Two Lakeridge Elementary School students won first place in the annual  Skyway Veterans of Foreign Wars essay contest.

Fourth-grader Emmanuel Hebron, left, and fifth-grader Zeinab Ali won VFW medal, $50 and were honored at a VFW dinner for their essays on “What Makes our Country Great.”

Left: seventh-grader David Grieve. Right: Wife Shami and David Grieve now live in Marion Indiana.

A Midwest pastor sent the Renton School District a letter of confession and a $100 check of contrition for stealing food from a student store when he was a seventh-grader at Nelsen Middle School.

In 1988, David Grieve was navigating life as a bespectacled preteen and trying to fit in with the cool kids.
That year Grieve got his big chance: he was assigned to the student store, selling food and school supplies to students during the school day.
The big-selling items at the store were beef jerky and pepperoni sticks. His adviser instructed him and others that if any food items fell on the floor, they were to be tossed out.
The boys soon began to crave the pepperoni sticks and eventually succumbed to the allure of meaty goods. They began eating the food, claiming that the jerky and pepperoni would mysteriously and without help unwrap and fall to the ground. The boys also started to pocket some of the money from sales.
Now, fast-forward more than 20 years. Grieve has moved to the Midwest and become a pastor at New Life
Community Church in Marion, Indiana.
Recently, while talking to fellow church members about having a clear conscience with God, Grieve remembered his time in the student store at Nelsen Middle School and all of the food he and the cool kids consumed, along with the change they pocketed.
Guided by faith, he wrote a letter of contrition to the staff at Nelsen, confessing his transgressions. To make amends, he also included a check for $100 to replace the lost income.
Grieve told the district he now feels better after confessing his antics. Even more though, he says, it was the right thing to do. He learned to practice what he preaches.

Below is a district press release.

Second LHS Pool Meeting Planed-3!4!2010

031210 CrazyComputerFlowChart

Permission to Bid DMS Site Improvements

About 35 Renton teachers could lose their jobs next year, about 2-3 from each elementary school.

Although children may be able to fill another elementary school, staff cannot, said spokesperson Randy Matheson.

It could mean the $1 million the district is expected to pay to reopen the school may be saved to keep more teachers on staff.

Last year the district looked at opening the elementary school, but held off to spare further budget cuts.

In February the Enrollment Review Committee recommended that the school district open Honeydew, but the final decision is up to the Board of Directors.

Below is the power point. The boundary review committee would decide the final lines on how the neighborhoods would be divided.

However, take a look out how each school is over capacity on page 11. On paper it looks pretty tight.

PP ERC 2-10-10 R

At best, the Renton School District would face a $3.5 million budget gap next year, at worst a $6.1 million gap — that’s 2-3 teacher layoffs per elementary school.

Last year, I was at a public meeting with state Sen. Karen Keiser (D-47) last spring who pointed out boldly that the state spends such a large percentage of its budget on education, there is no where else to cut. (Although many might disagree, pointing to social services.)

Yet no one disagrees that Washington state has grossly underfunded its education, and few can afford more taxes.

At public meetings last week, concerned parents and community members told the district what programs not to cut. However, ideas for how to save money or areas that could be cut were far and few between.

While Lindbergh and Kentridge swimmers are fighting alongside the community for their pool, parents knew that the only way to keep it open was to find a new source of revenue.

I think what many don’t understand is how doubtful it is that the “source” will be a government organization.

For years the state has been hacking away at the education budget. It’s just now that we’re starting to wood chips begin to fly.

Washington state superintendent Randy Dorn explained it well in a press release last week:

“If I ask myself if today’s students have the same quality of education as their counterparts of three years ago, I would definitely say no. We are moving backward with education funding and putting more of a burden on local school districts. That’s just not right.”

About 200 people attended the Lindbergh budget discussion Thursday, many to save the pool.

About 200 people attended the Lindbergh budget discussion last night, and about half were there pretty much to save their pool.
Read about it on RentonReporter.com.
There seemed to be a lot of great discussion going on, a little anger and a lot of passionate parents.
The Renton School District is facing a $6.1 million budget gap this year, based on the governor’s budget. It could mean about 35 teachers could be laid off.
The other half of the group spent time at the other 8 round tables asking questions about specific programs.
Several administrators were at the the meeting, including all of the board members.
“This for us a terrific opportunity for us to be visible,” said board president Lynn Desmarais. “We’re an extremely active board as far as boards go.”

Georgia Lawrence

Kennydale Elementary School fifth-grader Georgia Lawrence has been selected to sing in this year’s All State Honor Chorus at the Washington Music Educator’s Conference taking place this weekend.

Only 150 fifth- and sixth-graders are chosen from the about 500 applications for the honor.

My hope is that Rich Moore will be there to give an update on the budget situation. The House and Senate proposed their budgets this week.

This meeting is one of three budget discussions being held at district high schools. I picked this one, because of how upset parents are about talk of the Lindbergh pool closing next year.

There will also be a meeting at Renton High School March 1 at 7 p.m. Below is the Lindbergh map.

View Larger Map

A Hazen High School student was named a finalist in the 2010 National Merit Scholarsip program.
Senior Julie Vaisarova is one of about 15,000 academically talented high school students nationwide, hoping for one of the about 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards .
Vaisarova maintained an outstanding academic record throughout high school. She performed well on her SATs and was endorsed by the school principal.
She’s involved in leadership roles at Hazen High and her community.
She’ll learn in the spring if she is among those who win scholarships.

Lindbergh junior Anna Tatelman was chosen to participate in a Stanford University scholars program in the intensive study of Japan,

She’ll spend five months learning Japanese history, literature, religion from ambassadors and experts throughout the United States.

The Reischauer Scholars Program only selects about 25 students nationwide, and offers participants five credits.

Five district high school juniors have been accepted to participate in this year’s Washington Aerospace Scholars program.

Hazen students Dat Nguyen and Seann Smallwood and Lindbergh students Patricia Garcia, Christian Phillips and Stephanie Wagner will join the program, which uses a NASA-designed curriculum.

Students will complete ten lessons, submitting quizzes, math solutions, essays and graphics each week. Scholars will also independently select a topic of interest for a final project.

Procedure 3520p Track Changes 2-24-10

The meeting schedule:
7 p.m., Feb. 23, Hazen High School, 1101 Hoquiam Ave. N.E., Renton
7 p.m., Feb. 25, Lindbergh High School, 16426 128th Ave. S.E., Renton
7 p.m., March 1, Renton High School Commons, 400 S. 2nd St., Renton

Below is the budget cut presentation Moore offered about a month ago. My story on the budget cuts is also good background.

10-11 budget development 1-11-2010 (2)

Photo submitted

Benson Hill Elementary School was used to film a TV ad that will run during the Winter Olympics.

It’s a part of the Renton Community Marketing Campaign’s ongoing effort to promote Renton as a destination to live and work, according a press release.

Benson Hill third-graders in Alesha McDonald’s class  joined actor John Keister from Almost Live. It’s a 15-second spot, which will air Feb. 12-28 during KING 5 TV’s coverage of the Olympic Games.

Other Marketing Campaign members, including Valley Medical Center, Renton Technical College and others, will also have a spot that runs during the Olympics.

I had the opportunity to visit and watch the play, and there is a full story in the Lifestyles section.

The troupe kept on message about how to handle being bullied and how not to lash back. As it turns out, it was a small part of the many things they do to prevent bullying at St. Anthony’s.

I was also impressed by how well the actors did. They’re all pretty young and work exclusively in the traveling group.

I asked them if they had been bullied as kids, and they all said they were either bullied or the object of a terrible gossip scene.

Here are some pictures that didn’t make the Web site, but I think are worth sharing.

Kiana Manzano, age 6, watches the play Super School by the Taproot Theatre Roady Company at St. Anthony's School. The actors taught students about bullying and how to prevent it.

Lakewood firefighter Nadrece Robinson dons his protective gear as part of a presentation to Nelsen Middle School students during Impact Day. Photo by Randy Matheson, Renton School District

About 40 professionals took over Nelsen Middle School for its annual Impact Day.
The about 1,050 sixth, seventh and eighth-graders listened to presentations and asked questions about what it’d be like to have different careers, Jan. 28.
The school hosted an FBI agent, a Boeing engineer, a parkour athlete and a Coast Guard boat builder.
Students were encouraged to take notes and to think about what kind of job they’d like to pursue and how different classes could help them achieve those goals.
Presenters explained what students should study to be employable in specific jobs, and that good education can be found at four-year and technical colleges.

Kennydale Elementary School

I blogged about Kennydale Elementary’s Martin Luther King Jr. mural the other day, and went to go see it last night.

I must say, I’m really impressed with what these elementary kids did.

This mural is made of several small pieces of paper carefully cut out and glued. I’m going to talk to the art docent who helped Ms. Luder’s kids put it together for a short story in the paper.

Around the mural are short “I have a dream” speaches by the kids. A few talked about not smoking cigarrettes, polution and illness.

I later discovered a group of Renton Tech ESL students traveled down to join the rally. It gave them hands-on experience with a democratic (non-tyrannical) government.

Ironically, but not intentionally, the rally happened just a few days (or maybe weeks, you never know)  before the Senate is expected to release its initial budget.

I showed up a bit early, and decided to tour the state capitol on my own.

It was crowded, but beautiful. After spending time in D.C. and Rome in the past few years, it was like a cute little miniature of the more powerful capitols.

I’ll have a story online later filling out the details of the rally, but here are some of the pictures:

Kennydale Elementary students in Michelle Luders’ classroom completed the project with help from a Kennydale parent and art docent Kevin McPherson.

McPherson has thought about creating the massive art display for about a year.

Students worked for weeks in groups to measure and cut various colors and shapes to fashion the display into square glass frames that are suspended by wire and attached to a wall in the school’s entry way.

Federal Way’s World Vision is expected to donate 15,000 notebooks to the Renton School District.

World Vision selected Renton  because of their relationship with Tiffany Park Elementary School teacher Lauri DeWhitt.

World Vision is a relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.

Renton High School senior Tia Barnes learns of her immediate acceptance into Washington State University during an interview in the high school principal's office with Wendy Peterson, director of the Office of Admissions at WSU. Peterson interviewed Renton High students on campus for admission into the university.

Renton High School’s new principal Damien Pattenaude did it again.

A WSU alumnus, he lured the Washington State University director of admissions, Wendy Peterson, to campus to interview seniors for admission into the college Jan. 25.

Thirteen students received acceptance letters on the spot, while others were given advice on how to strengthen their applications.

A handful of those accepted also received an Acheivement Scholarship, which ranges from about $2,000-$4,000 each year.

Renton High’s counseling staff prepared packets of information on each student, which included everything applicants normally submit.

The hope is to “to offer these students a personal message that says ‘We want you at WSU,” Peterson said in a press release. “We think the students at Renton High have the capacity to excel at Washington State University.”

This isn’t the first time Pattenaude connected his high school with WSU. In November, Pattenaude brought WSU staff
to Renton High to teach classes as part of the university’s Imagine U @ WSU program.

It’s unusual for both school districts to catch students selling pot on campus.

Putting together the Renton police blotter each week, I can say youth committing serious crime in Renton is far from unusual. However, crime isn’t often this heavily connected with the teens’ schools.

In both cases, law enforcement commended the school administrators for their investigations.

Still, it’s been a bad couple of weeks for Renton area youth.

Edwin Heredia-Barrios academic achievements have earned him a place on the president’s honor roll. He first studied computer science in Peru, his native country.

Heredia-Barrios believes in giving back to the community. He volunteers with other Hispanic students and uses his computer and bilingual skills to effectively teach the computer skills these students need. He hopes to earn a bachelor’s in computer science.

Shaylayne Kemp serves on the college tenure committee and is eager to expand her horizon by trying new things and helping others.

A published author, she writes poetry and published a series of books about a fictional high school. She promoted her books through a Web site she developed using her skills learned at RTC. Kemp plans to earn her Bachelors degree and become a Web programmer and developer.

The All-Washington Academic Scholarship Program is sponsored by Key Bank and Northwest Education Loan Association. It’s supported by the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges, Trustees Association of Community and Technical Colleges, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society of the Two-Year College.

The pilot program began in 2008 with four online courses for Spanish-speaking students with the hopes of increasing poor graduation rates.

I can imagine it’d improve standardized testing scores as well, although the Spanish-speaking students still won’t know how to read the English-written test.

The program is called CONEVyT, a strange acronym for National Council on Education and Lifelong Learning. The four recommended courses are Algebra, Physical Science, United States Government and World History.

Below is the memorandum. The meeting is at Renton High School at 7 p.m.

CONEVyT Online Program

Barbara Madsen

Here is the press release:
Hazen High School alum Barbara Madsen has been elected as the state’s newest Chief Justice to Washington’s Supreme Court. Justice Madsen, who graduated from Hazen in 1970, was first elected in to the Supreme Court in 1992, and re-elected for a third term in 2004. She has served as a public defender in King and Snohomish Counties, and a Seattle City attorney. The chief justice presides over the court’s public hearings, serves as the administrative head of the state’s judicial branch, and is the court’s main spokesperson.

Procedure 6115P R 12-15-09_track Changes

(His birthday is not to be confused with reformer Martin Luther’s birthday, which is Nov. 10. Sadly we don’t get the beer-loving monk’s birthday off.)

There also isn’t class Jan. 29, for teacher training day.

Below is the academic calendar:

Calendar 2009-2010_FINAL_07-23-09

The governor is cutting about $4 million from the school district’s budget this year, according to the report.

However, it appears that the administration will need to cut about $6 million from its budget.

Come find out what could be on the chopping block today at 7 p.m. in the Kohlwes Education Center board room.

Below is the report, which Rich Moore, the assistant superintendent of business, is expected to present.

10-11 budget development 1-11-2010 (2)

Jeremy Undis winning poster for the 2010 Career and Life Skills contest

Today I joined a team of community members and middle schoolers to select the winner of the Career and Life Skills poster contest. The prize: $500 schollarship and a billboard near City Hall.

The winner was Jeremy Undis, a 16-year-old Hazen High School student. Although it bolsters the stereotype that Hazen wins everything, the poster was well done.

There were about 60 entries this year, which I hear is a great turnout. About 20 people voted at the Ikea Performing Arts Center.

The competition was hosted by the Renton School District with the scholarship provided by Renton Kiwanis.

Below are some pictures that didn’t make it into the newspaper story.

Middle school students Roberto Bergersen, right, and Freddie Sly, left vote on their favorite poster.

Mayor Denis Law

The school district's Roxie Root studies posters, but doesn't participate in the voting.

'Deep Blue and Petals' by Gelayn Pastores, Tiffany Park Elementary, the 2008-2009 Reflections competition

Twelve schools participated in the annual art show Reflections this year with hundreds of entries themed around the phrase “Beauty Is…”

The Parent Teacher Student Association will be considering about 200 of the entries for placing, and 50 of them will receive awards.

Entry categories include photography, visual arts, music and literature. They’ll be displayed in a slide show.

All artwork that placed or received honorable mention will be on display at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7. The show is at the Ikea Performing Arts Center and is open to all.

The winner that goes onto state will be announced.

Susan Johnson, left, Renton High School

Renton High School’s audio and visual communications teacher Susan Johnson has been named Teacher of the Year by the Washington Association for Skilled and Technical Services (WASTS).

Johnson was chosen because of her passion and commitment to students.

If you attended the Film Frenzy awards ceremony, Johnson was also publicly acknowledged for her help with the students who submitted films.

For more than a decade, Johnson has provided leadership to students and staff at Renton High, as well as being a major contributor to the recognition of arts throughout the community.

She’s also known for her leadership and support for a number of statewide curriculum and framework committees.

Johnson’s work at Renton High includes support for the publication of a student yearbook, daily news broadcasts and numerous school-based publications.

She is known throughout the community as the district’s visual communications professional. She’s been instrumental in the development of a number of community events and organizations.

WASTS is a group of career and technical education professionals that provide leadership and services to members statewide while advocating state and national public policy that benefits career and technical education.

Congratulations Johnson.

Photo submitted

Renton High School students raised about $300 in donations and collected four large bins of toys for the Renton Area Youth Services (RAYS) Santa Breakfast Dec. 19.
Switching last minute from a food drive to the toy drive, the students collected the toys in about two weeks.
RAYS, which offers free family counseling, holds the annual breakfast each year for abut 350 children.

The Renton School District includes Renton, Lindbergh and Hazen high schools, and all the schools that feed into them.

The schedule is below. Merry Christmas and a happy holiday.

2009-2010 RSD Calendar

During the forums held for president Steve Hanson’s interview process, a few consistent ideas rose to the surface. I spoke with him this morning after he was voted as the permanent president Tuesday to ask about a few of them.

For the next few months he’ll be focusing heavily on developing next year’s budget, but here are a few other ideas for improvement on his list.

Student government

“When you go through a process like this, there are lots of good ideas. I just happen to agree student government is one of them,” he said.

Hanson was impressed by how many students showed up to the forum.

He plans to ask Lake Washington Technical College for advice from how they implemented a program.

“It’s a little different when you implement it at a technical college than at a community college,” he said.

Increasing grant applications

The school has been applying for grants, but there is only so much a college can do without a grant writer.

“To be competitive you really have to have somebody who is part time or full time,” he said, adding, “There is a certain kind of expertise in developing grants.”

Depending on the budget, he said he plans to look into hiring someone part time. However, he first plans to start seeking consultants.

“There is a lot of interest in developing that position and going after some of the bigger grants,” he said. “The board had a lot of interest in grant opportunities and that is something we’re looking at.”

Reaching out to the Renton community

“I think the partnerships in the community are strong. There is no question about that. What the challenge is going to be is looking for partnerships where we can share resources,” he said. “Those are the kind of partnerships that can help you provide programs for training.”

Reaching out to other communities

He plans to reach out more to local cities such as Kent and South Seattle, he said, adding that the college’s service district is pretty large.

“We’ve already been approached by Covington,” he said. “Those are the kinds of opportunities we need to pursue. I think the college has a good history of doing that.”

International students

Renton has some international students, but the board is interested in growing those numbers.

Some special funding can come with have more international students, Hanson said.

“There are advantages to working with international students,” he said. “That’s an area I have quite of bit experience with.”

New trustee Kirby Unti was the only decenter in the 3-1 vote.

“I think Hanson will make an excellent president,” Unti said. “I was just inviting the group to do a longer process.”

He hoped to show the community due diligence by interviewing other candidates, though he knows there was a risk of losing Hanson, he said.

Six other community and technical colleges in the area are now looking for a president, Behnke said.

Steve Hanson

The board plans to go into executive session to interview Hanson and discuss the interview.

When it comes out of session, any board member can motion to vote, though no one has confirmed or denied if they plan to vote, said chair Ronnie Behnke.

It will be Kirby Unti’s first meeting as a trustee. He was appointed Dec. 9 by the governor’s office.

Until Unti’s appointment, it appeared the vote on Hanson could easily happen in the next few weeks, if not Tuesday. However, Unti expressed interest in slowing down the process to allow more community input.

“I know I have a great deal of respect for Steve. My concern is that the process not be an abrupt process or a hurried process,” Unti said.

Unti attended the community forum held for members to meet Hanson. It was poorly attended, because the word wasn’t well spread, he said.

“I want to be respectful of the people who are already appointed but at the same time to have an immediate obligation that thorough diligence is being practiced,” he said.

Only three of the four trustees need to vote in favor of Hanson.

Below is a press release from Spokesperson Kathy Chavers:

December 8, 2009 – The Renton Technical College (RTC) Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, December 15th, beginning at 4:00pm, at RTC, 3000 NE 4th Street, Renton, Washington. The meeting will be held in the Boardroom, I-202. The Special Session agenda is as follows:

1. Call to Order
–A. Notation of Quorum
–B. Flag Salute
2. Trustees
–A. Convene Special Session
–B. Reconvene in Executive Session to evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment
–C. Action regarding presidential search/selection may be taken
3. Meetings
–A. January 12, 2010, Regular Trustee Meeting
4. Adjournment

Where: Lindbergh High School, 16426 128th Ave. S.E., Renton
When: 6-8 p.m., Dec. 17
Cost: $5, $7 for VIP seating

Below is Pham’s press release.

Press Release

Anderson, a senior, was also selected as first team by the Seattle Times, will learn if he’s the winner of the award on Dec. 13. The award includes a $2,000 scholarship.

Lindbergh head football coach Pat O’Grady nominated Anderson for the award based on his stellar athletic ability and
leadership.

Gene Kolczynski’s business education class at Lindbergh High School was busy wrapping the about 100 gifts they collected for a second annual toy drive Dec. 10.
The DECA club took an afternoon to wrap the presents, which will soon be distributed to 25 elementary kids at four schools.
I’ll have the full story on RentonReporter.com in the next few days.