OUHSD dedicates its Community Day School
The community was invited to the Oroville Community Day School's official ribbon cutting Thursday after the school had been in operation since November.
While few members of the public came, the event drew plenty of Oroville Union High School District officials and Oroville Area Chamber Commerce representatives Tao Stadler and Ray Johnson.
They all gathered around OUHSD Trustee Kathy MacIntyre who cut the ribbon on behalf of Board President David Bruce who couldn't attend the ceremony because of the birth of a grandchild in North Carolina.
"The only thing that kept Dave Bruce away was the birth of his grandson," MacIntyre said. "This was a big project for him."
The community day school is the first new facility to be built following the passage of Measure J in November 2002. Bruce worked tirelessly to get the $12 million bond approved by the voters.
After that, everyone toured the modular campus which features three classrooms with faux stucco exteriors. A stop by Room 602 revealed a spacious and modern classroom where teacher Tom Jones said regular education classes were held during the day, and night classes bring in 30 students or more.
He said Day School students are given individualized instruction in four different levels, and some of their classwork or projects can be displayed on the walls. In Room 603, Jones provided a computer-assisted screening of the school's mission, goals and a student history project.
The community day school has a mission to improve student attendance and achievement along with providing a structured learning environment to complete their studies.
Most have been placed in the day school because of suspensions or expulsions from the district's two main high school campuses.
They earn school credits by completing their work along with extra credit for staying on task 12 hours. The goal is for each student to earn 12 district credits per each six-week learning block.
The school's program has been nick-named the "Pitbull" by students, Jones said, so they can earn "Give the dog a bone" cards for proper behavior and work.
So far, the students have bought into maintaining the new campus properly and keeping it clean and litter free. The school's computer lab has 18 computers, including lap top compatibility, which is exceptional technology for a small program, Principal Jeff Ochs said.
Room 604 is the school's special education classroom where instructor Jody Waddell works with kids on math and other basic subjects. She also teaches American sign language for the hearing impaired which has proven popular with many day school students.
A visit to the basketball court in the rear revealed several students dug the four-foot deep hole themselves for the basketball hoop, so they could get their games going. The students etched their names in the concrete base, Ochs said.
Nearly everything at the day school has been completed except its Second Street sidewalk and front driveway entrance which have been delayed because of road construction. Additional landscaping and a outdoor shade cover in the courtyard are planned too along with some wrought iron fencing to secure the school.
It is situated on two acres at 2120 Second St. at the corner of Second Street and Hammon Park Drive. The ground was broken last fall on the same day Home Depot broke ground across the street, Ochs said.
He added the day school came to the Prospect High campus in the spring of 1999 and had one teacher and a para-educator who taught five students in a side room. From there, it moved to a bigger classroom in a portable building for five years until a class moved to the new campus in November.
The tour also included a stop in a reading classroom at Prospect where students worked on computer-generated reading, vocabulary and spelling lessons.
Lunch was served to the guests in Prospect's common room. Later, Ochs discussed some ideas for alternative education with the board and Interim Superintendent Rick Landess. Ochs wants to expand both Prospect's and the day school's student population and look into providing classes specifically designed for truant students who seldom attend school.
Specifics for these ideas have yet to be finalized but Ochs wants to examine some possibilities during the year.