Washougal, WA — The Association of Washington School Principals has named David Cooke, Principal of Jemtegaard Middle School, as the Washington State Secondary School Principal of the Year for 2020!  The Secondary School Principal of the Year award is given to individuals who set high standards for instruction, student achievement, and community involvement, as well as advocating for education. 

“I am honored to be the Principal of Jemtegaard Middle School,” said Cooke. “It is an incredible place to work. This award represents the culture and efforts of the staff and students who come here every day.”

AWSP leadership joined WSD leadership at a middle school staff meeting to make the announcement to Cooke and his staff.  Superintendent Mary Templeton announced the guests from AWSP, who proceeded to share accolades with Cooke. 

“Under David’s leadership, Jemtegaard Middle School has gone from a school that was failing to make progress under No Child Left Behind to one that has been State Recognized multiple times for academic performance increases and closing the achievement gap,” Templeton said. “Through this work, Washougal students are rising, and our district with them!  I could not be happier for David receiving this great recognition!  It is so well deserved.”

Cooke has fostered a culture of support for students and their families, focusing on equity, positive behavior expectations, high engagement, and the whole child.

“At every opportunity, David credits the teachers and staff at Jemtegaard for the school’s accomplishments,” said Kurt Hatch, AWSP Associate Director of Middle Level Leadership, adding “His staff has a willingness to challenge practices, remove barriers to success, and do what is right for students.”

“I could not be prouder of my staff,” said Cooke. “About six years ago, we knew that we needed to make changes to ensure that all students could be successful. It was not easy, but we persevered as a team to make difficult decisions, learn together, and build the best opportunities for all students. As a result, our students have experienced significant growth. We have been supported along the way by so many including our fellow Washougal teachers, staff, District Office and an amazing Washougal community.”

Cooke has overseen implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention Support system at Jemtegaard, featuring common classroom expectations, quick support responses, and a focus on ensuring that students who need help are guided through restorative practices and back in the classroom as quickly as possible.  This has led to a dramatic reduction in missed instructional time, and fewer discipline referrals for students. 

“David exemplifies the best of the best in school leaders in his relentless pursuit of bringing adults together in a common purpose and mission. Their focus on equity, student achievement, and intentional impact on each and every child is what brought his nomination to the top,” said Scott Seaman, AWSP Executive Director. “Leading educational change that is student-centered takes an entire school community and David’s leadership has fostered that ongoing culture.”

“Our students are caring, hardworking and resilient,” Cooke said. “They support each other in their academic, social, and emotional growth.”

The Spanish Speaking Family Night initiative was started by Cooke in response to feedback from second language speaking families, who wanted to connect with the school and learn how they could be part of their students’ learning.  Cooke worked with community leaders and Spanish speaking staff and translators to build relationships with students and their families, identifying resource gaps, communication barriers, and providing support and resources that ensure families and students have what they need to succeed. 

Washougal, WA — Washougal High School Associated Student Body leaders are putting 21^st Century Skills to use as they work to reimagine their role to unite and inspire classmates. Gone are the tried and true pep assemblies, spirit activities, work parties and school events.  

Ethan Mills, WHS ASB President, said it is a challenge for ASB to do their job to help students feel spirit and unite a school community when everyone is learning remotely.  “We have been isolated for a long time,” he said. “For me, I’m definitely more of an in-person leader and it’s hard to feed off the energy of others when you are just on camera. I’ve learned that you just have to put yourself out there and do your best no matter what the situation is.”

According to WHS ASB Advisor, Kyla Ritchey, there were many discussions on how to shift the group’s thinking for this school year.  “Before the school year started the class met to discuss what we should do and how they are going to best serve their students’ needs as well as the Washougal Community,” she said. “What impressed me about the students was their honesty.  They had no idea where to start but felt the need to help. It was from this conversation that the idea of multiple surveys throughout the year would be the best way to gauge the needs of the WHS students.”

The first survey was given out before school started and ASB is using this data to drive the work that is being done.  “The surveys collected different points of views from the student body,” said ASB Senior Senator, Briahna Ruth.  “It was important to us to try and hear from as many students as possible since we are all learning remotely.”  

“A possible benefit to this situation is that, I believe, we are understanding more of our student body’s needs and their expectation,” added Mills. “Through our survey there are more voices being heard.”

WHS ASB students recently split into three project groups that were determined from the collected data. Each group is assigned a specific area of concern that came up frequently in the survey.  They are social opportunities, communication, and resources.  With the help from partner organization, Unite! Washougal Coalition, a “mantra” was created for students to consider as they work on creating their projects.  It is to “connect, grow, and be well.”

“Students will need to be able to explain how each project will help WHS students and staff feel connected, grow as an individual, and continue to be well whether that is mentally or physically,” Ritchey said. “While projects have not been determined yet, there are a lot of great ideas being thrown around right now.” 

A major challenge for the group is getting to know one another and working together in this time of social distancing and remote learning. “Typically, they would see each other every day during class and multiple times over the weekend when working on events,” Ritchey said. “If they had a question, they could find each other at lunch or before school to get the answers. Currently, they only see each other twice a week during Zoom meetings. We are still working on community building and feeling comfortable working together.” 

Students are also being challenged to think outside of the box.  “These kids have great ideas,” said Ritchey.  “Some of the ideas though we just aren’t able to do for a multitude of reasons. Instead of giving up on the idea, I have encouraged them to think outside of the box to make some changes to the idea that would make it work. It may not be the exact picture they had in their heads but at the end of the day, it will accomplish their overall goal.”

“Our role as ASB, especially for the younger grades, is to help them keep in mind that they will be getting back to class,” explained Ruth.  “There are still good things to look forward to.”  For instance, the group is working on ways to celebrate virtual spirit weeks, development of a kindness week, exploring socially distanced events when it is safe to do so and plans to reimagine the annual Stuff the Bus food drive.  

The biggest challenge for Ritchey as their advisor is to keep the students motivated. “A lot of them feel overwhelmed and hopeless, this was not the year they had pictured,” she admits.  “I try to keep it positive during class, encourage them, and let them know that even though it may not look the same, we can still create some new experiences and traditions.” 

Overall, the WHS ASB students have shown resilience time and time again.  “Whether it be the laughs we share instead of showing frustration in the situation, or finding common ground when disagreeing on a topic,” said Ritchey. “These kids are really great and impress me more and more every time we meet. Being a student leader during this time is more of a challenge than ever before, but I couldn’t pick a better group of students to work with.”

“This is definitely a challenging year, and everything is harder to get done since we are not all together in person,” said Mills.  “I am learning a lot about leadership and resilience that should help us all prepare for our futures.”

Washougal WA — Flashing red lights on a brand new brushfire rig and a cluster of red balloons welcomed Cape Horn-Skye Elementary first grade students of Nichol Yung and Darcy Hickey as they arrived at the school parking lot to meet some local heroes on October 9.  Through their family car windows, and wearing masks, students handed their handmade thank you cards to representatives from Camas-Washougal Firefighters, Chris Kassel and Matthew Miller, also masked and wearing gloves. In return, each student was given a shiny red fire hat. Although no one could actually see the smiles behind masks, you could feel the joy felt by firefighters and students in the exchange. 

“These written notes are so important because they provide an opportunity for the students to show gratitude and connect with people in our community who work and volunteer to keep them safe,” said Yung of her students appreciation for the firefighters. “In a world where there is so much ‘virtual’ and for a 6 year old, it’s oftentimes difficult for them to distinguish between what is real and what is make-believe, these cards provide that bridge from what they may see on the news or hear friends and family talk about to something concrete.”

The class learned about wildfires and discussed how local fires had impacted the area. Some students shared how their families had to be ready to evacuate here in Washougal. 

“We had some students keenly aware of how some of their extended family members in Oregon were affected by the recent fires,” Hickey said.

The project gave these kids an opportunity to open up and process their feelings from what they had encountered during that difficult time.

“Since all of the students were directly affected by the fires, especially with the smoke, they were able to offer support by providing a listening ear and observe the courage they all had in getting through this scary time,” said Yung. “This was a real-life experience for all of them and with the chance to meet some firefighters, they can make the connection with what they experienced to those who helped put the fires out.”

“It was great to just be out in the community and see all of these happy kids,” said Miller.  “The cards were very sweet and mean so much to us.”

“We really enjoy being a part of these type of events,” said Kassel.  “It is important for children to see us in normal situations so they know we are not scary, so in a time of emergency, they will not shy away from us.”

Student Ada Berg hoped her card made the firefighters happy.  “I wanted to thank them for fighting fires and helping to keep people safe,” she said.  For Berg and her family, the fires were very real with her grandparents evacuated from their home in Estacada, Oregon.

“I want to be a firefighter,” admitted student Grason Powell.  “I want to help save the world.”

“We want the students to be able to understand that just as firefighters have a huge impact on communities in keeping them safe, children also have something to contribute by way of showing gratitude and support,” said Yung. “We hope that this show of gratitude and support will not only be evidenced in this activity but in every aspect of their lives and that it is a life-long attribute that can only help them have positive emotions, which can be easily shared. We want them to have an ‘attitude of gratitude’.”

“We are so excited to see the kids hand the firefighters their cards because we know that firefighters don’t always get recognized unless there is an emergency,” said Hickey. “We want them to know that, emergency or not, they are appreciated and we hope that we see the light in their faces as they receive a heartfelt card and well-wish from a 6-year old who admires them for their bravery.”