This and That

One item to throw out there is that while I did listen into the Board's discussion of criteria/selection and community meeting for the two new Board members, I didn't listen to the Work Session that followed on public engagement. I have been told there were concerning statements made by some directors so I will follow up on that soon.

According to the district the next budget update will come at the Board meeting on March 20th. It is getting closer and closer to the time when the "central office leadership team" will have to reveal their plans around school closures. 

 

I note that there was a story in the Seattle Times that Interagency would be closed but that was swiftly denied by the district. But I have to wonder if staff at Interagency were worried about what they were hearing and leaked it. 

As the fentanyl crisis claims the lives of more and more teens each year — three times as many Washington teens died in 2022 relative to 2019 — advocates say Interagency Recovery Academy is a critical lifeline for youth. A Change.org petition circulated to save the campus for the 2025 school year and had gathered more than 3,000 signatures by Thursday morning.

“The recovery school is more than just an educational institution,” the petition read. “It offers specialized support that traditional schools can’t provide, making it indispensable in our fight against addiction.”

The initial statement from the district on Wednesday was a bit cagey:

The School Board must approve any decision to close a school, and the district has neither recommended nor authorized closing Interagency Recovery Academy, said Bev Redmond, the district’s spokesperson and chief of staff.

Ok but that doesn't mean the school program isn't on their list.  

But then on Thursday, there was this:

On Thursday, the district was more direct: “There are no plans to close the recovery academy,” Redmond said. “There are none.”

 

The Seattle Times also had this story on the uptick of reports of students bringing guns to school, a trend seen throughout the country. 

This past academic year, school districts in the Puget Sound region reported the highest number of incidents involving interventions for students with guns on campus in at least a decade, a Seattle Times analysis of public records requested from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction found. This peak follows a brief decline when campuses shuttered during the pandemic. 

In 2022-23, among the larger school districts in the region, Seattle Public Schools reported 11 incidents, Lake Washington reported seven, and Kent reported four, while Tahoma and Northshore school districts reported none.

What is interesting/troubling is that the data is all self-reported. As the Times' article says:

So if school officials did not find a gun, did not discipline a student or did not report the incident, it won’t show up in the database.

Also to note:

Catherine Carbone Rogers, chief communications officer for Highline School District, which hasn’t reported an increase, said more reports of weapons indicate precisely that — there are more reports of weapons.

 

Looking through the agenda for the upcoming Board meeting, it looks like it might be a quick meeting because there are not

One item that stood out to me was the Action Item on Board policies:

This action would amend, adopt, and repeal Board policies in the 2000, 3000, 5000, and D-
lettered series to address outdated policy language and meet state legal requirements.

Background
This proposed action would amend 13 policies, adopt one new policy as legally required, and
repeal one outdated policy. 

Many of these changes come from changes to state law as well as recommendations from the Washington State School Directors' Association and OSPI. 

One item that might concern parents:

Sexual Health Education - Senate Bill 5395 (RCW 28A.300.475) passed by the Legislature and upheld through a referendum in 2020 now requires public schools to provide comprehensive sexual health education. The curriculum, instruction, and materials must be medically and scientifically
accurate, age-appropriate, and inclusive of all students.

That means that Board Policy 2125, Sexual Health Education, will be revised to reflect these legal requirements. 

Updates to Board Policy No. 2125, Sexual Health Education, reflect the revised legal
requirement from Senate Bill 5395 (RCW 28A.300.475) that Comprehensive Sexual
Health Education be taught and provide for the Superintendent or their designee to
review and grant parents or guardians requests to exclude their child from comprehensive
sexual health education as required under the law. The state law would otherwise provide
that such requests be filed with the School Board. Procedural content in the existing
policy would be updated and consolidated, as relevant, into an updated Superintendent
Procedure to support implementation.

And a mystery - the agenda says that "Board Director Questions and Staff Responses" will be attached. They haven't been for the last two Board meetings. Could that mean board directors had zero questions or is this item being phased out? Stay tuned.

 

The Washington State Board of Education is looking for a student rep for 2024-2026 term.

The Washington State Board of Education seeks a current sophomore ready to step up and make a mark on education. The student must be passionate and driven to serve as the Student Representative for the 2024-2026 term, and live anywhere in Washington.

Applicants must:

- Reside and attend a public or private school in Washington State through the academic years of their term (2024 - 2026).
- Be a current sophomore (rising Junior) at the time of selection.
- Have a passion for improving K-12 public education.
- Be able to devote sufficient time to the responsibilities of the board, including, but not limited to, participating in all scheduled State Board of Education Board meetings.
- Have a positive academic and/or extracurricular record, which can be demonstrated by grades, activities, accomplishments, and/or recommendations of peers, educators, or community members.
- Commit to making up for missed schoolwork while attending scheduled meetings and other board functions.

The application deadline is March 29.

Ready to apply? Visit the Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL) website for the application form and more information: https://buff.ly/3P8H2Xz (awsleaders.org/sbe)

It looks like yet another Washington State charter school is set to be shutdown by the Washington State Charter Commission:

The Washington State Charter School Commission has initiated a process to revoke the Pullman Community Montessori's charter. The decision was made during a special meeting in Olympia, Wash., on Friday afternoon.

Jessica de Barros, executive director of the commission, said it has received 43 complaints about the Montessori in Pullman since January. An investigation was initiated later that month, and through the intensive process numerous violations were found.

Issues include loss of students, lack of insufficient funds and students feeling bullied and unsafe. 

Other issues included the school missing deadlines to submit paperwork to the commission and changes to the educational program terms without consultation, according to the documents.

Most of the people who did comment support the school.