Safe trick-or-treating
The Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office wants to remind area families to make safe choices as they go door-to-door next week with their children seeking candy.
The office is directing residents to its sex-offender map, where the public can get information on the street and city block where registered sex offenders reside. The tip being, do your best to avoid those homes.
The map is available online through the sheriff’s office site.
For families looking for alternatives to trick-or-treating the old fashioned way, the downtown businesses will again share treats with area children from 3-5 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 31. Then from 5-7 p.m., Walla Walla High School students are hosting a “trunk or treat” event in its main parking lot, where children can also trick-or-treat in a safe environment. Families that want to participate in the Wa-Hi event should bring a canned good.
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Loading ...A milestone
I’ve been waiting months to write this post, and now it’s official.
Lincoln Alternative High School recently launched its own Web site. With this step, all schools in the Walla Walla Public Schools system now have their own sites.
Congrats Lincoln!
Here’s a link to all the school’s sites for your browsing.
Elementary Schools:
Middle Schools:
High Schools:
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Text of Obama’s speech to students
The White House has made available the text of President Obama’s speech to school children, which he is to deliver this morning.
Here’s some excerpts:
“Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
“And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.”
“We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.”
“… the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.”
“… today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. ”
“Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, ‘I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.’ ”
“Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength.”
“The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.”
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Lincoln Health Center update
Last week I stopped by the site of the new Lincoln Health Center. The property is still under construction, but is expected to open on Sept. 8.
Holly Howard was in the office when I stopped by, on the phone trying to work a glitch out with Qwest. She gave me a tour of the facility, which is still under construction but very close to being done.
The new center takes up what used to be three studio-like apartments in a unit directly next door to Lincoln, along South Third Avenue. Walls were knocked down and some reconfiguring was done to turn the three apartments into one space. There are two larger rooms that will serve as consulation space, with a smaller room in the back reserved for therapist or counselor meetings.
On my informal tour, I noticed a new door that is waiting to be hung, and serve as the main entrance. There is a small reception area, where Lincoln students will wait, and a walk-up window and room behind the counter for the employees. There’s a bathroom, and counter space for lab work.
It all looks to be coming along well. Howard gave me a brochure that lists some of the services that will be offered there each week. Students will get primary care, mental health counseling on specific days and times, access to DHS counselors, and group sessions. Representatives from Planned Parenthood, and Serenity Point Outreach (which offers substance abuse treatment) will also be available on certain days.
The center is meant to offer needed health services, from basic primary care to more complex mental health and substance abuse treatment, at a location that is convenient to Lincoln students. Educators at Lincoln have in the past expressed concern at the vast needs of many of their students, needs that couldn’t simply be met at the school.
The center is also meant to serve just Lincoln students, although Howard said there may be efforts to establish similar centers at Walla Walla High School and Blue Ridge Elementary in the future.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...WSU learning center to close
Friday may be the last day of the Washington State University Learning Center at Walla Walla Community College.
Still waiting for confirmation from WSU, and I hope to have more details on the closure for Thursday’s newspaper. What I have heard so far is that as of Monday, the learning center will close as a result of budget cuts throughout the university system.
Local learning center coordinator Cynthia Selde, who was based at the CC, will no longer be in charge of that program.
What I’ve heard is that the WSU Extension in Walla Walla is not being affected. And I’m waiting to hear how degree programs through WSU at the college will be impacted.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Busy week
Lots of opportunities this week to meet with Walla Walla public school leaders. Edison will open its doors Tuesday to members of the school board and anyone else who wants to get a walk-though of the newly constructed school. The board will take a tour of the building at 6 p.m., then head to district offices for its 7:30 p.m. meeting. This is the night when the school board will officially approve its operating budget for next school year. The action item comes after the public comments portion of the meeting, so if anyone has anything to share or say, this may be the last chance to do it during the vote.
On Wednesday, district leaders will be gathering at the site where the district’s new bus co-op and support services facility will be built. The ceremony runs from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday at 1207 Entley St., off 13th and Rose.
These are all good opportunities for the public to hear from district leaders, see what the district has been working on, and ask any questions.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...An e-mail round-up
So every day I get about a dozen e-mails that have something or other to do with education in the country. Most of the time these are borderline spam. But occasionally the topic is interesting or specific to things happening in our local schools.
Here’s a few of the items that have been neglected in my Inbox for far too long.
1. Watson Fellow on the first part of her year-long exploration of hip-hop and “raptivism.” Several weeks ago I wrote about Aisha Fukushima, a recent Whitman College graduate who was among the 40 college grads chosen this year as a Watson Fellow. Aisha proposed a year-long study into “raptivism,” or rap activism, as it exists in six different countries. She launched her exploration in July and is currently living in Denmark. She is maintaining a blog with pictures, videos, thoughts and ideas on how her project is developing.
2. Healthier food in school lunches. It seems common-sense that children in public schools school have access to more veggies, fruits, and locally grown foods that are cooked in a healthy way. A new national Web site has been launched as a resource to help school district plan and serve healthier meals. The new site is TheLunchBox.org. It is still in the developing stages, but looks like it has a good, positive mission.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...A week ahead
Things are going to start getting busy real quick on the education beat, starting this Friday with the release of last spring’s WASL results, and the annual Adequate Yearly Progress report. Both are being released by our state’s education agency, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
This will be the last major release of WASL scores, since our new state superintendent Randy Dorn pledged to do away with the test and replace it with something more streamlined.
The AYP release is part of the federal No Child Left Behind law, and shows schools that are in danger of sanctions or closing if they haven’t shown marked improvements from year to year. I’ll have more on how local schools are doing after the release Friday at 10 a.m.
Next week is a busy one in Walla Walla. The Walla Walla School Board is expected to approve its budget during its regular meeting on Tuesday. On Wednesday, school leaders will be on hand at the site of the district’s new Transportation Cooperative, where a ceremonial ground-breaking will take place. The ceremony is scheduled at 10 a.m. at the site, 1207 Entley St., across from Koncrete Industries.
The transportation coop is also going to be the site of the district’s new support services facility. The project isn’t going to cost taxpayers anything (not exactly, anyway) and I’m working on a story that will run later this week detailing the project.
School starts in two weeks, everyone!
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The catch-up game
Less than three weeks before the start of school, everyone! That may be lamentable news for our area youngsters, but luckily the first week of school has always been timed around the start of the Walla Walla County Fair. So even if the kiddies are bummed out at having to be stuck in classrooms yet again, they can at least look forward to visiting the fair at the end of the first week. And even though it feels like a drag to be back in school, we all know how much fun children have getting to see their friends again and getting to learn new things. (Although they’ll never admit it).
A few things are coming up in the education world. Next Tuesday, the Walla Walla School Board will likely be adopting its 2009-10 budget. Look for more information on that early next week.
It looks like students at Blue Ridge Elementary won’t be wearing uniforms at the start of the school year. Although the idea is probably still being considered, I heard from district communications director Mark Higgins that the uniforms may take some more time to be implemented.
Lots of construction going on in the Walla Walla district as well, and not just at Edison Elementary. Bridge Street, the main route for students walking to Pioneer Middle School and also used by Edison students, is going through a facelift at the moment that will make it more pedestrian friendly for the start of school. Sections of the street will be getting new sidewalks, as well as wheelchair accessible curbs. I’m working on a story giving more details on the project that should run soon.
Work is also slated to begin on a new bus drop-off at Prospect Point Elementary that is expected to significantly cut down on congestion in front of the school before and after school. But the project likely won’t be done in time for school to start in a few weeks.
Probably the next biggest project, behind Edison, is the anticipated construction of a new Transportation Co-op, and Support Services facility in Walla Walla. A ground-breaking is being planned and I anticipate covering that event as it nears to offer more background.
In the future, Walla Walla will also see construction of a Skills Center that will support all area students, including those in rural district and MF students. The center is being built as a satellite campus to the Tri-Tech Skills Center in Tri-Cities. More on this project as it develops.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...About a month left
School news slows a bit in the summer, and it’s going to get another lag this month as I go on vacation for two weeks. But when I get back on August 3 it will be just a few weeks before school is back in session.
Before I leave I will be wrapping up a story on the debut of the new Edison Elementary School. The old school has been doubled in size with the new construction, and its opening will coincide with the implementation of new district boundary lines. In case you haven’t checked it out yet, the new district boundary map (for elementary schools) is available at the Walla Walla Public Schools site under Boundary map of the “A to Z” section.
The new Edison is amazing, and I will be checking to see if there are any formal plans to invite the public to see for themselves what their tax dollars helped build.
While Edison stands to be the biggest school in the district once it opens, the grades have been grouped within the building to maintain a small school feel. So kinder and first-graders are in one section, while second and third grades are another, and fourth and fifth graders learn in the final “pod” on the top floor.
Some of the building’s perks include a spacious music and arts room, a dazzling library with adjoining computer lab, a large gymnasium and spectacular views of Mill Creek from the top floor.
The UB is also putting its yearly “Back to School” guide together. We’re always open to suggestions from readers on how to improve on this section. Our print product is limited, though, because of space and ads. Maybe something computer-based in the future?
Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their summer. School starts in Walla Walla and College Place Aug. 25.
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