REPORTER CENTRAL KITSAP
KITSAP WEEK: 60 years and counting
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015 | Vol. 30, No. 20 | WWW.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM | 50¢
CK Class of 2021 may be first to need 24 credits to graduate, up from 22 BY CHRIS TUCKER CTUCKER@CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM
Photo courtesy Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue
Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue firefighters respond to a two-story structure fire in Silverdale on Feb. 16.
Fire causes $125,000 in losses BY CHRIS TUCKER
CTUCKER@CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM
Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue responded to an early morning two-story residential structure fire in the 9800 block of Richardson Road NW in Silverdale on Feb. 16. Five adults and two children were in the home at the time of the fire and were evacuated safely. Several dead cats were found inside the home, however, according to CKF&R. The home was extensively damaged by fire in the lower level and had severe smoke damage on both levels. The loss was estimated to be $125,000. The fire occurred around 5:44 a.m. 28 fire personnel used 14 fire vehicles to fight the fire. Navy Region Northwest Fire and Emergency Services also responded to the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Photo courtesy Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue
The home suffered extensive smoke and fire damage.
Gaeta murder trial date set for June 1 BY CHRIS TUCKER
CTUCKER@CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM
A pre-trial hearing for Gabriel “Gabe” Gaeta is scheduled for April 3 at 1:30 p.m. according to the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office. A trial date has been set at June 1. Gaeta is accused of the August 2014 murder of Jenise Paulette Wright, the six-year-old girl whose
body was found following a five-day search. Gaeta, a neighbor of the Wright family in the Steele Creek Mobile Home Park in East Bremerton, was arrested Aug. 9, 2014 after investigators said they found DNA evidence linking him to Jenise’s rape and murder. Because he was a juvenile when he was arrested, he was held in juvenile
detention. But Gaeta turned 18 on Dec. 23 and was moved to county jail. In an earlier court appearance, Gaeta pleaded not guilty. He potentially faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances. He faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree rape of a child.
Central Kitsap high school students in the class of 2021 will likely be the first to be required to earn 24 credits to graduate – up from the current requirement of 22 credits. The changes are meant to help students be more “career and college-ready” by the time they leave high school by having them take more science, art and language credits. Normally the new 24-credit changes would go into effect for the class of 2019, but the Central Kitsap School District School Board unanimously voted to approve a two-year waiver to help students and staff adjust to the changes gradually. Districts are allowed to request one or two-year waivers. The board focused on two percentages – 60 percent and 30 percent – during the meeting. Presently, about 60 percent of students in the school district happen to earn 24 credits by the time they graduate. Another 30 percent or so have 22-23 credits by graduation, and the remainder have 0-21 credits. Superintendent David McVicker said the question wasn’t about the 60 percent of students who obtain 24 credits by graduation. “They will make it,” McVicker said, “And some of those 40 percent (who have less than 24) have some (minor) reasons for not having 24 credits and they will be able to make it. So we’re probably looking at somewhere around 30 percent of our kids (with less than 24). And we’re looking at all of our alternative programs.” Board member Eric Greene was initially skeptical of the waiver but later came out in favor of it. “We have an issue graduating kids with 22 credits, so what do we do? We make it more rigorous,” Greene said. “Which is fine for that 60 percent, and it makes it even harder for that 30 percent ... I don’t get it. This is driven by people who don’t have trouble getting 24 credits making it hard for people that can’t.” Greene said students’ success and their path to graduation with 24 credits should begin in the seventh or eighth grade. He also said students needed to get turned-on to science
“We have an issue graduating kids with 22 credits, so what do we do? We make it more rigorous ... I don’t get it.” – Eric Green, CK school board earlier. Looking at even earlier students in the system, McVicker said that he met with elementary principals to look at kindergarten scores and found the results to be worrisome. “Its pretty scary what’s walking in the door,” McVicker said. The students are not coming in on the same level at all. Reading to children when they’re young helps a lot, he said. “We know that kids who are read to, kids who are engaged at home, are in a whole different place when they get to the beginning (of school).” Greene said that the district needed to help every child. CKSD director Franklyn MacKenzie told Greene and the board that school programs could be designed in such a way to enable students to rise to the challenge. Credit requirements had been raised in the past, he said, from 21 to 21.5 credits, for example. “We’re going to raise the expectation and those kids – with the right support – are going to come up and meet that.” Earning 24 credits would require planning. McVicker said it is difficult to expect eighth grade students to begin making decisions about their future career so early. “It’s kind of like going to college. You’re looking at your major, you’re saying OK I have to have whatever the (college) credit number is. I can kind of go a year (at college) and not really have to decide. I can make a change later on. And I think the same situation will apply. Most ninth graders are going to take a limited number of courses. As long as they pass them they’ll be OK.” If a ninth-grade student failed a class however, “how are we going to make that up?,” McVicker asked. SEE GRAD CREDITS, A9