Cascade School Board approves student travel, reviews curriculum procedure updates

LEAVENWORTH — The Cascade School District (CSD) Board approved school trips, recognized faculty, and reviewed changes to curriculum adoption procedure during its Feb. 23 meeting.

Cascade High School (CHS) students will be traveling both across the state and the country following board approval for two trips this spring. The board approved a group of CHS Publications students to attend the National High School Journalism Convention in Minneapolis this April, as well as a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) trip to the State Business Leadership Conference (SBLC) in Spokane.

Additionally, the board recognized 6th grade science and math teacher Shannon Fallon, who recently recertified her National Board Certification. According to the National Board, the certification is the “most respected professional certification available in education,” designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide.

“That is a really rigorous process, and we're very fortunate in Cascade School District to have quite a large number of people with their national board teaching certification,” said CSD Superintendent Dr. Tracey Edou.

The school board was also presented with a first reading of proposed amendments to Procedure 2020P (Course Design, Selection, and Adoption of Instructional Materials), with no action taken. According to Edou, the changes were proposed to more accurately reflect the process to which curriculum materials are adopted. For instance, the Instructional Materials Committee can make recommendations to the Teaching and Learning Council, which then is recommended to the board.

Larger amendments to Procedure 2020P were adopted last fall to meet compliance with state law, which requires school boards to adopt policy and procedures that ensure curricula and instructional materials are diverse, equitable, inclusive and reflective of historically marginalized and underrepresented groups. At the time, Edou said the language sounded “prescriptive,” but it wouldn’t make a major difference, as the district’s curriculum was already in alignment.

While discussing the minor change during the February meeting, School Board member Mike Worden suggested adding more emphasis to the procedure’s phrasing, “in addition, the board will consider the qualities that unite us as Americans.”

“I wish we would emphasize the qualities, as opposed to just “consider” them, because I think our kids need that. They need to come together and pull together and define the America they want,” said Worden. “It makes everybody think about what unites us versus what divides us.”

Any amendments to the procedure will be voted on at a future meeting.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media