WLWV Community Update
July 9, 2018
PRIMARY School Calendar Change
Early Release, Professional Growth Wednesdays provide teachers time to better prepare for student learning by creating more frequent opportunities to collaborate. To increase frequency for collaborative time, the April 8 Professional Development Day at the PRIMARY LEVEL has been exchanged for four Early Release, Professional Growth Wednesdays. This means that primary school students will now attend a full day of school on Monday, April 8. And, on February 20, March 6, April 10 and May 8, students will be released two hours early to allow teachers time for collaboration.
This exchange of a full day of instruction for students in order to provide four Early Release, Professional Growth Wednesdays was part of a negotiated agreement with our teachers' association as well as a priority set by our School Board and district leadership. Teacher collaboration allows small teams of educators to plan for each students' strengths and specific learning needs while strengthening the teacher's own teaching practices. This exchange of a student day for four Early Release, Professional Growth Wednesdays continues to fulfill state requirements for instructional hours, exceeding the state expectations.
This change does not affect middle schools or high schools. April 8 will continue to be a Grading Day for our secondary schools who have a different system for assessment and feedback to students and parents through mid-semester and semester grades.
The After-school childcare programs located in our primary schools have already been notified and will adjust accordingly. They will function the same as they do for other Early Release, Professional Growth Wednesdays.
The change to the primary calendar is currently being communicated through the district listserve during the summer and into the school year. The amended calendar will be posted on the district website and Facebook. School listserves will also run the message beginning in August and throughout the school year.
The updated 2018-19 Primary Calendar can be found on the district website.
FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS ONLY, ADDED REGULAR SCHOOL DAY:
- Monday, April 8
FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS ONLY, ADDITIONAL EARLY RELEASE, PROFESSIONAL GROWTH WEDNESDAYS:
- February 20, March 6, April 10, May 8
District Welcomes Son Le Hughes as Chief Financial Officer
The West Linn-Wilsonville School District is excited to announce Son Le Hughes as the district’s next Chief Financial Officer.
Hughes comes to the West Linn-Wilsonville School District from the University of Oregon, where she was most recently the Assistant Director of Finance. Hughes has also held financial positions at Oregon State University, Linn-Benton Community College, and Eugene School District, providing her with a wealth of experience in both K-12 education as well as higher education. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Leadership from Oregon State University.
Hughes’ expertise in finance will be a welcome addition to the school district.
“Ms. Hughes is notably comfortable working with budgets and numbers and is a thoughtful leader,” said Superintendent Dr. Kathy Ludwig. “She will be an excellent addition to our team and someone we feel lucky to have.”
Hughes’ predecessor, Doug Middlestetter, will remain with the school district until his retirement at the end of December. Middlestetter will serve the role of Business and Finance Consultant to the school district before his retirement, marking more than eight years in West Linn-Wilsonville.
During the next several months Middlestetter will work with Hughes during the transition process, facilitate the district’s transition to a new audit firm, help to create a new budget document format for public consumption, create projection analyses for the district, and organize Construction Excise Tax expenditures among other consultation duties.
Summer Bond Projects Share a Theme of Safety and Security
Meridian Creek Middle School and Sunset Primary School enjoyed successful openings this past school year, but additional construction projects are still getting underway this summer.
Thanks to the generosity of the West Linn and Wilsonville communities for passing the 2014 Capital Bond, Boeckman Creek Primary, Bolton Primary, and West Linn High School are all receiving renovated safe and secure entryways this summer. The new entryways will ensure that each school is accessible by just one door that leads directly into the office during the school day while adding to the welcoming feel that West Linn-Wilsonville schools enjoy. Other safety features, such as upgraded locks and intercom systems, are also part of the design, as the district continues to think about safety and security in all of its schools.
Read all about this summer's construction projects on the district website.
Oregon Department of Education Changes Method in Which Gender is Reported
Starting this coming school year, students will be able to select a non-binary gender option “X” when enrolling in school. The change, which was announced by the Oregon Department of Education in June, makes all Oregon schools more inclusive of students’ gender preferences.
Visit the Oregon Department of Education for more information.
The Learning Never Stops in West Linn-Wilsonville
The learning never stops in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District, as evidenced by the many high school courses taking place at both Wilsonville and West Linn high schools this summer. Hundreds of students are currently engaged in wellness courses, advanced math courses, social studies, transition courses for incoming freshmen, and science courses among other offerings available to students looking to get a leg up on next school year.
For the past two weeks, students across the district have packed up backpacks and headed back to school, learning alongside like-minded classmates. Despite warm weather and the call of summer, learning is a mindset for WLWV students.
Look no further than West Linn High School Teacher Tyson Brown’s Go Ahead Civics class, where students have spent the past couple weeks reading about the Constitution and Bill of Rights, learning about forms of government, civil liberties, civil rights, elections, voting behavior, congress, supreme court, and more. Meeting from 8 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, the summer schedule allows students to pour all of their focus into one subject, fully immersing themselves in United States government.
That learning was followed by the chance to display their new knowledge in a class debate on Tuesday, July 3. Tackling the discussion of whether or not college education should be free for all people, students were assigned to either debate in favor of or against free college education for U.S. citizens. Students were given a couple days to research the topic, formulate background knowledge, and compile evidence to back up their claims before embarking on the class-wide discussion on Tuesday.
Read more about student learning taking place throughout West Linn-Wilsonville on the district website.
West Linn High School Students Complete West Linn Police Department Mural
Rapid Resources
About West Linn-Wilsonville
Email: kilstroa@wlwv.k12.or.us
Website: www.wlwv.k12.or.us
Location: 22210 Southwest Stafford Road, Tualatin, OR, USA
Phone: 503-673-7000
Facebook: facebook.com/wlwvschools
Twitter: @wlwvdistrict