By Marianne Deal Stephens
The meeting was the first for Shorecrest Student Representative Rachel
Semon, who will sit with the Shoreline School Board for the rest of the
school year. The Board and meeting attendees welcomed Ms. Semon, and
President Wilson summarized some of her accomplishments. Ms. Semon is
Co-Captain of the Shorecrest Flag Team, works as part of the stage crew
for drama productions, is taking AP classes, and aims to attend a
four-year college and major in graphic design.
Gifts and Trips
As part of the evening’s Consent Agenda, the Board approved:
- a $8,900 gift from Microsoft for the Shorewood Robotics program
- extended field trips for Shorecrest DECA students to attend the State
DECA Competition in Bellevue in March; and for Syre 3rd graders to
Tillicum Village on Blake Island in June for the culmination of their
Pacific Northwest Studies unit.
President Wilson publicly thanked Microsoft for the support and praised Robotics’ “great program”.
Lockdown/ Lockout Procedures Update
Director of Athletics and School Safety Don Dalziel and Emergency
Preparedness Coordinator Chuck Goodwin clarified the difference between
lockout and lockdown, and presented a new incorporation of “Run, Hide,
Fight” into the emergency protocol with the assistance of School
Resource Officer Greg McKinney. Mr. Goodwin began by saying that he and
his counterparts in other districts continually evaluate best practices
and periodically make changes.
In 2009, the District established a procedure for lockdowns, which was
updated in 2012. New changes become necessary as school district
preparedness personnel and local emergency services evaluate actual
incidents and consider State recommendations.
Shoreline School District emergency procedures consist of protocols
which are outlined in simple flip charts in every classroom. Changes are
incorporated into staff training and charts are easily updated by
swapping out pages rather than reprinting an entire handbook.
A lockout is when a threat is a distance from the school, but poses
safety issues. In these situations, once the perimeter is secured, some
class activity can continue.
Lockdown is when the threat is near, on
campus, or inside the school building. Both scenarios have particular
announcements and steps. When students and staff are inside a classroom
during a lockdown, “barricade door” is a new step, and “fight” is an
optional, last resort.
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| Source: Shoreline Schools |
Mr. Goodwin acknowledged that “fight” is “controversial in nature” and
clarified that it “is not a mandate…[it] is an option.” Officer McKinney
stated that everyone has the right to defend themselves and would be
protected from liability when acting in that capacity.
Director Dick Nicholson inquired about staff training. Mr. Goodwin,
along with local police, will be at all-staff meetings at each school.
Director Mike Jacobs asked how students would become aware of the
updates, and Director Dalziel indicated that there would be a shorter
presentation for the students.
Board Directors asked about locks, doors, and buildings. Director
Dalziel acknowledged that the District has many different building
designs, and Mr. Goodwin briefly discussed the balance of securing doors
while also maintaining egress as required by codes.
Board Vice President Ehrlichman asked about the nature of recent events
at Shorewood and Shorecrest which involved internal threats. Director
Dalziel discussed what is termed “threat assessment” and described how
the local ESD (Educational Service District) is providing approaches for
threat assessment.
Officer McKinney assured the Board that “we will have officers on the
scene within a couple of minutes”, and Board Vice President Ehrlichman
offered that “we are lucky to have a police force close”.
Possible Change to Calendar Model
During the recent contract negotiation with the SEA (Shoreline Education
Association, the teacher’s union), a joint SEA/ District committee was
formed to examine a partial release day model. Deputy Superintendent
Marla Miller, Kellogg Principal Liza Gonzales, and Syre Librarian Heidi
Alexander presented the committee’s work and recommendation. The
committee included teachers and administrators from elementary, middle,
and high schools as well as District administrators.
The committee came about because Shoreline’s model for teacher
professional development may have to be altered. The State does not
provide any funding for professional development (PD), but has been
approving waivers for districts that provide Professional Development. Shoreline’s waiver has
allowed the district to reduce the number of student days from 180 to
175 while still meeting requirements for total hours of instruction.
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| Source: Shoreline Schools |
While the State offers no funding for professional days, Shoreline has
levy-funded prep days before the school year begins as well as full days
during the year. Very few districts — only Shoreline and Edmonds in our
region — have full days for Development. Most districts have designated early
release days, most often on Wednesdays or Fridays.
The group discussed how teachers would prefer the partial release model
so that professional development meetings would be more frequent and
allow for a collaborative professional process.
The committee has a draft of a plan, and will gather community input on
the idea. Deputy Superintendent Miller envisions four community
meetings, with open invitations to staff, PTAs, and parents. The
District will present the draft plan, allow time for discussion, and
have a questionnaire to “to capture feedback”.
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| Source: Shoreline Schools |
The committee acknowledges that the plan would have significant impact
on child care needs and will have separate meetings with childcare
organizations to see if they could adapt to a new model.
Director Mike Jacobs commented that the meetings need to be “not just us
telling them [families in the District] how it will work”. Since the
district needs community buy-in, the community input must make an impact
and affect the plan. Vice President Ehrlichman suggested that the topic
be shared at the next PTA Coffee, and that the district hold more than
four broad-based meetings. Superintendent Miner suggested discussing the
topic at already-scheduled Cafecitos meetings [at least two schools in
Shoreline have Cafecitos meetings on a regular basis with the building
principal and Spanish-speaking parents]. President David Wilson asked
Information Officer Curtis Campbell to have information on the website,
including FAQ.
Deputy Superintendent Marla Miller will announce the meetings and be available for groups to invite her to their meetings.
Legislative Update
Director Dick Potter recently attended the
WSSDA (Washington State School Directors’ Association ) Legislative Conference along with Superintendent Miner, Deputy
Superintendent Marla Miller, and Board President David Wilson. The
conference consisted of two days of presentations and meetings with
legislators.
The State is still not fully funding education. Director Potter relayed
that McCleary attorney Thomas Ahearne quipped that “it took less time
for the U.S. to put a man on the moon than for Washington State to fund
education.”
According to the presentations at the WSSDA conference, Washington is
40th among the states for education funding, and 44th in the percentage
of tax revenue spent on education. “It is grim” noted Director Potter as
he went on to explain that State Superintendent Randy Dorn “has low
expectations” for the legislative session.
Among the current issues:
- the approaching “levy cliff” which could cause teacher layoffs [note: this topic will be explored in a separate article];
- the class size reduction measure (which, taken with the levy cliff’s
resulting in potential teacher layoffs, is part of “a real dichotomy” in
the State);
- test participation rates which may affect funding;
- teacher and substitute shortages;
- delinking the EOC Biology exam from graduation requirements since the exam does not reflect current core requirements.
Director Potter mentioned State Treasurer Jim McIntire’s plan to
restructure Washington State’s tax system (See
Washington needs to reform its tax system to fix broken school funding, Seattle Times 2.3.16
). According to the Treasurer, the current tax structure will get worse
over time. A 1% increase in the economy yields only 0.4% increase in
property taxes.
Comments from the Community
SEA President David Guthrie praised the Partial Early Release Model
committee’s work as “a fabulous example of collaboration between
management and labor”. President Guthrie explained that the model
presented in the meeting “really helps us get to the heart of what
professional development is” since the teachers can come together, use
data, and revise their teaching. He mentioned that this kind of work
also “addresses the joy deficit” in teaching. President Guthrie also
praised the District for its work on security by making sure that
security procedures follow best practices. He mentioned that some staff
work in rooms that lock from the outside and asked that that issue be
resolved.
Einstein Teacher Pat Valle articulated concerns about how the new
security protocols would be communicated with teachers during staff
meetings that only run 30-40 minutes. She wondered if the presentation
could happen effectively when there would not be much extra time. Ms.
Valle also expressed concerns about how teachers will communicate the
changes to students, particularly since the process and material. will
have to be age-differentiated.
School Board Reports and Communications
Director Dick Nicholson enjoyed the School of Excellence Breakfast at Lake Forest Park Elementary.
Director Mike Jacobs will be chaperoning the Shorewood Bowling Team to State in Vancouver.
Director Dick Potter went to the well-attended Shorecrest Big Band Fundraiser.
Vice President Debi Ehrlichman has three schools left to visit in her
midyear visits to all of Shoreline’s schools. She heard “Stories Live”
at Meridian Park Elementary, saw “Force in Motion” at Highland Terrace
Elementary, and relayed the success of Shorecrest’s recent STEM Day for
elementary students on February 5.
Vice President Ehrlichman drew attention to an article in the latest
issue of Parent Map:
More Than Band-Aids: Demand for School Nurses Increases, but Funding Doesn’t Follow, Parent Map 2.1.16. The article discusses that, while the need for
school nurses is increasing, the state does not provide funding, and
Shoreline is the only one of Washington’s 295 districts to have a
full-time nurse in each school. District Information Officer Curtis
Campbell and Shorewood Nurse Paula Williams are quoted in the article.
President David Wilson praised Shorewood’s Chamber Ensemble musicians and their Director Dan Wing for the recent recital.
Shorecrest Senior Rachel Semon mentioned that the Eastside Band Festival
was going on at the same time as the meeting, and that her flag team
was performing at the event.
Following the public portion of the meeting, the Board went into
Executive Session to review the performance of a public employee.
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