Highline Faces Tight Budget Times

It's hard to escape news about the economic crisis facing our state and nation. Many individuals, families, and businesses in our community are struggling. State revenue forecasts look bleak.

The vast majority of school funding comes from the state, and with the state budget headed for a shortfall of $8 to $10 billion, schools are bracing for unprecedented cuts. Highline Public Schools will have to cut $5 to $8+ million from the budget for the next school year. This will mean substantial reductions in programs and services to students.

Currently, school district leaders are prioritizing programs, with a focus on the district vision of preparing all students for college, career, and citizenship. "With the public's input, our school board has established a set of district goals, with academic achievement for every student at the top. All budget decisions will be weighed against those priorities." says Superintendent John Welch. Highline's strategic goals.

The district's top student achievement priorities include:

• Student success in math: training for teachers, extra help for struggling students, and support for students to take and pass higher level math courses.
• Accountability: training to help school personnel track student progress and modify teaching as necessary, funds to provide extra help to our neediest schools and students, and preparing for the new state assessment that will replace the WASL.
• Closing the achievement and college-ready gaps: increasing the performance of low-achieving students while pushing our high-achieving students to higher levels.

The superintendent and his team, with input from district staff, principals, and community, must now determine what programs and people are necessary to support these broad priorities.<

At this point, the district does not foresee major teacher layoffs. However, some positions may not be filled after teachers leave the district or retire. There will be some reductions in non-teaching staff. "We are trying to avoid impacts on the classroom and minimize layoffs as much as possible," says Highline's Executive Director of Business Services Susan Smith Leland. However, the district won't know the extent of staff cuts required until after the legislature finalizes the state budget, which could be late spring.

Community members do have a say on proposed budget cuts. Comments can be submitted on the district website. The school board encourages the public to attend board meetings and budget work sessions. All schools will host budget information meetings, and a district-wide community forum on the budget will be scheduled in early April.

You can stay informed as the budget is developed by checking budget updates posted on the district website.

School Board Budget Work Sessions
The community is encouraged to attend.
March 25 - 7:00 p.m. Evergreen Campus
April 22 - 7:00 p.m. Tyee Educational Complex
May 27 - 7:00 p.m. Southern Heights Elementary

Budget Questions and Answers

Does the district plan to close schools?
No. Enrollment is projected to be stable for the next several years and then grow slightly. We need all the schools we are currently operating.

Will there be teacher layoffs, and how will that impact class size?
We don't anticipate major teacher layoffs or a significant change to class size. However, we won't know how deep staff cuts must go until the state budget is finalized this spring.

Why is the district building schools if there is a budget shortfall?
Construction dollars are funded by a bond approved by voters in 2006. By law, these dollars can only be spent for capital improvements. It is not legal to transfer capital dollars to the general fund to pay for teachers and programs.

What is the timeline for determining budget cuts?

• March: Schools will hold informational meetings.
• March 25: Preliminary budget cut recommendations presented to school board.
• April: District will host community-wide informational meeting.
• April 22, May 27: Updated recommendations presented to school board.
• June 24: Final budget adoption by school board.

High School Fairs for Middle School Students

Highline Public Schools will host four High School Fairs for all middle schools students and their parents to hear about small school options for high school. Eighth graders are encouraged to attend their neighborhood school's event. Families considering other district schools as an option are welcome to attend any of the fairs. There will also be daytime events featuring booths for each small school or small learning community.

Please click here for a flyer listing all of the locations, dates, and times.

Highline Student Receives $100,000 Scholarship

Marisol Rosado has received a $100,000 scholarship to Whitworth College from the Act Six scholarship fund. Marisol, a senior at Highline High School, has participated in the Achievement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program all four years at Highline. AVID promotes study skills, college awareness, and academic goal-setting for students who might not otherwise be aiming for college. The program helped Marisol successfully complete the application process, essay, and interviews involved in the scholarship competition.

Highline's Student Advancement Coordinator Cherrie Smith said, "Marisol and the AVID program really scored a homerun with this scholarship. The program provides wonderful opportunities and support for many students who are the first in their families to go to college."

When told about Marisol's scholarship, Superintendent John Welch commented, "If this doesn't make everything we do worthwhile, then I don't know what does. This is what it's all about!"

The Act Six Leadership and Scholarship Initiative is Washington State's only full-tuition, full-need urban leadership scholarship for emerging urban leaders who want to use their college education to make a difference on campus and in their communities at home.

Photo caption: Marisol Rosado with her AVID teacher, Nanci Leonard.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Begins at Elementary School

Written by Midway Elementary sixth graders in room 2310:
Crystal Almazan, Michael Beltran, Somnang Chea, Ladeja Diggs, Tré Duffy, Rigoberto Herrera-Ramirez, Isidora Joshua, Oscar Juarez, Amanda Khoun-Oudom, Wendy Lopez, Tino Lopez-Slish, Leuea Loto, Brea Mikel, Roselyn Ngin, Samuel Ramirez, Krystal Rogers, Esperanza Romero, Jorge Ruiz, Michael Thunstrom-Bell, David Torres, Samisoni Tuiileila, Eileen Valerio, Martin Vazquez, Tuesday Villanueva, Fardowsa Warsame, and Saulo Zapata.

How do you keep a glider aloft?

Brian Hawkins, an Aeronautic Education Specialist from NASA, can teach you the principles of flight. On February 3, he taught STEM - science, technology, engineering, and math to intermediate students at Midway Elementary School.

To keep a glider aloft you must balance the weight of the plane. An engineer does this with the ailerons, elevators, and a rudder. An airplane has wings and a tail just like a bird to help it fly.

Ailerons are located on the wings and help the airplane stay balanced. They are used to control the roll of the plane.

A rudder is a vertical flap on the tail and pivots the plane from left to right. This side to side movement is referred to as yaw.

Elevators are horizontal flaps on the tail, or empennage, which control the pitch of the plane. Pitch is when the nose of the plane tilts up or down.

Control surfaces, such as the rudder, elevators, and ailerons, allow the pilot to move the plane in flight. Many words in aviation are from the French language. Aileron, empennage, and fuselage are all French terms used in aeronautics.

There are four forces of movement that help keep a plane aloft. These forces work in pairs. Lift works in a direction opposite to weight, and thrust works in a direction opposite to drag.

Before 1958, NASA only worked with airplanes and was known as the NACA. On October 1, 1958, NASA changed the "C" to an "S" and began to launch rockets into space. When NASA works on a new aircraft, the engineers use a series of four stages in the development of the concepts.

• CFD, or computational fluid design, allows scientists to solve the complex mathematical problems needed to test the design of a new aircraft. Super computers can solve these equations in one second. It would take a human every second, twenty-four hours a day, for 406 years to do the same work.
• Wind tunnels are used to test the forces of lift, weight, drag, and thrust on the control surfaces of a model for a new aircraft. As the air rushes over the control surfaces, the engineers study the plane's ability to respond to the forces of motion.
• Simulators are machines used to create an environment where the pilot feels as though they are sitting in the cockpit at the control panel. Test flights are done in a real airplane. The pilot performs a series of maneuvers designed to see how the new aircraft will handle in flight.
• Brian Hawkins was a middle school and high school science teacher in Alaska for twenty-three years. He has been working as an Aeronautic Education Specialist for NASA for the past eleven years. He teaches students of all ages and has traveled all over the United States to work in classrooms. We were very happy to have him as a guest.

Robert P. Moses, educator and founder of the Algebra Project, believes that in order to move students out of the cycle of poverty, they need to have the skills in science, math, and technology to compete in the work force.

(Just like STEM!) Midway is an AVID elementary school. Science, technology, engineering, and math are part of the academic excellence expected in the AVID program.

We would like to thank Mr. Hawkins for teaching those skills to us. If you are interested in learning more about flight, please visit http://www.nasa.gov/ for students to find interesting things to explore.

To keep the little people in your house busy, we recommend the Kids' Club webpage. http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html

Photographers: Ms. Martin, Mrs. Nguyen, Mrs. McGee, Rigo Herrera-Ramirez, Krystal Rogers, Michael Beltran, and Tré Duffy.

Special Thanks for Technical Assistance: Mr. Cramer, Carson Cramer, Mrs. McGee, Mrs. Edgar, Jeremy Lomentigar, and Heber Garcia.

Photo captions from top to bottom:

Brian Hawkins - Midway Elementary
Brian Hawkins w/students - ailerons (Brian is standing at the white board. He has his "flaps" up and is titled sideways.)
Small group of students - demonstrating rudders
Saulo Zapata - demonstrating elevators
Shawn & Mrs. Edgar - working on a glider
Alexon & Jesus - watching Brian teach
Roselyn - with her 'ailerons" up
Shawn M. - with a glider
Colleen, Shyla, Anisa and Jonathan - Shannon Martin's students
Thaomy, Marck, Wendy, Crystal, Mariam, and Josan - Tia Nguyen's students/students who helped out and translated the lesson
Robert P. Moses - educator and founder of the Algebra Project
Brea, Tuesday, Wendy, Isidora, and Michael B. - happy sixth graders with their gliders

Evergreen TEC Student Selected to Present at National Academy Foundation

Diana Martinez, a sophomore at TEC High School on the Evergreen campus, has been selected by the National Academy Foundation to participate in its upcoming Board of Directors meeting and gala in New York City. Diana is one of just seven students from the western region to be invited to attend. In addition to the opportunity to meet and discuss issues with the National Academy Foundation board members, who are respected CEOs and company presidents, students will also be attending a reception at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and a benefit concert by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

In addition to being in pre-AP courses, Diana is also taking Introduction to Engineering Design and Multimedia Technology. She hopes to pursue a career in engineering and is the vice-president of the FIRST Robotics Club. She designed the club's website. "Diana has great leadership potential and is not shy about taking on challenging assignments," said Principal Eric Hong. "She also shows great promise in pursuing a career in engineering."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these students," said Joanne Patrick, Seattle's Academy coordinator, who will accompany the students to New York.

Honorees were recommended by their Academy teachers because of their leadership, academic success, and being highly involved in their programs. Upon their return, the students will work to market their Academy program within their school, become actively involved with specific advisory boards, and work with business partners.

Advisory Board members from the Academy of Finance, Academy of Hospitality & Tourism, and Academy of Information Technology made this trip possible with their generous donation of air miles and full payment for the hotel rooms.

The National Academy Foundation (NAF) is an acclaimed national network of high school career academies predominately based in urban districts-schools within schools-with rigorous, career-themed curricula created with current industry and educational expertise. Each year, NAF serves more than 50,000 students in over 500 Academies in 40 states and the District of Columbia through the Academy of Finance, the Academy of Engineering, the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism, and the Academy of Information Technology. NAF was founded by Sanford I. Weill, chairman emeritus of Citigroup Inc., as a partnership between business leaders and educators. Employees of more than 2,500 businesses support NAF students by securing paid internships, volunteering in classrooms, acting as mentors, and serving on local advisory boards. NAF's record of success with 90% graduation rates and more than 80% of these graduates going on to college, has garnered the support of corporations, public policy makers, and foundations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For more information visit www.naf.org.

Cedarhurst Goes Green

The 5th/6th Grade Explorer class at Cedarhurst recently created a newspaper to share all the ways their school is environmentally friendly. The publication is part of a grant application prepared by the students. They are hoping to get funding to build a greenhouse at the school.

Highline Alum Makes Ground-Breaking Genetic Discovery

Crediting mentorship and the support he got from a favorite professor, former Highline High School student James Rosser has identified all the genes required to survive on nitrogen, something that had never been done before.  Read the story in the Seattle Pacific University publication:

http://www.spu.edu/depts/ugadm/etc/professor-never-forget.asp

Summer Institute in Life Sciences

Applications are now being accepted for the 2009 Summer Institute in Life Sciences (SILS), June 29-July 24 at the University of Washington. This seminar is free for teachers in grades 3-8. SILS is a four-week, hands-on program for teaching investigative life science.

Teachers engage in open-ended inquiries with living organisms, design experimental investigations, prepare a research poster as a teaching tool, and develop an inquiry curriculum unit. The focus is on practical ideas and tools for teaching life science (especially biodiversity and ecology), and features weekly field trips to local environments of interest. SILS also includes a site visit to each school and a one-day follow-up workshop at the University of Washington during the school year.

And, SILS is FREE! All instructional costs are covered by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Teachers completing the program receive seven credits of BIOL 491. Teachers from schools serving predominantly low income and disadvantaged student populations are especially encouraged to apply.

Apply on-line for SILS 2009:

https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/uwhhmi/68321

Application deadline is April 1, 2009

Parent Guides for Math

We often hear parents say they aren't able to help their children with math homework because it has changed so much since they were in school. Now, there's help available!

We have added Parent Math Guides on our website for Connected Math, CMP2, and Investigations. Links to these guides can be found at:

http://www.hsd401.org/parentinfo/resources/mathparent.htm

Construction Challenge 2009

Regional Rally at Master Builders

Puget Sound Skills Center students were one of three teams selected to compete at the International Construction Challenge Championships to be held in Knoxville in May. Student team members are Jordan Simpson, David Barber, Kevin Jones, Scott Valbush, James McConnon, and Kasey Asbury.

Puget Sound Skills Center (PSSC) students from the Construction Technology Program participated at the Regional Rally of the Construction Challenge on February 7. Sixteen rallies were held across the nation to select the top 60 teams. These U.S. teams will join 800+ teams from around the world to compete in the International Construction Challenge Championships in May in Tennessee where they will compete for cash prizes and scholarships.

Students invented tools and structures, solved design puzzles and along the way learned about the building and construction industry. With only raw materials, a goal and their imaginations, the 61 students tackled hands-on challenges. In timed trials, they built inventions and structures from scratch, including even a cardboard-and-duct-tape Alaskan Way Viaduct — complete with vehicles.

"I love this type of work," said David Barber, of the PSSC team. "You get to step back at the end of the day, look at your project, and say 'Wow, I did that myself.'"

The Construction Challenge was divided into three challenge competitions.

• Challenge 1 - design and build a visual display/presentation that raises awareness about an infrastructure issue (roads, bridges, water, and sewage) and demonstrate its impact on your local community and show how the same type of infrastructure issue impacts an international community.
• Challenge 2 - design and build a machine from a box of assorted materials to do specific functions in a small amount of time. (If you saw the movie Apollo 13 where the astronauts had to build an air-scrubbing device from the materials the astronauts had on–board, you've got the picture.)
• Challenges 3 - troubleshoot a problem with a machine and rebuild it to proper specifications. Two student service technicians located offsite, equipped with two-way radios, had the specifications and service manuals while the other students examined the machine and described the situation and problems. They then performed the necessary tasks to make the machine fully operational as communicated by their student counterparts.

These challenges focused on critical analysis, communication, punctuality, research, and teamwork - the same issues faced in the construction industry on a daily basis.

The regional event was held at the Master Builders Association in Bellevue Washington, under the direction of Sue Z. Hart, northwest regional coordinator. The students from PSSC were sponsored by the Master Builders through Executive Director Cathy Feole who said, "Construction has long been underrated as a career. These are well-paying jobs."

Ivars Graudins, manager of labor-market information for the state Department of Employment Security, sees a construction industry that is down but not out — and with this big advantage: "It pays a living wage without the need for a university degree."

Even apprentices in the building trades make $17 to $18 an hour on average, and journeymen with five years' experience can earn $30 an hour on average.

This year, layoffs in the construction trades go well beyond seasonal swings, state statistics show. But some experts are predicting that while construction is drying up now; by the time these students are ready for a career, there will be jobs for them.

Ken Pierson,construction technology instructor at PSSC, sees eight retirees for every new recruit to the construction trades. "There are great career possibilities in this field, especially for women right now," he said. "We need every single graduate out there."

PSSC and the student team members are looking for corporate, community, and individual sponsors to help defray the cost of attending the competition in May. Sponsors will be recognized for their support of our students and PSSC, locally and nationally. If you can help, please contact Ken Pierson at 206.631.7311.

See photos and more of this story in the Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008719912_construction08m.html

The event was also featured in the Bellevue Reporter: http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/bel/community/39263654.html

TechREACH Club at Sylvester Middle School

Sylvester is in its fifth year with a TechREACH club, this year funded exclusively by grants through the Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. This is a club designed to increase interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) among at-risk girls. At- risk can mean: no computers at home, limited exposure to computers, low grades in science and/or math, quiet or reserved in a co-ed classroom, a minority, or low income.

This year, the girls have completed a unit on designing 3D buildings using online software called Anim8or. At the end of February, they will begin a unit called Arcade Game Creation. The club invites guest speakers (women in STEM careers) and participates in field trips, including Microsoft and Expanding Your Horizons.

Led by Christine Blea, the Sylvester club was recognized by the TechREACH Director Karen Manuel for its high-quality activities.

Putting Science and Math to Work - in a Fun Way!

Pacific students will showcase their work and demonstrate the skills they have learned In Design and Engineering on February 24. This will be an opportunity for them to share with parents and staff the design and creation of little people furniture, a game they created, "Crazy Puzzles," scale drawings, and other work.

Teacher Sandy Gady, commented, "You will have the opportunity to play their games, sit in some of their furniture, and experience the journey they took as they created these pieces. They have worked hard and are anxious to share."

The class, new this year, employs mathematical and scientific concepts in hands-on ways that engage the students. Eighth-grader Andrew Baca says, "Design and Engineering is a place where learning and thinking can be fun. We are working on making our own toy. It's not as easy as it sounds - the toy must include some kind of game as well. We are designing and building games like Operation, Aggravation, or Mousetrap."

His perspective is echoed by eighth-grader Jason McGlothern, "There are so many different activities in this class such as building bridges with spaghetti, making little people furniture, and analyzing data of animals made of a substance called polymer. You see kids in class using both a triple beam balance to measure the mass of an animal and calipers to measure length, height, and width of them." He went on to say, "Some students may think science and math are boring, but in this class, you may not realize you are even using it. The main focus of this class is to collect data and analyze it, as well as write conclusions."

Highline Council PTSA Honors Reflections Artists

More than 400 students in Highline Public Schools PTAs created art for this year's Reflections Arts Program and shared their interpretation of what the theme "Wow!" meant to them. Reflections is a National PTA program that encourages students in grades K-12 to create art in any of the six categories of literature, visual arts, photography, music, film/video, and dance.

Highline Council PTSA honored 53 students at their annual Refelections Celebration held at the Highline Performing Arts Center in January. Students received medals for Award of Excellence, with one student in the age level and arts category receiving the Outstanding Interpretation award for the best representation of the theme. It was an evening full of student recognition, performances, and applause.

The students receiving Outstanding Interpretation, as well as some of those receiving Award of Excellence, were sent on to Washington State PTA Reflections for additional judging and consideration for awards at the state level.

Thank you to all of the students who shared their art with the community through Reflections this year and to the volunteers who make this program happen for students. The public can view much of the students' work on display in the lobby of the Highline district office (ERAC) through February 27. Be sure to encourage students you know to participate in next year's program in their PTAs and create art based on the 2009-10 theme, "Beauty is..."

Art Captions: Tyler's photo, Friend or Foe, received Outstanding Interpretation in intermediate photography and Ellen's watercolor, Fireworks, received Outstanding Interpretation in senior visual arts.

Contributed by HCPTSA Reflections Coordinator Debbie Thoma

Click here for the list of medal recipients.

Aviation Students Named Finalist in Innovation Competition

A team of students representing Aviation High School has been named a finalist this week in the annual "Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Awards." The honor went to Lamond Le and Sam Swan for their project, Seattle Instruments.

Teams of high school students participate in the competition to develop new business opportunities in the fields of personal spaceflight, lunar exploration, or renewable energy. This competition engages high school students in creating commercial products using science and technology. Students create unique products, produce viable business plans, and are given opportunities to bring their ideas to market. This competition provides students with the ability to network with scientists, university professors, world business leaders, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs. The competition gives students an opportunity to develop hands-on applications of today's STEM education.

The finalists will attend the Innovation Summit^TM, April. 2-4, 2009, at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, California. Here, they will meet world-level innovators such as technology, business pioneer, and author Judy Estrin; Tim Draper, founder the global venture capital firm Draper, Fisher Jurvetson; and David Pensak, Ph.D., an internationally recognized leader in computer software technology and innovation. The teams will present their ideas to an expert panel of judges, attend workshops, and compete for more than $120,000 in prize money.

The Conrad Foundation, primary sponsor of the contest, will recognize innovative thinking among youth and build a new generation of scientists to solve some of the most pressing problems of the 21^st Century.

The not-for-profit foundation was formed by Nancy Conrad, wife of the late Charles "Pete" Conrad, who was the third man to walk on the moon and a veteran of four space flights spanning Projects Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab.

"Innovation is what this country does best," said Nancy Conrad. "It is what sent Pete to the moon, and it is the very foundation of our knowledge-based economy. Through this competition, we are growing the future innovators that will keep America economically and intellectually solid."

To learn more about the Pete Conrad "Spirit of Innovation" Awards visit http://www.conradawards.org/

Art Show Features TEC High Student Work

Burien Art Gallery is hosting a show that features work by several TEC High students. Check out the details here:
http://www.highlinetimes.com/articles/2009/02/03/news/local_news/news06.txt

Marvista Drive Gathers 1,500 Pounds for Food Bank

Cristina Roberts' fifth-grade class held a food drive at Marvista Elementary School this month to donate food to the White Center Heights Food Bank. As a school, Marvista gathered over 2,000 canned and boxed goods. This all came about when the "Helpful Team" in Mrs. Roberts' class wanted to make a difference in the community and decided to hold an all-school food drive. They motivated the other students by promising popcorn party for the class that could bring in the most food.

One of Mrs. Roberts' students and class president, Avery, shared his feelings about the class project, "This really meant a lot to me because there are people in need that don't even have money to buy food. It felt to me that we helped a lot."

Another fifth grader, Salma, shared, "I want to thank all the people who helped other people in need, and I feel really happy being on the helpful team."

Once all the goods were counted, they loaded up the vehicles, and three students accompanied Mrs. Roberts to the food bank to help unload and sort. Overall, the food bank counted a total of 1,500 pounds of food.

Dictionaries for Students

Each year, the Burien/White Center Rotary Club gives a children's dictionary to every third grader in the city. Here, Rotarians distribute dictionaries to students at Hazel Valley Elementary.