White Center Now: The blog about White Center

The Election Night results are in, and the Highline Public Schools levy – which only needs a “simple majority” to pass – has 60 percent approval. Here are the latest results.

Your ballot has to be postmarked by tomorrow for it to count in the special election for Highline Public Schools‘ levy. As the district’s infopage points out, the levy will supply about a fourth of the district’s operating budget. If you still have questions about it, here’s the info on the district site;

In a special election on February 8th, voters in the Highline Public Schools district will decide the fate of a levy to raise more than $40 million a year, replacing a levy that’s expiring. (You can read about it here.) If you need to register to vote, or change your information, the deadline for doing so online – in order to make sure you get your ballot in the mail in time for that election – is this Monday. You can get it all done by going here.

Good luck to students and staff – be sure to check out the Highline district website for the newest information! You can also find the district now on Facebook and Twitter.

(White Center Now photos by Evan Miglorie)
“This is the biggest night in our school’s history.”

That’s what New Start High School teacher Ann Magyar told White Center Now about tonight’s graduation ceremony for New Start and Highline CHOICE Academy, the alternative programs in Highline Public Schools. You can see it in the leaping exuberance of Dewane Sauni, who’s graduating a year early (two months ago, he was chosen White Center Kiwanis Student of the Month):

Our photojournalist covering the ceremony, Evan Miglorie, reports that Dewane gave an “emotional speech,” and that another excellent speech was given by CHOICE Academy grad Megan Johnson, honored this past spring as one of America’s top youth volunteers:

The graduation filled the Log Cabin at White Center’s Steve Cox Memorial Park with xx people. Between the two schools, the grads numbered about 40 – three-fourths of them from New Start.

But according to Ann, more than 400 people showed up to cheer on those 40 grads!

“These students have worked incredibly hard and overcome a great deal to walk across that stage,” she added. Our congrats to the grads; here’s the schedule for the other graduation ceremonies coming up in the Highline district.

Two notes: First, it’s the start of the Highline Public Schools weeklong spring break; second, tonight’s Burien City Council meeting will be preceded by a reception for new North Burien residents (aka the former North Highline South annexation zone) at 6:30 pm – the full council agenda is here.

Highline Public Schools has released more information on its plans for Cascade and Chinook Middle Schools, both of which are eligible for potential federal grants because they’re on the state’s list of lowest-performing schools. Read on for the district’s news release: Read the rest of this entry »

From Highline Public Schools:

Angelica Alvarez, the first Latino/a elected to the Highline School board, begins her first full month in office in January. Alvarez was elected in November and sworn into office in December.

Alvarez says she brings a passion for academic success for all children, regardless of the ethnic and social backgrounds. She is also interested in improving the transition from early childhood education to school, and in building collaborative, inclusive partnerships with parents.

Angelica works for the non-profit organization Child Care Resources where she promotes equity for children, building community stability, and encouraging school readiness. Her work often brings her into contact with King County’s low-income families in an effort to serve the basic needs of children. She says it is her goal is to bring these same values and skills to her work with Highline Public Schools.

The board’s next meeting is this Wednesday – more information here.

News release received Wednesday night from Highline Public Schools:

Highline Public Schools has refinanced 2002 bonds, resulting in a savings to taxpayers of more than $8 million over the next five years.

The savings flow directly to taxpayers through reduced tax levies. The dollars cannot be used for District expenses. “This is a direct savings to our community members in the form of taxes they expected to pay, but will not have to pay,” says Superintendent John Welch.

The District was able to exceed its savings target because of recent low interest rates. Interest rates averaged 6.31% on the new bonds compared to 5.33% on the old debt.

After the refinance, Moody’s Investment Services reaffirmed the district’s Aa3 bond rating on the district’s outstanding debt. The rating reflects the district’s satisfactory financial operations and its manageable debt levels. The district has a AA- rating from Standard and Poor’s.

The Highline School Board approved the issuance of refunding bonds at its December 9 meeting. The original bonds funded the replacement of ten aging schools, which opened beginning in 2004.

Teachers from the Highline School District alternative programs get ready to shop.

Last week World Vision teamed up with the Westwood Village Target to help out some local teachers and families. Everyone was given a $100 gift card then let loose in the store; families bought school clothes and teachers stocked up on school supplies. Considering that teachers spend on average $500 of their own money on school supplies each year, this was a much appreciated big deal.

Highline Public Schools asked if we would help get this message out to its families before school starts – versions of this letter will be going out, with customized information for each school, but this is the basic message:

We want you to be aware of a change in our school schedule. This year, school will be dismissed 90 minutes early on most Fridays. This will replace the half-day Wednesday schedule and most of the non-student “waiver” days we have had in past years. Overall, the amount of time students will spend out of the classroom is comparable to past years.

After students are dismissed on Fridays, teachers will use the time for training, professional development, and collaboration. The 90-minute sessions, called Professional Collaboration Time (PCT), will include activities such as learning new and better ways to deliver instruction, analyzing student work together, and sharing ideas and plans that will improve student performance. While you might not expect that giving time off school could lead to increased student learning, research shows that time invested in teacher training and improvement of instruction does indeed result in improved student achievement.

Students must be dismissed early in order to provide time for teacher learning and collaboration within teachers’ state-funded work day.

We recognize that shortened school days impact families and parents’ work schedules. The school district surveyed parents and teachers, and the majority preferred a weekly early release of less than two hours, versus a less frequent but longer block of time as we have had in the past.

The most significant impact will be to families of half-day Kindergarteners. Morning and afternoon classes will alternate attending school every other Friday. On Fridays, Kindergarteners will be on the same schedule as students in grades 1-6.

For example, on September 18, morning Kindergarteners will attend school the same hours as grades 1-6; afternoon Kindergarteners will have no school. On the following Friday, afternoon Kindergartners will attend school with grades 1-6; morning Kindergarteners will have no school.

We hope the consistency of the weekly early release will be beneficial for students, families, and teachers.

You can find out more at the Highline website – hsd401.org. Wednesday, September 9, is the first day of the school year – three weeks from today.

Highline Public Schools leadership has gone public with recommendations for how to balance the budget (see them here). Now, they want to hear from you, and will be accepting comment at this week’s School Board meeting. It’s at 6 pm Wednesday, 15675 Ambaum in Burien (map); see the agenda here.

Just received this from Ian at WCCDA:

There will be two sessions at Mt. View Elementary tomorrow for parents and community members to be informed about HSD budget cuts. HSD Board Member Sili Savusa will facilitate both meetings. We hope these meetings will prepare folks for the April 27 meeting at Evergreen HS. Please see attached flyer or keep reading for more info…and again, keep spreading the word!

DISCUSS THE CUTS!
Friday, April 24
Mt. View Elementary – 10811 12th Ave SW
9:00am – 11:00am & 5:30pm – 7:00pm

… because Highline Public Schools, Seattle Public Schools, and even the Vashon school district all are in no-classes mode today.

From the Highline Public Schools eHighlights: If you’re a parent or teacher in the district, you’ll be asked within the next few weeks to answer a survey about whether you’d prefer late starts or early departures for those days of the year when teachers have extra training or review time.

No school today for secondary students in Highline Public Schools; Monday, MLK Day, is a holiday for all students in HPS (and other districts).

Sunday’s one last day of winter break for kids in the Highline and Seattle school districts – after a longer-than-expected vacation because of the snow. School resumes in both districts on Monday (and by the way, Metro bus service is supposed to be back to normal that day, too).

Highline Public Schools already will be 2 hours late tomorrow – and they’re asking families to check in the am for possible closure (since it may be snowing by 4 am or so). Here’s the message at SchoolReport.org.

Highline Public Schools will be 2 hours late today; Seattle Public Schools is also going to start 2 hours late. Meanwhile, a winter storm watch is up for late Tuesday through late Wednesday (forecasts here). For Metro bus updates, here’s the latest list of the ones on “adverse weather” reroutes.

No need for a “snow day” if the potential flakes arrive early on Friday – because it’s already a day off (“waiver day”) for students in Highline Public Schools. After that, just one more week of school till winter break, which starts Dec. 22 (classes then resume on Jan. 5 – winter break in Seattle Public Schools runs on the same schedule).