Integrated Guidance

We collected input through stakeholder surveys and multiple community meetings, ensuring participation from students, families, educators, and community partners. We also utilized state assessment data, state provided attendance, 9th on-track, graduation rates, 5 year completer rates, and district tabulated CTE results. This process confirmed strong community interest in expanding mental health services and culturally relevant enrichment opportunities that support all students.  Our plan and budget are informed by the combination of the stakeholder input and outcome data.  

Key Findings from Data Review

Attendance and Early Indicators of Success

Chronic absenteeism remains a pressing challenge, with an overall attendance rate of 66.2% for the 2023–24 school year—well below our district target of 90%. However, focused interventions at the 9th grade level have proven successful: our 9th Grade On-Track rate has risen to 85.9%, a notable improvement from 78.4% the prior year. These systems are being scaled district-wide as part of our strategic effort to improve early indicators of graduation.

Graduation and Postsecondary Readiness

Our recent 4-year graduation and 5-year completion rates have exceeded our goals, with particularly strong outcomes among students participating in our CTE programs. Those involved in CTE graduate at 91%. English learners who achieve English proficiency before high school graduate at a 86% rate—well above the state average and higher than the 85% rate of our never-English learners. These data points affirm the success of existing strategies at Forest Grove High School, which we plan to reinforce and replicate across the district.

Early Literacy and Multilingual Learners

Third-grade English reading proficiency dropped from 32% to 26% this year, missing our target. In spite of this decline, we are optimistic that our new language arts curriculum, including a strong Spanish-language component, will help our students improve. In fact, our most recent benchmark data demonstrates clear growth in reading proficiency from fall to winter across all elementary grades, in both English and Spanish.

Approximately 37% of our elementary students are developing literacy skills in two languages, with English Learners representing 33% of our K–5 population. Research affirms it takes 5–7 years to acquire academic English, so we recognize that current English-only assessments may not fully capture our students’ literacy progress. Encouragingly, by 11th grade, our students are reading at or above benchmark levels.

Career & Technical Education (CTE)

We offer 11 CTE programs and recently launched a new preschool program in partnership with NWESD, expanding our total number of pathways to 12. CTE programs are aligned to assist students gain real world experience and contributes significantly to graduation and postsecondary success. Student surveys continue to emphasize the importance of maintaining these pathways alongside mental health supports and enrichment opportunities.

Targeted Focus: English Learners

Our Integrated Plan prioritizes enhanced supports for our English Learners. Having been identified for monitoring under HB3499, we will utilize grant funds to accelerate our efforts to close opportunity gaps and expand access to high-quality, culturally responsive programs.

Using Policy JBB: Educational Equity and our district equity tool, we center equity in all decision-making, with a focus on our most underserved populations—especially English Learners (ELs), Latinx students, and students with disabilities. Local and state data show persistent gaps in graduation rates, ELA and Math performance, attendance, and access to advanced coursework for these groups.

Our equity tool guides how we evaluate resource allocation and assess the impact of strategies by asking:

Who is impacted?

Who has access and who does not?

Whose voices are present?

Who is included or excluded—and why?

What action can we take?

This lens ensures that activities and funding decisions prioritize the needs of historically underserved racial and ethnic groups. All proposed strategies were filtered through this process to confirm alignment with equity goals.

Key strategies include:

• Strengthening ELD instruction with coaching, PD, and schedule redesign.
• Implementing data-driven ELA and Math interventions for EL and SPED students.
• Enhancing culturally responsive behavioral health supports with bilingual counselors and MTSS.
• Targeting attendance strategies for chronically absent focal group students.
• Expanding Latinx student access to advanced coursework through early identification, mentorship, and prep programs.

This intentional, equity-first approach ensures our planning and budgeting efforts are focused on improving outcomes for students who need it most.

What professional development or training is planned throughout the biennium for teachers, staff, and administrators to address the cultural, social, emotional, and/or academic needs of students, including those of focal students?

Throughout the biennium, our district will continue and expand professional development that addresses the academic, cultural, social, and emotional needs of all students—especially focal groups such as English Learners, Latinx students, and students with disabilities.

We will sustain our work in early literacy by providing ongoing training in foundational skills instruction, with an emphasis on culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate practices. This includes professional development tied to our recently adopted literacy curriculum, ensuring alignment with the Science of Reading and current best practices.

Our dual language program will undergo updates supported by targeted training for teachers, classified staff, and administrators to strengthen biliteracy instruction, increase consistency across schools, and better serve multilingual learners.

We will continue our district-wide PLC work, enabling teacher teams to use data collaboratively, share strategies, and refine instructional practices that lead to improved outcomes for focal students.

We will continue to support and invest in school counselors and provide teachers and classified staff with training in trauma-informed practices, social-emotional learning (SEL), and mental health supports. 

All professional learning is designed to be culturally responsive and focused on equity—ensuring staff are equipped to meet the diverse needs of their students.

What policies and procedures do you implement to ensure inclusion of children and youth navigating houselessness in all programs and activities?

At the school-building level, names of McKinney-Veno supported students are shared only with principals and counselors. This information triggers our counselors and administrators to work with the students to ensure they have access to all of the academic and social supports they need and which are or can be accessed by all of our students. At the secondary schools, the registrar and attendance team are aware of students with chronic absences. The names of students in SpEd., TAG, Migrant Ed, and ELD are shared with those department heads. Programs such as the Backpack Weekend Meals Program are open to all students on recommendation of the school counselor. Grants (eg., OSBA Brady Fund) are open to all students on recommendation of school counselors. Free/reduced breakfast/lunch: All students regardless of economic status, receive free breakfast/lunch.

Describe any efforts to ensure opportunities for all students to participate in CTE programs that are generally considered male or female dominated.

Simulated work-based environments and project-based simulations (school store, Viking House, coffee shop, plant sale, graphic designing, catering) are available to all students in a career pathway or program of study. FGHS has a College and Career Specialist who creates partnerships and mentorships within our business community and she also hosts the ASPIRE program for students. Collectively, we all take special care to ensure we recruit females, and or males, into CTE programs which are considered dominated by gender. Counselors and teachers specifically recruit students this way. We are constantly working to broaden student experience including, for example, bringing in guest speakers with gender role models in mind.  Teachers of CTE provide professional expectations and experiences within their classrooms and students build/complete industry standard products. Students have one-to-one devices with cloud based learning platforms which mirrors technology used in industry.

While we’ve made some strides in improving community engagement, we continue to encounter roadblocks. We continue to see low participation in traditional engagement opportunities, especially from families who are either satisfied with their child’s experience or hesitant to engage due to fears tied to immigration status. 

We are working on an improved engagement strategy that will hopefully allow us to interact with more families at already scheduled school based events. We are working with our administrative team to include time for the Superintendent and other Cabinet leaders to participate in school activities in a variety of ways – from presentations to tabling options. If they won’t come to us we’ll have to come to them!

We engaged staff by, climate survey was revamped two years ago and is administered to all staff. Staff have been invited in all engagement sessions we conducted this year – specific staff sessions. 

We look forward to improved communication and more enriching participation.

List the strategies used to engage with focal students and families about the integrated plan throughout the planning process. (At least two strategies are required.)

Throughout the planning process, we engaged our focal student groups and families through a variety of strategies designed to ensure broad and meaningful input. We distributed digital surveys to students, families, staff, and community members to gather feedback efficiently and widely. We hosted multiple in-person engagement opportunities, including a targeted presentation and discussion with migrant families during their scheduled PAC meeting.

Student voice was central to our process, including focused student group discussions and a dedicated conversation with our Latinos In Action (LIA) student group. Their insights were instrumental in shaping priorities.

Additionally, we held a Community Partner Meeting, bringing together our community partners that support focal students to gather their perspectives. These varied approaches helped ensure that the voices of focal groups, families, and partners were heard and incorporated into our plan.

List the strategies used to engage with staff, both classified and certified, about the integrated plan throughout the planning process. (At least two strategies are required.) 

Through surveys, community forums, and meetings with students, families, staff, and partners, we gained a deeper understanding of what our community values most. While families assume we are meeting core academic expectations, the conversations focused on the overall student experience.

Across groups, the top priorities were student safety and wellbeing, access to enrichment and extracurriculars, and opportunities for advanced coursework such as AP and dual credit. Families want schools to be places where students feel connected, challenged, and supported – socially, emotionally, and academically.

Students and families also expressed a strong desire for culturally relevant programming and better access to mental health supports. They want learning environments where every student sees themselves reflected and has opportunities to thrive beyond the classroom.

This input directly shaped our Integrated Plan. We will continue to prioritize mental health services and social-emotional supports, increasing access to after school enrichment, and growing our advanced coursework offerings to remove barriers for historically underserved students. We are also deepening our commitment to culturally responsive practices and dual-language pathways to better support our multilingual learners.

For students in YCEP and JDEP settings, school leaders work closely with probation officers and partner agencies to assess academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs prior to re-entry. This helps us determine what supports and structures need to be in place for a successful transition and continued progress.

As a district that operates its own LTCT programs, we have dedicated staff who know our students well and work collaboratively across programs to support smooth transitions. These transitions are intentionally planned and include scheduled meetings with staff, students, and families to review student needs, ensure continuity of services, and provide a welcoming re-entry experience.

We recognize that students transitioning from these settings often face additional challenges, and we prioritize connection, structure, and access to counseling and academic supports to ensure each student has a strong start and ongoing support.

How do you support students and families in the transition between early childhood education programs and local elementary school programs from elementary to middle grades? From middle grade to high school? From high school to postsecondary education and/or workforce? 

At each transition, we use information from the previous level to place each student at the next level. Parent letters to explain the process, Parent Night at the new school, and guided tours. Counselors, special education facilitators, and principals from each school meet with the counselors, special education facilitators, and the principal at the next level to talk about students and set students up for success at the next grade level band. In the fall, we host a soft start for our new grade level of students (eg. PK, Kinder, 5th grade, 7th grade, and 9th grade) to be at the new school before returning students with orientation activities. From HS to post-secondary: Career exploration opportunities, College Camp, Senior parent nights, FAFSA nights, College and Career Fair, Dual Credit / AP classes - credits towards college.

What career exploration and career development coursework and activities are offered to support awareness, exploration, preparation, and training at the various grade-bands? Describe your system for sharing information with students and parents regarding career connected learning and CTE opportunities, including any guidance, counseling, and connections to education plans and profiles.

Yearly college and career fair which includes industry partner presentations and demonstrations as well as internships/apprenticeship opportunities. Our counselors are knowledgeable about CTE/career guidance. We host family nights where CTE programs are on display for families. Students receive mini-lessons in advisory about our programs during forecasting. Career and Technical Student Organizations (FFA, DECA, HOSA) are widely available for all students. We have hired highly qualified industry-experienced teachers who are knowledgeable about the career opportunities within their industries and the skills necessary to earn those jobs. Oregon CIS is completed by all freshman in the High School Success course. 8th grade family night introduces CTE classes and programs to our incoming 9th graders and CTE programs actively recruit students while still in middle school. Our forecasting incorporates long term/program of study planning as well as 4-6 year plans/goal-setting/courses that align to those goals.

Our Integrated Plan is grounded in the belief that every student deserves a supportive, inclusive, and engaging educational experience. Informed by a comprehensive needs assessment—including stakeholder surveys and community meetings, and comprehensive data review —the plan addresses key areas for growth while building on current successes. It reflects a shared community priority: to expand mental health supports, culturally responsive enrichment, and career-connected learning through CTE.

Our vision centers on improving student engagement, academic success, and postsecondary readiness. This aligns directly with our Longitudinal Performance Growth Targets (LPGTs), which serve as benchmarks for closing opportunity gaps over the next five years.

Targeted Areas of Focus

1. 1. Regular Attendance and Early Engagement
      Our current attendance rate of 66.2% is well below the district target. To reach our 2029–30 baseline goal of 75.96% and stretch goal of 83.96%, we will scale 9th-grade on-track interventions—already showing results with an increase to 85.9%—across all grade levels. Expanded mental health supports and culturally relevant enrichment will improve daily student connection and reduce chronic absenteeism, especially for focal groups.
   2. Early Literacy and Multilingual Learner Support
      Third-grade ELA proficiency declined to 26%, but benchmark data shows encouraging mid-year growth. With 33% of our K–5 students identified as English Learners and 37% learning in two languages, we are implementing a new bilingual literacy curriculum and improving monitoring tools. These efforts aim to help us reach the 2029–30 baseline target of 44% proficiency—and a stretch target of 53%—while also closing the performance gap for focal groups.
   3. Graduation and Completion
      Our four-year graduation rate is currently above 79%, with CTE participants graduating at 91%. This plan aims to reach the 2029–30 baseline target of 87.01%, and stretch goal of 94.01%, by expanding successful strategies district-wide. This includes growing access to our 12 CTE pathways, integrating postsecondary planning, and providing targeted supports for English Learners and focal groups.
   4. Postsecondary Readiness and CTE Expansion
      CTE remains a core strength. With strong student outcomes and feedback supporting its impact, we will continue to expand real-world learning opportunities and work-based partnerships. These efforts directly support improvements in both four- and five-year cohort completion targets, with a stretch goal of 99% by 2029–30.

Commitment to Equity

This plan supports both baseline and gap-closing LPGTs, particularly for historically underserved students. It ensures targeted interventions for focal student groups in all priority areas, aligning with House Bill 3499 and our commitment to language equity, inclusive practices, and culturally relevant teaching.