Board allows sixth-graders to "play up"

Several parents attended the regularly scheduled Odessa School District board meeting September 28 to express support for a change in athletic policy.

According to the majority, Odessa is the only 1B school that does not allow sixth-graders to “play up” to junior-high level athletics. They contend that since Odessa is now participating in an athletic cooperative, both schools should follow the same guidelines.

Support was not unanimous, however. One parent delivered a petition signed by 7th and 8th graders protesting the change on the grounds that it was “not fair.”

Parent Kim King presented a survey of Odessa 7th and 8th graders who do not want 6th graders to play up. A letter sent to 5th grade parents indicating that 5th and 6th grade students would not be part of the junior high was also brought up.

“Playing up” is not allowed for football, but for all other sports small schools can utilize 6th graders on their teams, per Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) rules. Comments included: why should the practice be allowed, parents should make the call, coaches will regulate play to protect players, Harrington and all other 1B schools allow 6th graders to play up.

After lengthy discussion, the board voted to allow 6th grade students to play on junior-high teams as allowed by the WIAA.

Professional development

October 6 and 7 are mandatory inservice days for teachers who will be participating in a regional professional development event, including teachers from most Bi-county schools. The event will focus on the development of professional learning communities (PLCs) which will allow educators to share problems and best practices with peers teaching at the same grade level.

In keeping with the focus on PLCs, Odessa Superintendent Suellen White will host the Bi-county superintendents November 2 for a “problem of practice” session in which she will present a real problem and how she dealt with it for peer review.

Bus ridership policy

During the public input portion of the school board meeting a parent requested that the board consider changing policy regarding preschoolers riding the bus to school. Current policy is that preschoolers may ride the bus as long as they can get on the bus at a stop already established for K-12 students. The parent noted that the bus already goes by her house, it just doesn’t stop, and the nearest stop was several miles away.

White said routes were established based on K-12 kids and funding is generated based on the K-12 count. There is concern that adding a stop for a preschooler would set a precedent that could add significant costs in the future.

White added that the board could look at the current policy. Board chairman Ed Deife said that more information would be needed in order to make an informed decision, such as how many pre-schoolers and miles could be added to the routes.

Personnel

The following were approved: Jackie Allington as sophomore advisor, Ryan Shafer as fall cheer coach, Heath Voise as assistant high-school football coach and LaMarr Larmer as assistant junior-high football coach. Resignations were accepted from Richard Whitaker as junior-high boys basketball coach and LaMarr Larmer as junior-high girls assistant basketball coach.

Facilities

White said two bids were received for replacement of the domestic water heaters that failed. The state awarded the “urgent repair” grants White had applied for to cover the cost. She also approached Avista to see if any rebates were available, but learned that the school didn’t qualify. The Avista representative recommended that a “spare” boiler with an energy exchange unit be installed to provide hot water. Engineers from CSN, the contractor the school uses for energy controls, pointed out that that would not be efficient, because the boilers shut down when normal school hours are over.

“Front-end” equipment required for full control of the HVAC system in the building is hung up in Olympia pending approval of a change order, White said. Approval from the insurance company to complete the repairs in the girls locker room is also pending. Due to scheduling problems, the contractor has not yet finished the soffit and fascia work.

Meetings

White encouraged school board members, administrators and teachers to attend the town hall meeting to be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. October 5 in Davenport by the Washington State House of Representatives Education Committee.

Representatives Shelly Short and Joel Kretz and State Senator Bob Morton will visit the Odessa school from 10 - 11 a.m. that morning at White’s invitation to review the energy-efficiency project, program initiatives, all-day kindergarten, advanced placement (AP) English, the STEM program (focus on math/science) and to meet with science teacher Jeff Wehr and international science competition winner Kira Powell.

Following the town hall meeting, the Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA) will also hold a regional meeting in Davenport.

Principal Ken Schutz reported that he will be attending the AWSP Principals’ Conference in Spokane October 22-25. The conference will include a presentation by Charlotte Danielson on the model to be used for teacher/principal evaluations. Schutz noted that the timeline for implementation of the new evaluation system is short, but that it was set by the legislature. “There is a steep learning curve,” he said.

White said that the district has applied to be part of the teacher-principal evaluation consortium for work needed to convert to a new evaluation system which must be in place within two years.

Community service

September 29 was to be the kickoff assembly for the new community-service program which is intended to encourage students to participate in the community and also provide them with a way to track and verify community service hours, which can be helpful when applying for scholarships.

The program allows for graduates who have performed a certain number of community service hours to receive a gold “service seal” with their diploma. Graduates who meet a higher level will qualify to wear a purple “honor cord” during graduation.

Hours required will increase gradually, beginning with 20 hours for a diploma seal and 40 for the honor cord for those graduating in 2012, and up to 100 and 200 hours for 2016 graduates.

State testing

Schutz told the board that Odessa students’ test scores have risen again, despite the increased number of students living at poverty level. He remarked that these results are very unusual, as there are usually more issues when higher poverty rates are a factor.

He reported that students who took the end-of-course math test in the spring scored significantly higher than the statewide average.

Other

Schutz also said that implementation of the Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS) is going well. This program uses a positive reward system for students who go “above and beyond” in each area. “It seems to be working,” said Schutz. “The juniors and seniors are setting a good tone for the whole school.”

Schutz reported on the fifth-grade model for which an open house was held before school started, attended by most of the students and parents of that class. He said he has not received any complaints about the model, and his observations of the program are positive. Students, when asked, love having lockers.

Schutz said he took responsibility for not sending home permission forms and informational material about the annual Fest cleanup. He received a couple of complaints from parents about having children cleaning up the beer garden area.

The financial report showed the district ending the fiscal year of 2010-2011 with a reserve of $730,709. White added that a loan of $400,000 still needs to be repaid.

The board, having heard the independent analysis of census data, determined there was no need to change director districts and voted to keep them as they are.

The board voted to approve the new accounting and personal finance curriculum and text selected for these subjects.

The board approved setting up a new ASB account in which to place funds for the charitable "backpack" program of the FBLA chapter.

The board approved the negotiated PSE contract.

White has been invited to be a presenter this November at the annual WSSDA convention to be held in Bellevue this year.

At the close of the meeting, White commended Schutz for being selected as the regional principal of the year.

The next regular board meeting will be on October 26.