To: Michael Green
From: Jake Hall
Date: 10.22.21
Re: October 2021 Board Report
Family and Community Resource Center
So far this year we have 57 identified students who qualify as “students experiencing homelessness”, 19 of whom are considered “unaccompanied youth”. More will be added when we complete contact with our Spanish-speaking families. Our new Unaccompanied Youth Specialist, Jonathan King, is doing very well connecting with students and community partners.
Highly Capable Program
Thank you for approving our annual Hi-C program plan at the Board Meeting 10.14.21. As outlined in our plan, a team of Hi-C teachers, Denise Pearl, and I attended the Washington Association Education of Talented and Gifted (WAETAG) “virtual” conference,
October 7-9, 2021. The conference was affirming of our approach and our processes regarding the Highly Capable Program in our district.
Student Engagement
So far this year, our students with 10 or more absences is higher than normal. This number is high mainly because of sick time and the quarantine requirements before returning to school when students are ill. As we navigate the impacts of the pandemic with our students and families, I am going to hold off on requesting a replacement of our Student Engagement position. I will revisit and assess our needs in the area of Student Engagement and attendance management in the spring of 2022.
Nurse Services
Our Health staff are finally seeing some normalcy in their work. Their systems are streamlining, and we have been able to add a temporary position to help specifically with contact tracing for COVID-19. In checking in with nurse staff regularly, they are reporting to me that the work is becoming more manageable now; we are so grateful for their tireless, effective work for our students and staff!
LAP Program
K-4 LAP interventions are underway. We have begun monitoring student’s progress and are making adjustments as necessary.
Conferences will be held this month. During this time, teachers will inform families about their students' Fall data, intervention program, and ongoing communication about their students' growth.
Alternative Learning Program -- Lewis River Academy and TEAM High School
LRA has a new online progress report system, uploading data from learning programs to an online progress report form designed by Steve Rippl. This is a big timesaver for teachers each month, reducing data entry and allowing us to focus on evaluation and follow-up.
A number of LRA students are taking part in state testing this month. Many are opting out due to either masks or health risks, representing the range of local concerns. A number of our students are at LRA for those reasons as well, and we're happy to meet families' needs with these tough challenges.
TEAM High has found a nice rhythm for workflow as Jillian Domingo’s long term sub, Michael Harper, has learned the ropes and is making a great impression on his colleagues and students. The satellite room at WHS is a huge success for the students it impacts, and TEAM is in the middle of state assessment testing for Freshmen, Juniors, and Seniors.
Title Program
WMS is working on getting the After School Math Club up and running. The plan is to serve 12 students one day a week per grade level with 2 teachers. In order to have our programs run effectively for teaching and learning, we need applicants for our open paraprofessional positions. If you know of anyone who is interested in the rewarding work of working with students, please encourage them to apply!
Special Services
For the October special education count, the district had an increase in 7 students, from 324 to 331. Depending on the results of our current initial evaluations, we will see that number increase over the course of the next couple of months.