By the time she was in fifth grade, Breanna Belz had attended eight elementary schools. She came from a broken home, and her family struggled financially. In her senior year at Oak Harbor High School, Breanna was homeless. Despite these challenges, Breanna took advanced placement classes, played in the band, was a leader in NJROTC, and served on our multi-award-winning Wildcat Robotics team.
Last spring, Breanna not only graduated in the top 10 in her class, she also earned a full-ride scholarship to the University of Notre Dame. Stories like Breanna’s are possible thanks to our community’s support and investment in our schools.
Four years ago, our community voted to restore and protect vital services and opportunities for students through a local levy. It’s no coincidence that since then we’ve seen record high graduation rates, national success in levy-supported programs like DECA, culinary arts, NJROTC, robotics, and numerous other academic and program awards. Even Seattle TV news has taken notice, covering Oak Harbor successes six times in the past year.
Local levies are particularly powerful due to local control. The state and federal governments direct how we spend the money they provide. In contrast, our local levy dollars are focused on our community’s educational priorities without outside interference. Your investment has made a profound difference for our students because it is targeted to best meet our local student needs.
In 2012, Oak Harbor’s on-time graduation rate was below average at 75 percent. Despite higher state graduation requirements, our on-time graduation rate has increased every year since then. For the class of 2016, it soared to 91.4 percent. Last year, we even had the third highest graduation rate in the state for homeless students.
Annually, Oak Harbor students earn millions of dollars in scholarships to four-year colleges and technical programs. Genevieve Boushey, a 2016 OHHS graduate and last year’s state baking champion, earned a scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America in New York and had a restaurant job waiting when she arrived.
A remarkable 15 percent of our students enlist in the military, far above the national average. As our students follow military family careers, we play a vital role in educating this next generation that will serve and protect our nation. In addition, students with moderate to severe disabilities have an unprecedented 100 percent placement rate in paying jobs or continuing education after leaving Oak Harbor schools.
Our entire community deserves credit for these achievements. Our local levy has also helped increase school safety through additional security cameras, fencing, and exterior lighting, updated K-12 technology and curriculum, and helped fund the 28 classrooms necessary to serve nearly 600 more full-time students since 2013.
There are more students like Breanna and Genevieve in Oak Harbor with the same potential for success. Thanks to our community’s support, the future for students in Oak Harbor has never been brighter. In February, we’ll have the chance to keep these great things growing by replacing our expiring levy as our student population continues to grow.
I’m so grateful to work, live and raise my children in a community that makes students and education a priority. Thank you, Oak Harbor.
Find out more about the great things happening in Oak Harbor Schools at www.ohsd.net and www.facebook.com/oakharborps
