traditional 4-walled classroom, while concurrently developing a relationship with the natural world. Decreasing educational budgets and increased need to substantiate educational programs in terms of their impact on students has added pressure for overnight environmental science programs to validate their impact through quantitative means. Utilizing overnight environmental science education program attendance records and merging them with school district data relating to attendance, this study investigates the impact of one such overnight environmental science program on students' attendance rate change. Analyzing the secondary data using multiple linear regressions modeling, researchers explored how the overnight environmental program impacted student attendance rate change and how it varied by demographic characteristics to understand if and how the program addresses school district and educational policy reform targets.

This study examined the effect of a staff-mentoring program with students identified as at-risk of becoming early leavers. This mentoring program, Caring About Kids Effectively (CAKE), was implemented at a suburban secondary school in Oregon serving grades 9 through 12. The study of the CAKE program had four research components: (a) indicators of school success (GPA, attendance, and attitudes toward school) were compared between at-risk students and those not at-risk; (b) indicators of school success were analyzed over the time at-risk students were mentored to find any significant change; (c) indicators of school success and enrollment status at graduation was compared between students at-risk, with and without mentors; and (d) participants' perceptions of the mentoring program, using a researcher-constructed questionnaire given to mentees and mentors to determine activities that were successful and those which needed reevaluation. Using analysis of covariance, the findings showed: (a) a significant difference (p < .05) in attitudes, GPA, and attendance at the beginning of the study between two groups of students identified as at-risk and not at-risk; (b) a significant difference (p< .05) in attitude toward school at the end of Year 1 between those students at-risk with mentors scoring higher than at-risk without mentors and not at-risk students; (c) GPA and attendance declined for at-risk students, with or without mentors, although at-risk students with a mentor seemed to lessen the decline; and (d) no significant differences (E< .05) in GPA and attendance between at-risk with or without mentors, although more at-risk students with mentors continued in school or received GEDs after four years. Finally, students and staff agreed (75%) that they were “satisfied” that the mentor program helped at-risk students develop positive attitudes toward school; however, only half were satisfied concerning their participation, and felt that administrative support and time available to meet with students were crucial to the success of a mentor program. Based upon these findings, it was concluded that the CAKE staff-mentoring program had a positive influence on attitude toward school and retention of at-risk students.