North Wasco County School District 21 and Union leaders are still embroiled in difficult negotiations about next year's contracts. The district faces a $1.5 million to $2 million financial deficit due to a decline in enrollment. During recent bargaining meetings D21 has proposed what they feel is the best solution to the budget shortfall: capitalizing on staff attrition to cut 10 positions without doing any layoffs.

In case you missed it: In this report about ADA accessibility in The Dalles High School, CCCNews followed 16-year-old Larkin Hampton as they attempted to access the entire school. Hampton is not disabled, but rather had a temporary ankle injury; however, Larkin’s temporary condition made it possible for CCCNews to get a clearer understanding of the challenges a person with disabilities might encounter while attempting to attend TDHS.  

Students from three D21 Elementary Schools took to the kitchen yesterday, March 29th to compete for the coveted title of ‘Top Chef’. The Future Chefs Challenge, organized by Sodexo, the company that D21 contracts with to provide nutrition services has encouraged students to make healthy food choices and spark their interest in the culinary arts for the last decade.

North Wasco County School District 21 held its first Community Advisory Committee School Bond Planning meeting on June 1st at 6 p.m. at The Dalles Middle School.

“We had a great first meeting,” said Stephanie Bowen, Director of Communications and Community Involvement.

Two The Dalles High School robotics teams battled it out at the Vex Robotics World Championship on May 5th, 6th, and 7th in Dallas, TX. Competition was fierce as 818 teams battled it out to become the Vex Robotics world champion. “Eleven teams from Oregon had qualified for the tournament but only three made it to the elimination round and our teams made up two of those three,” said Webber.

While facility improvements could eventually enter the conversation, the School District on Tuesday began a holistic approach to gather information and find what is needed to provide a good education to local students. And it’s waiting for input from the community to guide those decisions.

North Wasco County School District is pleased to announce the selection of Sandra Harris as the next Human Resources Director for the District. Harris, who has been serving as the Principal at The Dalles Middle School since 2015, will take the reins on her new role this coming July.

The Dalles School Teachers and D21 offer up some of the lessons and activities going on in their classrooms of late. Classes have been sending positive notes, drawing what love looks like, practicing for natural disasters. In addition, the district is working towards a strategic plan, will give a presentation on innovative learning on Thursday and is currently hiring for summer school.

December marked the start of a new after school opportunity for students at Chenowith Elementary School: Video Club.

Welcome to Part 4 of the North Wasco County School District 21 Update with Superintendent Dr. Carolyn Bernal. In this installment, we sit down with Bernal to talk about covid-era leadership challenges, staff shortages, and teacher burn out.

In this installment, we sit down with Bernal to talk about strategic planning, NWASCO D21 goals, renaming Colonel Wright Elementary School, the Dual Language Immersion Program, and more.

North Wasco County Public School District 21 hosted a listening session to hear staff and community questions and concerns about returning to full-time in-person learning on August 30th. Stakeholder feedback was then incorporated into D21’s 2021-2022 Back to School Plan during the school board work session.