July 20th School Board Meeting

Of the many important topics of discussion at the school board meeting, one of the first was an update on Home Link. The district hired Shanda Holm to be the teacher. Terry Muscutt, Home Link director, explained he and Holm had been communicating daily. “She’s all in,” he said. School board members were impressed with her extensive resume.

Beckendorf-Edou shared that with the increased popularity of Home Link, the district would likely hire one more teacher for the program.

The retirement of Becky Wilkinson, long-time elementary school counselor, was approved. Beckendorf-Edou said, “Becky will be sorely missed. She’s been an asset to the district.” 

After an extensive policy review, Beckendorf-Edou gave a summary of the Strategic Framework 2020-2025, which was initiated under Superintendent Steve McKenna a decade ago, but only recently flushed out in greater detail.

The principle and purpose related to cultivating “students’ full potential… and growing whole students” are now connected to a newly enunciated vision, values and strategies. 

The district’s vision states, “Our quest is to make education as personal as learning is to each and every student.”

The district’s values include: 1) every student; 2) quality education; 3) connected relationships; 4) inclusive diversity; 5) the outdoors and 6) artful creativity. The strategies provide implementation guidance. For instance, for the value of every student, the strategies include character education, value diversity, bilingual access, school clinics and home/ school partnerships.

Many people gave input and helped craft the Strategic Framework. Beckendorf-Edou was praised by the board for driving the project to completion. The board approved the framework. The district will disseminate this information to district families in the coming weeks.

Next, the board approved the budget for the upcoming school year. Dwight Remick, Executive Director of Finance and Operations, had given a presentation during a budget hearing earlier that evening. The budget sets spending limits for the funds, which include: 1) the general fund; 2) capital projects fund; 3) debt service fund; 4) ASB fund and 5) transportation fund. If the district wants to spend more than the spending caps allow, the board must go to the public and ask for a budget extension.

The approved budget will be submitted to the state. The budget is based on projected enrollment of 1277 students, which is thirty less than last year’s enrollment. If those numbers are off due to factors related to the pandemic, the state allocation of funds are given out in monthly increments and can be adjusted. 

Beckendorf-Edou announced that the Kodiak Virtual Academy, available for students in sixth to twelfth grades, would be unveiled in the upcoming days. Classes would be taught by Washington State accredited teachers, and district teachers would serve as advisors to monitor students’ progress. The course offerings come from Apex Learning and BYU. Cascade High School principal Elia Ala’ilima-Daley and teacher Terry Muscutt have led the preparation for this new option for students.

Board chair Trey Ising said, “The Kodiak Virtual Academy fills a gap for our students after Home Link and before Running Start.”

Parent Amber Zimmerman asked how much ownership the district has of this virtual option. “It will have our own district stamp on it. If enough students sign up, our own teachers can teach some of the courses,” said Beckendorf-Edou.

The superintendent also explained that if in-person education is not allowed to occur, due to health restrictions, then everyone will be virtual, but the Kodiak Virtual Academy and “continuous learning 2.0” are distinct. The continuous remote learning would be temporary; as soon as schools open again, it would give way to in-person and/or hybrid learning.

Parent Clint Strand stated that parents like himself want to know how the remote portion of learning would be different than last spring. “We want granular information to make the best decisions,” he said.

Beckendorf-Edou gave several examples of improvement. Staff will receive professional development in August with a focus on learning Canvas and Seesaw, the two learning platforms, and also to discuss best practices, looking at feedback from parents as well as learning techniques used by teachers who excelled at remote teaching. She promised greater clarity through contact with students and calendars.

Ala’ilima-Daley said teachers will also receive training on trauma and the socio-emotional impact of remote learning, which affects staff as much as it affects families.

Beckendorf-Edou added that she and school administrators are available to receive questions from parents. Questions help them know what to emphasize in communications.

A new partnership between the district and the Methow Arts Alliance was heralded as great news. The Methow Arts Alliance will send artists who are also instructors to elementary classrooms to do skill-based art progression lessons. 

A grant from the Icicle Fund covers the staff and supplies. Christine Morgan, Executive Director of Icicle Fund, said, “Thank you all for having the courage to make a decision that benefits the children, not just because they need to be more creative than ever. Also, because art education has been shown to support their social, mental and emotional health. Getting that into the classroom is going to be a breath of fresh air.”

“This grant would supplement, not supplant our existing art program in the schools,” Beckendorf-Edou added.

Finally, the superintendent acknowledged 4000 surgical masks donated by the Washington Emergency Management Division and a parent group that is in the process of sewing 1000 cloth masks, to help build the necessary PPE supplies for reopening schools.