Letter to the editor

To the Editor,

Recent articles in this publication and others have told only part of the story that is the first semester of the COVID era in Dayton. Here is the reality:

A recent article in the Waitsburg Times misquoted our MS/HS Principal claiming truancy didn’t contribute to the D and F grades as only 3 students were truant; this is not true nor is it what was said by our Principal in the Board Meeting. What she stated in that Board Meeting (conducted via Zoom and recorded) is that little to no support is given to the school district by the Columbia County Court system for students in truancy and that she had just been in court that day for 3 students in active truancy.  Those 3 students accounted for 21 total F grades in the first semester.

The facts are 14 students in active truancy, or with excessive absence on the verge of truancy, accounted for 45% of the first semester F grades.  When that is removed from the context it paints a much worse picture than what is actually happening.

In our Middle School (including truancies), there were 87 F’s accounting for 18% of the total grades. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there were 159 A’s accounting for 34% of the total grades.  The rest break down as follows: 87 B’s (18%), 77 C’s (16%), and 58 D’s (12%). In total, 4 students had only D and F grades where 22 had only A and B grades.

In our High School (including truancies), there were 46 F’s accounting for only 7% of the total grades and 223 A’s accounting for 36% of the total grades.  The rest are as follows: 173 B’s (28%), 109 C’s (17%), and 74 D’s (12%). Three students had only D and F grades where 25 students had only A and B grades.

Put into full context our first semester statistics show tremendous success and areas for improvement. Fortunately, we have dedicated staff and parents striving to make school in the COVID era successful, and students rising to the challenge.  They deserve to have their success added to the mix if any part of the story is told.

Sam Korslund

Academic Specialist

WSU GEAR UP

Dayton School District

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: In response to Mr. Korslund’s letter, The Times reached out to those involved and confirmed the accuracy of the information in the Feb.11, 2021 article concerning the Dayton School Districts efforts to support students with failing grades.

The comment attributed to Principal Brown:

‘Truancy can’t be blamed for the situation as only three students were habitually absent in January, Brown told the board. Student attendance has actually improved over the last three years.’

This does not refer to all truancy; just those Brown considered habitually absent in January.

This was pointed out to say truancy is not the only factor the board should take into consideration.

We appreciate readers’ comments and fact-checking as accuracy is important to all of us at the paper.