Superintendent's Update

Spring is here! The cherry blossoms are in bloom and the days are slowly stretching longer. We are in the home stretch of the school year, where we see the results of our collective work and plan for the next school year ahead.

This month, we celebrate Deven Katuza, recently recognized as the Oregon Statewide Transition Conference Excellent Teacher for 2025. We also take time to highlight several April celebrations and the expanding opportunities for students, from our Spanish Language Arts program to new preschool locations for the 2025-26 school year.

At the same time, we’re turning our attention to planning for next year. As we move further into the budget season, I want to provide an update on where we are in the process. As I mentioned last month, while we continue to be in a more stable position than many districts across the state, we are also navigating the financial realities of rising costs and limited state funding. As such, we have taken a strategic approach to targeted budget reductions informed by our Roadmap '27 priorities while minimizing impacts on student learning and maintaining fiscal responsibility. We will present our proposed 2025-26 budget to the Budget Committee at their first meeting on April 23, 2025. This is an important step in the process, and we encourage engagement as we move forward. Our updated Budget webpage serves as a resource for ongoing updates.

There’s still plenty of work ahead and I’m grateful every day for the commitment and care you bring to our schools. Let’s keep the momentum going as we move through these final months of the year!

Centennial Transition Center (CTC) teacher Deven Kautza was recently awarded the Excellent Teacher Award at the Statewide Transition Center Conference in Eugene. The Excellent Teacher Award recognizes a classroom teacher working with identified transition aged students with disabilities who made outstanding contributions in implementing predictors of post school success for students who are transition aged. The recipient exemplifies the best of the philosophy of education as it relates to the area of transition and post school success.

Deven received substantial support for her nomination, which included peers, partners, students, and families all offering insight as to Deven’s work in support of transition aged students in the Centennial School District.

In addition to winning the Excellent Teacher Award, Deven has also been nominated for PGE Parks Champion Award by the Portland Parks Foundation for her work with the Special Educator Program at CTC. Deven will be recognized as a nominee on May 21, when the award winners will be announced.

Congratulations to Deven Kautza for these recognitions of your dedicated work!

April is National Arab American Heritage Month. First recognized federally in 2019 and signed into state law through Oregon House Bill 2914 in 2021, this month provides an opportunity to honor the histories, cultures, traditions, and achievements of Arab Americans in our community and throughout our country.

Each April, schools across the country celebrate School Library Month. First celebrated in 1985, School Library Month honors the contributions of school libraries and library staff to support student literacy, learning, and achievement. Thank you to all of our Centennial School Library Managers for your work in connecting our students to the critical resources offered in our school libraries!

April is World Autism Awareness Month, a time dedicated to fostering understanding and acceptance for individuals with autism. First recognized in the U.S. in 1988, Autism Awareness Month promotes acceptance, advocacy, inclusivity, and support.

April 23 is Administrative Professionals Day, and we are very grateful for the dedication, hard work, and support that all administrative professionals provide to Centennial School District. The contributions of these staff create positive environments in our schools and offices, while ensuring our operations run smoothly. Thank you for your work in supporting the students and staff of our District!

On March 11th, Centennial High School's 11th-12th grade Spanish Language Arts (SLA) class, as well as the SUN SLA class, had the incredible opportunity to attend a live recording of OPB’s "Think Out Loud" at McDaniel High School. The event featured Javier Zamora, author of the memoir Solito that the SLA students were reading in their class. These students also had the chance to meet Zamora, ask questions, and have their books personally signed.

As noted by SLA instructor Jessica Orellana Lima, "This experience is a powerful example of culturally relevant teaching in action. By reading narratives that reflect their communities, engaging in translanguaging as a tool for deeper comprehension, and learning in an environment where their home language is valued and respected, students experience authentic, meaningful, and rigorous literacy development."

Events such as this demonstrate the importance of creating spaces where multilingual students thrive academically and personally. Centennial High School's SLA for Heritage Speakers program supports literacy skills and Language Arts standards by developing critical reading, writing, and analytical skills for students who are native or heritage Spanish-speakers, while also fostering bilingualism and biliteracy. Students in this program encounter learning materials and experiences that validate their lived experiences and empower them through literature, providing relevant and engaging learning opportunities.

Our second data summit of the 2024-25 school year was held on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. During the Data Summit, representative school leadership team members engaged in a structured reflective process that involved the review and analysis of student data and professional practices aligned to School Improvement Plans and Roadmap ‘27.

Teams identified strengths and areas of need and developed a responsive action plan, with the intent to review the impact of that plan during the Spring Data Summit, which will be held on May 29. These leaders will also be engaging with staff at their respective schools in a similar process in the coming weeks.

Regularly reviewing and applying student data in this way is an integral part of our Roadmap '27 work, and is directly aligned with our focus on Pillar D: Comprehensive Systems of Excellence. Using student data to directly inform adjustments to professional practice reflects our commitment to ongoing growth of instructional effectiveness at all schools in our District.

This year, our Dining Services team has worked diligently to bring Farm-to-School products into all school cafeterias throughout the District. The Farm-to-School program connects schools with locally or regionally grown, raised, or harvested food products, bringing quality Oregon products into our cafeterias. Farm-to-School products improve student nutrition while also supporting Oregon and Washington’s agricultural vendors, allowing our District to reinvest in our local economy while providing healthy options to our students.

Throughout this year, students have received a variety of farm-to-school products with their school meals. Examples include:

• Peppers from Full Cellar Farm in Boring for October’s “Crunch” event

• Pasture-raised turkey from Champoeg Farms in St. Paul for November’s Gratitude Meal

• BBQ Sauce from Felton & Mary’s, a Portland-based Black-owned food company

• Fresh local fruit provided by Willamette Pie, including mixed berry, blueberries, strawberries, and peaches

• Today (April 4) CHS served Columbia River steelhead, with a local marionberry-huckleberry glaze made by Oregon Hill Farms. This fish is provided by Pacific Seafood in partnership with the Colville Confederated Tribes and farmed from Nespelem, Washington.

• Future events this Spring will include: Local purple broccoli next week from Sun Love Farm, fresh asparagus, beef hot dogs and hamburgers from Zenner's Meats, Dover sole fish tacos on May 5 from Pacific Seafood, and a special cold entree of bay shrimp ceviche with chips at CHS.

Kim Burns, Director of Dining Services shared, “We are so grateful for the Farm-to-School program, which brings Oregon’s incredible bounty to our students. By connecting local farms with our cafeterias, we nourish our children with fresh, nutritious meals while supporting the hardworking farmers who make it all possible. Thank you for helping us grow a healthier future—one meal at a time!”

Join us for our Connect to Kindergarten event, happening Thursday, May 1, 2025 at all Centennial School District elementary schools.

5:00-6:00pm – School tours

6:00-7:00pm – Online registration assistance available (optional)

During this event, you can:

• Meet Principals & Teachers
• Learn what to expect during Kindergarten
• Tour your child’s school
• Explore a school bus
• Visit a Kindergarten classroom
• Receive registration information
• Register for the Early Kindergarten Transition (EKT) program. EKT dates will be available in May.

Not sure which elementary school your child will attend? Click the link below to identify your elementary school based on your home address, or call 503-760-7990 for assistance.

Looking for more information about Kindergarten registration? Visit our website at www.csd28j.org/kregistration

As part of our ongoing effort to extend preschool services across our District, we are pleased to announce that Centennial will be expanding preschool classrooms to Meadows Elementary and Patrick Lynch Elementary starting in the 2025-26 school year. Both schools will have two preschool classrooms, intended to serve 15 students in each class. These preschool classes are supported through the Multnomah County Preschool for All program.

Additionally, the Little Eagles preschool at Centennial High School will also transition to a Preschool for All location, converting the two current half-day classes into a single full-day classroom.

Preschool registration for 2025-26 is now open through April 30, 2025. To enroll, children must be 3 or 4 years old on or before September 1, 2025, and have a parent or legal guardian living in Multnomah County. For more information on applying, please visit the link below.