A Web-based newsletter for the staff of Everett Public Schools
May 26, 2011 (NewsLinks articles are now archived on Docushare)
IN THIS ISSUE
· We’re Proud – final call for submissions by June 3
· Technology Action Plan – how will it affect you?
· The value of time – instructional time benefits students and community
· Advanced Placement tests increase
· New Emergency Room in town – Providence ER moves June 14
· News around the district – great work happening everywhere
· Wellness info – tell us what you think so we can share our success with legislators
· Opportunities for staff and students – including how and when students can register for HSPE
· Opportunities in brief – quick reminders of opportunities you still have time to explore
· Key dates you won’t want to miss, including changes to school board meeting dates in June
· Policy and procedure updates – always available online
WE’RE PROUD SUBMISSIONS
Everett Public Schools will salute staff and their family members celebrating educational milestones this year. We’re Proud will be published in the last issue of NewsLinks in June. To recognize someone, please complete the brief survey by June 3.
TECHNOLOGY ACTION PLAN
Together, the Technology Action Plan (TAP) and the district’s state-required Curriculum and Technology Plan for Student Learning, are a year-by-year strategic road map for using technology funds the community approved in February 2010. Together, they stand as a flexible framework for the best and most effective ways to use evolving technology to enhance student learning.
Between 2010 and 2016, the district will build upon, improve and update equipment and skills now in place and look for and target existing technology gaps. Ultimately, technology and the skills to use it will empower the teaching and learning of 21st century skills at all grade levels, in all subjects and in all schools. See the TAP online.
Our school board is reading about
THE VALUE OF TIME
As the Legislature wrestled with reductions that could affect the number of days and hours of instruction, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy released a report on the value of instructional time. This research literature reveals a relatively small, positive impact on student outcomes resulting from a longer school year.
When benefits are measured in terms of the labor market earnings gained from improved test scores, WSIPP finds that increases to instructional time outweigh the cost of providing that instruction. This is of particular interest to staff and school families – both for the content and because it was done by the WSIPP, whose work is almost always commissioned by the Legislature.
Our school board is reading about
ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS INCREASING
High school students began taking advanced placement exams this month. Over the last ten years, we have seen tremendous growth in the number of AP exams taken. In May of 2000, Everett Public Schools administered 83 exams, and in May 2011, we have students registered to take 784 exams at Cascade, Jackson, Everett and Sequoia high schools. Score reports will be available by August. Two articles of interest: a recent Wall Street Journal article concerning access to AP courses and an Education Week article indicating students who take more rigorous courses in high school are more likely to perform well on achievement tests, according to a study that shows more students are doing just that.
NEW EMERGENCY ROOM IN TOWN JUNE 14
On June 14 at 5 a.m., Providence Regional Medical Center will open a new emergency room in the Cymbaluk Medical Tower on its Colby Campus. Two days later – on June 16 at 5 a.m. – the Providence Pacific Campus emergency room will close, and all emergency care will be united in the new Medical Tower on the Colby Campus. If you have an emergency medical need after 5 a.m. on June 16, please go directly to the new ER at 1700 13th St., Everett. Please inform your relatives and neighbors about this change.
Providence also invites you to the Community Open House on June 11 and 12 from noon to 5 p.m. to tour the new Medical Tower and see the state‑of‑the‑art facility for yourself and enjoy plenty of fun activities for all ages.
NEWS AROUND THE DISTRICT
05.25.2011 Cascade and Jackson High jazz choirs take top honors
at weekend jazz festivals
05.25.2011 'Mr.
Everett High School' takes stage again
05.24.2011 Star Times soccer, baseball, softball coaches and
student-athletes
05.24.2011 Dr. Cohn and Louise
Uriu honored by PTSA
05.20.2011 Korean delegation visits Sequoia to learn about
Online High School
05.20.2011 School
board approves new strategic plan
05.19.2011 CHS video teacher earns $2,000 grant from The
Intermec Foundation
05.19.2011 Everett
High NJROTC earns national award for "most improved" Navy unit
05.19.2011
Jackson wins 4A District 1 softball
title
05.18.2011 Sally Lancaster to be
Everett High principal starting in September
05.17.2011 Finance department once again earns top honors for
performance
05.17.2011 Hall to retire after
18 years as EHS boys track coach
05.16.2011 JHS jazz band honored at Snohomish Valley Jazz
Festival
05.16.2011 Say "goodbye" to
View Ridge Elementary and take a piece of the big top
05.14.2011 JHS baseball team rallies to take 4A district
title
05.14.2011 Everett boys track team
Wesco 3A champs
05.13.2011 District
earns clean audit report - for the eighth consecutive year
05.12.2011 North Middle School joins the KING 5 Summer Hunger
Challenge
05.12.2011 James Monroe students
work to restore salmon habitat
05.12.2011 JHS DECA members recognized as among the best at
International Conference
05.11.2011 JHS
T-Wolves earn first state soccer tourney berth since 2001
05.11.2011 CHS students to honor fallen veterans
05.10.2011 Jackson's Grosvenor among state
leaders at distances from 400 to 1,600 meters
05.10.2011 Timeout with ... Tyler Cobb, senior, EHS track
Tell us how the Wellness program is working for you with the end-of-year survey.
We can use your information and testimonials to help the state Legislature understand the Everett Public Schools Employee Benefit Trust. As you may know, there is some talk in Olympia of standardizing all school employee health plans – making them all the same, which would eliminate the existing Wellness program and change the health benefits available for Everett Public Schools staff.
Wellness Newsletter: Introducing our all NEW Wellness Newsletter (this will replace the Hope Health Letter). Did you miss the first issue? See who this month’s Wellness Champion is. Check out the building Wellness Team Champions. The new newsletter is chock-full of useful information tips and tools to support your well-being.
No Tobacco Day: On May 31, millions of people around the world will celebrate freedom from tobacco on World No Tobacco Day. This day presents a great opportunity. If you smoke, take the first step toward quitting tobacco use by signing up for our FREE tobacco cessation program through Free and Clear, a nationally recognized leader in helping people quit smoking.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR STAFF AND STUDENTS
1. Summer HSPE registration begins June 1 – The registration window will be open from June 1 through June 24. Starting June 1, students can visit the registration site at www.k12.wa.us/testregistration. Each student will need a State Student Identification (SSID) number. Tests will be given at Cascade High School on the following dates:
· Aug. 8 and 9, writing
· Aug. 10, reading
· Aug. 11, science
2. Summer athletic camps – Several Everett Public Schools high school teams are sponsoring youth sports camps. Please spread the word to students who might be interested. A list of camps by school and registration forms are online.
3. Books – The Friends of the Mill Creek Library is having their annual book sale on June 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Some children’s books sell for as little as 25 cents!
4. Brett Jensen Memorial Walk/Run August 20, 2011 at Legion Memorial Park. Noncompetitive, self-timed 3.5 mile route. The focus is on fun, family and friends. Reunite with old friends, enjoy food and activities. Register online.
5. Continuing education courses on Whidbey Island through Pacific Rim Institute for Environmental Stewardship. Clock hours are available. Register by June 6.
OPPORTUNITIES IN BRIEF – quick reminders from past issues
1. Summer teaching camp at Everett Community College – Know a student in grades eight through 12 that is thinking about becoming a teacher? Everett Community College is hosting their second annual Summer Teaching Camp. Please print the application and feel free to duplicate information for students. Email Veronica Garaycoa for more information.
2. School bullying course at Northwest University for teachers, administrators and counselors. The two-credit course will run mid-September through mid-December at the Northwest University Kirkland campus on Wednesday evenings from 5 to 6:50 p.m. The course can be taken for graduate credit or for clock hours ($150 for 30 clock hours). Contact Ron Jacobson for more information.
3. District offers National Board Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) facilitation. For those interested in pursuing your NBPTS certificate, Everett Public Schools is offering a cohort support group beginning in the fall. No charge for this cohort by three trained and experienced NBPTS facilitators.
Clock hours offered. Please contact Teresa Belles, Paula Furick, or Erica Basile for further information.
4. Stuff the Bus is coming! A partnership coordinated by Everett Public Schools Foundation with community organizations and businesses has become an annual effort to gather backpacks and school supplies to help our students in need start the year prepared. Last year, over 1,500 students received backpacks filled with school supplies, and we have the same goal this year. Look for collection bins and Durham buses parked outside local businesses during the month of August. Each item collected helps prepare a student with the tools needed to learn.
5. Elementary School Art Show – The Elementary School Art Show is open for public viewing through May 31, 2011, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Educational Service Center at 4730 Colby Ave. in Everett.
KEY DATES – important dates and celebrations you won’t want to miss planning for now!
School board meeting dates changed for June 2011
Everett Public School Board of Directors voted on May 24 to adjust its regular meeting schedule in June from the previously published dates of June 7 and 21 to June 14 and 28. All board meetings begin at 4:30 p.m. in the board room of the district educational service center at 4730 Colby Ave. in Everett.
POLICY & PROCEDURE INFO – links to all policies and procedures are online
Policy 5161 – Civility in the workplace
Policy 0100 – Commitment to strategic planning
Procedure 0100P – Commitment to strategic planning
Policy 1000 – Legal status and operation
Policy 1100 – Organization
Procedure 1115P – Orientation of new board members
Everett Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities. Designated to handle inquiries about nondiscrimination policies are: Affirmative Action Officer, Carol Stolz, 3715 Oakes Ave., Everett, WA 98201, 425-385-4106; Title IX Officer, Randi Seaberg, 3715 Oakes Ave., Everett, WA 98201, 425-385-4104; ADA Coordinator, Kristine McDowell, 202 Alder St., Everett, WA 98203, 425-385-5250; Section 504 Coordinator, Becky Ballbach, 4730 Colby Ave., Everett, WA 98203, 425-385-4086. (Email address for each is FirstInitialLastName@everettsd.org.)
Diane Bradford
Communications Dept.
Everett Public Schools
425-385-4040