February 29, 2016 Shoreline School Board meeting summary
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
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| Many of Shoreline’s 2016 All State Musicians with the School Board. |
By Marianne Deal Stephens
As 7:00pm approached, the Board Room filled with many families in attendance for their students to be recognized.
President David Wilson opened the meeting, and the Board approved the Consent Agenda without discussion. The evening’s consent agenda included approvals related to the following projects (summary documents are linked):
- Ridgecrest Fire Alarm Replacement
- Shorecrest Baseball/ Softball Field Improvement
- Brookside Roof Replacement
- Shorewood Security Fencing
- Shorecrest Key Club to District Convention in Seattle in March
- Shorecrest Hip Hop Team to State Competition in Yakima in March
- Meridian Park Math Team to State Math Championships in Blaine in April
- Shorecrest Orchestra to Music in the Parks Festival in Portland in May
- Shorecrest Football to Camp at Central Washington University in June
- Shorewood Band to Pearl Harbor Parade in December
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| Shorewood Principal Bill Dunbar introduced Shoreline’s newest graduate, Saul Flores. |
Graduation Recognition
Some students graduate midyear, and until now they have not been publicly recognized. Last Monday evening, Shorewood High School Principal Bill Dunbar presented a new graduate to the School Board, saying:
“I am most pleased to present to you, Saul Flores. Saul has met the requirements of the State of Washington and the Shoreline School Board for graduation from Shorewood High School. On behalf of the administration, faculty and staff of Shorewood High School, I take great pride in presenting him to you for graduation. Saul’s plan is to work and save for college in the fall.”
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| Shoreline School Board President David Wilson presented Saul with his diploma. |
Following Mr. Dunbar’s declaration of Saul’s completion, Board President David Wilson presented Saul with his diploma and the room broke into enthusiastic applause for Saul and his family.
Recognition of All-State Musicians
School District Music Coordinator and Shorecrest / Kellogg Choral Director Leann Rozema and Director of Teaching and Learning Teri Poff introduced some of the District’s most accomplished musicians. The students, selected by recorded audition, performed at the recent WMEA Conference in Yakima. (see photo at head of story)
- Soprano Kia Burt (Shorewood) enjoyed the “wonderful experience” of working with college professors who directed the All-State Treble Choir.
- Soprano Rebecca Hensel (Shorecrest) liked meeting new people and described how the directors had the choir stand in a circle and do yoga-like exercises before they performed.
- Cohen Noel, who plays alto saxophone (Einstein), shared that “it was fun to play all of that music… and to get the Husky Band Director.” He added that “it was also fun to get up at 3:00 in the morning and drive to Yakima.”
Instructional Program Planning Committee Update
Assistant Superintendent Brian Schultz introduced the work of a large new committee tasked to evaluate future instructional program configurations, specifically:
- grade band configuration
- preschool configuration
- Highly Capable programs configuration
- instructional programming
- standards alignment and requirements
- best practices for delivery of rigorous content
- addressing the social emotional needs of students
- anticipated future needs
Financial Update
Director of Finance and Business Services Mark Spangenberg and Deputy Superintendent Marla Miller presented the January 2016 financial figures and the latest enrollment report. Director Spangenberg reported that the January General Fund Actuals include nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year, and that his office is “in the process of reviewing how all of our trends look.”
Director Spangenberg noted that the February 2016 Enrollment Report includes a total student head count of 9292, which is 139 larger than February 2015.
Comments from the Community
Meridian Park Parent Callie Steward invited the Board to come see “The Mask You Live In”, the community movie shown on March 6. She mentioned that the parents “wanted to make this a Shoreline community event to start a conversation about how we are raising our boys.”
Meridian Park Parent Kate Beck also came to speak about the community movie. She had originally seen “Miss Representation” and had been thinking about how we limit girls’ options of what they might want to be.
Sheila Capon, a parent of two students in the High Cap program at Meridian Park, wondered about the plan for the classrooms at Meridian Park that will be vacated when Cascade K-8 moves from that Meridian Park wing to the Aldercrest Campus. She hoped that the parents would be included in any discussions and informed of any decisions.
Approval of Dual Language Program for 2017-2018 at Briarcrest Elementary
Director of Categorical Programs Ellen Kaje and Briarcrest Elementary Principal Jonathan Nessan shared community feedback to the proposal for a dual language program. (See previous article)
Dr. Kaje related that they had “great discussions” with “a lot of high interest” from parents and families. (See Feedback Regarding Dual Language) Many parents asked how they could sign their kids up, and expressed sadness if their child will be too old when the program begins in 2017-2018 with one Kindergarten and one First Grade class. Principal Nessan conveyed that most of the Briarcrest staff is enthusiastic and want to be involved.
Several School Board Members had questions. Director Dick Nicholson asked about the impact of adding a new program, and Principal Nessan explained that since this is a general education program, the teacher salaries will be covered by the regular budget. There will be some extra costs for consultation as the District solidifies plans in 2016-2017 and for staff to attend an Annual Dual Language Institute.
Director Nicholson also asked whether we can identify highly qualified teachers. Dr. Kaje responded “I know on the English speaking side we can” and that they are currently having conversations with Spanish speakers and universities.
Director Dick Potter inquired about the dynamic of the dual language class not being “mixed and redistributed” as is the rest of the student population, and about the potential of the class to diminish in size if families move. Principal Nessan is committed to making the program “part of the fabric of the school”, and, according to Dr. Kaje, similar programs have successfully dealt with attrition by adding Spanish speakers to the program years after the class cohort was formed.
Board President David Wilson closed the discussion, saying “this is a lot of work, but it will be a great thing” and called for a motion.
The Dual Language Program passed unanimously and will be commence at Briarcrest Elementary in 2017-2018.
Approval of Land Lease with Evergreen School
Deputy Superintendent Marla Miller explained the proposed land lease agreement with Evergreen School, which has requested a long-term lease “to use excess land at Parkwood School for an outdoor play area for their students”. (See Background: Parkwood Land Lease with Evergreen School)
When the Parkwood grounds were redone, the staff staked out a desired student boundary, which is now enclosed by a fence and does not encompass the entire property boundary. The Evergreen School will use land “beyond the fence” as an “open space for their students to be in a natural area.” The proposal has been discussed since 2013, so the Board asked no additional questions and approved the agreement unanimously.
Board Reports and Communications
Shorecrest Senior and Student Representative to the Board Rachel Semon praised both Shorecrest Basketball teams for making to State, and related that many students were heading to Yakima for the tournament. She also mentioned that the Band and performance teams were doing “a lot of Ireland prep” for their trip to the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin.
Richard Potter attended STEM for Her at Shorecrest, and mentioned that Shorecrest made it into the Seattle Times. [He referred to this article about Girls’ Basketball; the team continued to be featured throughout their journey to the State 2A Title.]
Director Michael Jacobs chaperoned the Shorewood Bowling Team to State, where “Shoreline was well-represented” by placing 4th (Shorewood) and 12th (Shorecrest) in Division 1 and 9th (Shorewood) in Division 2. (See results on WSBPA)
Director Jacobs noted that “things are starting to ramp up” with the Shorecrest Booster Auction on March 5, the Shorewood Booster Auction on March 12, and Math Olympiad on March 12.
Board Vice President Debbie Ehrlichman enjoyed seeing Shorecrest basketball games and praised “future Shorecrest thespians” who performed the Briarcrest play “Tut, Tut.” She attended the Third Place Commons Breakfast where Shorecrest students worked for community service.
Vice President Debbie Ehrlichman attends the regular PTA/ Superintendent Coffee and observed that parents are “always interested” in new developments, including the Run Hide Fight protocol introduced by Don Dalziel and the proposed new Professional Development model.
Director Dick Nicholson attended a KCDA meeting in Corvallis, Oregon and mentioned that the organization “has the largest backlog of direct sales in our history.”
President David Wilson thanked Curtis Campbell for the Spotlight series, which has highlighted Hang Time at Kellogg and Books and Beats at Einstein. He also encouraged the Board and the public to support the Shoreline Public Schools Foundation Breakfast and Luncheon on March 31st.
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