School Board Summary May 11, 2015

Shoreline School Board
From left Dick Nicholson, Richard Potter, David Wilson,
Debi Ehrlichman, Board President Michael Jacobs
Photo courtesy Shoreline Schools

School Board Summary May 11, 2015

by Marianne Deal Stephens

The Consent Agenda included:

• Resolution No. 2015-9, Delegating Authority to Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) for 2015-16.  [The district pays approximately $7000/ year for the middle and high schools to participate in WIAA, which oversees athletics and fine arts in Washington. See WIAA.com.  http://www.wiaa.com/ ]

• Resolution 2015-10 honoring Shoreline Teacher of the Year Faye Rasmussen and designating the week of May 11-15 as Shoreline Teacher Appreciation Week. President Mike Jacobs read the resolution. An excerpt:  “Whereas, Faye Rasmussen has provided distinguished service and leadership … as a special education teacher for more than 30 years, nearly all at Parkwood Elementary; and …Faye is an instructional leader and collaborator, helping set the standard of excellence for the District’s special education programs…” 

• Approval of Extended Field Trips, including:  Shorecrest Culinary Arts to Whidbey Island; Shorewood Track and Field State Championships in Tacoma; Shorecrest Boys Basketball to camp at Central Washington University. 

Shoreline Fire Benefit Charge and Capital Bond Information

Shoreline Fire Chief Matt Cowan spoke about the upcoming ballot measures. Schools are exempt from the charges, but Chief Cowan is making the rounds to all community groups to inform voters and answer questions. Information at www.shorelinefire.com.   http://www.shorelinefire.com/2015_ballot_measures/ballot_measures.html

AVID, a secondary school program and the biennial Healthy Youth Survey will be covered in separate articles. 

Community Comment Period

Usually, the comment period is a time for students, parents, teachers, or residents of Shoreline / Lake Forest Park to speak on any topic for up to two minutes. With advance arrangement, a community member may have five minutes instead of two. 

Parent Lara Grauer spoke about the current situation facing Cascade K-8 Community School. In 2012, the school was asked to raise enrollment and test scores, and the school has met all targets. As Ms. Grauer explained, they are now “victims of their own success” and face overcrowding at Meridian Park Elementary. The school would like to grow, but cannot since enrollment is capped due to facility limitations. Ms. Grauer requested that the District “be proactive about possibilities” and presented a few options for relocation, including Cedarbrook, Aldercrest, and North City facilities. She assured the Board that the Cascade K-8 community is “flexible and nimble” and appreciates the Board’s commitment to the school. 

Others also spoke about Cascade K-8, and requested that the school be moved from its current location. As described, a move would be a “win-win” for both Cascade K-8 and the existing programs at Meridian Park. 

A student group from Cascade K-8 spoke one after another requesting permission to go to a Technology Student Association national competition. They had been denied the option because the event is out of state and the district does not sponsor out of state events for middle school. However, the students used the example of the Einstein orchestra attending the Northwest Orchestra Festival in Gresham, Oregon as a precedent. 

David Guthrie of the Shoreline Education Association spoke about that day’s showing at the teacher one-day walkout. Educators are asking the legislature to amply fund public education. 

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Programs

Director of Career and Technical Education Gene Wachtel offered an update on the District’s CTE programs. CTE currently serves 341 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) in secondary school programs; many more individual students participate in CTE programs. (See definition of FTE ) Director Wachtel noted that CTE has multiple sets of learning standards, including academic (Common Core and Next Generation standards), industry, State, career, and more. 

Many CTE courses count for equivalency credit, meaning that they are not simply electives: the district accepts certain CTE courses to fulfill core academic requirements. CTE courses with equivalency credit include (but are not limited to): Video Production, Digital Photography, Interpersonal Relationships, Principles of Technology, Financial Algebra. More classes in the future, primarily related to engineering, will allow students to earn equivalency credits.   

The biggest recent CTE change has been the addition of Middle School classes, including: Chef School at Kellogg; Engineering and Robotics at Einstein and Kellogg; Digital Communication Tools at Einstein; DesignMaker at Cascade K-8. Two grants assisted the implementation of Engineering and Robotics courses: a $44,072 Federal Perkins Grant, and a $25,000 CTE Grant. 

Following the current effort in Technology and Industry 2015-16, Shoreline CTE will add courses in Health and Human Services 2016-17, and Business and Marketing 2017-18. 

Students can earn both high school and college credit for some courses. Last year, students earned over 1250 credits, worth a value of $130,575 in tuition.

Shoreline School District CTE Courses that earn dual high school and college credit, and where the credits apply. Director Wachtel explained that they are in the process of getting Shorewood Auto Tech courses to count at SCC.

Director Wachtel has developed detailed programs of study by Career Clusters such as “Arts, AV/Technology and Communications” or “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics”. The plans include pertinent high school courses by grade, related occupations, certifications or advanced degrees, and more. View the programs on Shoreline CTE  

March 2015 Financial Update

Deputy Superintendent Marla Miller and Director of Finance and Business Services Mark Spangenberg presented the most recent summary of district finances. Revenues are tracking close to projections. Major expenditures are coming up, primarily related to curriculum. Current enrollment is 9,125, which is 244 more students than March 2014. 

Board Requested Discussion and Board Reports

Director Debi Ehrlichman attended the recent STEM Fair where she saw Ridgecrest’s recycling demonstration. She requested that the district look at overall recycling efforts. The Directors noted many recent school events attended, including Shorewood and Shorecrest drama productions and the Shorecrest Astronomy night, which was well-attended.

Director Ehrlichman drew attention to Einstein student Athena Pentcholov, who won a National PTA Reflections Award. (See District News Release) Board President Mike Jacobs noted that in recent days, several Seattle Times articles have mentioned Shoreline high school students for athletic and filmmaking achievements. 

Shorecrest student Rhys Kroehler in 3-Minute Masterpieces

Shorecrest’s Wurrie Njadoe breaks three school records in Top Performances 

Shorewood’s Devan Kirk in Shoreline Invitational track and field results 

Shorewood’s Ian Oxenad in Six errors, so what? Shorewood rolls into 3A district title