The group alleges the board didn’t fully consider a recent audit on the district’s finance policies before rehiring Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson.

The petition will go before a judge, before the group must then get 32,000 signatures to win the recall election, according to The Times.

The board is comprised of 16 members:

• Two members from the eastern region of the state, elected by school board members;
• Three members from the western region of the state, elected by school board members;
• One member, at large, elected by approved private schools;
• The superintendent of public instruction;
• Seven members appointed by the governor; and
• Two student representatives selected by the state board itself.

The position up for election is Western Region Position 3.

Candidates must be residents of the region they wish to represent. (For the western region, that includes the 19 westernmost counties.) Candidates cannot be employed by any public or private school, college, university or other educational institution, any educational service district, or the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction after being elected to the State Board. Persons elected to the board may not concurrently serve as a member of the board of directors of either a public school district or a private school.

Spare change donated by customers at two Renton Fred Meyers raised $3,500 for the Renton School District this year.

Bettina Sopke, Human Resource Coordinator for the Benson Hill Fred Meyer, presented the check to the Renton School Board’s July meeting. The money is collected at checkstands.

Renton plans to use the money to support improving student achievement in literacy.

She was introduced to the Renton School Board by Sheryl Moore, who incidentally accepted the assistant human resources position in June.

I spoke with Tito a few times about the High School Proficiency Exam, particularly about how passing the math section will soon be required by all high school students.

McKnight Middle School science teacher Carlie Jonas is one of only six teachers selected to help design environmental science and sustainability curriculum this summer with a team at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The team will work with Nobel Laureate Dr. Lee Hartwell to design a curriculum to be used in a teaching program at
Arizona State University. Fred Hutchinson hopes to eventually have the curriculum used in local universities.

Next school year Jonas will work with other McKnight teachers to implement lessons learned during her  summer program.

The Renton Technical College president’s assistant is retiring this year after 32 years in Renton public schools.

Karen DeBruyn established an RTC baking scholarship in honor of her father, Frank E. Wright, who was a baker all of his life.

“The main purpose of this scholarship is for students to be able to finish the program,” DeBruyn said. “It is not always about the grades, but meeting the needs of struggling families so students can stay in school and finish.”

Getting her start in 1978 as a substitute teacher at Dimmitt Middle School, she left the Renton School District as the Hazen High School principal’s secretary. She was hired at RTC in 1991.

At RTC, DeBruyn has worked for three presidents, including the college’s newest president, Steve Hanson.

Michele Savelle sent me a letter this morning that they expect to discuss with the Renton School Board this morning.

The letter encourages district administrators and board members to consider placing all of the Black River students at the recently acquired church property, which is right next to Black River. Right now, a core of students and teachers are moving to the Sartori Education Center.

A few groups that won’t be going to Sartori include the Emotional Behavior Disorder students, who are going to Lindbergh High School’s program, and new freshman classes. By not having a freshman class, in three years the last memory of Black River will graduate.

Black River serves as a last-resort school for students who might otherwise drop out. This letter also asks that new students be admitted into the group.

The letter also asks to save the horticulture program and move it to one of the abandoned greenhouses across the street.

The district has responded in the past that the horticulture program was going to be closed for issues of rigor, not property. It’s also said that moving a core group of students (about 73 percent) and teachers (8, or 6.4 FTE) to Sartori is better and less expensive than remodeling the old church property.

Below is Savelle’s letter.

Letter to Board From CRSBA

Randy Dorn, right, at Dimmitt Middle School. He apologized today for comparing his salary to Cliff Lee

In a way I can’t help but sympathize with Randy Dorn, the Washington State’s top superintendent. In social gatherings I too often find myself apologizing for accidentally offending people, granted that’s usually at a barbecue during karaoke, not in front of a statewide audience.

His most recent apology is for comparing his salary to baseball player Cliff Lee, who reportedly makes $9 million.

“It would be embarrassing,” Dorn said, according to the Seattle Times. “Somebody who’s responsible for 1,050,000 kids would only add up to a few pitches by a guy for the Seattle Mariners.”

He later told The Times, “I’m Randy Dorn. That’s who I am…I don’t think people want somebody who’s guarding every single word of what they say. In reality, I know in my heart, I know in my head, that I was trying to make a point that people are choosing to spend resources on things in society that I really don’t think make a difference in this country.”

From my limited encounters with Mr. Dorn, he seems a nice and honest man with a public speaking problem.

This apology comes about a month after he wrapped up a public apology crusade for his DUI this spring.

On Tuesday, June 22, during my testimony in front of the House Ways and Means Committee, I spoke about the need to make education funding a greater priority in our country by comparing what we spend on education with what we spend on professional sports.

Unfortunately I made the mistake of using my salary as the point of comparison.  It was a poor analogy and I regret using it.

But I don’t regret pointing out the absurdity of our current lack of commitment to education funding.  I strongly believe we need to reset government and actually dedicate ourselves to fully funding a basic education for every child in this state.  Our future as a society depends on it.

Community members are still upset over the closures, which were announced in April.

While not all of the questions are addressed in these correspondences, the big ones are. Please read both of these unabridged letters before commenting.

RE:

Mr. Jensen,
I am responding on behalf of Renton Schools Superintendent Dr. Mary Alice Heuschel to your e-mail copied below.

1) The purchase by the district of the two properties you refer to—Skyway Church of God and Evergreen Floral—was part of a $150 million bond measure approved in May 2008 by an overwhelming majority of voters. Property acquisition is clearly presented to voters in bond measures to allow school districts opportunities to purchase available and increasingly scarce land for future school construction.

The district’s designed and responsible purchase of the property bordering our Black River High School campus works in the district’s plan for future development of much-needed elementary or middle school space. Purchasing land adjacent to existing property is strategic and forward-thinking as it allows for increasing acreage and expansion of existing property. The site was at one time thought to be a good location to house portions of Black River High students during construction of the new Secondary Learning Center (also approved in the May 2008 bond measure). But, our Sartori Education Center school has proven to be a better and more ready fit for those students during construction.

2) When the new Secondary Learning Center is complete at the Black River campus (see details here) it will not include the horticulture program because that program does not meet newly-established high school-level requirements, or those measured as college-readiness by the Higher Education Coordinating (HEC) Board.

Newly-adopted district science graduation requirements—prepared through a year-long process that included teachers from all district high schools including Black River High School—are now more in line with state standards which require critical science knowledge and rigor, have two years of a laboratory component, include an algebra-based component, and are taught at a 9-12 grade level. The new science graduation requirements also meet the Science Standards for College Success, established by the HEC board, to ensure high school graduates have credits recognized by colleges and universities, and help students matriculate into state and national colleges and universities.

The horticulture program at Black River specifically does not meet high school standards based on several criteria:

· The program’s standards are based on content of K-8-grade level;

· The program does not meet high school standards at the district, state or the HEC board level;

· The program has no complex human cellular or molecular content; and

· The program has no algebra-based component.

Although I am unable to address your concerns regarding the Alaska Way Viaduct, the state’s ferry service, and other stated opposition to state and federal government, I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight regarding concerns, rumor or innuendo regarding the Renton School District. Please contact me with any other questions.

Randy Matheson

____________

Subject: Letter of Concern to the Renton School District Board of Directors

To: Renton School District Board of Directors, Renton School District Superintendent, Washington Education Association, SeattlePI, Seattle Times, Komo News, Kiro News, Renton Reporter, Those seeking our votes

To whom it may concern,

We continue to be told that our taxes must be raised. We continue to be told that our services must be cut. We keep being told there is no more money. Then we find out the truth. For example, this year Washington state had to raise taxes to make up for a 30 million dollar shortfall. Now, just this past Friday, we find out that 10 million dollars have been wasted on overtime by the Ferry service. In Seattle, we are spending 5.5 million dollars to make just one bridge suicide proof, and yet we are facing reductions in public safety. We keep spending millions of dollars studying the Alaska Way Viaduct, but we cannot seem to get it replaced.

To add to the frustration, we keep telling our elected officials what is most important to us; Education, Public Safety, Transportation. Our elected officials keep raising our taxes to pay for these issues, but it never seems to be enough.

Let us take a look at our education system. By some measures, our education system in the state of Washington ranks below national average. Our student-teacher ratio is one of the worst in the nation. When asked to address it, our elected officials keep telling us that other programs are important also. While looking at the Renton School District, it has come to my attention that our tax dollars were used to purchas two pieces of property for which it paid 2.85 million dollars. The public was told this property was purchased to house the students from the soon to be closed Black River High School, and the school districts horticulture program. Then, against the will of the people, the district changed its mind. The students are going somewhere else, and the horticulture program has been dropped. The taxpayers are stuck owning property for which the school district seems to have no plan.

To our elected officials, and those seeking to be elected officials, the time has come to understand that you are our Representatives. Whether you are a member of the school board, or a US Senator, you are there to speak for us and present our best interested. In simple terms, the will of the people must be taken seriously, and the tax dollars we send to you must be spend wisely. Every dollar should have a question mark on it— Every Single Dollar!

These are no longer requests, but rather standards by which your performance will be measured.

These are the election year issues. These are the issues we will be casting our votes on.

I am asking the Seattle Press to publish this letter. There is nothing bad that can come from an informed public, and so far the public has not been fully informed. Take for example this story published in the Renton Reporter http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/ren/news/97180009.html If you notice, the entire story is written from the perspective of the school district. There is no discussion of the thoughts or concerns that the teachers, or students, or parents have. No one is asking about the quality of education that the students will receive in their new setting. Furthermore, there is no mention of the 2.85 million dollars that the school district has apparently wasted of property it had no use for. It is time to have these discussions, and if the Renton Reporter will not look at both sides, then hopefully the news agencies of Seattle will.

I further hope, that by publishing this letter, people around the state will begin to look more closely at where our tax dollars are going, and what decisions are being made by our elected officials when we are not paying attention. It is time to send a clear message, that we are paying attention.

I thank you for your time,

Donald K Jensen

The district made $4.3 million in cuts to its budget this year. Heuschel participated in a voluntary pay reduction program, which saved $40,000 to keep another employee.

Here is the contract breakdown:
Salary: $178,634
Bonus: $10,000
Car expenses: $800 monthly ($9,600)
Annuity: $20,000
Sick leave: 12 days
Paid vacation: 26 days (with the option to cash out 3 days a year)

Supt.+Contract+2010-2013

I thought I’d use this blog to share a chart I received from the district about who is going where next year next year.

(Sorry the doc is zoomed out. Go to the bottom of the box to zoom in. Scribd is being fickle.)

Black River 2

I just finished up a feature on a fantastic Tiffany Park kindergarten teacher who retired after 42 years last week.

Sue Brumfield is loved for many reasons, but one was her inclusive social outtings and sense of fun. To brighten the spirits of the staff or an occasional teacher she’d organize red shoe days, where the whole staff would be invited to wear red shoes.

When I attended the last-day pep assembly, where Brumfield was honored, half the teachers were wearing red shoes. Among them were a few men, who found red sneakers. Above is a photo of Brumfield’s shoes that day. I hope it brightens your day.

Sue Brumfield on stage receiving applause from Tiffany Park Elementary. She retired this week after 42 years with the district

Megan Stith, left, helps student Karen Huang, right, pin her sash to her gown before commencement. About 214 students graduated from Renton High School Tuesday.

New this year, we created slide shows for four of the Renton School District senior graduations. Look at the center fold of today’s newspaper (June 18). I took photos for the Renton High School graduation, but our photographer Charles Cortes took the remaining photos.

Renton High School

Lindbergh High School

Hazen High School

Black River High School

The three comprehensive high schools graduated Tuesday, June 15 at Kent’s ShoWare Center.
“This is what it’s all about,” said Superintendent Mary Alice Heuschel. “Some of these kids have overcome some amazing challenges to get here.”
One school after the other occupied the space. In a way it forced a comparison of the schools and their individual characteristics, struggles and values.
“One of the nice things is it brings the district together as a whole,” Heuschel said.

The Sartori Education Center has six outstanding seniors. From the top left and around, Shawn Landsdown, Gladys Reyes, Elizabeth Valtierra, Briana Robinson, Ashley Glaze and Brianna Allen-Taha

Black River High School has six outstanding seniors. From the left, Samantha Chase, Moriah Collier, Roxana Maldonado, Ray Barilleaux, Edgar Barrera, and James Ross

A week ago I posted pictures of the Outstanding Sartori Education Center and Black River seniors, but it was for the wrong year. We think maybe an old link was sent out. Above are the true 2010 outstanding seniors. Congratulations seniors, and apologies for this delay.

A screenshot of Renton High School seniors in a lip dub video

I’ve been waiting for a video like this to pop up in Renton for a while now, and my dream has come true thanks to the Renton High School class of 2010.

You can definitely see video/design/yearbook teacher extraordinaire, Susan Johnson, accidentally fall into the view of the camera. So feel free to give her credit for encouraging creativity like this.

The video starts with two students in the parking lot and follows them into the student commons of the high school.

I would have loved to embed it, but the music is copyrighted. Enjoy YouTube!

Renton High School junior Irene Muller and senior Rony Celis have each won a $2,000 scholarship an intensive film making school for promising teen filmmakers.

The Prodigy Camp on Whidbey Island hosts only 20 students and is taught by top-flight, Oscar- and Emmy-winning filmmakers including actor Tom Skerritt (Steel Magnolias, Top Gun) and screenwriter Stewart Stern (Rebel Without a Cause).

The one-week course teaches the skills of screenwriting, directing and cinematography.

The camp is run by TheFilmSchool and is one of the newest partners of the Renton Film Frenzy and the Seattle International Film Festival.

State Superintendent Randy Dorn plans to release a summary of the scores June 16 at 10 a.m. in Olympia. The media event should be played live on TVW, which has scheduled some type of online video streaming.

Although students will receive his or her results in the mail, school results will be posted on the OSPI Web site.

Passing the reading and writing HSPE is one of four state requirements for graduation. The others are attaining at least 19 credits (most districts require more), completing a high school and beyond plan and completing a culminating project.

While the first HSPE test is administered in the 10th grade, many retake it several times often into their senior years. Some students are waiting on these results to see if they graduated high school.

If a senior fails the test, they have another chance to take it this summer. Registration for that test closes June 18.

Members of The Highlander News pose for a photo at a national competition in Portland. Photo Submitted

Last week we were finally able to run a piece I did on Renton High School’s journalism program starting up again and winning all kinds of national awards. Editor Dean Radford and I were both editors of our high school newspaper, and we can confidently say the kids publishing the ARROW are rocking it.

I heard KPLU radio started a story on them a while back but it didn’t run until this week. I might note that we scooped the story, but it’s still worth listening too. Taking a different approach, KPLU focuses more on the future of newspapers.

The story I didn’t get to write was that Hazen High School’s newspaper The Highlander News also did well at the JEA/NSPA national journalism convention.

Teacher Ben Graeber sent me a press release. Here’s how they stacked up:

Excellent rating:
Natasha Thilmony, junior, Newswriting

Honorable Mention:
Ashley Dobson, junior, Literary Magazine: Layout
Rachel Fowler, junior, Advertising
Christine Raymer, senior, Feature Writing
Hayley Woodbridge, sophomore, Commentary Writing

Hazen High School students pose with their national journalism awards outside the high school. From the left, Christine Raymer, Ashley Dobson, Natasha Thilmony, Rachel Fowler, Hayley Woodbridge. Photo submitted.

For Renton, Hazen and Lindbergh high schools, the event is June 15 at the ShoWare Center, 625 W. James St., Kent.

Renton High School’s graduation is at noon with student speakers Tamthy Le and Lindsay Dacuan. About 214 students are expected to graduate. Damien Pattenaude is the principal with Renton School Board Director Todd Franceschina accepting the class.

Lindbergh High School’s graduation starts at 4 p.m. with student speakers Paula Luu and Teresa Nguyen. About 260 students are expected to graduat. The principal is Tres Genger with board Director David Merill accepting the class.

Hazen High School’s graduation starts at 7:30 p.m. with student speakers Brian Palma and Grace Bradford. About 265 students are expected to graduate. John Knisely is the principal with board Director Al Talley accepting the class.

Black River High School’s graduation will take place at the school, 7800 S. 132nd St., Seattle. The ceremony starts at 2 p.m. June 16. About 30 students are expected to graduate.

The Sartori Education Center graduation ceremony is at Renton Technical College at 3000 N.E. Fourth St., Renton. About 22 students are expected to graduate. It begins at 4 p.m., June 17. Student speakers include Antonio Cebey, Zakk Marx and Shane Omtvedt, and board president Lynn Desmarais will be accepting the class.

The six-week session begins June 23 and goes Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m.-11 p.m. All students ages 15-19 may enroll for the $400 class. The money is due when you register.

All of the classes are held at the Sartori Education Center, 315 Garden Ave. N., Renton.

There are also Saturday classes offered during the school year.

The registration forms are online. Questions? Call the Career and Life Skills Office at (425) 204-2312.

Twelve Hazen High School students were recognized as Outstanding Seniors. From the left, Julie Vaisarova, Colin Jones, Brian Goddard, Laura Kooiman, Monica Razniewski, Ky To, Ravit Ly, Taylor Hoover, James Holland and Nick Teal, not pictured are Ai-my Dinh and Josh Burch.

Congratulations to the 12 Hazen seniors who were recognized last week.

The kids came up with this idea for a photo, thanks to the encouragement of spokesperson Randy Matheson.

The standard one will run with the double-wide graduation photo pages we’re doing.

Press release:

Twelve Hazen High School students were recognized as Outstanding Seniors by the Renton School Board.
Renton High principal John Kniseley introduced the 12 students at a board meeting last week as a talented group of young people who have succeeded in the classroom and served their community.

Students were selected based on their academic achievement, leadership, co-curricular involvement, citizenship and character, community service, and contributions to their classmates and school.

Students spoke briefly about what made them successful in school and motivated them in their personal life, often thanking parents and teachers.

Each year the board take the time to recognize seniors from each of the district’s three high schools.

Hazen High’s students this year are Josh Burch, Taylor Hoover, Monica Razniewski, Ai-my Dinh, Colin Jones, Nick Teal, Brian Goddard, Laura Kooiman, Ky To, James Holland, Ravit Ly and Julie Vaisarova.

Black River High School has two EBD classes, totaling about 20 students. Those classes will be closed along with the school come summer.

The district now plans to open classes at Lindbergh High School and Nelsen Middle School, said Rebecca Lockhart, director of special education services, at a Renton School Board study session Wednesday.

The idea with Lindbergh and Nelsen is to keep the classes as close to the comprehensive schools as possible to make moving out of the program easier, she said.

The EBD programs are expensive, costing about $32,000 per student annually, she said.

A regular student costs about $5,000 annually.

It wasn’t made known whether the 20 students at Black River would be transferred into the Lindbergh program, but it was said that the classes will start small. A full EBD class has 10-12 students, that ratio is smaller at Renton Academy.

Currently Renton Academy has the largest concentration of EBD students. It opened in the 2006-07 school year with 28 students and four sessions, now it has about 53 and six sessions.

The Academy was opened to save the cost of transporting students outside of the district for EBD classes.

It was also announced at the meeting that next year the whole district will all adopt the ReEd program for EBD students, after a successful run at the Renton Academy. About 60 teachers will receive training, Lockhart said.

(EBD is an academic term that works as an umbrella for several different disorders. Students with it may have anything from development disorders like autism to something like ADHD.)

He was also highlighted on the KING 5 TV program New Day Northwest, which attended a Hazen to film an assembly.

Huie’s video stresses the importance of teens avoiding distractions while driving and paying attention to the road.

The contest was hosted by SWERVE Driver Training, the Washington State Patrol and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

Huie’s work was done under the encouragement of teacher Lori Tegen.

The video is auto-play, so click to see the whole blog to watch the video.

If you’re concerned about cuts to special education or how kids with emotional/behavioral issues will be helped now that Black River High School is closing, this would be a good information session.

At the same study session, MacGregor also plans to present on the Teaching and Learning vision and Summit, which could take up most of the time. He will then go on to introduce his vision at the regular board meeting at 7 p.m. The study session is at 5:30 p.m., May 26 at the Kohlwes Education Center.

It’s only an hour long study session, and MacGregor posted several documents he plans to present. Don’t expect much time for discussion, but there seems to be a good history lesson in them.

There will not be an opportunity to comment at this meeting. It’s for the benefit of the Renton School Board, and happens to be open to the public. However, the following board meeting at 7 p.m. will provide an opportunity to speak to pretty much the same people.

If you’re short on time, keep in mind that Hazen High School Outstanding Students will be receiving their awards at the board meeting, which could take some time.

From what I’ve heard about Black River, it helped a lot of struggling students, though most of them aren’t in EBD classes.

(Carol Grimes, the horticulture teacher, even accused the district of sending a middle school student there, because they didn’t know what to do with her. The alternative middle school was closed a few years ago in a round of budget cuts.)

However, the district has said that Black River was never meant to be a last resort school, and seemed to be opposed to the idea of having one.

I think this meeting has the potential of explaining really how the district plans to help EBD students in the coming years.

On a side note, Superintendent Mary Alice Heuschel is strongly interested in having better data to understand not only the students but her teachers. There is a good chance that some of those research methods could be discussed as a part of MacGregor’s main presentation.

EBD Program Review

The Renton School District is having a community ceremony at Black River High School June 5.

The school is being closed this summer to make way for the new Secondary Learning Center (SLC).

From the press release, the goal is to give community members and former students one last visit before they tear down the facility. The event will include architectural renderings of the new SLC alongside artwork from Black River kids.

For those interested, it would be a great opportunity to mingle with administrators and learn more about the SLC. The event from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at 7800 South 132nd Street, Seattle.

The current site of Black River was once the location of Earlington Elementary School, an open-concept school, with one main building surrounded by smaller buildings. Earlington was constructed in 1972, and operated as an elementary school until 1980 when it was reopened as Renton Alternative High School. The school was renamed Black River High School in 1995.

Columnist Susan Bressler wrote about it in Friday’s paper, but I thought I’d give the eight winners a little props online. Most of them are elementary teachers, with the exception of the lone man, whose from Dimmitt Middle School.

The below photo was taken at the reception dessert.

The winners of this year's Chamber of Commerce teacher awards are, from the left, Diane Wilson, Bryn Mawr Elementary School; Ellen Terry, Benson Hill Elementary School; Betsy Kavanaugh, Cascade Elementary School; Jane Hasson, Benson Hill Elementary School; Valeria Muirhead, Benson Hill Elementary School; Adrienne Deblasio, Benson Hill Elementary School; David Rolandson, Dimmitt Middle School; Kim Magnuson, Hazelwood Elementary School.

This girl, who I have yet to get the name of, was one of several making faces when one camp counselor made them hold their slimy squid before ripping its brains out in, what was for most, their first ever dissection.

Squid dissection class at Camp Seymour.

A month ago I wrote about the horticulture program getting a timely axe with Black River High School. I want to juxtapose that story with a new one I wrote about an exciting new environmental science class at Hazen High School. (Though the horticulture program wasn’t at Hazen, it has several Hazen students.)

One program is closing, while another one is opening. It’s all under the same vision, increasing rigor. When you read them together, it shows more clearly what the district is changing in the science program.

An unanswered question I had after the horticulture program closed is what the district plans to replace it with. By several standards it was a successful class.

Teresa Coda, the Hazen science chair, mentioned that teachers looked at several courses including astronomy. (Hazen chose environmental science because the new solar panels fit well into the class.) The class, which both sparks the interest of students and maybe even federal grants, is a probably good picture of what’s going to be coming.

Renton's Outstanding Seniors 2010

Twelve Renton High School students were recognized as Outstanding Seniors by the Renton School Board.

Renton High principal Damien Pattenaude introduced the 12 students at a board meeting last week as a talented group of young people who have succeeded in the classroom and served their community.

Students were selected based on their academic achievement, leadership, co-curricular involvement, citizenship and character, community service, and contributions to their classmates and school.

Students spoke briefly about what made them successful in school and motivated them in their personal life, often thanking parents and teachers.

Each year the board take the time to recognize seniors from each of the district’s three high schools.

The Renton High School students for 2010 are Tia Barnes, Albert Du, Meuy (Wanda) Saechin, Ada Chan Jennefer Hernandez, Shawn Tramble, Lindsay Dacuan, Tamthy Le, Alex Williams, Dennis Dang, Sarah Nelson and Alex Castro-Wilson.

Renton High School's Outstanding Seniors for 2010. Back from left, Sarah Nelson, Tia Barnes, Shawn Tramble, Dennis Dang, Alex Castro-Wilson, Albert Du, Alex Williams. Front from left, Meuy (Wanda) Saechin, Tamthy Le, Jennefer Hernandez, Lindsay Dacuan, Ada Chan.

Honey Dew Elementary School was remodeled this school year.

Three Renton elementary schools plan to use Honey Dew, at 800 Union Ave. N.E., for kindergarten classroom space next year.

Highlands, Kennydale and Maplewood Heights have all jumped on board. Administrative and custodial support will be provided by those schools.

Honey Dew was used for more than a decade as a temporary relocation site for the elementary schools while they were being rebuilt. Thanks to voter-approved bonds, the Renton School District completely rebuilt all of its 13 schools.

The Renton School Board is expected to put away more money to open Honey Dew as a K-5 school for the 2011-2012 school year. The total cost is about $1.6 million with $600,000 already saved.

Parents and students affected by the use were given the offer of a tour of the recently remodeled school.

The event included fourth- and fifth-graders, who read more than 15 books each and created a culminating project based on those readings.

Students from three schools participated this year, Benson Hill, Cascade and Kennydale elementary schools.

Elisei Enache was awarded first prize for his sculpture “Johnny Apple Fish,” and Nathan Inks
was awarded 2nd prize for his sculpture “Emerald City.”

The event is open to all Washington high schools.  Their work will be on display in the museum until May 23.

Hazen High School's Divina Voce Choir

Hazen’s Divina Voce Choir, an all-girls ensemble, performed for top educators from around the state who were receiving Washington State Achievement Awards Wednesday.

I’ll have more on the awards later, though Hazen won two and Lindbergh one, but these lovely ladies closed the ceremony with a hymn.

The room, which bustled with noise throughout the ceremony went stone silent when these girls began to sing.

Divina Voce, from my poor understanding of Latin, means divine voice. I don’t know much of its history, but it seems to be a common name for top women’s choirs.

The name certainly fits these girl’s talent.

The choir has a reputation for success, and were invited to Western Washington University’s Invitational Choir Festival earlier this school year.

I thought I’d snap a few pictures of these lovely women. If anyone has their names, I’d love to add a caption.

Hazen High School's Divina Voce Choir.

A day in jail, fines and public scrutiny teach a quick lesson, he says.

I was thinking about his visit to Hazen High School Wednesday, when I thought of this one I received a few weeks back. I meant to post it, because I don’t think any other media outlet has.

You can listen to it on another site or read it below.

Letter to Students

State Superintendent Randy Dorn will join State Board of Education Member Connie Fletcher at Hazen High School, 9 a.m., May 5.

Regional celebrations will be held simultaneously around the state for schools unable to attend the ceremony in Renton.

There are 295 school districts in Washington with about 1 million students.

Back row (left to right): Nathan Cruz, Trevor Thompson, James Cornell, Steven Thorkildson, Frank Cange, Nicholas Anderson Front row (left to right): Pearl Nguyen, Danielle Doolittle, Amber Hiranaka, Kaitlyn Osborn, Elizabeth Leonard, Paula Luu

Twelve Lindbergh High School students were recognized as Outstanding Seniors by Renton Board of Directors April 28.

Principal Tres Genger introduced the 12 students as a talented group of young people who have received numerous individual honors, succeed in the classroom, served their community and represented Lindbergh High School with poise and honor.

Students were selected based on their academic achievement, leadership, co-curricular involvement, community service and contributions to their classmates and school.

Students spoke briefly during the presentation about what made them successful in school and motivated them in their personal life. They recognized their parents in attendance, and honored many teachers “most inspirational.”

Hazen and Renton high school awards will come in the following weeks. They’re announced at the Renton school board meetings.

I decided to share it, because I know some readers want everything I have on the issue.

There wasn’t any information in the release that was new to me. But the release does a better job explaining why the school is closing and the district’s perspective on the issue.

It also has pretty pictures of the new Secondary Learning Center. I’ll write about the center as soon as I can get the right people to talk to me about it.

Black River Sec Learnin Center-4!15!10

The April 28 meeting is from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Kohlwes Education Center, 300 S.W. 7th St., Renton. The meeting is open to the public.

I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls and e-mails from people who are concerned that their programs are going to be cut. If you’re one of those people, I recommend going to this meeting.

I expect it will give a picture of the what is going to be presented at the community meetings at 7 p.m., May 10 at Lindbergh High School, May 13 at Hazen and May 17 at Renton.

The regular board meeting will follow the session with the announcement of Outstanding Lindbergh Senior awards.

Renton High's Lindsay Dacuan won a full-ride through the Gates Foundation.

A Renton High School senior was named a 2010 Gates Millennium Scholar.

Lindsay Dacuan will be one of only 1,000 worldwide to in the prestigious award, which includes a full-ride scholarship to college.

The scholarship comes through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dacuan plans to study bioengineering at the University of California, San diego.

“This award makes me think that I can really change something in the world for the better,” she said in a press release.

When asked how her school helped her prepare for the award she began to list teachers and staff and how they all supported her.

“Renton High teachers and staff are amazing educators. They helped me get where I am today,” she said. “I couldn’t be successful without them.”

The senior class president, she holds a 3.78 grade point average. She’s the Key Club vice president and a Renton High Outstanding Senior. Concert mistress of her high school orchestra, she qualified for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Solo and Ensemble Competition. She was also the swim team captain and played tennis.

In her free time, Dacuan serves as friendship ambassador to Japan through a Japanese-American exchange program. She spent the past two summers helping build houses in Mexico.

Dacuan was one of about 21,000 applicants who were evaluated on academic achievement, community service and leadership potential.

The program was established in 1999 with a $1 billion grant from the Gates Foundation.

An doll one elementary student made in preparation for Apollo Elementary's first multicultural night.

Apollo Elementary is hosting its first multicultural night with performances, food and Chinese lion dancers April 23.
The PTA event is open to the public from 6-8:30 p.m.
About 25 families are sponsoring displays, and some will be wearing ethnic clothing.
The school has about 30 different languages spoken at home. Students made little ethnic paper dolls in preparation for the event.
The school is a member of the Issaquah School District, but it’s located within the City of Renton at 15025 S.E. 117th St.

While the district had hoped to open the school this year to account for a growing student population, teacher layoffs this year are expected to increase the number of available classrooms.

The legislature came back with more money than the district expected, only cutting $2.5 million instead of a proposed $4.3 million. The district is still anticipating increased costs, meaning the budget gap will be about $4.3 million instead of a projected $6.1 million.

The district plans to put away about another half a million dollars to prepare for the grand re-opening of Honey Dew in the 2011-2012 school year. It’s something its been doing for a few years now.

The district won’t be redrawing elementary school lines until Honey Dew opens for all grades.

Honey Dew was last used as a neighborhood school about 20 years ago. The district used it as a temporary meeting space for most of its 13 elementary schools, while they were being rebuilt or remodeled.

Its remodel was complete in 2010. It can serve about 440 students in a K-5 setting. The boundary review committee made its recommendation for redrawing the lines of elementary schools.

The maps are attached to the Scribd document alone.

Honey Dew Boundary Pres-3!30!10

The legal ramifications of having a formal closure are burdensome at best. RCW 28A.335.020 would require a 90 day period of hearings followed by a Board of Directors vote.

To better understand the issue, I’ve put in a request through a third party to the attorney general’s office. I’d like to know what constitutes a legal closure.

Functionally, the families, teachers and staff are experiencing what feels like a school closure. The school will have a new name (now called the Secondary Learning Center), combine itself with Sartori, and start entirely new programs.

Black River won’t be hosted in other facilities during construction, which happened with the district’s 13 elementary schools. What teachers aren’t reassigned will be laid off. Rumor is the principal will be laid off.

From the district’s perspective, they’re simply suspending the program and restarting it with a new facility. It didn’t plan to close the school during the building process, but safety and construction issues made the first plan impossible.

It seems a matter of semantics.

RCW 28A.335.020
School closures — Policy of citizen involvement required — Summary of effects — Hearings — Notice.

Before any school closure, a school district board of directors shall adopt a policy regarding school closures which provides for citizen involvement before the school district board of directors considers the closure of any school for instructional purposes. The policy adopted shall include provisions for the development of a written summary containing an analysis as to the effects of the proposed school closure. The policy shall also include a requirement that during the ninety days before a school district’s final decision upon any school closure, the school board of directors shall conduct hearings to receive testimony from the public on any issues related to the closure of any school for instructional purposes. The policy shall require separate hearings for each school which is proposed to be closed.
The policy adopted shall provide for reasonable notice to the residents affected by the proposed school closure. At a minimum, the notice of any hearing pertaining to a proposed school closure shall contain the date, time, place, and purpose of the hearing. Notice of each hearing shall be published once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the school, subject to closure, is located. The last notice of hearing shall be published not later than seven days immediately before the final hearing.

Legislators finally agreed on a budget for next year, handing final numbers to school districts about a month late.

Up until now the district has been preparing for the worst, the governor’s initial budget which would have meant a $4.3 million.

To make time to review the better-than-expected numbers, the district is pushing back its three public budget meetings from next week to mid-May.

This will mean the district will have a clearer idea of what they plan to cut at the meetings. But parents will then have less time to respond, before the board approves the budget in August.

The cuts include the loss of all remaining I-728 funds with $1.3 million, and loss of about $940,000 for the K-4 student ratio money, meaning about 7 teacher positions.

The district will also lose money for a teacher training day, but it won’t have to increase contributions to state-mandated retirement funds, about $500,000 in savings.

The final budget gap is still unknown, as the district hasn’t made a complete decision on Honeydew Elementary School yet.

The meetings have been moved from April 20-22 to 7 p.m. May 10 at Lindbergh High School, May 13 at Hazen and May 17 at Renton.

The press release has more details about the cuts. Watch for my story on RentonReporter.com. I should have some comments from school administrators.

Press Release 2010 2011 Budget Communication 4-14-2010

Black River is an alternative public school that hosts students who struggle in normal classroom settings.

Mother Wendy Bluhm reported that extra security, including the King County Sheriff’s Office, were called to the school, while teachers broke the news.

However, Renton School District spokesperson Randy Matheson later stated in an e-mail that extra security was not used.

“The students were really upset. They don’t know what to do,” she said. “I’m sure dropping out is going through their minds.”

The district has plans to tear down the Black River facility and to build a new Secondary Learning Center in its place, according to a press release.

A new alternative program will be designed during the facility’s construction. It’s scheduled to open in the 2012-2013 school year.

The decision to close the school came with little discussion, said Bluhm. Teachers didn’t hear about it until an early April staff meeting.

“This didn’t occur until the last minute,” Bluhm said. “It was never in the budget.”
Parents are planning to attend Wednesday’s board meeting at the Kohlwes Education Center, 7 p.m., April 14.

Below is a press release.
Dist to Build New BR Site-3!30!10 (2)

About 300 science students filled the auditorium to hear about the new project. Many will have the opportunity to start analyzing the panel’s data in the coming school year.

Generating enough energy to power the school’s outdoor LED lighting, the panels are meant for education, not actual energy production.

The Hazen project is the district’s second, which is unusual. A similar project at Dimmitt Middle School was installed in the Fall from a Seattle City Light grant. That project hasn’t been finished, because of discussion over how the panels should be grounded.

The $25,000 in grant money was given to the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, which organized the whole project, from installation to training educators.

She’s expected to receive a bonus to match the high rating at the end of the school year. I’ve put in a request to find out how much.

In a letter read by board president Lynn Desmarais, the board outlined several reasons for the high rating.

Among the praises is the work that came out of the Summit Initiative. Heuschel has a strong focus on gathering better information to help teachers improve their instruction time.

She’s given praise for connecting with other government and private organizations, which have lead to helping teachers get further certification and training.

The board then lists various praises for her communication skills, leadership and overall intelligence. I posted the letter in a Scribd tool below.

I’d like to get input on what readers think about this relatively new superintendent.

If you don’t want to sign up to comment (a painless process) shoot me an e-mail at cgracey@rentonreporter.com.

2010 Board Superintendent Eval Summary Ltr 2009-10

10-11 Calendar REA R 3-18-10