Student test scores have been generally declining for years at Mills Elementary School and Ponderosa Middle School in Klamath Falls, hitting below state proficiency levels.
In 2023-2024 school year, only about 9 percent of students at Mills were proficient in math.
The schools also have high rates of poverty and students with disabilities.
Executive Director of School Improvement Fred Bartels said he went searching for a new model.
"What we've been doing isn't working. We're nipping and tucking around the edges, but we're not really tackling the core root of the problem," he said. "We need to rethink how we do school at these two schools to really address the student need."
He found the New Education System (NES) from Houston and revamped it for the smaller, rural district, creating the Klamath Falls City New Education School (KFCNES) model.
"It really is all about student support and making sure that we're putting money where students need to be supported," Bartels said.
The model will include hiring copy clerks so teachers can spend more time on instruction and doing daily checks to evaluate students’ understanding of new material.
The schools will also hire apprentice teachers to cover for absent staff and allow administrators to spend more time in classrooms.
All told, the district will hire 24 new employees across the two schools: two building managers, two assistant principals, two copy clerks, 10 apprentice teachers, one counselor and seven student success specialists, who will help with setting up classrooms and managing students.
Bartels thinks this program — which he said is a first in the state — is exactly what students need.
"Come this time next year, everyone, everyone, including the teachers, are going to be saying, 'Why haven't we done this all along?'" he said. "It's going to be that transformative for our schools. It's going to make that big of a difference for student learning and for allowing teachers to concentrate on teaching."
The new teaching model will cost $3-4 million to implement. All certified staff at both schools will receive a 2% one-time bonus, as well as a 2% increase annually for longer instructional time.
In a presentation to the district's board of directors in April, Bartels acknowledged potential challenges, including staff resistance and implementation difficulties.
The board has also discussed possible issues with teacher workload and morale, long-term sustainability of funding, community perception and effects on students.
According to Bartels, the district has a plan to ensure the model is sustainable long-term.
As Houston Public Media reports, NES has earned both praise and criticism, including concerns about high teacher turnover and enrollment declines.
The plan was approved unanimously by the district’s board of directors at a recent meeting and will take effect in the fall.
The model will be consistently assessed on student outcomes, implementation progress and impacts.
"I'm going to be in these two schools quite frequently to make sure that things are running the way they're supposed to be running," Bartels said. "If they don't run the way they're supposed to be running, we're going to make immediate adjustments."
