5-8-01 Board Meeting

EVERETT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
EVERETT, WASHINGTON Regular Meeting

The Board of Directors of Everett Public Schools, Snohomish County, Washington, held a regular Board meeting on Tuesday, March 9, 2004, beginning at 4:30 p.m., in the Board Room of the Educational Service Center, 4730 Colby Avenue, Everett, Washington. Those in attendance were Kristie Dutton, Karen Madsen and Paul Roberts. Absent: Sue Cooper and Roy Yates.

ADOPTION OF AGENDA
President Dutton called for any recommended changes to the agenda. Superintendent Whitehead noted that the Board would be presented with a revised personnel report. With that, Karen Madsen moved for adoption of the revised agenda. Paul Roberts seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Paul Roberts moved for approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of February 24, 2004, and the special meeting of March 2, 2004. Karen Madsen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS
Superintendent Carol Whitehead noted that tonight’s revised personnel report contains a recommendation for the new principal for Jackson High School. He is Mr. Terry Cheshire. Executive Director for Area Two Lynn Evans said a team of JHS parents and staff did an outstanding job of considering the candidates. The final interview resulted in the selection of Mr. Cheshire, who is the Director of Secondary Student Learning in the Auburn School District. He has also served as the principal at Kentridge High School in Kent School District and has been an elementary principal.

Terry introduced his family and strongest supporters: wife Kitty; 17-year-old daughter Megan; and 13-year-old son Ryan. He reported that he did a great deal of research before considering Everett and he was impressed by the high level of community and central office support, as well as the positive comments about the Board. He said it is an honor to become the JHS principal. He anticipates some wonderful things happening at JHS and he is looking forward to the opportunity. On behalf of the Board, President Dutton welcomed Terry to the Everett family team.

Dr. Whitehead announced a shift in the Jackson High School graduation requirements. She shared a copy of the proposed revised Procedure 2410P (E:106/04). It does not require Board action and would normally be included in the Board’s Friday Report. However, Dr. Whitehead wanted to take the opportunity to outline specific changes being made to ensure students will be able to meet graduation requirements while transitioning from the four-period to the six-period day. She referenced changes on pages 5, 6 and 11 so that graduation requirements match those of Cascade and Everett High Schools. Next steps include forming a districtwide committee next year, composed of teachers, parents and administrators from each of the District high schools, to review graduation requirements and grading practices across the District, and present its work to the Board at the end of the next school year. Therefore, the current modification to the procedure will meet the needs for next year.
SUPT’S COMMENTS

Madison Elementary School has been named the State Reading School of the Month for March. As such, a celebration will be held at the school on March 18 and Governor Locke will attend. Invited guests are urged to arrive well in advance of the 9:30 a.m. assembly.

Annual technology fairs were held last week. Schools from one-half of the District participated in a fair at Jackson High School and the other half gathered at Cascade High School. Each fair was very well done and approximately 2,000 parents and volunteers attended, including a number of senior citizens who had learned about the fairs when they attended the EHS senior citizen dinner. The fairs offered numerous opportunities for students to show their work and for the community to get a glimpse of how Everett is spending bond money.

Tonight’s agenda includes a tentative agreement between the District and SEIU, Local 925. Dr. Whitehead welcomed three of the members who were here tonight.

Next, Dr. Whitehead announced that local artist Bernie Webber has been named the artist of the year by the Arts Council of Snohomish County. This is a well-deserved honor for a person who, by his artwork, has documented this region’s development including the evolution of Everett Public Schools. A number of his murals are at each site in the district and provide a wonderful historical representation of the District. A reception in Mr. Webber’s honor will be held on Thursday evening.

The OSPI consolidated program review (CPR) of the District was completed last week. This review is designed to get feedback from OSPI about how special programs in the District are being managed. Coordination for the review was led by Director of Categorical Programs/Basic Skills Kathleen Gutierrez and Executive Director of Curriculum Alignment and Implementation Terry Edwards, but many staff contributed to its preparation. The District received numerous commendations from the OSPI team, who were in the District for two days, but a few areas were mentioned as needing improvement. Of special positive significance was that the team felt welcomed everywhere they went. Principals, staff and students were extremely hospitable and the principals repeatedly conveyed the message that they (the principals) felt very supported by District staff and the school Board. It was clear to the team that there are many wonderful, dedicated staff in Everett Public Schools.

The team visited 18 schools and talked to many individuals. They made special note of the cleanliness at Everett High School—it is a spotless facility, regardless of whether they saw it at the beginning or end of the day.

In the area of Special Services, the team reviewed 70 files in 14 core areas, but their feedback is not yet available. Overall, however, they were impressed with the continuum of services provided by the department, by the new filing system that has been implemented and by the excellent documentation to parents.

Overall, said Dr. Whitehead, the OSPI team reported having had a wonderful visit. Dr. Whitehead complimented all staff for their ongoing hard work. She cited the staffs in special ed, LAP, ELL, Title I, and the principals who spent many hours coordinating the OSPI visit. Once again, Everett showed that “ ;it is the best.”

SUPT’S COMMENTS (cont’d.)
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
PUBLIC COMMENT
RECOGNITION OF RETIREES
Director of Communications Gay Campbell reported that Kathleen Gutierrez will be retiring and is in attendance this evening. She has 31 years in education, 26 of them in Everett Public Schools. Her assignments have included working at North, Garfield, and Longfellow. Currently, she manages the District’s categorical programs. Terry Edwards commented, saying it has been a pleasure working with Kathleen. During her tenure, Kathleen has seen the ELL program grow from 100 to 1,300. Even so, the parents and the desire of the students have remained the same. She is to be commended for her longstanding commitment to the students, families and community members in the District.

Kathleen said she has enjoyed her work, and she thanked the Board for the opportunity to work in Everett, but said she looks forward to retirement. She acknowledged the assistance of mentors and the support of good friends like Bob Doyle, Mike Mustell, Carol Whitehead, Sue McCann and Jim McNally. On behalf of the Board, President Dutton congratulated Kathleen and said she has appreciated knowing and working with her. She then presented Kathleen with a memento crystal apple.
RECOGNITION OF RETIREES
ITEMS FOR INFORMATION
Executive Director of Human Resources Molly Ringo presented a summary of hiring data and trends (E:107/04). She stated that the depth of the state teacher pool has changed dramatically since 1971. It went from 6000 certificates being issued statewide in 1971-1972 to slightly over 3000 in 2001-2002, yet the number of students has grown, leading to a frustration in hiring qualified staff. Molly went on to outline the data for certificated, administrative and classified recruitment and hiring over the last few years, including statistics for minority recruitment and hiring in each of those areas. Next, she shared information about the ages of certificated employees hired in the last five years, the number of intended teacher retirements/resignations for the next two years, the percent of staff eligible for retirement, and the anticipated high needs areas by specialty. She noted that making it possible for applicants to apply online has been a positive move. In summary, Molly said statewide, there will continue to be a slim margin of candidates vs. positions; a signifi cant portion of District staff will likely retire in the next several years; the teaching staff has an increasing mix of older people; highly qualified staff, such as librarians, will be difficult to find; and the recruiting of minority staff needs to actively continue.

Molly said recruiting strategies for 2004-2005 will include, among other things, attending career fairs, making campus visits, offering informational sessions, conducting student teacher workshops, posting positions on the WEB, attending conferences, advertising openings in educational publications, networking and promoting community partnerships.

When asked whether it would be possible to partner with the University of Washington and/or Pacific Lutheran University, much like what was done with City University, Molly said it is something to consider.

President Dutton thanked Molly for her thorough report.

PRESENTATION—SUMMARY OF HIRING DATA/TRENDS

ACTION ITEMS
Paul Roberts moved for approval of the revised Consent Agenda and Karen Madsen seconded the motion.
Personnel Report (Revised) (E:108/04);
Voucher Lists (E:109/04);
Proposed Revised Policy 3205—Students (relating to harassment issues) (E:110/04);
Tentative Agreement Between Everett School District No. 2 and Service Employees International Union, Local 925 (E:111/04); and
Award of Bid for Penny Creek Elementary School 6-Classroom Addition (E:112/04).

The motion carried unanimously.

Mr. Roberts welcomed the SEIU representatives.

CONSENT AGENDA
The Administration recommended the Board of Directors approve the educational specifications for the Emerson Elementary School modernization (E:113/04). These educational specifications were prepared by Mahlum Architects and District staff. A committee was formed, composed of Emerson Elementary School and other District staff, to assist in the creation of these educational specifications. This document will be used by project architect Botesch, Nash & Hall Architects in designing the Emerson Elementary School modernization project. Approval of the educational specifications is part of the process to establish eligibility for state matching funds.

Construction Director Hal Beumel said this is one of the largest projects from the bond issue. The ed specs committee met once per week and every facet of the facility was reviewed. The committee visited other facilities, some similar and some different. They interviewed each of the Emerson staff and talked to department heads at the central office. Out of this work, key areas emerged: the desire to consolidate the location of the kindergarten and pre-school areas, the desire to more centrally locate the library and the importance of finding ways to improve parking and access.

With no further discussion, Karen Madsen moved for approval of the aforementioned educational specifications. Paul Roberts seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

Emerson principal Cynthia Jones said the school is excited about the impending improvements. President Dutton complimented the team on the detail included in the specifications. Board member Roberts said he, too, was impressed with the depth and breadth of the work. Hal said next steps will be to prepare a value engineering study, followed by getting drawings and going out for bid.
APPROVAL OF EDUCATIONAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR EMERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MODERNIZATION
BOARD COMMENTS
Board member Madsen said she enjoyed the Board visit to Monroe Elementary School last week. She reiterated her feelings that these visits are extremely helpful and very interesting.

Board member Roberts reported that the WSSDA quarterly meeting was held at the Sno-Isle Skills Center, and Board member Madsen did an outstanding job of conducting the meeting. Sno-Isle was a very gracious host.

President Dutton commented that she attended the tech fair at Jackson High School and it was very well done. The improvement in the quality of work was evident from past years. She also complimented the consistency in computer platforms. On another subject, she reported that she had the pleasure of visiting Emerson Elementary where she read a Dr. Seuss book to the children.

With no further comments, President Dutton called for a short recess at 5:30 p.m.
President Dutton re-convened the regular meeting at 5:35 p.m.
BOARD COMMENTS
Kathleen Gutierrez and Terry Edwards presented information concerning categorical programs (E:114/04). Terry began by stating that categorical programs amount to over $5 million to provide for student assistance and professional development across the District. Dollars are specifically granted to the District to carry out specific requirements.

Kathleen and Terry provided a comprehensive review of the following grants: Title I, Part A, Improving Basic Programs; Learning Assistance Program (LAP); Title III, Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students; State Transitional Bilingual; Emergency Immigrant; Title X, Part C, Education for Homeless Children and Youth; Title II, Part A, Teacher Principal Training and Recruiting; Title V, Part A, Innovative Programs; Title II, Part D, Enhancing Education Through Technology; Title IV, Part A, Safe and Drug Free Schools; and Title I, Part D, Subpart 1, Neglected or Delinquent State Agency (ATTACHMENT). For each grant, they outlined the purpose of the grant, budget allocation, funding source and type, budget period, schools receiving services and the grant manager. They also talked about the delivery model, plan elements, parent involvement plans and professional development.

With no further discussion, President Dutton adjourned the regular meeting at 6:30 p.m.
STUDY SESSION—CATEGORICAL PROGRAMS
_______________________ ________________________________ Carol Whitehead, Secretary Kristie Dutton, President

The Board of Directors of Everett Public Schools, Snohomish County, Washington, held a regular Board meeting on Tuesday, March 9, 2004, beginning at 4:30 p.m., in the Board Room of the Educational Service Center, 4730 Colby Avenue, Everett, Washington. Those in attendance were Kristie Dutton, Karen Madsen and Paul Roberts. Absent: Sue Cooper and Roy Yates.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA President Dutton called for any recommended changes to the agenda. Superintendent Whitehead noted that the Board would be presented with a revised personnel report. With that, Karen Madsen moved for adoption of the revised agenda. Paul Roberts seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.		ADOPTION OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES Paul Roberts moved for approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of February 24, 2004, and the special meeting of March 2, 2004. Karen Madsen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.		APPROVAL OF MINUTES
SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS Superintendent Carol Whitehead noted that tonight’s revised personnel report contains a recommendation for the new principal for Jackson High School. He is Mr. Terry Cheshire. Executive Director for Area Two Lynn Evans said a team of JHS parents and staff did an outstanding job of considering the candidates. The final interview resulted in the selection of Mr. Cheshire, who is the Director of Secondary Student Learning in the Auburn School District. He has also served as the principal at Kentridge High School in Kent School District and has been an elementary principal. Terry introduced his family and strongest supporters: wife Kitty; 17-year-old daughter Megan; and 13-year-old son Ryan. He reported that he did a great deal of research before considering Everett and he was impressed by the high level of community and central office support, as well as the positive comments about the Board. He said it is an honor to become the JHS principal. He anticipates some wonderful things happening at JHS and he is looking forward to the opportunity. On behalf of the Board, President Dutton welcomed Terry to the Everett family team. Dr. Whitehead announced a shift in the Jackson High School graduation requirements. She shared a copy of the proposed revised Procedure 2410P (E:106/04). It does not require Board action and would normally be included in the Board’s Friday Report. However, Dr. Whitehead wanted to take the opportunity to outline specific changes being made to ensure students will be able to meet graduation requirements while transitioning from the four-period to the six-period day. She referenced changes on pages 5, 6 and 11 so that graduation requirements match those of Cascade and Everett High Schools. Next steps include forming a districtwide committee next year, composed of teachers, parents and administrators from each of the District high schools, to review graduation requirements and grading practices across the District, and present its work to the Board at the end of the next school year. Therefore, the current modification to the procedure will meet the needs for next year.		SUPT’S COMMENTS
Madison Elementary School has been named the State Reading School of the Month for March. As such, a celebration will be held at the school on March 18 and Governor Locke will attend. Invited guests are urged to arrive well in advance of the 9:30 a.m. assembly. Annual technology fairs were held last week. Schools from one-half of the District participated in a fair at Jackson High School and the other half gathered at Cascade High School. Each fair was very well done and approximately 2,000 parents and volunteers attended, including a number of senior citizens who had learned about the fairs when they attended the EHS senior citizen dinner. The fairs offered numerous opportunities for students to show their work and for the community to get a glimpse of how Everett is spending bond money. Tonight’s agenda includes a tentative agreement between the District and SEIU, Local 925. Dr. Whitehead welcomed three of the members who were here tonight. Next, Dr. Whitehead announced that local artist Bernie Webber has been named the artist of the year by the Arts Council of Snohomish County. This is a well-deserved honor for a person who, by his artwork, has documented this region’s development including the evolution of Everett Public Schools. A number of his murals are at each site in the district and provide a wonderful historical representation of the District. A reception in Mr. Webber’s honor will be held on Thursday evening. The OSPI consolidated program review (CPR) of the District was completed last week. This review is designed to get feedback from OSPI about how special programs in the District are being managed. Coordination for the review was led by Director of Categorical Programs/Basic Skills Kathleen Gutierrez and Executive Director of Curriculum Alignment and Implementation Terry Edwards, but many staff contributed to its preparation. The District received numerous commendations from the OSPI team, who were in the District for two days, but a few areas were mentioned as needing improvement. Of special positive significance was that the team felt welcomed everywhere they went. Principals, staff and students were extremely hospitable and the principals repeatedly conveyed the message that they (the principals) felt very supported by District staff and the school Board. It was clear to the team that there are many wonderful, dedicated staff in Everett Public Schools. The team visited 18 schools and talked to many individuals. They made special note of the cleanliness at Everett High School—it is a spotless facility, regardless of whether they saw it at the beginning or end of the day. In the area of Special Services, the team reviewed 70 files in 14 core areas, but their feedback is not yet available. Overall, however, they were impressed with the continuum of services provided by the department, by the new filing system that has been implemented and by the excellent documentation to parents. Overall, said Dr. Whitehead, the OSPI team reported having had a wonderful visit. Dr. Whitehead complimented all staff for their ongoing hard work. She cited the staffs in special ed, LAP, ELL, Title I, and the principals who spent many hours coordinating the OSPI visit. Once again, Everett showed that “ ;it is the best.”		SUPT’S COMMENTS (cont’d.)
PUBLIC COMMENT None.		PUBLIC COMMENT
RECOGNITION OF RETIREES Director of Communications Gay Campbell reported that Kathleen Gutierrez will be retiring and is in attendance this evening. She has 31 years in education, 26 of them in Everett Public Schools. Her assignments have included working at North, Garfield, and Longfellow. Currently, she manages the District’s categorical programs. Terry Edwards commented, saying it has been a pleasure working with Kathleen. During her tenure, Kathleen has seen the ELL program grow from 100 to 1,300. Even so, the parents and the desire of the students have remained the same. She is to be commended for her longstanding commitment to the students, families and community members in the District. Kathleen said she has enjoyed her work, and she thanked the Board for the opportunity to work in Everett, but said she looks forward to retirement. She acknowledged the assistance of mentors and the support of good friends like Bob Doyle, Mike Mustell, Carol Whitehead, Sue McCann and Jim McNally. On behalf of the Board, President Dutton congratulated Kathleen and said she has appreciated knowing and working with her. She then presented Kathleen with a memento crystal apple.		RECOGNITION OF RETIREES
ITEMS FOR INFORMATION Executive Director of Human Resources Molly Ringo presented a summary of hiring data and trends (E:107/04). She stated that the depth of the state teacher pool has changed dramatically since 1971. It went from 6000 certificates being issued statewide in 1971-1972 to slightly over 3000 in 2001-2002, yet the number of students has grown, leading to a frustration in hiring qualified staff. Molly went on to outline the data for certificated, administrative and classified recruitment and hiring over the last few years, including statistics for minority recruitment and hiring in each of those areas. Next, she shared information about the ages of certificated employees hired in the last five years, the number of intended teacher retirements/resignations for the next two years, the percent of staff eligible for retirement, and the anticipated high needs areas by specialty. She noted that making it possible for applicants to apply online has been a positive move. In summary, Molly said statewide, there will continue to be a slim margin of candidates vs. positions; a signifi cant portion of District staff will likely retire in the next several years; the teaching staff has an increasing mix of older people; highly qualified staff, such as librarians, will be difficult to find; and the recruiting of minority staff needs to actively continue. Molly said recruiting strategies for 2004-2005 will include, among other things, attending career fairs, making campus visits, offering informational sessions, conducting student teacher workshops, posting positions on the WEB, attending conferences, advertising openings in educational publications, networking and promoting community partnerships. When asked whether it would be possible to partner with the University of Washington and/or Pacific Lutheran University, much like what was done with City University, Molly said it is something to consider. President Dutton thanked Molly for her thorough report.		PRESENTATION—SUMMARY OF HIRING DATA/TRENDS
ACTION ITEMS Paul Roberts moved for approval of the revised Consent Agenda and Karen Madsen seconded the motion. Personnel Report (Revised) (E:108/04); Voucher Lists (E:109/04); Proposed Revised Policy 3205—Students (relating to harassment issues) (E:110/04); Tentative Agreement Between Everett School District No. 2 and Service Employees International Union, Local 925 (E:111/04); and Award of Bid for Penny Creek Elementary School 6-Classroom Addition (E:112/04). The motion carried unanimously. Mr. Roberts welcomed the SEIU representatives.		CONSENT AGENDA
The Administration recommended the Board of Directors approve the educational specifications for the Emerson Elementary School modernization (E:113/04). These educational specifications were prepared by Mahlum Architects and District staff. A committee was formed, composed of Emerson Elementary School and other District staff, to assist in the creation of these educational specifications. This document will be used by project architect Botesch, Nash & Hall Architects in designing the Emerson Elementary School modernization project. Approval of the educational specifications is part of the process to establish eligibility for state matching funds. Construction Director Hal Beumel said this is one of the largest projects from the bond issue. The ed specs committee met once per week and every facet of the facility was reviewed. The committee visited other facilities, some similar and some different. They interviewed each of the Emerson staff and talked to department heads at the central office. Out of this work, key areas emerged: the desire to consolidate the location of the kindergarten and pre-school areas, the desire to more centrally locate the library and the importance of finding ways to improve parking and access. With no further discussion, Karen Madsen moved for approval of the aforementioned educational specifications. Paul Roberts seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Emerson principal Cynthia Jones said the school is excited about the impending improvements. President Dutton complimented the team on the detail included in the specifications. Board member Roberts said he, too, was impressed with the depth and breadth of the work. Hal said next steps will be to prepare a value engineering study, followed by getting drawings and going out for bid.		APPROVAL OF EDUCATIONAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR EMERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MODERNIZATION
BOARD COMMENTS Board member Madsen said she enjoyed the Board visit to Monroe Elementary School last week. She reiterated her feelings that these visits are extremely helpful and very interesting. Board member Roberts reported that the WSSDA quarterly meeting was held at the Sno-Isle Skills Center, and Board member Madsen did an outstanding job of conducting the meeting. Sno-Isle was a very gracious host. President Dutton commented that she attended the tech fair at Jackson High School and it was very well done. The improvement in the quality of work was evident from past years. She also complimented the consistency in computer platforms. On another subject, she reported that she had the pleasure of visiting Emerson Elementary where she read a Dr. Seuss book to the children. With no further comments, President Dutton called for a short recess at 5:30 p.m. President Dutton re-convened the regular meeting at 5:35 p.m.		BOARD COMMENTS
Kathleen Gutierrez and Terry Edwards presented information concerning categorical programs (E:114/04). Terry began by stating that categorical programs amount to over $5 million to provide for student assistance and professional development across the District. Dollars are specifically granted to the District to carry out specific requirements. Kathleen and Terry provided a comprehensive review of the following grants: Title I, Part A, Improving Basic Programs; Learning Assistance Program (LAP); Title III, Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students; State Transitional Bilingual; Emergency Immigrant; Title X, Part C, Education for Homeless Children and Youth; Title II, Part A, Teacher Principal Training and Recruiting; Title V, Part A, Innovative Programs; Title II, Part D, Enhancing Education Through Technology; Title IV, Part A, Safe and Drug Free Schools; and Title I, Part D, Subpart 1, Neglected or Delinquent State Agency (ATTACHMENT). For each grant, they outlined the purpose of the grant, budget allocation, funding source and type, budget period, schools receiving services and the grant manager. They also talked about the delivery model, plan elements, parent involvement plans and professional development. With no further discussion, President Dutton adjourned the regular meeting at 6:30 p.m.		STUDY SESSION—CATEGORICAL PROGRAMS
_______________________ ________________________________ Carol Whitehead, Secretary Kristie Dutton, President