PELC Thanks Wildhorse Foundation & Others for Library Upgrade
Kindergartners at the Pendleton Early Learning Center (PELC) have an upgraded school library with new shelving to display hundreds of new books, thanks to the Wildhorse Foundation and other donors.
On Thursday, May 8, 2025, PELC staff gathered in the library to thank the donors and celebrate the new space. The Wildhorse Foundation grant was for $10,000. Other funding came from Title 1A, a TAPP (Tribal Attendance Promising Practices) Grant, and Title VI.
Angela Lattin, Principal of the PELC, thanked the Wildhorse Foundation. “This grant, braided with the other funding sources, was really game-changing for our school library. If not for the grant, we would have spent the next 10 years working on these projects.”
Ella Meyers, representing the Wildhorse Foundation, said the organization is really honored to be involved in something that directly impacts the youth in Pendleton and especially the connection to tribal culture. “It’s wonderful to be attending this event today, and it’s really lovely to see it turn into reality,” Meyers said.
The funding made these projects possible:
- 6 units of book shelving across stage area
- 4 units of book shelving on west wall
- Shelving units on front wall
- 806 new books
- Native American book section with 144 books written by Native authors or about Native American topics
- Stuffed animal buddies that students can read with
Principal Lattin said the PELC’s library is well utilized by students. After doing some calculations, she said this school year, there were 6,437 student trips to the library and 3,145 opportunities for students to check out books.
McKay Students Artwork for District Art Show
Students at McKay Creek Elementary have been creating artwork for the Pendleton School District Art Show in May 2025.
District Recommends New Sunridge Middle School Principal
The Pendleton School District School Board will be asked at their next board meeting to approve the recommendation to hire Angie Horton to be the new principal of Sunridge Middle School, effective July 1st, 2025.
Horton is currently a principal in the Warrenton Hammond School District. Horton has held Principal, Vice Principal, Behavior Support Classroom Teacher, and a 3rd Grade teacher positions in her district. Before her time in Warrenton, she was a Child Treatment Specialist at the Grande Ronde Child Care Centre in La Grande.
Mrs. Horton attended Wallowa High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and business administration in 2001 from Eastern Oregon University, a master’s degree in Special Education in 2019 from Western Governor’s University, and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Western Governor’s University in 2022.
Mrs. Horton will officially take over as principal on July 1st. She is replacing Principal, Piper Kelm, who is retiring effective June 30th.
Basket Weaving in 3rd Grade at McKay Elementary School
There is a sign hanging in Noele Mead’s third grade class that says, “Perseverance is pushing yourself to work through challenges and obstacles.” Students have been practicing this concept while working on a basket weaving project for several weeks.
Mead wanted to start the basket project in November during Native American Heritage Month, but it didn’t work out. Gayla Blankenship, Indian Education Coordinator from CTUIR (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation), works with students at McKay Creek Elementary and is teaching the basket weaving. Blankenship said baskets like these are traditional root-gathering bags, and the hands-on learning the students are doing relates to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) curriculum.
Abigail, a third-grade student, said she found the weaving to be fairly easy and she likes that she will have a basket at the end to give to her dad. She is using colors of blue, white, and hot pink.
Another student in the class, Bryar, said, “I like how the basket grows up as you weave and it gets harder and harder; your fingers start hurting so it makes it feel like you’re working super hard.” Bryar chose pastel colors like Easter because he doesn’t like darker colors and will use the basket for huckleberry picking.
Third grader Benson said weaving the basket has been challenging and tricky, but fun to do. He said he will use his blue and green-colored basket, reminiscent of the ocean, to carry eggs from his family’s chickens at home.
Their teacher, Mead, said the students have really made progress working on their baskets, with some even taking them out to recess to work on them. The class will end the project soon, so some students will need to finish them at home.
Mead said she hopes the class project will demonstrate to her students that not everything is easy and that perseverance really matters. “Many students thought this would be easy to do, but it’s not, and it’s important just knowing that they can do hard things.”
2024 Pendleton School District Graduation Rates
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%
School Board Recognition Month – January 2025
January 2025 is School Board Appreciation Month. Thank you for your hard work and continued service to the Pendleton School District.
Online Survey to Provide Input
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.