School board takes tests

Prior to the board meeting board members were scheduled to review policies, but when superintendent Suellen White told them that the teachers had used their early-release time to familiarize themselves with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) test that is aligned with the new Common Core Standards, the board decided they would also like to do the same. Like the teaching staff, the board members took the test themselves in order to experience what the students will be experiencing during testing.

White informed the board that schools need to decide now on state testing. Beginning next year, she said, the state test will be the SBAC. Schools have been asked to take this test as a pilot program this year to help with the norming process. If grades 3-8 take the test, they will not take the MSP (Measurement of Student Progress), and the pilot SBAC will provide no results on meeting the standards. Since schools are required to meet standards or make adequate yearly progress, pilot schools will use current test results for this purpose.

Several norm-referenced tests are provided by the district for students, with Aimsweb and STAR test results available to parents in place of the MSP. With this information in mind and with the desire to familiarize students with the SBAC test in order to be prepared for the required testing next year, the teaching staff and administration decided to participate in the SBAC pilot this year for 3-8 grades, White said.

The SBAC is not being given at the high school level, as the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) is required, which would result in double testing. After the experiences staff had with the SBAC during the early-release time, it was decided to find ways for parents and community members to experience these tests themselves. Anyone can log in to sbac.org and take practice tests. The district also plans to hold parent curriculum nights that will include sample testing. Students will be given practice tests throughout the year to become familiar with the testing format. All SBAC testing is done online.

White reported that Trevor Greene, national principal of the year from Toppenish, will be the keynote speaker at the Bi-County professional day October 4. He will also work with Odessa staff October 3 at 1:30 p.m. Board members who heard him speak at a conference last year were excited to hear he will be working with the local staff.

Preschool

After the last meeting, the preschool board informed us they will help with the financial cost of the three-year-old preschool program, making up the difference for the students who meet the qualifications for free or reduced-price preschool, since ECEAP will not cover the cost for these students. Jennifer Singer will direct the program two days a week. She serves as the assistant in the four-year-olds program and will mirror much of the same curriculum with the three-year-olds.

Remediation

At the beginning of each new school year, an assessment is made of the remediation needs of students. New students move in, some students lose ground over the summer and some students always need an extra boost to keep up academically. The administration determined that it needed to extend the availability of Miranda Taylor, a paraprofessional, to provide enough time to meet the needs of students. Other adjustments may also be needed down the road, White said.

Principal’s report

Principal Schutz was not present due to his responsibilities as president of the Secondary Principals for Washington Association of School Principals, but he provided the following written report:

“We have had an excellent beginning of the school year, and we have survived Fest! Hopefully, we can now settle into a somewhat regular routine. As you are aware, many staff and students were highly involved in Fest activities and fundraisers. We also had all students in grades 6-12 participate in Fest clean-up on Monday, Sept. 23. I did remember to send a letter again this year, and we did not have anyone request to be excluded from the event.

“Larry Weber, Ellen Holman and I continue to work on the MMRE (Making Mathematics Reasonable and Explicit) grant through Washington State University. Two professors from WSU have visited both teachers’ classrooms as they continue to work on mathematical reasoning with their classes. Additionally, the professors were able to observe Travis Schuh and Jeff Wehr. In my meeting with them, they commented on what an outstanding school culture we have created here. They could “feel” the positive energy from staff and students alike and commented on how awesome our school was. It is always great to hear this news from visitors – especially those who can compare our school to others because they have visited several of our neighbors during this grant.

“Board member Marcus Horak requested I follow up on the Natural Helpers Program. I did some calling and found out Washington State no longer has this program. I then sat down with guidance counselor Jerry Schwab, and he felt comfortable with developing a program for our students. He has facilitated many programs like this before. We are working out the details. This could be a better program as Jerry has a good understanding of the needs of our students.

“We will be conducting both PSAT testing for sophomores and ASVAB testing for sophomores this month. Juniors and seniors interested in the military can also re-take the ASVAB at no cost.”

Facilities/maintenance

Justin Parr reported that he and his staff worked to finish summer projects that were incomplete, including the walk-off carpet in front of high-school office, carpeting of the elementary office and organizing of the furniture in the office. Remnants from other carpeting projects were used.

New roofing was installed over the foyer in the gym after it was torn off during a windstorm before school started.

The facilities crew put doors and latches on the stalls in the bathrooms at the football field. They are also working on getting the stall doors up on the bathroom in the gym basement.

Parr reported that the HVAC contractor had inspected the heating system, with everything checking out fine and only a few minor repairs needed.

The new fire-alarm system, including a new panel, tie-in of the system throughout the entire building and installation of smoke and heat sensors was approved by local fire officials, and work on installing the new system will start on October 3, which is a non-school day.

Parr also said the football field lights need new electrical boxes. He had to climb a pole to reset the breaker several times during the last football game. The boxes on this pole and one other are working poorly. The board decided to replace all of the boxes at an estimated cost of $600 per pole.

Personnel

The board approved hiring Larry Weber as assistant high school football coach. There were not enough players to form a junior high team, therefore three eighth-graders were allowed to move up to the high school team. With 27 athletes on the team another coach was needed.

The board also approved Larry Moffet as the college/career advisor and Erica Whitmore as the senior class advisor.

The next regular meeting will be on October 23.