News Clips

Brewster not waiting for state's Core 24 requirement

By Rachel Schleif, wenatcheeworld.com
November 16, 2009

BREWSTER - Brewster School District is one credit ahead of the game.

As state committees work out the details of "Core 24," a plan that would raise Washington's graduation requirements from 19 credits to 24, Brewster didn't wait. The school district now requires 25 credits to earn a diploma, starting with this year's freshmen.

"Kids can't wait for the state to get ready for change," Superintendent Aaron Chavez said. "It could be years before the state makes a decision. They need quality programs and quality instruction right now."

School districts statewide are already opening the policy books to add a new state-mandated math credit. The class of 2013 is the first required to take three math credits for a diploma.

Although Core 24 is still years away from becoming a requirement, the majority of school districts in the state - about 52 percent - already require 24 or more credits to graduate, according to a 2007 study by the State Board of Education.

"The trick is if Core 24 were simply about number of credits, that statistic would be more compelling," said Kathe Taylor, policy director for the State Board.

Core 24 prescribes more math, science, English and career-oriented classes. Plus, students must choose between a college-bound track or technical career track, each with different credit requirements.

"Up until now students have had to have good advising, savvy parents or be savvy themselves," Taylor said. "What Core 24 does is it levels the playing field. It automatically puts students in a set of requirements that makes them ready for anything."

Core 24 also costs money, but how much depends on the district. The State Board of Education will not require Core 24 until the state can pay for the things the districts need to implement the new policy, such as more counselors, science labs, classroom space, math and science teachers and curriculum materials. After the state agrees to fund Core 24, the State Board is planning a six-year phase-in to help districts ease into the requirements.

Wenatchee and Eastmont school officials said their districts are still calculating the implementation costs if Core 24 becomes law.

In the meantime, a task force is working on the unanswered questions: What about students who need to take classes more than once? How will it impact career-tech programs and skills centers? Brewster High School Principal Linda Dezellem is one of 20 administrators, school board members and teachers who volunteered for the panel.

"The (Brewster school) board said if we're looking at adding a math requirement then let's look at the whole picture," Dezellem said. "I brought in my work from the task force and we looked at our offerings."

Before the policy change, Brewster required the state minimum of its students - 19 credits - although students could take up to 24 credits within their six-period day.

"Most students were looking at taking more credits, but they weren't focused," Dezellem said. "They had the option to fail 20 percent of their education and still graduate on time. What our board was looking for was a more meaningful high school diploma."

The district already planned to change the high school to a seven-period day in anticipation of a smaller teaching staff. As an added bonus, the new schedule gave students the chance to earn up to 29 credits, Dezellem said. New subjects were added to the schedule, including journalism, floral design and creative writing.

Although Brewster was spared from laying off teachers, the high school counselor was reassigned to teach part-time. Chavez said the district is hoping for more funding to boost counseling support.

Other implementation costs didn't amount to much. The district had the necessary space, labs and curriculum materials. Levy money paid for an extra math teacher, Chavez said.

"The stars aligned," he said. "We had the right staff and the right schedule in place to make it happen."

Rachel Schleif: 664-7139

schleif@wenatcheeworld.com

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Fletcher bids Issaquah School District farewell

By Kendall Watson, Sammamish Reporter
October 22, 2009

Passionate. Caring. A real advocate for kids.

That's how school officials, family and elected officials described Issaquah School Board member Connie Fletcher at an Oct. 19 farewell party after wrapping up 16 years of service.

Fletcher was selected to serve on the Washington State Board of Education on Aug. 31. She officially stepped down Sept. 9 and will be replaced by the Nov. 3 winner of the School District Pos. 2 race between Wright Noel and Marnie Maraldo.

Surrounded by several generations of family members, Fletcher was greeted by a large gathering at the School District's administration building as colleagues and friends recounted their favorite story and the highs and lows of the school board.

"I'm very conscious School Board members don't teach kids," she said. "I want to recognize our teachers ... and I'm grateful to the community and our voters who have always supported us."

Fletcher said she first thought about joining the State Board in 2002 after Issaquah School District schools were shuttered for three weeks during a teachers strike.

"We need to pay more attention to Olympia," she said.

Her most important goal for the State Board was to establish "equality for all kids," regardless of family income or race.

"We have an achievement gap, just like every other educational system," she said.

"Our problem is largely an economic one. People don't think of Issaquah having many poor residents, but we do."

Originally from Richland, Minnesota, she moved to Issaquah in 1978 with her husband, Jim. She'd been active in the PTSA and helped serve on bond and levy committees for funding schools when she was approached by the district superintendent to run for the board in 1992.

School board members Chad Magendanz, Suzanne Weaver, Jan Woldseth each took turns praising and "roasting" their former colleague, including a "very special" resolution, old photos and an old Issaquah Press headline that directly quoted Fletcher's unhappiness with a 2 a.m. resolution.

Current Issaquah Superintendent Steve Rasmussen said the move would add an important local voice to the State Board, which sets funding priorities, graduation requirements and curriculum.

"She has a wealth of knowledge and involvement," he said. "Who better to be in Olympia for us looking after School Board issues?"

Two local State Senators also stopped by to give their best wishes. Sens. Rodney Tom and Fred Jarrett, both members of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, chatted with Fletcher about her new role.

"She's been involved in our legislative sessions, advocating for Issaquah and kids around the state," he said. "I'm thrilled she's on the State Board."

Jarrett said he looks forward to Fletcher's work on the State Board developing accountability measures and establishing a badly-needed math curriculum. He said the state currently ranks in the bottom third of the U.S. based on performance measures and the U.S. is in the bottom third of the industrialized world.

"We've got to be raising the bar to be at standards comparable with the rest of the world," he said.

Over the past 16 years, Fletcher has had time to reflect on what the Issaquah School District has achieved. The district has long reviewed testing results and data based factors such as race and family income, something that was later required in light of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Under her tenure as a boardmember, Fletcher witnessed a dramatic increase in ISD school enrollment - from 9,773 students in 1993 to 16,012 in 2009 - and the construction of nine new schools to accomodate the growth.

She cited Special Education as an area of genuine improvement for the district.

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Washington State
Board of Education
PO Box 47206
600 Washington St. SE
Olympia, WA 98504-7206
360-725-6025