A follow-up on the bomb scare at WWCC
On Monday, the Walla Walla Community College campus was put on alert about a possible bomb threat for the following day. A custodian found a message written in a second-floor bathroom of the campus about 3:30 p.m. threatening that a bomb would explode on Tuesday.
After the police was called in and a search conducted, the campus was deemed safe. Knowing that some people might still feel anxious about attending Tuesday, the college asked that any staff, faculty or students who planned to stay home to notify their supervisors or instructors.
The college’s cooperative preschool, scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon (and that my 4-year-old attends) canceled class for the afternoon.
Clint Gabbard, the college’s vice-president of Student Services, said attendance dropped for the day by about 25 percent, but that the school was back to normal and ready to move on Wednesday. The school’s child care center operated Tuesday as usual. Other than the scare, the day was uneventful.
Gabbard said the college continues to work with the city’s Police Department to investigate the threat. He said security cameras were not present in the area of the college where the bomb threat was written.
Gabbard wrote today in an e-mail: “We are grateful for the cooperation of the police department, for our facilities services staff who canvassed the entire campus, and for the faculty, staff, and students who mostly went about the work of the college and did not let one individual’s careless, ugly actions dictate the educational process.”
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Loading ...Are free meals good or bad for kids?
I’ve gotten a couple of calls and e-mails from readers about the poor quality of food being served in our public schools. One reader was particularly shocked to learn that children in our elementary schools are given the choice to eat pizza 10 times a week. (For breakfast and lunch. Yes, there is a breakfast pizza option). You can check out the monthly food calendar for Walla Walla schools at wwps.org, under the Food Services department, or by clicking here.
Yet a majority of the children who eat breakfast and lunch at school do so because it is either free or incredibly cheap. And lots of other people argue that without the school meals, those children might not eat at all.
In defense of our schools, there is no sign of junk food in those lines. No potato chips, no soda, or sweetened drinks. Lots of milk, both plain and chocolate, pure juices, and the choice to pick fresh fruits and vegetables. Several schools in our district (particularly Garrison Middle and Sharpstein Elementary) have incorporated stuff grown in school gardens into the lunch line. But there’s also the french fries, chicken nuggets, hamburgers and pizzas offered every day, although there’s not much deep-frying going on. Recent guidelines have required those foods be baked.
So I’m wondering what people’s thoughts are on the topic. Do you send your child to school with lunch money, or with a lunch sack? If you pack a lunch, what do you include? And does it seem like enough to offer fresh veggies and fruits in the cafeteria, alongside chicken nuggets, burgers and fries? Because in the end, children do get to choose what goes on their trays.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Let the testing begin
It’s out with the WASL, in with the Measurements of Student Progress this month!
Starting this week, some area middle school students will start taking an online version of the MSP, which replaced the WASL state standards exam this year for elementary and middle school students. (High-schoolers take the High School Proficiency Exam).
Locally, 6th-8th grade students in College Place, Dayton, Waitsburg and Burbank, and 6th-graders at Pioneer Middle School in Walla Walla will start testing for reading and math this week. Pioneer students will just test for reading online.
All other students, in all grades that test for standards in reading, writing, math and occasionally science, will start testing May 12-28.
Results of the exams, both online and paper-pencil versions, won’t be available until August. But the buzz around the exam is that because it is being implemented later in the school year, and has been shortened significantly from the WASL, the results will show student progress more accurately (and hopefully positively!).
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Some major leadership shifts
Not too long ago I was talking with Green Park Principal Mike Lambert, about how he and Sharpstein Principal Laure Quaresma were soon going to be the veteran principals for the city’s public elementary schools. In the last couple of years, the district’s six elementary schools have almost all received new principals.
This week, Quaresma was named the district’s new executive director of personnel, replacing retiring Deputy Superintendent Bill Jordan for the upcoming school year.
That means that in the next few weeks a new principal will be named for Sharpstein, and Lambert will be the longest serving principal in of the elementary schools.
New next year will also be Joshua Wolcott, who is leaving his assistant principal post at Garrison Middle School to take over leadership of Edison Elementary. He is replacing long-time principal Nancy Withycombe, who is retiring from education. New for the current school year was Kim Doepker at Blue Ridge Elementary, and Donna Painter at Berney Elementary. The previous year, Chris Gardea was in his first year leading Prospect Point Elementary.
Next year Walla Walla Public Schools will also have a new superintendent. And the school’s middle and high schools have principals in their first few years of leadership at those particular schools.
Although many of the posts are new to the particular employees, most of the administrators have long ties to the district.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Interesting study on bilingual education
Education Week has an interesting article this week on the effectiveness of English immersion versus bilingual education. The study finds that whatever the model, children whose native language is not English (in this case, who speak primarily Spanish at home) learned just as well in both models.
In Walla Walla, this could give some confidence to children who continue to learn in a traditional bilingual program, where the children learn all of their curriculum in Spanish for the first four years, with English gradually introduced a bit at a time each year. By the fourth grade, children in the bilingual programs are expected to have a strong foundation reading, writing and speaking in Spanish, which would then make them better able to learn English.
The immersion model of education mixes English and Spanish instruction. The closest thing Walla Walla has to this is the dual-immersion programs at Sharpstein and Edison elementary schools, where an equal number of English and Spanish speaking youth learn both languages throughout elementary school.
The article brings up an interesting look at a topic that is often debated. California outlawed bilingual education years ago, but has accepted dual-language programs because they include English. Locally, the dual-language programs are regarded as the superior model for learning English, and comes with the added bonus of teaching a foreign language to English-speaking youth.
In Walla Walla, Blue Ridge and Green Park still teach the transitional model of bilingual education, but Blue Ridge has plans to switch to a dual-language program next year. Green Park families, and those in past programs, can look at this study and see that regardless of the program, their children will learn English just as well.
Speaking about the dual-language program, the Walla Walla School District is hosting a meeting April 15 (Thursday) for families currently in the programs who want to talk about middle school options. The meeting runs 6:30-8 p.m. at the district board room, at 364 S. Park St. The meeting will be facilitated by Asst. Superintendent Linda Boggs.
The district recently announced a cost-saving move that would not expand the dual-language programs in the middle schools beyond sixth grade. But district leaders want to hear from families and discuss options, that could include online learning or after school options.
For information about the middle school dual language parent meeting, contact the district’s Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Department at 526-6734.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The winners and losers
The first round of the federal “Race to the Top” competition ended this week with just two states cashing in. Delaware and Tennessee were the two states chosen out of several candidates to receive federal money to drastically improve schools. Delaware will receive about $100 million, and Tennessee about $500 million, USA Today reports.
Among the winning strategies were removing limits on charter schools, tying teacher evaluations to student test scores, and committing to turning around struggling schools through drastic implementations.
The federal stimulus plan is a $4.35 billion pledge to the country’s school-children, and in the second round, several more states are expected to receive funds. Washington state was not part of the initial application process, but has shaped education Legislation that will make it a candidate for the second round.
In other news, the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction announced Monday nine districts that would receive federal School Improvement grants to turn around persistently low-performing schools. Blue Ridge Elementary in Walla Walla had been targeted as being among the lowest performing schools in the state, and was seeking close to $400,000 to implement changes.
Although not selected, Blue Ridge will still have to show improvements in student performance over the next year before having to make a major shift in its operations. The models include shutting the school down and transferring students to higher performing schools in the district; replacing the principal and most staff; or transforming the way the school approaches teaching.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Mark one or more
A slight deviation from my education blog, but for something slightly educational.
I just filled out my Census questionnaire, and probably like most other Latinos, struggled to answer the question, “What race are you?” I’m of Hispanic origin, yes, from Peru. But now you want to know my race?
It felt weird to mark myself as white, even though it’s probably true. My family descends from Spain and Lebanon primarily, which would classify me as white. But I know there are more backgrounds in my family, I just don’t know them specifically. It is probably fair to say there is some African blood in my family history, but who can answer with any certainty?
There was a great documentary on PBS recently called “Faces of America” that helps shed light on just this topic. I would urge anyone who doesn’t understand the Census question to check it out. The show helped me understand that it takes a lot of research to know exactly what anyone’s roots are.
So about me…I was born in Peru but grew up in the U.S. Being from Peru can mean many different things. People in Peru are also black, white, Asian, indigenous, or a combination of several backgrounds.
The history of Peru is not much different from the U.S. The Spanish came to Peru, killed the ruling people (the Incas) and took over governing the indigenous people who were left. Those people, the ones who were already in Peru when the Spanish arrived (but weren’t killed off) probably migrated from Asia years before.
After the Spanish settled in most of Latin-America (and the Portugese in Brazil), they brought slaves from Africa. Then everybody started mingling and reproducing. And then immigration flourished. Immigration is what made it possible for Peru to have a Japanese-Peruvian president for a while.
One comfort with the Census is that people can check more than one box on the race question. Although crossing off all the boxes would probably be annoying, even if it is closer to the truth.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...A change, and about that vote
Over the weekend the Walla Walla Public Schools Web site got a make-over. You can check out the new page here. The main story this morning is the hiring of the district’s new Superintendent, Mick Miller, who will assume duties July 1. Miller currently heads the Deer Park School District.
On another note, my story on the board’s decision to hire Miller left out the board’s vote, which was not unanimous. Board member Max Carrera voted no to hiring Miller for the job. I talked with Carrera this weekend to on his decision.
Carrera said that given the seriousness of the vote, he felt it his duty to vote the way he truly felt. He said the top three candidates were extremely good, and he respectfully disagreed with the way the rest of the board voted.
“As a board we had a very healthy discussion on who would make the best candidate,” Carrera said. “I had a different opinion than my fellow board members.”
Carrera did say he gives his full support to Mr. Miller, and welcomed Miller to the district following the vote.
“I think he’ll make a great superintendent,” Carrera said. “I look forward to working with him.”
(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) Loading ...A dual-language lapse
Families with children in the district’s dual-language programs may have gotten a disappointing update this week on the continuity of the program after elementary school.
The district’s dual-language program, where children learn in English and Spanish, launched about seven years ago at Sharpstein Elementary School. The first class of kindergartners in the program started at Garrison Middle School this year.
The goal had always been to continue the Spanish/English instruction into middle school. But as the year approached and the state’s budget collapsed, hiring the right instructors and fitting the courses into the regular school day became more of a challenge.
Assistant Superintendent Linda Boggs explained this process to the School Board during its meeting Tuesday night. Garrison did hire a part-time teacher this year to offer social studies in Spanish to the 40 students from Garrison’s program. But there are no immediate plans to expand the program further or add dual-language classes into seventh and eight-grades.
There are however some plans in the works to offer something. The students in the dual-language programs will eventually move to high school, where they will be able to take more advanced Spanish courses. So to keep some continuity in the middle school years, the district is considering online course options, and possible after-school sessions.
Boggs said there is a meeting scheduled next Tuesday with dual-language families to iron out some of those suggestions.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...And then there were three
The search for a new Superintendent of Walla Walla Public Schools will wrap up later this week. On Saturday, the district announced its three finalists. They are:
Bob Keuhl: Assistant Superintendent, Tumwater School District, Tumwater, WA
John Steach: Assistant Superintendent, Richland School District, Richland, WA
Mick Miller: Superintendent, Deer Park School District, Deer Park, WA
The candidates will each undergo interviews this week, starting Monday, and concluding Thursday when the board announces its top candidate.
The new Superintendent will assume duties July 1.
The public will have a chance to meet the candidates this week. Here is the schedules of available times. The meetings will be at district offices, 364 S. Park St.
• Bob Keuhl – Monday, March 15 – 5 to 6:30 p.m. (District board room 364 S. Park St.)
• John Steach – Wednesday, March 17 – 5 to 6:30 p.m. (District board room 364 S. Park St.)
• Mick Miller – Thursday, March 18 – 5 to 6:30 p.m. (District board room 364 S. Park St.)
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5) Loading ...