Elma School Board
Further improvements have been made to Davis Field, Superintendent Kevin Acuff said at the Elma School Board’s last meeting, held on Sept. 14.
The steep stairs leading up to the announcer’s tower have been replaced with gently, sloping stairs with wide landings. The work was completed by a community member and staff members. Acuff said it would be possible for Jack Prince to announce the next game from the tower instead of from the bleachers.
Jessica Ewing, band teacher at Elma High School, along with several band members, thanked the board for their portion of the purchase of new uniforms. Ewing said the band had planned on taking the field for performance at the last home football game and would have a band show next season. The school board provided $10,000 toward the total purchase price of about $25,000 for the new uniforms.
Katie Gallagher, ELL (English Language Learner) Coordinator for the district, said the influx of ELL students at the elementary school necessitated the purchase of a curriculum that is tailored to their ages and fluency levels. Gallagher requested approval of $17,000 Title III (LEP) grant which help create an ELL curriculum.
“Every single penny I would spend for the elementary curriculum because we have over 100 ELL students at the elementary level,” Gallagher said. “Last year, based on the new ELL test called ELPA 21, only 9 percent of our EL students exited the program, which is a very, very low percentage. And I think that a huge part of that comes from not having a curriculum that is specific to ELL language acquisition needs.”
Gallagher said she would focus on the elementary school this year and move up the grade levels later when more funds became available. The board approved the grant and also approved for Gallagher to attend an ELL professional development training course in St. Louis.
Acuff said the district would be receiving assistance in curriculum adoption from the Educational Service District (ESD). In the next year, ESD will facilitate the curriculum adoption by assessing student needs, teacher skills and the curriculum — ensuring alignment with Smarter Balanced standards, said Acuff.
Math curriculum will be adopted first, followed by English Language Arts.
“This will help us make the best decision that we can,” Acuff said. The school district’s curriculum adoption committee will meet with the ESD facilitators about once a month, meet with teachers in April and finally come to the board in May for approval. The process is much different than the old method, Acuff said.
“You can’t change student achievement unless you increase the knowledge and skill of the teacher, the rigor of the curriculum and the engagement of the student. If you don’t impact positively each one of those — you’re not going to make a difference in terms of achievement,” Acuff said. He added, “This isn’t ‘hey, send us a bunch of books, and we’re going to decide which one to use.’”
Montesano School Board
The Montesano School Board is looking to fill a vacancy after accepting Caleb Backholm’s resignation at their last meeting, held Sept. 22.
Backholm resigned because he relocated to Olympia. Backholm was not in attendance but later said he enjoyed working with the board and school district staff.
“We knew it was a possibility because he brought it up at the meeting in August,” District superintendent Dan Winter said. The position will be advertised and Winter said the position would not be filled until the board’s October 27 meeting.
Backholm was the director of district 1, covering Clemons/Devonshire Road, from Church and Fleet south of Spruce and the area south of Pioneer. Candidates interested must reside in the district 1 area.
The school district is moving forward with relocating the district offices to a modular building off of Spruce between Chehalis and Academy streets, allowing for the remodel of the current space. The Bulldog weight room and wrestling room are upstairs in the facility and moving the weight room down to the district offices will make it ADA compliant, said Winter. Moving the weight room creates more space for the wrestlers’ area.
The move is expected to take place over the winter. Prep work for the site has not yet begun, but Winter said it would be about 100 days to build the structure, which cost about $350,000. The modular building will accommodate the seven people in the district office staff.
The school board accepted the track project as complete, which will now move on for state agency approval. The track was redone over the summer, replacing a permeable rubber surface with an impermeable rubber surface.
Water collecting under the track caused bubbles, tears and repaired patches created an uneven surface and a safety hazard.
“We shouldn’t have the same issues with this track,” Winter said. The track has an expected life of 10 to 12 years, with a five year warranty. The track project had a cost of about $20,000, funds which came from a limited general obligation loan. The yearly loan payment is built into the school budget.
