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, December 6, 2005, beginning at 4:30 p.m., in the Board Room of the Educational Service Center, 4730 Colby Avenue, Everett, Washington. Those in attendance were Sue Cooper, Kristie Dutton, Karen Madsen and Roy Yates. Absent: Paul Roberts. |
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ADOPTION OF AGENDA President Yates called for any recommended changes to the agenda. Superintendent Carol Whitehead reported that there would be a revised personnel report. With that, Sue Cooper moved for adoption of the revised agenda. Karen Madsen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. | ADOPTION OF AGENDA | |
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APPROVAL OF MINUTES Kristie Dutton moved for approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of November 22, 2005. Sue Cooper seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. | APPROVAL OF MINUTES | |
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ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD In accordance with Board Policy 1114—Oath of Office, each new member shall take an oath to support the constitutions of the United States and the State of Washington and to promote the interests of education and to faithfully discharge the duties of his/her office to the best of his/her ability. Secretary to the Board Carol Whitehead administered the oath of office to newly re-elected Board member Kristie Dutton (E:69/06). |
OATH OF OFFICE | |
| Board member Dutton said she looks forward to her next six years on the Board. It has been a joy to be involved in Everett Public Schools, both on the Board and with her children as they move through the school system. | ||
| President Yates congratulated Board member Dutton and said he and his Board colleagues enjoy working with her and know that she strives to do the best for children. | ||
| Everett Public Schools Policy 1120—Organization of the Board, states, in part, that at the first regular meeting in December, the Board shall elect a president and vice-president to serve one-year terms. Sue Cooper nominated Roy Yates for the position of president. Karen Madsen seconded the nomination. By roll call vote, the election of Roy Yates to the position of president was approved unanimously. | ||
| Next, Sue Cooper nominated Kristie Dutton for the position of vice-president. Karen Madsen seconded the nomination. By roll call vote, the election of Kristie Dutton to the position of vice-president was approved unanimously. | ELECTION OF OFFICERS | |
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SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS Superintendent Whitehead opened her comments by talking about the recent Real Heroes breakfast sponsored by the American Red Cross. Among the honorees was Robert Hasstedt, who is the leadership teacher at Cascade High School. Roberta received the Education Real Heroes Award and was nominated by the mother of a former student of Roberta’s, Jonathon Keller, who passed away last spring. Jonathon | SUPT’S COMMENTS | |
| suffered from cystic fibrosis. He was voted as last year’s Homecoming king and, during his speech, he said of Roberta, his hero, “Standing by me, oh so tall. I know you’ll never let me fall. Everyone has a mother, but I’m so fortunate to have another.” Roberta is a devoted teacher, known for motivating students and helping with (as an example) the school’ ;s highly successful food drive. President Yates requested that a congratulatory letter be prepared from the Board to Roberta. |
SUPT’S COMMENTS (cont’d.) | |
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Associate Superintendent of Instruction Karst Brandsma reported that the
elementary and middle school report cards are being prepared. The first
trimester ended yesterday and the students had a short student day to allow
staff to process grades. The District’s Information Technology department
will print the report cards for dissemination before Winter Break. Dr.
Whitehead continued, saying that the break begins on December 16 with an early
student and staff dismissal. Schools and offices will be closed to the public
during the break although some staff may be working.
Next, Executive Director for Curriculum Alignment and Implementation Terry Edwards talked about recent reports concerning gender gaps as they relate to the WASL. He referenced a couple of articles and said some books have also been published. Using a PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Edwards said the District’s achievement gap between girls and boys has been decreasing (E:70/06). At grade 4 reading, for example, the percent meeting standard was 80 percent for the boys versus 84 percent for the girls. In writing, a significant gap is shown at all grade levels although there is an upward trend of improvement. In grades 4 and 5 for math and science, the trends are almost identically upward. There is an upward trend for boys and girls in 7th grade reading, but there is a gap. The 7th grade writing trend shows a gap of approximately 20 percent. At 7th grade math, there is a 0.3 percent difference between boys and girls, while 8 th grade science shows a 4.2 percent difference. The gap between boys and girls at 10th grade reading is at 3.2 percent; in writing, it is 10.4 percent. In 10 th grade math, the boys are outperforming the girls by 3.4 percent. In 10 th grade science, boys are outperforming girls only slightly. An area of concern is writing. As such, the District has implemented new programs for writing at all grade levels. Terry noted that the District trends are not significantly different than the state and, in fact, are often very close. He said that at the 10th grade, more attention needs to be given to getting b oys and girls to a higher level for meeting standard. | ||
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PUBLIC COMMENT None | PUBLIC COMMENT | |
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RECOGNITION OF RETIREES None. | RECOGNITION OF RETIREES | |
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ITEMS FOR INFORMATION Financial Reports were provided for the Board of Directors’ review (E:71/06). The reports include year-to-date information on revenues and expenditures, General Fund projections, a cash report and an investment summary. Associate Superintendent for Finance and Operations Bob Collard said the fund balance stands at $7.8 million. Staff members are analyzing state and federal revenue trends in order to project future financial standings. |
FINANCIAL REPORTS AS OF 9/30/05 & 10/ 31/05 | |
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ACTION ITEMS Karen Madsen moved for approval of the revised Consent Agenda items. Kristie Dutton seconded the motion. | CONSENT AGENDA | |
| 1)
Personnel Report (revised) (E:72/06); 2) Voucher Lists (E:73/06); 3) Authorization to Call for Bids—Online Employee Application Software and Related Hardware (E:74/06); 4) Interagency Agreement Between Everett School District and Providence Children’s Center, Inc., to Continue Services for the Birth-through-Two Students Residing Within Everett School District Boundaries for the 2005-2006 School Year (E:75/06); 5) Interagency Model Agreement Between Everett School District and State of Washington Seattle Community College District VI Seattle Vocational Institute to Provide Occupational and Academic Programs for Students in the Career Link Program at Seattle Vocational Institute (E:76/06). The motion carried unanimously. |
CONSENT AGENDA (cont’d.) | |
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The Administration recommended the Board of Directors approve the purchase and
installation of playground equipment as provided through the Apple Awards Capital Project (E:77/06). The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction awarded $25,000 to Jackson Elementary School in recognition of the school’ s significant gains on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) and to honor students for improving their study skills and reaching higher academic goals. Students at the school have recommended using the funds to purchase and install playground equipment.
Area One Executive Director for K-12 Jim McNally reported that a number of individuals, including Representative Mike Sells, sat in on meetings with the students as they deliberated about how to use the funds. Principal Janelle Phinney introduced the team of students who served on the committee: Kaitlyn Gabrio, Aeron Murrin, Chance Eldridge, Ashley Barnes and Dylan Pollack. Committee members outlined the steps they took to decide how to spend the money which included considering ideas submitted by the student body. Among the ideas were to construct a climbing wall, improve Pigeon Creek, create a picnic area, purchase and install soccer goals, and build a “big climber.” As they worked through the process, the students learned more about fairness, acceptance, democracy, balance and the concept that hard work pays off. Following a final vote of the student body, it was determined that the money will be used to purchase playground equipment. However, the committee’s work was not yet complete and included determining the kind of playground equipment the students want, the best companies to work with, ways to maximize the available funds, and researching a timeline for the project that would involve completion on a timely basis.
President Yates complimented the group on their excellent presentation, their impressive level of composure and the thoroughness of their work. He also congratulated them on their improvement on the WASL. The students were invited to introduce themselves and their guests. The students then fielded questions from the Board, once again exhibiting clarity and poise.
Jackson Elementary School teacher Jennie Overstreet commended the fifth graders for exercising foresight for future classes (since they will have moved on to middle school by the time the project is complete). In addition, the whole community will be able to enjoy the equipment after hours. Principal Phinney commented that the committee members were very involved in helping the student body understand the parameters within which the money could be spent. |
APPLE AWARDS CAPITAL PROJECT—JACKSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
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BOARD COMMENTS President Yates reported that he visited View Ridge Elementary School on Friday where Washington State’s “First Husband” Mike Gregoire read to a class and presented the school with 500 books. This is part of an effort by the spouses of United States governors to encourage reading. Board member Dutton reported that she was among those who accompanied Mr. Gregoire on a tour of Everett High School following his visit to View Ridge.
With no further comments, President Yates called for a brief rest break at 5:10 p.m.
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BOARD ACTION AND/OR BOARD DISCUSSION At 5:15 p.m., Mr. Yates opened a study session that included a report from the District’s Graduation Requirements Committee. Karst Brandsma introduced Terry Edwards who began by identifying members of the Graduation Requirements Committee that were present tonight: Jim Dean (Cascade High School); Joanne Fabian (central office); Sally Lancaster (Sequoia High School); Cathy Woods (Gateway Middle School); Becky Ballbach (central office); Catherine Matthews (Everett High School) and Lynn Evans (central office). Terry distributed copies of a PowerPoint presentation for tonight’s subject (E:78/06). Among the reasons for revising the District’s current graduation requirements are to align them with new state requirements; align them with graduate follow-up data; and better prepare students for life and work. Terry discussed skill level changes; shared data concerning household income by educational attainment of householder; and displayed a graph concerning poverty rates for ages 25-34 by educational attainment. When examining graduation follow-up data relative to the Everett Public Schools Class of 2004, it has been found that 74 percent of the students are continuing their education. The process followed by the Graduation Requirements Committee, formed in June 2005, was to first define their task by conducting background research and discussions. They then made presentations and gathered input from a variety of individuals and resources, reviewed the information and formed recommendations. The recommendations are being presented to the Board of Directors tonight and will then be re-submitted to the interest groups for further input. Feedback will be provided to the Board and the changes adopted by the Board will be implemented, hopefully in February, so they can be included in handbooks for use next fall. He said the committee has been, and will continue to be, very purposeful about talking with interest groups. Terry noted that the community groups expressed widespread support, especially for the math pieces.
Next, Terry outlined the emerging issues that caused the solutions to be developed. Among the issues are mathematics, student performance on the WASL as a graduation requirement, on-time graduation, and the need to provide accelerated learning support while addressing an already-crowded schedule. The District needs to work within the “box” of 48 classes. Even so, students who need/want to enroll in accelerated learning support classes, advanced placement courses or the usual “college track” sorts of programs are challenged to be able to fit these offerings in. Terry discussed a proposed graduation requirements four-year plan for community college-bound students (see chart). Then he described a graduation requirements four-year plan for four-year state college/ university-bound students (see chart). The proposed plans move Washington State History to the middle school level which is more developmentally appropriate and meaningful as well as being consistent with surrounding districts. Terry further noted that the courses shown in red on the community college chart are those classes recommended for a high school student to take beyond the District’s requirements in order to be ready to attend community college. On the four-year college chart, the classes in red are those courses recommended for a high school student to take beyond the District’s requirements in order to be ready to attend a four-year state college/ university. On both charts, the classes shown in blue and black are required courses.
Terry talked about alternative pathways to getting credit including community-based learning experiences. Seat time and other ways of learning and earning credit were considered. He said the committee wanted to clarify and align its college practices including college/university-in-the-high school, Running Start and Tech Prep. The committee also wanted to define and simplify the additional requirements around the state requirements including culminating exhibitions, high school-and-beyond plan, and the Certificate of Academic Achievement/Certificate of Individual Achievement. The committee wanted to clearly define the course of study and include it in District policy and procedure. The committee wanted to give a class rank bonus when students pass advanced placement (AP) classes. Regarding grade placement, they wanted to assign class status in coordination with the number of credits the student has, thus setting clear expectations for graduation and improving communication to parents.
Terry showed the recommendations in terms of credits which would keep the English credit at 3.0 credits and science at 2.0 credits; increase the mathematics requirement to 3.0 credits; decrease social studies to 2.5 credits, but move the requirement for Washington State History to the middle school which would meet the state high school requirement for Washington State History, but students would not earn credit; decrease CTE/voc to 1.0 credits with Info Tech remaining as a requirement; and allow students to earn 1.0 of their required 2.0 credits in directed athletic events or cross-credited with ROTC activities or marching band; art remains at 1.0 credits; senior seminar at .5 credit; and 6.5 credits in electives for a total of 22 credits to graduate from high school. Additionally, students must take English, mathematics and science until they meet standard on the WASL. Students who meet standard on the WASL will be allowed to retrieve 0.5 credit of a previously failed course in the subject area of the test; 0.5 credit of English by meeting standard on the reading WASL; 0.5 credit in English by meeting standard on the writing WASL ; 0.5 credit in mathematics by meeting standard on the mathematics WASL; and 0.5 credit in science by meeting standard on the science WASL. Courses lower than Algebra will not count for mathematics credit. The usual course sequence for mathematics will be algebra, geometry and algebra II with trigonometry. Courses lower than Coordinated Science will not count for science credit. The usual course sequence for science will be Coordinated Science and Biology. Lastly, the committee recommended that the District align its current practices regarding college/university-in-the-high school, Running Start, student teacher’s assistants, and community service.
Terry indicated that certain policies and procedures will need to be revised in order to align with the committee’s recommendations. He reviewed proposed revised Policy/ Procedure 2410/2410P regarding high school graduation requirements; Policy 2422 regarding class rank; and Policy 2232 regarding grade placement (attached).
Board member Dutton referenced the PE credit and asked whether a strict guideline will be applied, to which Terry said it will be specified in procedure. In response to a question from Board member Cooper about examples of “directed athletics,” Terry said information in the RCW and WAC allows for the granting of credit for directed athletics as long as credit is granted for both school-based and community-based athletics. Examples of school-based athletics are basketball, baseball, football, soccer, cheer, etc., anything in which we currently participate with WIAA would qualify. Examples of community-based activities are dance, figure skating, hockey, skiing and martial arts. When asked whether the health requirement would remain, Terry said yes, along with one PE requirement.
Dr. Whitehead queried the Board about students having to take English, math and science until they pass the WASL. President Yates sought clarification about the additional work that would be required, to which Terry replied that ALS classes are already offered in reading and writing. In math, it will depend upon the individual student. In science, classes will be offered that address process skills in a different way. Ultimately, it will be based on the student at that time. Right now, only about 50 percent of District 10th graders are meeting mastery on the WASL. It will be a challenge to find the teachers and classrooms and develop the curriculum to meet the needs of students. When Mr. Yates asked whether the steps that have been taken so far in mathematics will make it possible for most of our students to be successful in algebra II and trigonometry, Terry said we are building those skills for kids. Cross-crediting courses after geometry may be a consideration. Board member Cooper asked whether the graduation requirements allow enough time for students who are struggling with WASL to get the remediation they need to graduate, to which Dr. Whitehead said extended learning opportunities will need to be made available. Terry said there is also the possibility of adding online WASL preparation classes, perhaps during summer school.
In closing, Terry showed a graduation requirements four-year plan (for a student who wants to attend community college) which includes two learning support classes. He then showed a graduation requirements four-year plan (for a student who wants to attend a four-year college) which includes two learning support classes.
{It was necessary for Board member Dutton to leave the meeting at this time to keep another appointment.}
When President Yates asked whether there are “minefields” in the overall plan, Terry said the reduction of social studies credit and moving Washington State History (although entirely appropriate), will be an issue. Another significant issue will be the requirement for students to keep taking the WASL until they meet standard. In particular, mathematics is an area where many students need additional help. As such, meeting those needs will impact how service is provided. Science may be as significant as math in terms of remediation. The PE piece could be huge because the options available to students are being expanded. All of the changes will cause a shift in focus for how we do business. The need to remediate is the most significant piece, but it would have become necessary anyway. Dr. Whitehead said much of this work is out of our control—it must happen. When the WASL becomes a graduation requirement, the District must determine how to get the students into the appropriate math classes (for example) at grades 9 and 10 so they can meet standard and, if they do not meet standard, how to remediate. When asked whether there is a WAC definition for the credit students must earn in CTE, Terry said the state has a definition and outcomes for each approved course and the District’s CTE outcomes must align with the state’s in order to receive funding.
Board member Madsen noted that there are somewhat restrictive requirements at the school level on a course-by-course basis that make it difficult for kids to opt out. For example, a child may want to participate in band for one semester but, in order to do so, must commit to band for both semesters. There does not appear to be a way out of that dilemma. Dr. Whitehead said, once a policy is in place and implementation begins, steps will be taken to examine the inconsistencies that exist across the District. Ms. Madsen asked whether the District will duplicate its highly successful “grow your own” professional development plans to meet the needs of the District. Dr. Whitehead said discussions have occurred, but plans are not ready for implementation. Clearly, something dramatic will need to occur to find highly competent mathematics teachers, for example.
Board member Madsen concurred with having students keep taking the WASL until they pass it. It is also acceptable to move Washington State History to the middle school level since the students would still meet the requirement for the class, but would just be getting it at a different time.
Karst complimented Terry Edwards and Joanne Fabian for their hard work in organizing this most challenging project. A great deal of coordination and gathering of input has been necessary. Their work continues. |
STUDY SESSION--GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS COMMITTEE
STUDY SESSION--GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS COMMITTEE (cont’d.)
STUDY SESSION--GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS COMMITTEE (cont’d.) | |
With no further comments, President Yates adjourned the regular meeting at 6:55
p.m.
_____________________________ ________________________________
Carol Whitehead, Secretary Roy Yates, President
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