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2024 Pendleton School District Graduation Rates

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PSD has much to celebrate in recently released graduation rates.

On Thursday, January 30, 2025, the Oregon Department of Education released the graduation cohort and dropout data for all public school districts in Oregon. The Pendleton School District results are very strong, with a couple of very specific areas needing improvement.

The four-year cohort graduation rates are calculated by following students from the fall of their first year in high school to the end of their fourth year. This tells us the percentage of those students who graduated within four years. The Pendleton School District graduation rates represent a combination of all students who attended Pendleton High School, Hawthorne High School, and Nixyaawii Community School.

This year’s four-year cohort is made up of the students who first entered high school in the fall of 2020. This is important to note since these students started high school 100% online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been much to overcome for these students and many challenges our staff have faced head-on to ensure these students graduate. We celebrate the successes of these students and staff and thank them for their efforts.

The Pendleton School District’s four-year cohort rate is 83.2%. This is a 6.5% increase from the year before and almost 2% higher than the state average.

We have listed areas to celebrate success and a few areas of improvement. Areas of success:

  • 5% increase in general graduation rate
  • 2% increase in Hispanic student graduation rate
  • 2% increase in students w/disabilities graduation rate
  • 7% increase in 4-year completion rate
  • No “gap” between general population and Native American students or between white students and Native American students
  • Student dropout rate lowered by 1% to 3.8% as compared to previous year
  • Exceeded state average in every area except dropout rate and 5-year completion rate

Areas of improvement:

  • A graduation rate of 83.2%, although an increase from the previous year, is still much lower than our goal to help all students
  • Our 5 year completion rate is 3% lower than state average (83.7%). This is much lower than the goal of helping all students receive a diploma, certificate or

We also look at specific school rates as we celebrate successes and try to replicate them in all schools. The Pendleton High School rates increased in nearly every area and exceeds the state average in every area. PHS’s outstanding graduation rates are a great tribute to the many hours of hard work our staff and community invest in our students.

The Pendleton High School four-year cohort rate is 88.8%. This is a 4.9% increase from the year before and 7% higher than the state average.

Areas of success:

  • Dropout rate lowered from 3.16% to 9%
  • Virtually no gap between Native American students and the general student population (1.3% difference)
  • Graduation rate for students with disabilities increased by 2.3% to 2%
  • Exceeds state average in all areas

Areas of improvement:

  • Graduation “gaps” still exist between some student groups and the general student graduation rate
  • 5-year completion rate, although higher than state average, is still an area to improve upon to ensure the success of all students

The Hawthorne High School four-year cohort rate is 55%. This is a 10.3% increase from the year before and almost 27% higher than five years ago.

Areas of success:

  • 4-year completion rate of 72.5%, highest ever achieved for Hawthorne
  • 5-year completion rate at 69.1%, highest ever achieved for Hawthorne Areas of improvement:
  • Dropout rate very high at 8%

The Nixyaawii Community School four-year cohort rate is 87%. This is a 14.3% increase from the year before and 6% higher than the state average.

Areas of success:

  • Dropout rate lowered by 1.57% to 1%
  • 2% increase in 4-year completion rate
  • Native American student graduation rate is 87%, 17% higher than state average for Native American students Areas of improvement:
  • Dropout rate at 5.1% is higher than desired and above the state average of 3%
  • 5-year completion rate is 75.8%, well below the state average of 7%
Thank You School Board Jan 2025

School Board Recognition Month – January 2025

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January 2025 is School Board Appreciation Month.  Thank you for your hard work and continued service to the Pendleton School District.

Thank You School Board Jan 2025

PHS Lockdown Drill

Pendleton High School Lockdown Drill Recap

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An emergency at a school is something that school leaders are always dreading and preparing for at the same time. To prepare, they have regular drills. In Oregon, the state requires schools to hold two Lockdown drills each year. A Lockdown happens when a threat is inside or near a school building and is used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place. In a Lockdown, everyone in the building goes to a secure room and it’s “Locks, Lights, Out of Sight” which means the door is locked, lights are turned off and occupants of the room stay away from doors and window.

On Wednesday, January 15th, Pendleton High School had a drill that was a little different – they had informed teachers and staff there would be a drill that day but didn’t say what time. School leaders had the drill during a passing time when most students were in the hallways. This requires students to remember they should find an open classroom or other room and get in it, even if it’s not one of their regular classrooms or their teacher. Teachers are tasked with gathering as many students near their classroom as possible, then locking the door and remaining quiet with the students.

About 14 law enforcement officers from the Pendleton Police Department and Oregon State Police were at PHS to participate in the Lockdown drill.

About one minute before the drill started, Principal Pat Dutcher sent a text alert to PHS parents that the drill was about to happen. At the start of the drill, Dutcher and Curt Thompson, Assistant Principal, monitored the large number of cameras around the PHS campus. Thompson said he was pleasantly surprised to see on the cameras that there were not many students outside, in halls or in other common areas. Officer Lance Zaugg, School Resource Officer for Pendleton School District, said he encountered a small group of students during the drill who didn’t know what to do, so he ushered them into the school library.

“Our drill today went much better than we anticipated, and most of our students knew what to do. I am also pleased how well our staff did today getting kids into classrooms quickly and remaining there,” Dutcher said.

Dutcher, Thompson and law enforcement officers then went around the building, unlocking doors, turning on lights and confirming to students it was a drill.

Lieutenant Tony Nelson from the Pendleton Police Department said both PHS leaders and his PPD officers wanted to know what the student response would be to a less controlled environment today. “We were very pleased with how everyone did, especially adults in the school scooping up kids into classrooms and getting them somewhere safe,” Nelson said.

Assistant Principal Thompson said the goal of every safety drill is to learn as much as possible, which is what happened today. Principal Dutcher said he hopes that parents of PHS students will discuss the drill with them and reflect on ways students can help contribute to school safety.

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Online Survey to Provide Input

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If you were unable to attend the open forum (January 13, 2025, at 7:00 pm in the PHS Auditorium) with the consultants from McPherson & Jacobson, L.L.C., Executive Recruitment, and Development, who were selected to assist the Pendleton School District in the important task of selecting superintendent candidates for the board to interview, you may provide input using the online survey link provided.

The five-question survey, available in English and Spanish, will be open for participation from Monday, January 13, through Monday, January 20, 2025.

https://survey.k12insight.com/r/Pendleton2025

PHS Operation Christmas Gifts

PHS Operation Christmas Gifts 2024

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Operation Christmas was a huge success at PHS this year. The PHS Counseling Office organized gift bags for 53 students. This could not have happened without the generous donations we received from PHS Staff and community members. A special shout out to Wildhorse Resort and Casino, Medical Center Dental, Pendleton Faith Center, Premium Tire and Lube, PEO Chapter CM, and the Knights of Pythias.

The joy and appreciation each student displayed was heartwarming, making all the work that went into it worth every minute. We hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas this year.

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PHS Assembly

PHS December Events

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PHS students have been as busy as Santa’s elves during the month of December with several projects and events!

Adopt A Child
18 youth from the Pendleton area will have a great Christmas thanks to this annual program at the high school. Clubs, sports teams and individual faculty members at PHS adopt a child and purchase gifts and other items for them.

Canned Food Drive
This is a district-wide effort with all PSD schools collecting canned goods/non-perishable foods to donate. The district collected a total of 5,251 food items. Here are the amounts collected per school:

PHS 2,919
Sherwood 683
Washington 682
Sunridge MS 531
McKay 436

This year, PHS’s collection of 2,919 cans was 48 more than last year. Josh Linehan’s Advisory Class won the contest by bringing in 865 cans. His Advisory students were able to “pie” (throw pies at) losing classes that didn’t bring in any cans — Lunny, Haguewood and Speer — at the Christmas Assembly on December 12th.

Little Bucks Day
On December 18th, the very popular annual Little Bucks Day happened at PHS, with 27 children participating. Led by students from PHS Leadership, the children took a school tour, did arts and crafts, played games like Pin the Tail on Rudolph, decorated cookies, went on a scavenger hunt, and more.

Christmas Assembly
All PHS students enjoyed the assembly on December 12th, which included Principal Pat Dutcher pulling a “sled” with Shelby McQuinn, PHS Secretary, as part of the staff team in the Run Rudolph Run competition.

Also, during the Santa’s Wish List portion of the assembly, Santa (Vice Principal Curt Thompson) granted a wish for one of the high school’s foreign exchange students, Blanca, from Spain. Her wish was to be Bucky at a basketball game.

Thank you to PHS Leadership students, staff and others who made all of these service projects and festive events possible. Now, you deserve a long winter’s nap!

PHS Assembly

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Zoe Reeder

Welcome to PSD – Zoe Reeder

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Zoe Reeder

Beginning and Advanced Metals/Agriculture 2/Science Teacher
Pendleton High School & Hawthorne High School

Zoe grew up in the United Kingdom and Rogue River, OR. She has lived in Pendleton for about two years and completed her student teaching at Pendleton High School.

She attended Oregon State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Science and her master’s degree in Agriculture Education.

About working in the Pendleton School District, Zoe said, “I am most excited about getting to know the amazing community in and outside of the school district!”

When she has spare time, Zoe likes to fish, play with her dog, and explore new places.

Zoe Reeder

Kevin Headings

Pendleton School District Superintendent Announces Resignation

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Pendleton School District Superintendent Kevin Headings announced he will not look to extend his contract past the 24-25 school year and will resign effective June 30, 2025. Headings was hired as Superintendent of Pendleton School District in April of 2022. He signed a three-year contract through June 2025.

Headings said upon being hired, he was thrilled with this new chapter in his life and excited about the opportunity to lead Pendleton School District as superintendent. Headings said he’s pleased with what’s been accomplished during his time as superintendent and positive with the direction the school district is headed.

However, while Headings said he was excited with the new opportunity and the progress of the district overall, he realized over time that his heart is still in working as a building principal. “I’m pleased with our work around improving instruction and making our buildings safe for our students and staff and I’m confident with the direction the district is headed. I look forward to finishing out the year strong.” Headings said, “But I’ve realized, over the past year and a half or so, that my heart just isn’t in it. I kept thinking it would change, but it really hasn’t.  I’ve been a principal in several different districts and superintendent in two. Working as a building principal with daily interactions with teachers, staff, students and parents is truly where my heart and passion are,” Headings said.

Headings said he is grateful for his time in Pendleton and for the opportunity the Pendleton School District afforded me. He has enjoyed getting to know the people of Pendleton, working with the various staff in the district, and working with the school board, he said.

PRU 1910 Room

PHS Culinary Students Gain Work Experience in 1910 Room

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The 2024 Pendleton Round-Up is just a memory for most people, but for the culinary students at Pendleton High School, they are carrying their experience into the school year. Every year for the past eight years, students from PHS foods classes volunteer in the 1910 Room, an exclusive venue at the Round-Up Grounds that serves gourmet meals to patrons who pay $300 or more a day.

Kaden Clark, PHS Foods Teacher, explains how it works. The Round-Up Association hires a chef for the 1910 Room; for the first six years, outside chefs were hired, but last year and this year, Clark was the chef hired under a private contract. In addition, PHS students volunteer for the Round-Up in the 1910 Room under Clark’s direction. All of the food preparation is done in the kitchen at P-TECH and the food is served out of the PHS food truck at the grounds. For the use of the kitchen and the food truck, the Round-Up Association makes a $5,000 donation to the PHS foods program.

This year, 38 PHS students volunteered. For four days in a row, Wednesday through Saturday, Clark and his students serve a five-course meal during the rodeo to about 165 to 185 people each day in the 1910 Room. And it’s a lot of work. Clark starts Sunday of Round-Up week, working every day from about 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM through Saturday night. The concept is to offer a dining experience you can’t get anywhere else in Pendleton.

“It’s a really cool experience for the students because they don’t really have many opportunities to see the fine dining aspect,” Clark said.

Clark’s favorite part is the menu creation process because he loves cooking from scratch and creating dishes that are his own. The students rolled over 1200 egg rolls this year for one of the appetizers, which Clark said was a good experience for doing bulk prep, which students don’t get in the high school classroom setting. Clark said he enjoys seeing the kids get excited about what they are creating, like making beignets from scratch or getting to cook scallops, a food many are not familiar with. “It’s really fun to give them an experience they’re not going to have anywhere else, to give them a different outlook on food and to really see into the food industry and different opportunities they could have in it.”

What’s it like to serve in the 1910 Room? Students, attired in black pants and black chef coats, learn the proper way to serve and clear dishes, how to approach customers, how to be respectful, and more. Clark said the PHS students do a great job, and every single day, he gets compliments about the job they have done. Clark said although the students are exhausted at the end of each day, they really enjoy the work. He also points out that even if students don’t want to work in the food industry, having employable skills like showing up on time and completing daily tasks is something that will benefit them in any kind of job they have in the future.

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Pendleton School District
107 NW 10th Street, Pendleton, OR 97801
Phone:  541.276.6711  Fax:  541.278.3208

The Pendleton School District assures that no person shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or income as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related authorities, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any Pendleton School District sponsored program or activity.

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