LEBANON - Lebanon isn't alone in its struggle with high school math achievement. But some school districts have found a way to beat the odds.

A handful of Lebanon residents say they want to learn from such districts and possibly copy their methods.

Lebanon High School Principal Mark Finch and instructional coach Jody Seward, along with parents Brian Corbett, Claudia Evans and Tre Kennedy, met Monday with educators from Oregon City. A second trip is in the works to Forest Grove.

Kennedy suggested the trip after seeing a story about Oregon City's achievement growth, published by the Oregon Department of Education. He learned Oregon City was modeling itself after Forest Grove, and that both school districts have seen math scores jump in recent years.

Kennedy is president of the political action group Lebanon Citizens Alliance for a Responsible Education System, which is currently pursuing the recall of two members of the Lebanon School Board, but stressed he is acting as a parent and private citizen.

"I'm very serious about bringing back concrete suggestions to the school and the board on changes," he said. "Mainly, I don't want my involvement with CARES and the recall effort to get in the way of positive changes that can be made."

In 2003-04, students in both Lebanon and Forest Grove who took the 10th-grade state math assessment passed with the same dismal ratings of just over 30 percent.

But math scores in Forest Grove soared the next year and continued to rise, leveling out at about 75 percent these past two school years. Lebanon, in contrast, flicked up to 50 percent two years ago and then sank below 40 again last year.

Oregon City's situation was similar. Students there were achieving at levels slightly higher than Lebanon's - between 40 and 50 percent - but stayed flat until 2005-06. That's the year educators looked to Forest Grove for help.

For the past two years, Oregon City's scores have been on the rise. Last year, nearly 70 percent of students there passed the state's math test.

According to Superintendent Roger Rada and Principal Nancy Bush-Lange, Oregon City now requires high school freshmen to take the state's 10th-grade math assessment. Those who don't pass are required, as sophomores, to take both a regular math class and to use one of their electives to take a class called "math workshop."

The workshop concentrates on math basics, including percentages and fractions, decimals and ratios, and some algebra and geometry, Bush-Lange said. It does not count for math credit. Students have to stay in the program until they pass the 10th-grade test.

Forest Grove's program is similar but starts in the eighth grade, Bush-Lange said.

"Basically, they're doing an intervention program," said Evans, a Lebanon parent who has two students at Lebanon High School. "If you aren't working up to the level you're supposed to be, it becomes mandatory to have an extra math class."

It has to be mandatory, she added. "If we leave it up to them, they're going to decide to take something else."

Corbett, also the parent of a high school student, said he, too, was impressed. He'd support similar action in Lebanon if administrators made such a decision.

New meeting

Parents of Lebanon High School students plan to try again to talk with teachers and administrators about the high school's math program.

A new meeting is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 24 in the high school auditorium.

Parent David Champion spoke Monday during the public comment portion of a special meeting of the Lebanon School Board, calling for such a forum.

In an interview following the meeting, Champion said he and other parents had hoped to air their concerns at a meeting Sept. 10, but were frustrated when administrators insisted on dividing the audience for small-group discussions instead of listening to everyone at large.

Superintendent Jim Robinson said Principal Mark Finch has scheduled the next meeting. However, he said, the district considers the meeting "school-initiated" and Finch will set the agenda.