School Board Meeting Highlights AVID and Discovery School

The May 9 meeting of the Cascade School Board took place at the Discovery School, which is located within the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery facility. Board member Zachary Miller joined via Zoom. First on the agenda was approval of a Beaver Valley School two-night field trip in early June to the San Juans, which will include camping, hiking and opportunities to explore beaches and learn about marine life. Principal Kenny Renner-Singer explained this trip has occurred several times pre-COVID, and they are bringing it back.

Dwight Remick, CSD business manager, gave a first of several budget presentations, this one focusing on staffing and the general fund. A few paraeducators were added this year due to need and available funding. The numbers will be adjusted again next year in relation to enrollment and funding. An elementary school bilingual secretary position was added, and it will stay in the budget. There will be an addition next year of an elementary school counselor at Peshastin Dryden.

And in relation to the shifts in number of students at each level, CHS will have two teachers, Teara Dillon and David Harvill, become full-time, rather than sharing time at IRMS. The middle school will have new parttime positions in art and advanced math/STEM. As for the general fund, Remick explained the ending fund balance will be about $1.9 million, which is about $100,000 more than projected, in part due to higher-than-expected enrollment this year. Next year, enrollment is conservatively estimated at 1186 FTE. This reflects how enrollment is swinging upward again from its low in 2020. These numbers yield an expected expenditure of $22 million, and an ending fund balance of about $2.2 million, keeping with a 10% holdover as policy dictates.

At the next board meeting, Remick will present about the other four funds, i.e. the Capital Fund (including tech and levies), the Debt Service Fund (related to the bonds), the Transportation Fund, primarily used for new school buses, and the ASB fund. Principal Kenny Renner-Singer gave an update about the district’s expanding AVID program, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination.

AVID has been around for 40 years, and at CSD for nine, thanks to Malia Renner-Singer bringing the concept from Wenatchee High School with her when she became a teacher at CHS. AVID has expanded to be in grades 3-12.

Even at younger grades, it’s important to think about career and college readiness and develop a culture around that. Thus, at Alpine Lakes Elementary, the program is done schoolwide. All students get taught strategies for inquiry, critical thinking, teamwork and leadership. At IRMS there are some school-wide initiatives and an elective class, and at the high school it is done as an elective class. Renner-Singer explained the typical high school AVID student profile is one who is capable and needs support due to circumstances that include factors such as first in family on college pathway, historically underserved, or low income.

Students become confident in their study and note-taking skills, and in filling out applications for colleges and scholarship. Tutors, guest speakers and college field trips are part of the program. The program has proved very successful as AVID students have earned a large number of scholarships.

Expanding AVID to all schools in the district means all staff are trained to incorporate AVID teaching strategies and hold college and career readiness expectations to all students. Kenny and Malia RennerSinger and superintendent Tracey Beckendorf-Edou are all AVID trainers. Principal Elia Ala’ilimaDaley shared the schedule for the week of graduation, which brings back traditions that were paused the last two years. The week includes a scholarship night, a baccalaureate, the senior stroll (where seniors visit the students and teachers at the other schools wearing their caps and gowns and/or any symbols of the next step, be it college, military or other), a senior trip to Lake Chelan, a dress rehearsal and the graduation starting at 8 p.m. on June 11th.

Travis Blue gave an overview about Discovery School, the small high school based out the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. Blue is the sole teacher, and Anthony Lubetski is the para for a current group of fourteen students. Blue explained the mission of the school is “Opportunity for any and graduation for all.” Students choose to attend Discovery School; they are not sent there.

One of the main reasons for switching from CHS to Discovery is lacking a sense of community. At Discovery, students follow individualized academic plans, but there are also some group classes, like Citizen Washington in a Contemporary World (CWCW), a senior requirement. A priority of the school is fostering a positive sense of community where students feel safe, loved and accepted. This is critical following the COVID-related school closures when classrooms were not available as a safe alternative. Additionally, Blue aims to give students different experiences so their world is expanded.

Recent examples include a visit to a rock climbing gym and assisting the Yakama Nation fish biologists releasing salmon to the river from the raceways. The school’s setting offers unique opportunities such as helping with annual amphibian research and snow science studies via snowshoes. Blue praised Lubetski as the new para this year, saying he challenges the students academically and connects with them. Blue completed his presentation with a sidenote about Icicle Bicycle, the mountain biking club, which he helped found eight years ago.

It’s going strong with over fifty middle school and high school student athletes and twenty coaches. Mountain bike racing was mostly curtailed during COVID, but he expects the team will continue to do very well, maybe even matching their status as top in the state in 2019, when they beat out larger programs from Seattle and Spokane. Under personnel, the board approved six hires and two resignations. These latter two were Amber Murdock, IRMS secretary, and James Mitsuyasu, IRMS and CHS band director. Both have served in the district for nine years and will be missed. Mitsuyasu is a past recipient of Teacher of the Year.

New business included approval of a GSA Club at IRMS, an Out of Endorsement Instructional Staff Authorization for Cesar Mendoza, a CHS teacher who teaches science and math courses. Mendoza is endorsed for science and working toward his math endorsement. The board also approved insurance coverage for summer athletic programs and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) membership renewal, both of which are done annually. For the good of the order, the board and superintendent recognized the value of the Methow Arts Alliance inschool art program, as demonstrated by the variety of art that decorates the elementary schools. This three-year program is made possible by a grant from the Icicle Fund.