EOU gives $10,000 to Hermiston for Eastern Promise

The Hermiston School District Board of Education accepted $10,000 from Eastern Oregon University at Monday night’s meeting to support a K-12 coordinator with Eastern Promise. The program provides an opportunity for students to earn college credits while still in high school.

Mike Royer, counselor at Hermiston High School, will work with EOU to support the program in the upcoming school year.

Briana Cortaberria, executive assistant to the superintendent and board, said the $10,000 would offset the fact that Royer’s work with the program will take away from his time at the high school.

“We can hire a sub if he’s out one day, or we can utilize the money to support students in other ways if he’s absent from work,” Cortaberria said.

Part of Royer’s responsibilities will include tracking those high school students who enroll in college-level courses and ensure they get the credits they’re signing up for.

The program is a collaboration between EOU, the InterMountain Education Service District, Blue Mountain and Treasure Valley community colleges and school districts in Eastern Oregon.

In other business:

• Interim Superintendent Wade Smith and board member Greg Harris both acknowledged the progression of the Kennison Field renovation project.

He said around 50 people have helped with the design and input process. He said a schematic design of the project would likely be presented to the board at a September meeting, noting that they’re “not far away from pushing dirt on (the project) and seeing it come to fruition.”

• Smith said 30 students have enrolled in Hermiston’s online education program, a number that has “exceeded (his) expectations.” He said there would be a parent-community information night at the conference center on Tuesday, Aug. 21 at 6 p.m. for anyone who’s interested in seeing how the program works.