Administrative actions Sept. 24
At its Sept. 24 meeting, the board approved hiring Rebecca Owens as the acting principal at Skyline Elementary School and Kate Frazier as the assistant principal at Sheridan Elementary School. Owens was the assistant principal at Sheridan. Frazier has been a school and family liaison with the School, Family and Community Partnership Office.
Board recognitions
Bill Southern, outreach and public affairs director, and John Borgognoni, vice president of sports and program, both with Special Olympics Washington, honored Stanley Elementary School Principal Cindy Johnson for implementing the Young Athletes program at Stanley and working in partnership with their organization.
Jeff Rounce, owner and publisher of the Business Examiner, explained the Business Examiner’s “40 under Forty” program to recognize outstanding young leaders in the community. Jennifer Kubista, district director of Athletics and Activities, received one of these awards this year. She graduated from Wilson High School. Kubista recognized her family and her administrative secretary Janet Ulberg for their support.
Special presentation
Tifanny Salesky, community relationship manager lead; Barbara Patterson, chief of events and operations; and Dani Collins, event chair, all with the American Cancer Society, presented the board with a long, thank-you photograph of the 2009 Relay for Life at Mt. Tahoma High School. The district has supported the Relay for Life for all but the first year of the relay.
Board update on Pierce County Skills
Anita Jinks, director of Career and Technical Education, updated the board on the Pierce County Skills Center to be built at 160th and Canyon Road in Frederickson. Bethel is the host school district for the skills center, a regional secondary school that provides extended, industry-defined technical education. To date, consortium members include Pierce College, Tacoma Community College, Bates Technical College and Clover Park Technical College, and Bethel, Eatonville, Fife, Franklin Pierce, Orting, Steilacoom, Sumner, Tacoma, University Place and White River school districts.
A skills center student’s day is spent half at the home high school and half at the skills center, and the instruction is delivered in an industry-like environment. Students are usually high school juniors and seniors in public and private schools, as well as those who are home-schooled.
Skills centers benefits include funding for 1.6 FTE per student , summer school funding, enhanced career and technical education funding and a staffing ratio of 16.67 to 1.
The first phase of the project has been funded and will include construction of a 22,691 square foot classroom building for educational programs. The anticipated opening of the skills center is September 2010. The proposed programs at the Frederickson campus include environmental science; health sciences; AP computer science, network management and computer repair; criminal justice, veterinarian assistant and pre-physical therapy assistant.
Proposed Tacoma satellite programs include environmental science, Lincoln Tree Farm; marine trades, Tacoma waterfront; and manufacturing trades, Lincoln High School.
Other actions
The board:
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Approved submission of a Title II grant application to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to increase student achievement through improving teacher and administrator skill sets, increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in the classroom and increasing the number and variety of professional development opportunities for staff.
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Approved submission of a Title IV grant to OSPI for funds for the district’s Student and Family Support Program to hire necessary program staff and provide training for district personnel, students and parents; provide research-based programs to schools and program support to schools for alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence prevention and crisis response.
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Accepted the educational specifications for a new Hunt Middle School.
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Approved Mc Granahan Architects for the design of a new Hunt Middle School, Phase II, and authorized staff to negotiate and enter into agreements for planning, design of documents and related services.
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Accepted the completion of contract for Meyer Brothers Inc. for the reroofing of Boze E.S.
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Authorized the negotiation and award of contract to Zonar Systems for a GPS system for school buses. Such systems in other school districts have shown to help improve security, route management, safety and responsiveness.
Next meeting
The next board meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 8, in the fourth-floor auditorium at the Central Administration Building, 601 S. 8th St.