Renton Education Blog

Wednesday the Board of Directors plans to hold a study session where Rob MacGregor, who oversees teaching and instruction, plans to review the Renton School District’s approach to the Emotional/Behavioral Disorder (EBD) and special education students.

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