October 26, 2007   

Outgoing School Board Members To Be Honored

The three Highline school board members who are finishing their terms of office next month will be honored at a school board meeting on November 7. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the district central office (15675 Ambaum Blvd. SW in Burien.)   Board member Tom Slattery has served four four-year terms on the school board; Phyllis Byers and Matthew Pina have each served two terms. Collectively, they represent 32 years of board service. Each of the three decided earlier this year not to run for the board again this fall.   The public is invited to attend the event. There will be an open mike for those who wish to wish to express appreciation for the service Slattery, Byers, and Pina have given Highline Public Schools and the community.   Refreshments will be served.

White Center Heights Hosts Senator Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education

Senator Rosemary McAuliffe, chair, and Senators Rodney Tom and Joe McDermott, all members of the Washington Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education, attended a meeting at White Center Heights Elementary on October 19. The meeting was coordinated by the Puget Sound ESD, Thrive by Five, and Highline Public Schools as a means to educate the committee and representatives from the Governor’s office and OSPI on the early learning work being done in White Center. Principal Dave Darling presented information on the programs at White Center Heights. Sue Drenckpohl, coordinator for Reading First Schools, and Patty Compton, special education specialist, presented their findings from the extended-day kindergarten program here at Highline. This program uses targeted instruction during a two and a half-hour period that is added onto a traditional half-day kindergarten program. The results from the first two years of this program are very promising. For example, last year, in fall assessments, 100% of the extended-day Kindergarten students scored as "at risk" – meaning they tested at the "intensive and/or strategic level." By spring, through interventions set in place, 88% of these same students, were at benchmark. The efforts of extended-day kindergarten – and Thrive by Five – focus on preparing all children for first grade. Additionally, the parents and community, public, and private organizations have partnered as the White Center Early Learning Initiative to create comprehensive, accessible, and sustainable child development and family support services reflective of the diverse cultures, strengths, and needs of White Center families. The White Center staff and students did an outstanding job as hosts. Students were on hand to greet the visitors and provide tours of their school.

Early Childhood Education Program Has New Home

Valley View Early Learning Center is now home to four ECEAP (Early Childhood Education Assistance Program) classes, three blended ECEAP/special education classes, and four special education classes. The center currently serves 126 ECEAP and approximately 52 special education students with a variety of needs. Program Manager Nancy Adams observes, "The benefits of being at one site include sharing of materials and resources, observations by more than one team for students for whom we have concerns, professional development can be geared to early childhood issues, parents have an opportunity to see a range of delivery models, playgrounds can be geared to small children, and we don’t have to have our little guys on the playgrounds or buses with big kids." Additionally, greater parent participation is anticipated because all family events will be scheduled at the school their child attends. In the past, the program has held events at various locations around the district based on space availability, which made it very difficult for parents to participate. Adams has also identified an unexpected benefit to this location - the boost it has had on staff morale. "Teachers are able to support one another. It is now possible to schedule outside specialists, including music and a community librarian, to enrich our classroom instruction because such specialists can reach a larger number of children with one visit."

Native Pride Club at Cascade Middle School

Taylor Jackson and King County Executive Ron Sims     King County Councilmember Dow Constantine and Vanessa Johnston-Goodstar Contributed by Cathy McLynne, Cascade Native Pride Club at Cascade Middle School recently gave a presentation of their photo-voice project, "Picture This: Native Youth Look at their Environment," at the annual White Center CDA (Community Development Association) benefit dinner and fundraiser. The project began last year and continued through the summer. The students, Angelita Flores – Chilikat, Taylor Jackson – Tlingit, Martina Gonzales - Arikara, Guadalupe Gonzales – Assiniboine, sisters Rosa & Joslin Tovar – Nooksack, and Vanessa Johnston-Goodstar – Dakota, attended weekly meetings after school, exploring concepts of place, community, and environment from a Native perspective. Through this project, the girls used photography and talking circle dialogues to express their sense of self and their environment. Native Pride Club plans to continue their media work this school year with a documentary film with the support of their advisor, Cathy McLynne, paraeducator at Cascade, and mentors from the community: Melinda Bloom-Making Connections, Marissa Chavez-Youth Media Institute, Katie Goodstar-UW, and Tracy Rector-Longhouse Media. The Photo Voice project will be on display at ERAC mid October through November.

Artist’s Work is Appreciated at Madrona

Madrona students, Allie Hopkins, Jessica Solomona, and Christina Johnson, are pictured in front of the mural. Artist Liz Mapelli was celebrated with an Arts Appreciation evening recently at Madrona. Liz attended and explained the symbolism behind the mural and window disks she created for the school. The mural is a modern representation of the Madrona tree; its leaves, flowers, red berries, and red peeling bark. Other artwork and writing were on display during the evening as well.

Global Connections DECA Students Promote Their Program

Contributed by Alana Vinther, Global Connections On October 12, a non-student day, 17 Global Connections DECA students met at our school, at 7:00 a.m. dressed professionally and ready to be on TV! DECA officer Mack Bell organized the trip. Students traveled on Metro to Fisher Plaza where they appeared in the studio audience of the show, Northwest Afternoon. Mack Bell and four other students also produced a Public Service Announcement that aired at the commercial break promoting Global Connections DECA and our DECA week program.

Quilters' Update

The ERAC quilters could still use fabric and batting for their goal of making 200 quilts for Childhaven. Flannel and batting in one yard increments would be sincerely appreciated. Please contact Susan Laigo at 433-2547 for delivery information.

Board Minutes

Click the date to read the minutes from the October 10, 2007 board meeting.