, ,

Washougal’s Substance Use Prevention Program Makes Inroads

Washougal schools are making major efforts with substance use prevention in their middle schools as leaders recognize that making healthy choices are not always easy, regardless of age.  But those decisions become more challenging and complicated for middle school aged youth who are trying to find independence, define themselves, as well as fit in.  

Leading efforts in the Washougal School District for both Jemtegaard and Canyon Creek Middle School to empower students to make healthy choices and have their voices heard is Wendy Butler, Student Assistance Professional for Prevention and Intervention from Educational Service District 112.  She works in close partnership with school principals, associate principals, school counselors, social workers and secretaries, Unite! Washougal Community Coalition and more.  

Butler is a part of the statewide Student Assistance Prevention-Intervention Services Program (SAPISP), administered by ESD 112 in selected Clark, Skamania, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz and Klickitat county middle and high schools. Tamara Crites is the specialist at Washougal High School.

SAPISP is a comprehensive, integrated model of services that focuses on substance-use prevention and other supports. The program places Student Assistance Professionals in schools to foster safe school environments, promote health and prevent alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse.

“One of the exciting things about prevention efforts with middle school-aged students is that it feeds up and feeds down,” Butler explained.  “This means they can still remember themselves before they may have hit a bump in the road.  They can still feel the positive effects of good choices they made when they were younger.  And we get to provide opportunities for them to look forward toward their goals and help empower them to get there. “

Butler approaches the middle schools’ overall prevention program in three components: universal prevention, which are big picture projects; small group conversations; and relationships with individual students.

“Universal prevention activities at both JMS and CCMS have so many fun pieces to them,” she said.  “They involve large groups and at times the entire school community.”

Examples include Red Ribbon Week, special guest speakers like Madison Langer from Tobacco Free Kids who shared straight talk about her journey in to and out of drug use, the Youth to Youth club that meets after school and at lunchtimes to work on prevention initiatives; and Real Talk, an interactive video presentation on facts about vaping that led to lively class discussions.  

Aquatics Center
www.VancouverLaserSkinCareClinic.com

One of the newest projects is Courtyard Connections which takes place at the JMS courtyard at lunchtime. It began as an idea out of JMS music teacher, Dr. Snapp’s guitar class.  “Music and playing guitars are such a great way to make connections,” said Butler. “When we started, I thought each student would take turns, but no! Everyone plays at the same time in their own area.  Other students come out and will sit and listen.  Some will ask if they can try playing and others will share.” 

“There are so many smiles,” she added. “It is happening so organically.  Students who participate are feeling valued and know this is a safe place to try new things.” 

Sports activities: Substance Abuse Prevention

Sports activities are also important for students to access. They teach life and interpersonal skills and keep students involved and engaged doing something fun that is linked to the school.  Butler enjoys leading clinics for both basketball and volleyball and hosts open gym for students to play and shoot hoops. 

Butler stresses that the best prevention is becoming involved in something a person likes to do that is healthy.  “Students are encouraged to explore a variety of interests and then we figure out how to help them try it,” she said.  

A significant challenge for students can be the transition from elementary to middle school and middle school to high school.  It can be scary and overwhelming for students who are unsure how they will fit in.  The Welcome Wagon and Bridges to Success programs help relieve fears and give students confidence to take their next step in education. 

  • Substance Use Prevention
    Listening to students.
  • Substance Use Prevention
    A program that’s working.

“Welcome Wagon features positive and supportive notes from middle school students to fifth graders to help introduce them to their new school,” said Butler.  “We will also create banners to put outside of each 5th grade classroom with welcoming messages from the middle schools.” 

Similarly, the Bridges to Success program invites high school students to sit down and talk with 8th graders. “Students prepare questions ahead of time for the high school students to address,” Butler said. “The messages from these older students are amazing and comforting to the younger kids.  Two years ago, a student gave some great advice and talk passionately about not having to change who he was when he came to high school.  He encouraged students to keep doing things their own way and get involved with others with similar interests. He said if they stay true to who they are and try to get along with others, they will find positive ways to fit in.”

Small groups

A second component to substance use prevention is gathering with small groups of students that have similar concerns, interests and goals based on a survey at the beginning of the year.  Topics include discussions around self-empowerment, being new to the school, or taking a stand against alcohol/drug use. 

“Our groups meet once a week,” Butler said.  “We are trying to remove barriers for students in order for them to feel supported and get what they need for themselves or others so they can focus on school.”

One-on-one Meetings

The third component in substance use prevention is being available to meet with students one on one.  “Students are welcome to knock on my door any time,” Butler explained. “They might be struggling with an issue, or want to learn how to help a friend, or maybe they are looking for the truth about something they heard.  For instance, there is an idea that ‘everybody’ is vaping or that it is ‘safe,’ and that is just wrong! I am happy to discuss the facts with them.” For Butler, it all comes down to offering trust, respect and a safe place for students to talk. 

“At some point most students will be faced with a decision whether or not to take part in something which they understand is not a healthy choice,” Butler said. “We know that if they have a plan ahead of time for what they will say or do, they are more apt to avoid doing something they do not want to.”

A strong message Butler sends to students is that decisions today will affect the choices they will have available to them tomorrow.  “They tell me they do not want adults to control them,” she said. “But look at the control that nicotine can have over someone.  It will their money, it will demand their time and it will reduce their health.” 

“I ask them to please listen to what I say, and you are welcome to throw it all away or perhaps keep a piece of what you heard,” she said.  “You never know when a situation will come that a seed of an idea or knowledge we have shared will come to their mind and help them to make a good choice.”

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Camas Schools to Purchase Underwriters Laboratories Building + 57.6 acres

Editor’s Note: School Board acquires Underwriters Laboratories site for future educational programming funded in part by impact fees. Funding for this property purchase comes from funds not part of the Camas School District operating budget.

At its regular meeting on June 24, the Camas School Board approved the purchase of Underwriters Laboratories, located at 2600 NW Lake Rd, Camas, for use in educational programming. Centrally located in Camas, the nearly 58 acre parcel and 115,000 square foot building are tax assessed at $19.5 million; the District will purchase both for $12 million.

Funding for the purchase will come from a variety of sources:

  • $3.3 million in impact fees: Impact fees come from private dollars (typically from construction companies and developers) as new homes and neighborhoods are constructed. School districts receive these fees because of the impacts new developments have on communities. These funds are currently sitting in a CSD bank account to be used only for capital projects and improvements. Annually, CSD receives $500,000 from impact fees.
  • $3.7 million from the District’s capital projects fund: This is bond money set aside for property acquisition, which is currently in the CSD capital fund bank account. These monies remain in the capital fund, for projects such as the Garver Theatre remodel.
  • $5.0 million in a non-voted limited general obligation bond: This is a bank loan. According to CSD Business Services Director Jasen McEathron, CSD would take out a loan from a Pacific Northwest bank who invests in these type of securities. It is usually paid back over 10 years. The loan is currently being secured and will likely be ready in 60 days.

Monday’s unanimous school board vote approves a resolution to move forward with this purchase sale agreement — and it gives Superintendent Jeff Snell the authority to sign it.

McEathron noted the District anticipates being able to pay for the non-voted limited general obligation bond without impacting the general fund by using state forest funds, future impact fees, or in a future voter-approved bond. These funding sources cannot be used to pay for daily operational costs including staffing and compensation.

“It is important to understand that while we’re currently reducing our operating budget due to the State’s shift in school funding, the revenue streams we’ll utilize for paying for property are legally separate. We can’t use bond dollars or impact fees to pay for staff,” commented McEathron.

“We’ve had a challenging year related to our budget shortfall and resulting reductions in staffing, and it may seem counterintuitive to purchase property at a time when our operating budget is in decline,” said Superintendent Jeff Snell. “However, long-range planning points to continued growth in our community and compels us to act when presented with extraordinary opportunities that will benefit students.”

Underwriters Laboratories
Find us at www.Arktana.com

The Underwriters Laboratories land borders the Skyridge Middle School campus, making the location amenable to future expansion. The district intends to lease the building initially and is exploring the possibility for shared use partnerships with industry and higher education. Work is underway to update the district long-term strategic plan and district leaders are excited about the opportunities the UL property presents for future generations.

“It could be another comprehensive high school, and could be something else entirely, ,” said Snell. “Whatever we decide to do from a programming standpoint, we’d have to get stakeholder and community input first. This could be several years away. We may lease it out for a period of time, and we are also looking at sports fields conversions on the 58 acres. This is an opportunity to address whatever needs the district has moving forward.”

“This feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is extremely rare to find a flat parcel of land this size in the center of town that is surrounded by fully developed neighborhoods,” said CSD Board President Doug Quinn. “The existing building provides an opportunity to repurpose for school use if needed for less cost than constructing a new one. This is a win for our students and Camas taxpayers.”

This purchase marks the second instance where the District obtained an existing business property. In 2016, the District purchased a 39-acre parcel and 54,000 square foot building from Sharp Microelectronics for $12.5 million. The building was converted to Odyssey Middle School and the 2016 bond-funded Discovery High School was built on this site. The conversion allowed the district to gain an additional school beyond what was a part of the bond program.

Snell said the costs to retrofit a school have been considered and CSD has learned how to best do that given their experience with the Sharp building conversion.

“We know how to do it and what to expect,” said Snell.

UL has operated at the Camas site since 1994. Their headquarters in is Northbrook, IL.

/0 Comments/by
, ,

#Carnival4Camden Linton Fundraiser Today Noon-7 at Natalia’s Cafe

Natalia’s Café, local businesses, and the Downtown Camas Association invite you to a special event called “Carnival For Camden & Silent Auction: A Fundraiser” today, Monday, June 24 from 12-7 pm. Love for the Linton Family! Natalia’s is asking you to support this local family.

Natalia’s Café, located at 437 NE 4th Avenue in Downtown Camas, will host the the event, which  includes a Kids Carnival, from 12-5, and a Silent Auction with wine and appetizers, from 12-7 pm.

Camden Linton is a 4-year-old Camas resident who was just diagnosed with an inoperable and aggressive brain tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). There is no known cure for DIPG.

Camden and his family are well-loved members of Camas. His mom, Erin, works as a teacher/librarian at Grass Valley Elementary School, and his father, Jeff, works at Georgia-Pacific. Their other children, Kaden and Kennedy, are students in our Camas schools who have been raised to help and serve others.

Now, it’s their time to be served so some of their burden can be alleviated. 

Please join us in helping the Linton family. One hundred percent of the donations will go to their family. 

There is a $10 cover charge for the auction, which includes one adult beverage ticket. 100% of this charge will go to the Linton’s. The team at Natalia’s Cafe has been working for more than a week preparing for the event, and several businesses and local residents are contributing gift baskets, time and other donations to help out with the cause.

[email protected]

“We just want the family to feel loved and cared for,” said Erica Slowthower, owner of Natalia’s Cafe.

All activities are free, by donation.

Kids Carnival to include:

  • Carnival games
  • Rock Painting and Bracelet Making with Anna Norris
  • Face Painting
  • Balloon Characters
  • Cotton Candy
  • Dippin’ Dots
  • Popcorn

You may also donate to the Linton GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/love-for-the-lintons

/1 Comment/by
, ,

Camas to Present Aquatics Center, Sports Fields Plans June 18

Camas, WA — Camas City administrators, under the direction of Camas Mayor, Shannon Turk, are working long hours making preparations to present new Community Aquatics Center and Sports Fields plans to the public on June 18.

With the demolition of the Crown Park pool, and limited public use of the Lacamas Athletic Club pool, the city feels an urgency to go forward with plans that will be open for public discussion at an Open House on June 18 from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Lacamas Lake Lodge.

“Regarding the Community Aquatics Center, the highest priority is with a leisure and competitive pool,” said Camas City Administrator, Pete Capell in his report this week to City Council. “We are dealing with a tight timeline. A second phase would have a two-court gymnasium and community rooms. We had a preliminary application with public works and community development. They’re been adjusting the concept better so that they can eliminate major concerns or fatal flaws. From here, there will be a follow up meeting with the design team on June 14. There will also be a process to create renderings for the project. There will be an elevated view from Lake Road. Renderings are water colors and will create one with a complete build out.”

City leaders will ask people what programs they think are most important. They will also develop a website so people can see what’s happening.

Aquatics Center
www.VancouverLaserSkinCareClinic.com

“On the 18th we will ask people what elements should be in this first phase,” said Capell.

This summer they will develop and refine designs for the aquatics center.

Expect to see an initial mailer in your mailbox any day now. A second mailer in early July will tell Camas citizens what they heard, and where they’re headed. There will be a July 15 council meeting to discuss public feedback, and where things are at. There will also be a booth at Camas Days.

In addition, a 54-acre site within Camas city limits is in negotiations to be purchased for a sports field complex.

“We haven’t acquired it yet,” said Capell. “It’s a prime site we’ve been trying to acquire and it’s going very well.”

City staffers are under tight deadlines as the general obligation bond (which would pay for a large portion of the centers) needs to be ready by August 9.

“What we end up putting on the ballot for the community aquatics center will be the input from the community and the final plan will be decided by council,” said Capell. “We will make it whatever size is most appropriate. Kathy (from Finance) has been working with bond council to determine the steps required to meet ballot requirements. She is helping us from the financial side.”

Turk is pleased with the progress.

“I’m super excited,” she said. “I look forward to seeing the website when it’s ready. The sports complex concept is great in that it broadens our ability to use sports fields. Everyone will get the benefit of these sports fields. Good things are happening.”

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Common Myths, Misconceptions About Discovery High School + PBL

Discovery High School Principal, Aaron Smith, addresses Common Themes and Myths:

Discovery High School does not have AP courses.

Myth buster alert! While Discovery may not offer as many AP courses as a large, comprehensive high school, we have selected a handful of AP courses which all students will experience. Our AP courses are less about covering a tremendous amount of content and more about themes and processes, thus being more accessible for all students. They are also much more adaptable for a project-based environment (like the real world). Beginning next year, all Discovery freshmen will take AP Human Geography as their social studies class, while our sophomores will have AP Seminar for their English class and AP World History for social studies. AP Seminar is an interdisciplinary course that encourages students to demonstrate critical thinking, collaboration, and academic research skills. A perfect fit! In addition to having the option to take the AP exam at the end of the term for possible college credit, our AP for all approach will result in a 100% participation score for AP offerings at Discovery. Why is this important? A 100% participation score is more attractive to universities when compared to a lower participation score at a school with many AP courses. Bonus! 

It is not possible to take four years of math at Discovery. 

Wrong again! Our students will have the same math pathways and opportunities as our other high schools, including pre-calculus and calculus.  

Discovery High School does not have as many electives.

There is no getting around it. A smaller high school program cannot offer as many electives as a much larger school. However, we will continue to add options as we grow and have other flexible and personalized pathways. We will continue to offer Spanish as a world language and hope to add Mandarin as well. Additionally, we have courses such as coding, music production, guitar, and multimedia and film where students can spread their creative wings. We also offer design and engineering courses operating out of our world-class fabrication lab led by Bruce Whitefield, the highly successful Camas Mean Machine Robotics coach. Lastly, our commitment to passion projects gives students the opportunity to dive deep into an area of interest and to explore possible career paths. 

Discovery High School
www.AgentJeremiah.com

Discovery is not a high school for college-bound students.

This one is absolutely false. Ultimately, colleges and universities are seeking students with a high GPA, competitive SAT scores, and additional interests outside of their classwork. Discovery High School graduates will receive a transcript with a traditional GPA that looks like any other high school. In fact, Discovery students have more opportunities to improve their GPA based on our standards-based and growth-mindset approach. In other words, we believe students should have multiple opportunities and avenues to demonstrate their learning and growth, versus a more rigid approach focusing on homework completion and one-chance exams. Lastly, institutions of higher education are looking for students who can demonstrate skills beyond memorizing content. A portfolio of projects and an ability to articulate Discovery’s emphasis on developing their success skills of collaborating, communicating, creating, critical thinking, and time management will help our students stand out in a crowd of applicants. Just ask one of our model schools and mentors, High Tech High in San Diego. High Tech High is a well-rounded project-based school that has been around since 2000. They also have a 98% success rate when it comes to college admittance. 

Running Start

Due to the nature of our flexible schedule and focus on collaboration, the learning experiences at Discovery High School are not designed to support part-time students. However, students may attend Discovery High School until their junior or senior year and then transfer to CHS if they wish to go the Running Start direction. This would not impact their credits or path to graduation. Our Discovery juniors and seniors will focus on internship opportunities for learning beyond the classroom.

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Local Teacher’s Union Responds to Camas School District Layoffs

Shelley Houle, President of the Camas Education Association (CEA) answered several questions about the upcoming Camas School District (CSD) layoffs.

22 FTE positions are being eliminated. Have all 22 teachers been notified?

As Superintendent Jeff Snell said it looks like most of those layoffs will be taken care of through attrition. Nobody has been contacted about being laid off, which happens on May 15. Human Resources has those details.

How will these layoffs affect the classroom?

It’s still a loss of FTE so I do fear it will impact students when we have less teachers overall. Classroom size could be impacted, but it will still be below what our cap is. It’ll depend on enrollment.

Did the budget committee make enough non-teacher cuts?

I was only there for half of the budget committee meetings. What we discussed is there shouldn’t be cuts in just one place. There was a shared vision that this would be done equally. I had two other members from CEA that were there, Jenelee Hurz (Math TOSA) and Miranda Jarrell (teacher at Dorothy Fox). We weren’t there to represent any special school or class type, we were there to be part of it, to listen and learn and to advocate for our members, and to advocate against impacts that affect children. We weren’t there to save particular jobs, and we had a student-focused approach to it. We spent many hours in with the committee, and I feel like we were well represented.

I’m disappointed that we don’t know the impact to SB5313 (bill that increases school levy lid) yet. I would loved to have pushed the pause button and see the impact of that levy lid. The May 15 date affected our decisions. Maybe some cuts will be reversed when we get more money from the levy lid.

Layoffs
www.Arktana.com

What happens with the levy lid in 2020? Will that help CSD?

That’s where the SB5313 could increase the capacity to collect what is already approved. I think we’re all waiting to see what that means. I predict there’s the potential to collect $6 million more dollars, but we have to be careful about what we ask our constituents to do. CSD has some hard decisions to make. We hope we can the reverse the cuts to be able to increase FTE in areas where we feel some negative impact from loss of teachers.

CSD is waiting for direction from OSPI.

Is Camas above the prototypical model?

Yes, because we use levy money because we do more than the state funds.

Did CEA ask for too much in raises last year?

No, it’s what our teachers deserved — a professional wage. If we go all the way back to August, we assumed layoffs would happen. This is because we go above and beyond the prototypical model. We want all of our members to stay and earn the wage for the work that they do.

Editor’s Note: This is what CEA Lead Negotiator, Mark Gardner said on September 3, 2018 regarding layoffs: https://youtu.be/Lu4DGMN5rl He didn’t think there would be layoffs but was concerned CSD was above a sustainable teaching staffing level.

Houle continues: The state really pulled a big one by changing the funding model. It really created a challenge for everyone to figure out how to best make it work. We would have loved an increase in special ed funding. You’re not fully funding education if you don’t fully fund special education. Jeff and I had shared Legislative priorities — funding for safety positions like counselors and nurses.

It was interesting going up there. I think progress was made in several of the bills. Delinking 10th graders passing the state tests was a good thing. They didn’t make complete fixes, though. Some needed changes were made like SB5313 with the levy flexibility will help many districts.

The number of 22 layoffs was not surprising to me because we did need to stay close to prototypical.

We’re all in this together. I feel that PSE (classified staff), CAEOP, and CAP (Gary Moller) are all part of this. We have a shared vision in that we wanted our students to be minimally impacted by those decisions.

/1 Comment/by
,

CSD Eliminates 34 Positions to Help Balance $8.2 Million Budget Deficit

These are questions that Lacamas Magazine asked Camas School District (CSD) Superintendent Jeff Snell regarding the considerations from the special volunteer budget committee, which was organized to analyze how to best resolve the district’s $8.2 million budget deficit. Here are his answers.

What steps are being taken based on budget committee considerations?

First, we looked across the system for efficiencies, reducing supply budgets and things like that. We talked in the budget committee about distributing reductions across the system so we looked at certificated, classified and central office staffing, as well as unrepresented staff.

In the committee, we explored the state prototypical school funding model. We’re overstaffed in certain areas by state standards such as certificated staff, but we feel we’re staffed appropriately. We looked at TOSAs (Teachers on Special Assignments). These positions are not funded by the state so there’s a reduction there. We looked at the elementary, middle, and high school class sizes which are addressed in the teachers’ contract. At elementary that’s 24, then 30 for middle school, and 31 for high school and we run schedules with those targets in mind. We found capacity in that while keeping those targets in play. We realized some reductions there.

Camas School
Camas school teachers and supporters during bargaining sessions last summer.

From a student and family standpoint, we might be from 21 now to 23 in the ratio of students to certificated staff in a school. We’ve been able to run a small highly specialized class as needed, and it makes it more difficult to do that now.

Overload occurs when we exceed those class size targets as defined in our collective bargaining agreement. On a spreadsheet the students are divided evenly, but the reality is that doesn’t always happen. We may have more kindergartners than first graders, for example. Teachers can get a variety of remedies to address overload such as additional staff assistants. Each year overload is something that needs to be addressed. It may become a bigger problem next school year. In August, it’s possible that more students will enroll than anticipated. If that’s the case, we would need to consider adding staff.

Classified. We’re not really overstaffed based on the prototypical model. It was challenging to find efficiencies there. We looked specifically at retirements and resignations. If we have a custodian retiring, could we possibly not fill that position recognizing services would be reduced? In transportation, we are finding savings by adjusting some routes.

Scholarship
VancouverLaserSkinCareClinic.com

Our facilities are well taken care of. We have a great crew, but, again, we may have to change the level of service moving forward.

Most of the certificated reductions will be addressed through retirements, resignations, and staff who were on one-year contracts.

Twenty-two FTE teaching positions are being eliminated. It’s spread across the levels, elementary, middle and high school and teachers on special assignment.


Six central office staff positions are being eliminated. Six support staff positions are being eliminated.

We don’t have the number on non-instructional staff.

To balance the $8.2 million deficit, CSD is eliminating $4.6 million in position and non-staff reduction, and we are taking $3.7 million out of the fund balance, which leaves our fund balance at about 5 percent, which is approximately $5 million.

All the details have to be worked out by May 15, and we’re working with CEA.

Budget Deficit
School board members listen to budget committee members Monday night.

How does SB5313 affect Camas? Will it increase levy authority for CSD in 2019? Do we know yet how it will affect us?

What it does is it raises our authority to collect additional local funds to $2.50 per $1,000 assessed value. It’s a change from the model that was rolled out last year. We also receive some state subsidy dollars for levy called Local Effort Assistance that may be affected in the change. We are waiting for clear direction from the state about this.

We have an approved levy in place and we want our citizens to know what’s happening. We want to be transparent with the public about where their tax dollars are going. We will get guidance on how to use this new authority. January 1, 2020, is when we could start collecting on the new levy, should the school board determine to do so.

Regarding the school employee benefits board decision, between now and then more information will be need to be made public.

Did the legislature fail to fund special education this session? My research shows they don’t include special education under basic education.

It initially looks they funded more special education dollars, but there’s still a gap. OSPI estimated $240 million more was needed to fully fund special education. We think the new legislation could give us $500,000 to help fund special education in Camas, but we’re not sure yet. The details should be available in the coming months.

Agencies will help interpret the legislation first. ESD 112 has provided a lot of support to us.

What are the major parts of the 2019 Legislative session that disappoint you?

Special education — such a common need across the state. I was hoping there would be more revenue in that. Overall, the session didn’t significantly change our situation for the short-term.

We planned for the worst, and I don’t think the worst happened. A couple big variables are still ahead of us that we need to navigate including levy authority and the impact of the new model for school employee benefits.

Our budget committee has invested a ton of time trying to sort through this, and they gave us guidance through a very complicated situation. We’ll keep coming back to them as we navigate those variables in the future.

To learn more, visit www.camas.wednet.edu

You can also visit https://lacamasmagazine.com/2019/04/camas-schools-budget-committee-9-considerations-to-balance-8-2-million-deficit.html

/2 Comments/by
, ,

Washougal’s Jemtegaard Middle School Wins 2019 Whole Child Award

Washougal, WA — Jemtegaard Middle School (JMS) is the recipient of the 2019 Whole Child Award chosen by the Washington State Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. The Whole Child Award acknowledges and honors a school that makes significant contributions to student learning by creating a school culture with programs that exemplify two or more of the five tenets of The Whole Child Initiative: Healthy, Safe, Engaged, Supported, and Challenged; as well as serve as models for all educators across the state.  

“Our staff can think of no bigger honor than to be recognized for striving to meet the many needs of our kids,” said JMS Principal, David Cooke. “It takes a lot of work, but the results are worth it.”

JMS received their award at a school assembly on Wednesday, May 8, as well as a check for $500, sponsored by SHAPE Washington. 

“Equity and meeting the needs of the Whole Child is what drives the work of administrators, teachers, staff and community members at JMS,” said Cooke.  “We continue to listen and learn from our students so that we can improve to give each one the best chance of success. We focus strongly on equity and supporting the Whole Child.”  

Sustainable support protocol

JMS has a sustainable Student Support Protocol to foster a positive working relationship with peers and teachers for students to feel safe and supported in the classroom. Their Student Support Flowchart works to eliminate disruptive and/or off task behavior that can be damaging to the relationship between the student and teacher.

“Our primary process goals are to keep students in the learning environment as long as possible, allow teachers to keep teaching, even following problem behavior, and provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their behavior and have a voice in the refocus process,” Cooke said.

JMS
www.Arktana.com

“The most effective way for students to learn is to be in the classroom with a quality teacher every day,” said Cooke. “With this new student support process, out of class time was reduced to five minutes for minor issues and up to 20 minutes for major issues for the majority of discipline referrals.”

As a result, this method is showing results with an 80 percent drop in disciplinary referrals this year, minimal suspensions and a high approval rating from staff. Many students with prior disciplinary referrals last school year are having minimal discipline concerns now. 

Restorative practices

Restorative practices also play an integral role in repairing relationships and restoring safety after bullying occurs.

“Traditionally, bullies were punished through exclusionary discipline,” said Cooke. “At JMS, we use restorative practices to bring all parties together so that the victim and family can explain how the bullying has impacted them and what they need from the student doing the bullying in order to feel safe.”

Their findings show that in 100 percent of bullying cases this year, with clear expectations and procedures for Restorative Circles used, none of the students violate the conditions after the meeting or continued bullying at JMS. Parents and guardians also appreciate the opportunity to meet each other and support all students.

“There are many people who support our mission including parents, community and educators across the district,” Cooke said. “As a team we have created a school that our students, staff and community can be proud of.”

Club 8 for students

An example of this teamwork is the Club 8 after-school program that helps keep students engaged in additional learning opportunities including arts, science, leadership activities, and more. The program is two years old and meets on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. The name represents an 8th period of the school day for learning.

“The goal of this program is to address an equity issue related to lack of extracurricular opportunities for students on free and reduced lunch who don’t have access to transportation,” Cooke said.

Club 8 not only provides a bus ride home to remove the transportation barrier but provides all students an afternoon snack. The program regularly has around 90 students in attendance for a school just over 500 (not including 7th and 8th grade athletics with 40-70 students per season.) The list of Club 8 opportunities continues to grow along with community support.

Community service with students

Adding to the positive culture of JMS, the entire student body works on community service projects. Students pick the project that interests them the most which includes building bird houses for local parks, making animal toys for a local shelter, creating positive posters to hang on the hall walls, and helping run games at the elementary school recess and more. 

“I’m proud of the hard work the Jemtegaard school staff and community does to educate the whole child,” said WSD Superintendent, Dr. Mary Templeton. “They have embarked on a journey to shift the culture of the school, focusing on identifying ways students may fall through the cracks, and ways in which they can provide resources to keep students engaged in learning, encourage safe choices, and provide students with the problem solving skills to succeed in the classroom and beyond.” 

Founded in 1956, as Washington State Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, now known as Washington State ASCD, is a community of all educators committed to promoting promising practices to ensure ALL students are safe, healthy, engaged, supported and challenged.

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Camas City Council To Revive Ward Meetings With Residents

CAMAS, WA — After several years, Camas City Council is bringing back ward meetings to encourage residents to share ideas, concerns, and questions with the elected officials who represent their geographic area.

“As community and regional growth continues, the City of Camas wants to make sure that all residents keep having a voice in the issues that affect them,” said Mayor Shannon Turk. “I believe the smaller setting of local ward meetings will have a big impact on making valuable connections across Camas.”

Residents are encouraged to locate their ward by visiting the Clark County Maps Online website, clicking the Search tab and entering their street address or tax ID number.Ward meetings will occur twice this year, once in the spring and once in the fall. The first set of upcoming ward meetings will be held in April and May 2019, as follows:

  • Ward 1 – Sat., April 27, 1-3 pm, with Council Members Deanna Rusch and Melissa Smith, at Camas City Hall Council Chambers, 616 NE 4th Ave.
  • Ward 2 – Sun., May 19, 12:30-2 pm, with Council Members Bonnie Carter and Steve Hogan, at Camas City Hall Council Chambers, 616 NE 4th Ave.
  • Ward 3 – Mon., April 29, 7-8:30 pm, with Council Members Ellen Burton and Greg Anderson, at Dorothy Fox Elementary Library, 2623 NW Sierra St.

The format of the spring ward meetings will be casual to allow residents to bring their own ideas, concerns and questions for discussion with their council members as well as the Council Member at Large Don Chaney and the mayor. The format of the fall meetings will be more structured, with a set topic that is specific to the ward. Council members from other wards will attend one another’s meetings to get a sense of key themes across the community; however, they will not take part in the discussion.

City Council
www.Arktana.com

“By trying out various formats, we hope to see what works best for the citizens and council/mayor to communicate on ideas and issues,” said Turk.

Starting in 2013, the annual September State of the Community event was launched to replace ward meetings, which ceased in 2011 due to decreased attendance. The event is held each September and features presentations by the mayor, Camas School District superintendent and other local leaders such as the Port of Camas-Washougal director. The event is expected to remain part of the City’s public outreach continuum.

The decision to reinstate ward meetings was inspired by the success of recent town hall meeting with state legislators.

About City of Camas

Located in eastern Clark County, City of Camas is home to approximately 23,000 residents. Camas boasts a vibrant historic downtown, approximately 60 miles of trails, numerous hi-tech manufacturing industries, and a state-leading educational system. From its origins over 100 years ago as a paper mill town, Camas continues to successfully blend a mix of cultures, values, and vision. For more information, visit www.cityofcamas.us

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Vick, Hoff Condemn Billions In Tax Increases Approved by House Committee

Olympia, WA — Earlier today (April 19) in the House Finance Committee, the 9-4 Democrat majority voted to increase taxes on Washingtonians by more than $4 billion over the next four years. The new taxes approved by the committee include:

·         A capital gains income tax;

·         A Business and Occupation tax surcharge on services;

·         A graduated real estate excise tax; and

·         A change to the nonresident sales tax exemption, turning it into an annual remittance program.

Eighteenth District Republican Reps. Brandon Vick and Larry Hoff, who recently co-authored two op-eds in opposition to new and increased taxes, issued the following statement Friday afternoon:

“Despite record revenues, a $3 billion surplus, and voters rejecting tax increases time and time again at the ballot box, the majority party continues to show blatant disregard for anything resembling fiscal sanity. If these new taxes are signed into law, along with the House majority’s proposed spending plan, we will not only have ignored voters’ wishes, but we will also have increased spending by 70 percent since 2013.

“Here locally, residents in the 18th District and across Clark County will be hurt if the state’s nonresident sales tax exemption is turned into an annual remittance program. Hindering cross-border competition will result in businesses closing, jobs being lost, and more families struggling to make ends meet.

“We don’t believe taking money out of taxpayers’ wallets and making our state less competitive is going to improve the prospects of Washingtonians in Clark County or anywhere else. Our state’s policy goals can be achieved within existing revenues without making cuts to necessary programs. We call on the majority party to revise its approach to budgeting and fund our shared priorities with the record revenues we currently have.”

The 2019 legislative session is scheduled to adjourn Sunday, April 28.

/2 Comments/by