Express Newsletter for NWESD

EEEXPRESS

January 2010

The NWESD Newsletter

Green Schools

$16.7 million awarded to Washington Schools Pages 6-7

Free College Tuition for Low-Income Students Learn how to qualify on page 9

Granite Falls Teacher Publishes Leadership Book Read her story on page 5

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January 2010

A Letter from the Superintendent

It is hard to believe we have already begun a new calendar year!

2009 brought us challenges, no doubt, but it also gave us the opportunity to think creatively and the inspiration to reprioritize many aspects of how we live and work.

Typically educators return from winter break refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to get back into our work—making a difference in the education and lives of every student. While I am certain this year is no different, it will likely be frustrating to hear about the legislature’s challenges later this month, requiring significant reductions due to the economic recession.

When I find myself frustrated by discussions that seem to focus on everything but making a difference for students—I take time to visit classrooms and refocus. I encourage all of us to maintain a focus on what matters in these challenging times— students and their learning. You are making a significant difference in the lives of students and their families. Thank you!!

Recognizing the challenges school districts are facing and in the spirit of thinking outside-the-box, I am pleased to share that the NWESD has recently retired all debt related to the Anacortes Facility – more than six years ahead of schedule!

The Superintendents’ Executive Committee and the Board are very excited about this decision; primarily because of the benefits we are now able to pass on to member districts.

With “mortgage payments” no longer pending, member district fees related to the facility “cost center” account will be reduced by 45%, retroactively applied beginning last August. This means that member districts will not only have reduced fees moving forward, but the NWESD will also be returning funds over the next few months through offsetting fee credits. With the economy still sputtering as a result of the recent recession, there is no better time to provide relief to our school districts.

necessary funds were grown over the past several years, primarily through 1) the reduced cost of the Anacortes facility compared to the projected cost of the addition for which the original bonds were sold, 2) six years of rental income for a wing within the facility, 3) indirect fees charged some significant grants, and 4) effective cost containment/management. The entire NWESD team is to be commended for making this possible, providing even more efficient services to member districts!

Moving forward, we will be approaching the Superintendents’ Advisory Committee (SAC) for advice related to specific services the NWESD might provide with a significant portion of its remaining reserve. The NWESD Board believes that it is time to make use of all available resources to support member districts as they face these economic challenges.

You might be wondering how the NWESD was able to repay this debt so far ahead of schedule. The

Retirement Seminar Offered by Unit 21 Unit 21, the Skagit, Island and San Juan School Retirees Association, is conducting a retirement seminar for school employees. The seminar will be held at the Burlington Senior Center, 1011 Greenleaf Avenue in Burlington, on March 13, 2010 from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Lunch will be provided and a $10 suggested donation will cover the materials and supplies for each participant. Information for TRS, PERS and SERS Plans 1,2 and 3 will be covered. Additional topics include Investments and Financial Planning, Legal Needs and Estate Planning, SHIBA, Health Insurance and Long Term Care, VEBA and the Washington State School Retirees Association. For more information, please contact Leon Greene at 360.855.0918 or Barbara Landrock at 360.856.2190.

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www.nwesd.org

News Briefs NWESD hosts Dr. Robert Marzano “Getting Serious About School Reform” Dr. Robert Marzano is working with Washington State ESDs for the next three years on “Getting Serious About School Reform.” This longterm professional development opportunity will be centered around Marzano’s three critical commitments and how they affect every classroom student.

The second one-day workshop of this three-part series will be held January 27, 2010 at the Comcast Arena in Everett. The cost is $210 per person and limited spaces are still available. Participants can register online at www.nwesd.org.

The focal point for this upcoming session is “Building Background Knowledge and Academic Vocabulary”, a system-wide approach to instruction of common academic vocabulary.

The initial one-day workshop offered on May 15, 2009 at the Shoreline Conference Center provided an overview of each of the three commitments to school and district teams. This was a valuable work session that set the foundation for change in Washington Schools.

Over his 35 years in education, Dr. Marzano has worked in every US state and a host of countries in Europe and Asia. The central theme of his work has been translating research and theory into practical programs and tools for K-12 teachers and administrators.

In addition to his duties at Marzano & Associates, he is a Senior Scholar at Midcontinent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) and an Associate Professor at Cardinal Stritch University.

Provided by the Washington State ESD Network 3

School Merger at South Whidbey School District South Whidbey School District has merged two schools (South Whidbey Intermediate and South Whidbey Primary) into one school named South Whidbey Elementary.

The South Whidbey School District now consists of South Whidbey Elementary, Langley Middle School, South Whidbey High School, Bayview School, and Whidbey Island Academy.

Oak Harbor Middle School Wins Governor’s Health Bowl Each year the Governor’s Health Bowl winners are determined by the average number of miles walked per school. Congratulations to Oak Harbor Middle School students for walking the most miles for all middle schools in Washington state! More than 400 K-12 schools contributed to the 3.5 million miles generated on the HealthiestState.org website—the equivalent of traveling from Seattle to Paris and back 350 times!

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January 2010

Oak Harbor High School Opens New Auditorium and Tech Center Oak Harbor students and community members have a wonderful new multi-use auditorium that recently opened in December. The rebuilt student union building is a two-story, $12 million structure that houses a cafeteria, auditorium and music program. The auditorium has elevated seating for 500 people on both the main floor and mezzanine levels and a usable stage for the first time in many years.

“Now we’ll have a real stage will real lighting, real sound and real

seating,” Joe Hunt, a school district A community open house is scheduled for January 13 from 4:00 p.m. representative, explained. to 7:00 p.m. The public celebration Oak Harbor School District also will include tours, classroom demopened a new Career, Arts and onstrations, free cafeteria samples Technical Center in April 2009. and student music.

This center includes automotive, welding and construction shops, Source: “Oak Harbor High School engineering, video production and Opens New Auditorium in Latest the student-run Wildcat TV studio Addition,” The Daily Herald, Eric classes as well as learning space Stevick, December 2, 2009, www. for graphic design, photography, heraldnet.com pottery, metal design and art. “The campus has much more of a collegiate feel to it,” Hunt said.

View professional development opportunties online at www.nwesd.org/classes.

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Leadership

Granite Falls Principal Publishes School Leadership Book

Because the superintendent-principal relationship is one of the most critical aspects to having a successful school district, they hope their book will help others improve that relationship so that school districts can be more successful. The book focuses on superintendent-principal relationships, but the concepts are universal and can be applied to all areas of leadership. “Collaboration and trust are essential for a successful team,” West and Derrington explained.

to a book like this when I began my administrative roles. The book provides ample resources based on contemporary research and literature and is filled with practical, field-based suggestions and activities that will assist school administrators in building cohesive, goaloriented, successful teams,” Marcus J. Haack, a clinical associate professor who reviewed the book, reported.

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As a former high school principal and school superintendent, I found myself wishing I had had access to a book like this when I began my administrative roles.

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Granite Falls School District Principal Cathie West recently co-authored and published a new book with Mary Lynne Derrington entitled Leadership Teaming: The Superintendent-Principal Relationship. West and Derrington, a former superintendent, discovered over the years that there were no books written to address the working relationship between the superintendent and principal. With more than forty years of combined administrative leadership experience, they felt they had a unique offering for school leaders.

West has been a principal for over thirty years, received the Washington Distinguished Principal Award twice, coordinated and directed staff and curriculum development for numerous school districts, served as editorial advisor for the National “As a former high school principal Association of Elementary School and school superintendent, I found Principals, currently serves on the myself wishing I had had access editorial board for the Washington 5

State Kappan, has written various articles for educator magazines, and has contributed to several books by Elaine McEwan.

To discuss leadership teaming with Derrington and West, log on to PDKConnect and go to Conversations>>Leadership Teaming. The book is available at www. amazon.com for purchase.

Source: Phi Delta Kappa International, www.pdkintl.org

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January 2010

Green Schools Bellingham School District’s Conservation Efforts Create Big Savings The district is reducing energy consumption by tuning boilers, using less water, turning off lights, using fewer light bulbs in fixtures, and educating staff and students about the importance of energy conservation.

Seven new tankless water heaters have been installed in three schools.

The energy savings from these new water heaters will pay for the tanks in approximately six years, based on the rebate from Cascade Natural “Energy costs are the district’s sec- Gas and the annual projected energy ond largest expense behind salaries savings. and benefits,” Brett Greenwood, Bellingham School District Busi- “District staff and contractors have ness and Finance Manager, report- also replaced HVAC control sysed. “Currently the district spends tems at two schools, all unit vents more than $2.6 million for water, at two schools, and installed new sewer, garbage, electricity, and nat- variable speed drives on circulation ural gas in more than 25 buildings pumps at one high school,” Mike annually. We are all working hard to Anderson, Bellingham School Disreduce the energy we use. Not only trict Facilities Manager, explained. is it the right thing to do for the en- “These steps are showing signifivironment, but reducing our energy cant savings already.” costs becomes essential in these Bellingham School District Food tough economic times.”

Services Program also continues to The Bellingham School District’s Resource Conservation Program has already saved the district approximately $180,000 in its first year of implementation last school year. The program was designed to limit energy consumption and promote environmental stewardship by reducing the use of electricity, natural gas, and production waste throughout the district.

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serve as a role model for conservation. The food service program continues to implement the “Food to Flowers” program with the Sanitary Service Company. The program encourages students to recycle more than a million pounds of food-related waste. This innovative composting program was recently highlighted in the national Food Service Director Magazine.

Thanks to funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the district received grant funds for a new, energy-efficient dishwasher at one Bellingham school.

For more information on Bellingham School District’s conservation efforts, visit www.bham.wednet. edu/departments/businessop/documents/AnnualReportFinal0809.pdf .

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www.nwesd.org 59 School Districts to Receive Grants for Energy Efficiency Improvements Thanks to a grant program funded by the state Legislature, one out of every five school districts in Washington state will be able to complete necessary energy-related projects in school facilities.

A total of 59 districts will receive nearly $16.7 million for projects that include upgrades to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, repair and upgrade of controls, and replacement of inefficient lighting. Districts were notified last week about their projects.

To qualify for the funds, districts were required to conduct audits of the school facilities to identify projects that could demonstrate guaranteed energy savings. The districts also had

to show what local financial resources they had for the project.

The combination of state grant funds, district funds and utility incentives will total about $43.3 million in construction projects in 23 counties around the state.

The projects will save an estimated $2.1 million in energy costs each year. In units of energy – primarily electricity and natural gas – the savings can be compared to the annual energy use in 2,700 average Washington homes.

This grant program is administered by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The office received 81 grant applications.

Ferndale School District Provides Free Energy Tracking for Community The Ferndale School District continues their ongoing efforts in energy conservation by offering a free, online energy-tracking tool to their community. The free Web site, GreenQuest, is a personal energy dashboard that enables community members to track and analyze energy use in their home and business.

“The district is providing GreenQuest to the community in order to educate, raise awareness, promote energy conservation and highlight the district’s own energy conservation efforts which have produced over $350,000 in cost savings,” Aaron Kombol, Ferndale School District

Director of Special Projects, explained.

Community members can track their energy use and cost; compare their home figures with friends and neighbors; evaluate energy savings projects; track their carbon footprint; analyze energy use with AccuWeather data; and obtain an ENERGY STAR commercial building rating all from the district’s Web page: http://www.ferndale. wednet.edu/drupal/ and click on the GreenQuest icon. This service is free to the community and is safe and secure—no confidential user information is needed.

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“We use an energy management software program to track the utility bills for all district buildings and have found it to be extremely valuable,” Tony Torretta, Ferndale School District Energy Manager, reported.

“When you want to save energy, the first step is to track your usage. With GreenQuest, we are giving every household and business in the district a tool to do the same thing.”

For more information on Ferndale School District’s energy conservation efforts, contact Aaron Kombel, Ferndale School District Director of Special Projects, at (360)383-9215.

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January 2010

Roman Banquet Blaine’s History and Literature Classes Host 21st Annual Roman Banquet Blaine High School sophomore students step back in time each year as they learn about the infamous Roman Empire. Over 130 students and their parents participate in a day-long event consisting of various Roman educational activities and, of course, a large feast.

The day begins with oral presentations from World History and World Literature students and then students and parents help prepare for a large Roman Banquet. Students, dressed in togas, give oral presentations about the food they have prepared for the banquet. This special day concludes with a Roman Empire movie presentation held in the school’s performing arts center.

For more information on Blaine High School’s Roman Empire event, contact Mike Grambo at mgrambo@ webmail.blainesd.org .

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Washington’s College Bound Scholarship Program provides hope and incentive for students who otherwise might not consider college as an option due to cost.

The scholarships are based on tuition rates at Washington public colleges and universities and will cover the amount of tuition and fees (plus $500 for books) not covered by other state financial aid awards.

are a foster youth or meet income standards (family of four must have a 2008 family income equal or less than $40,800 to qualify).

College Bound Scholarship applicants nearly doubled from 16,500 in 2007-08 to 32,000 (46 percent of the state’s eligible students) in 2008-09. This scholarship program was created in 2007 by the Washington State Legislature to raise college aspirations of low-income students. Washington currently ranks 32nd nationally in the percentage of low-income students participating in postsecondary education. In 10 years, these students will represent 33 percent of high school graduates.

The scholarship’s goals are consistent with the state’s 2008 Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education, which calls for increasing college affordability and accessibility in order to raise educational attainment and prepare more students for careers.

Low-income seventh and eighth grade students throughout the state who are eligible to apply must sign a pledge by June 30 of their eighth grade year to receive the scholarships in college. Middle school students promise to graduate from high school, demonstrate good citizenship, and seek admission to a college or university. Family income will be re-checked and college admission confirmed after the student graduates from high school. In order to qualify for the College Bound program, students must either receive free and reduced-price lunch, The 2007 Legislature pre-invested receive Temporary Assistance for $7.4 million, which the Higher EdNeedy Families (TANF) benefits, ucation Coordinating Board placed 9

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Tuition

College Bound Scholarship Offers College Tuition to Low-Income Eighth Graders

Low-income seventh and eighth grade students throughout the state who are eligible to apply must sign a pledge by June 30 of their eighth grade year to receive the scholarships in college.

into the Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program. This allocation was intended to cover the first two years of payments for the first cohort of College Bound students enrolling in 2012, and the first year of the second cohort enrolling in 2013. Although the 2009 Legislature was not able to continue to pre-invest funds for the scholarship, the budget language noted, “…the state’s College Bound Scholarship commitment will be fulfilled, and is not dependent upon nor diminished by this action.”

For more information on the College Bound Scholarship and application deadlines, visit www.hecb. wa.gov.

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January 2010

EDvantage, Spring 2010

et plugged into NWESD! We are getting plugged in and we want you to join us! NWESD is now using Social Media to share articles, review topics and list upcoming events. Visit us on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation. Links to both pages are on the home page of the NWESD website.

The NWESD EDvantage, our popular course catalog, is currently undergoing a facelift to include more featured articles and education news. You’ll find this publication online at www.nwesd.org/edvantage, with the new easy-to-read electronic format. Want a printed copy? Just print the PDF listed below the electronic version - it couldn’t be easier to stay in the loop!

The NWESD resources are more accessable than ever! Log on, join in and get plugged into NWESD!

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