NEWBERG, Ore. — The Support Advocacy for Independent Living program, or SAIL, presented its annual report at the June 23, 2026, school board meeting, highlighting increased community partnerships, program improvements and future goals.
SAIL is a program for students with disabilities to continue learning after high school, with the goal of supporting independence and community participation. SAIL’s office, at 603 S. Meridian St., is open during the same hours as the schools — 8:15 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. — but teachers and staff at SAIL are careful not to call the attendees “students.”
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According to Director of Special Programs Dana Christie, teachers and support staff call the participants “clients,” an important distinction for Christie, as SAIL clients are meant to be treated like adults.
“We support them with their postsecondary education and training, employment and career readiness,” Christie said. “The goal of the program is meaningful employment, independent living and community participation and engagement because we know learning how to navigate and be a social member of your community is just as important as knowing how to get a job and how to support yourself.”
This year, the number of clients in SAIL fluctuated between 11 and 13, with one client commuting from Silver Falls School District to participate in the program. When clients turn 21, they age out of the program. To qualify, they must have completed their high school career with a certificate of attendance or an extended or modified diploma.
An additional 46 students also qualified for the program but did not participate. Christie’s goal next year is to draw more clients from that pool; however, she acknowledges the various reasons a potential client might not want or need SAIL.
“I’m hoping clients didn’t participate in SAIL because they all have meaningful opportunities where they’re out going to college, getting jobs,” Christie said. “But if they’re not, we want to increase that participation.”
Each client has personal growth goals to work toward, but they also take group trips to learn basic financial skills or gain marketable job skills. Some activities this year included learning how to ride the public bus, practicing ordering at a restaurant and budgeting a meal, learning how to stock grocery shelves, and spending time in the library.
“They’ve volunteered at thrift stores and different community events,” Christie said. “They had on-the-job training and work-based learning opportunities.”
Christie’s main hope moving forward is to build more community connections for the clients and to find opportunities for them to earn wages as part of a part-time or full-time job.
“We want our clients when they leave us to be as independent as possible and to be excited about their next steps in life and have goals and be able to get a job and support themselves if possible and do all of that.”
Also at the June 23, 2026 meeting
Board officially opens vacant Zone 2 position for applications
The application for the Zone 2 position vacated by board chair Deb Bridges opened following the June 23, 2026, meeting and will remain open for 20 days, until July 13, 2026. The board will conduct interviews during the Aug. 11, 2026, board meeting. Any Zone 2 resident in Newberg is invited to apply. Applications and instructions on submitting them can be found on the district website.
If no one applies, or if a suitable candidate is not found among the applicants, the board may open the application to any resident in any zone. The board will select a candidate based on a nomination and voting system.
End-of-year budget leaves lower ending fund balance than expected
Chief of Finance Nathan Roedal presented the May financial report to the board. The ending fund balance is estimated to be about $30,000 lower than previously projected. According to Roedal, one of the main factors in the shortfall is the number of teachers and staff who required substitute coverage in May. The current budget is approximately $250,000 short of the estimated total, with property tax and real estate income still coming in.
Roedal said his summer project would be to examine replacement and repair projects to determine whether significant cost offsets are possible.
Substance Abuse Prevention Curriculum approved
At the June 9, 2026, meeting, Dana Christie presented a Substance Abuse Prevention Curriculum for the board to review. The plan includes drug and substance abuse education and prevention as part of lessons incorporated into classrooms from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The curriculum also promotes fear- and shame-free communication with students, as well as clarifying emergency overdose intervention procedures for staff. Part of the sixth- through eighth-grade curriculum ensures students are aware of the Good Samaritan Law (ORS 30.800), which states that individuals who administer emergency aid, including naloxone, are granted immunity from legal liability.
The document also outlines a framework for approaching substance abuse at a universal, targeted, and intensive level to ensure district staff follow proper guidelines.
