A decision by the Oregon Department of Education to freeze the current list of Priority and Focus schools through the 2016-17 school year with the recent passing at the federal level of the Every Student Succeeds Act will impact two North Wasco County School District 21 elementary schools. Chenowith has been a Priority school since 2012 and Colonel Wright a Focus school both because they faced challenges to close the achievement gap. Superintendent Candy Armstrong feels at least one of the two schools would have come off the list after this school year, adding it’s a disappointment for staff at both locations. With the freeze, the state will continue to provide support to Priority and Focus schools until a new accountability model is developed and applied.