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Trani adds that parents support the district’s two other schools as well, from bragging about the schools to others – thus inviting people to move to the area and enroll their children in the system – to supporting strenuous academic challenges for such students as those in high school, who are encouraged to enroll in Advanced Placement courses.
Noreen said the Corbett district is blessed by the number of parent groups who support it, including parent associations; an education foundation that provides scholarships to Corbett High School graduates; and sports boosters, including a group raising funds to build a football stadium in honor of Jeff Lucas, a 1989 Corbett High School graduate who became a Navy SEAL and died in Afghanistan in 2005.
Zoe Young, a freshman at Corbett High School, said she was saddened when she learned last year that the Corbett School District was eliminating funding for middle school and junior varsity sports.
“I was just hoping I would make varsity,” the volleyball and softball player said. “Or I wouldn’t play at all.”
Thanks to Corbett parents, Young was able to exchange hope for the sure knowledge that she and her peers could play school sports at all the same levels available to students in the past. The district’s middle school and JV sports programs have continued to operate with the financial assistance provided by the Corbett Schools Booster Club, or CARDS.
Kristie Stafford, a volunteer with Corbett Youth Sports, which supports sports in grades kindergarten through sixth, added that her group, which heretofore operated separately from CARDS, plans on combining its efforts with CARDS next year on fund-raisers.
“We are the ones who build the foundation for the kids who go on to middle school and high-school sports,” she said.
Eric Stevens, president of CARDS, spoke about his group’s efforts at the first annual Red & Black Dinner & Auction held Feb. 22 in the Corbett High School Gym. About 160 people came to the booster club dinner.
In the weeks after the dinner, Stevens noted that the boosters raised $100,000 this year for school sports, and have created a “Card Rock Café” off the school gym that sells food and drinks during basketball games. Proceeds benefit Corbett sports, he said.
Stevens said he and other parents have fought hard to save Corbett’s sports programs.
“I think that’s just part of the high school experience,” he said.
Nancy Graybeal, who chaired the dinner/auction, also said Corbett’s parents didn’t want their children to miss out on sports.
“They have not lost anything yet,” she said. “The parents are so committed out here that they want to make sure the kids don’t pay the price, so the parents are picking up the slack.”
Dunton said the decision to cut sports for middle-schoolers and freshmen last year came after years of cutting in such other areas as administration and maintenance.
As a former high school athlete himself, he said, he understands why parents felt they needed to help make up the gap caused, in part, by fluctuating levels of state education funding over the past few years.
Dunton added that active parent groups like the CARDS are why he’s where he is.
“This is another reason I’ll spend my career in small schools,” he said.
Part II of this series, examining the Corbett district’s academic environment, will appear in the Wednesday, June 6, edition of The Outlook.
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Congratulations to Corbett!! I remember the "dark" years when some community members tried to destroy the schools in Corbett...literally shut them down. Apparently they have left the area to be replaced by people with vision and heart...and the kind of soul to see the reality of the rich education possible in a small and committed environment. Thanks to the stubborn support of people like my my mother, Catherine Dunlap, the Corbett Schools survived and have obviously thrived. The only time in my life I heard a swear word leave Catherine's lips was after a particularly vicious school board meeting back in the 80's. Thank you to all the parents and staff who have made Corbett a bright spot in Oregon education. You deserve all the accolades you're getting...and will continue to get if you maintain the same level of commitment that has brought you to this point.
(email verified)
Sun, Jun 03, 2007 at 11:50 AM
Corbett–Cabbages and Cardinals
This headline in Saturday’s Gresham Outlook grabbed my attention:
Corbett Chalks Up Honors
Magazine names district’s high school best in Oregon,
while leaders bring home other awards.
Could this be the school where I spent so many happy years? Reading the article brought back fond memories.
I had been teaching at Gladstone High School for three years. They were not good years, especially the last one. The principal and I just didn’t agree on many issues. The climax came in April when planning graduation. Gladstone was a new high school and this was its first graduation. One of my brightest students was a graduating senior. He was one of a few who had never been in any kind of trouble and was an “A” student. I had enjoyed having him as a student even if he did have long hair, and in 1971, this was a “no no.”
The principal called me into his office. The counselor was also there and said they were concerned about the student’s looks, as they wanted the graduation to be flawless and a long-haired student would spoil the effect. They had already talked to the student about it, and he told them he refused to cut his hair, and that I was the only teacher he respected. So the principal asked me to talk to him about his hair, and let him know if he didn’t get it cut, he could not go through the graduation ceremony.
I made an appointment with the student, and explained the situation. He again said he would not cut his hair and didn’t care if he couldn’t go through the ceremony. I asked if his parents knew about this, and how they felt about it. He said they had left it up to him. I assured him that it was his decision, and not to give up on his education, that next year in college he would enjoy a different and friendlier environment..
Later, I had an appointment with the principal. When I told him about my conversation with the student, he blew up at me, and told me I had betrayed his confidence and the good of the school, and that I obviously wasn’t a dedicated teacher and a few more choice slams. Needless to say, my contract was not renewed.
This was a scary situation, as I was a single mom, and still had two daughters at home. I immediately began applying for other jobs with no success. In late August, without a job, I went to Spokane to visit family. While there, a teacher friend called to tell me she had just applied for a job in Corbett, and that they were looking for a business teacher. They wanted a male so that he could also coach. I called the school, and talked to the principal. He explained the job and said they preferred a male, but could not find one, and that he would like to interview me. I told him I could be there in two days, and we made an appointment.
My daughters and I packed up and left for home. I had the interview two days later and was hired. This was one week before school started. I had always taught in a big school, with several other teachers in the department. Corbett was, and still is, a small school. I was the only business teacher, and the classes were small, but several classes were held simultaneously.
This was quite a change, but I assured the principal I could handle it.
My friend who called about the job was not hired, and she remained unemployed that year. As I reflected on how the Lord took care of me and my family, I was amazed...
While teaching at Gladstone, my salary was divided into l2 monthly payments, and I was paid on the last day of the month. So my last check came the end of July, and I thought my next check from Corbett would be the end of September, but Corbett paid at the beginning of the month, so I received my first check on the first of September. So I never missed a paycheck.
Oh, what happened to the long-haired student? I was disappointed to see him at the Gladstone graduation with a modified hair style, but he gave me “thumbs up!” as he passed by.
Corbett was known for many years for growing cabbages as well as several types of bulbs. The school mascot was the fascinating red eastern bird known as the cardinal. But I’ll save these stories for another time.
Mary Steinle
June 4, 2007
(email verified)
Tue, Jun 05, 2007 at 09:47 AM
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Re: Corbett chalks up honors
As a parent in a nighboring small school district(Stevenson-Carson,WA), I applaud you! Congratulations! Corbett exemplies what the puzzle can look like when its pieces - parents/staff/children and a community as a whole - have common goal. The goal is excellence. Their sights are set high, period. Funding requirements, i.e. WASL, "No child left behind", etc., be damned! Your philosophy, effort and basic approach are common themes within your educational puzzle.
The school board, Parents Association and all the kids should be on the national news. The Corbett School district should be used as a model to get the rest of the nation in shape! We know discouragement and complacency are endemic in the educational world. Corbett puts itself above all that bad news, much like "The Little Engine that Could.".
As the summer fire season begins, your educational success is one lawn fire that should be seen nationwide. Please send a few embers due east anytime.
Mary Jane Weigel
"Mary Jane Weigel"
(email verified)
Sun, Jun 03, 2007 at 09:57 AM