Be Positive

Be Grateful

Be Involved

As I reflect on the past two weeks of managing the masking protests I keep going back to one of our School District’s goals: Parent and Community Engagement - Engage our diverse community in partnerships that support families, learning at home, making educational decisions, and collaborations. Establish clear and consistent communication that unites all citizens around the principle that high-quality public education is a community’s most valuable asset.

As we strive to reach this goal, two words, partnership and communication, keep coming to mind.

It is clear that in the eyes of some of our parents we did not partner well with them over the past couple of weeks and the perspective of some of our staff is that parents did not partner with us well either. Looking back, the district definitely would change how it communicated with parents, and hopefully, some parents would want to change how they communicated with our staff as well.

So what now?

As your superintendent, I am responsible for the district's day-to-day functioning, and if my decisions have caused you angst, I am truly sorry. The concerns you have shared have led to changes in how we operate, and I am especially thankful for parents who engaged with us in a respectful manner.

We can only be successful as a school when we partner with parents. We need to unite and communicate more than ever in times like now. My pledge is to continue to work with you to continually improve the education of our students, and I earnestly hope that your desire to work together is the same so that we can improve outcomes for all of our students.

Have a wonderful weekend!

• If you drive by the back of the high school, you will see the walls of the CTE shop going up. The project is progressing on time and is scheduled for completion in early May.
  
  

• The ES portable (purchased with Federal COVID - ESSER funds) will have the final inspection on March 2. This is the very last step prior to occupancy.

• The Census population for Tonasket SD is 6863, an increase of 225 from the 2010 Census population. Each district needs to grow 45 persons to stay on par. Your 3rd and 4th districts lost population. The remaining three districts grew but not equally. In order to meet the requirements, the school director boundaries needed minor adjustments.
  
  The maps can be found on our district website at the link below. They show our existing district boundaries loaded into the new 2020 Census Block polygons. It is common that there are little changes to the areas of coverage as growth happens over a decade and there are some but the population effect is slight. Even changes to City boundaries and WA Voting Precinct polygons change Census Blocks. So no real change in the Census Blocks between the coverages of 2010 and 2020.
  
  The narrative description of the proposed boundaries is also included at the link below. This information is available for public review before it is approved by the school board on March 30 at their regular meeting. Anyone wishing to comment is invited to attend the board meeting where there will be a public comment session before the board approves the adjusted boundaries.

• The next “Supt’s On” with the community is on Wednesday, March 2, from 6-7 PM for the English Session and Thursday, March 3, from 6-7 PM for the Spanish language session

1. Supt's On with the Community Virtual Meeting - English
   Wednesday, March 2 · 6:00 – 7:00 pm
   Google Meet joining info
   Video call link: https://meet.google.com/knq-wqdr-pki
   Or dial: ‪(US) +1 319-820-2321‬ PIN: ‪276 048 765‬#
   
   

2. Supt's On with the Community Virtual Meeting - Spanish Session
   Thursday, March 3 · 6:00 – 7:00pm
   Google Meet joining info
   Video call link: https://meet.google.com/knq-wqdr-pki
   Or dial: ‪(US) +1 319-820-2321‬ PIN: ‪276 048 765‬#

• The Migrant monthly meeting was held last Thursday. Here is Tyler Graves’ report of the meeting:
  Last night we welcomed Lisa Monahan, Kate Lindholm, and Gaby Fernandez (ESD 171) to our virtual meeting to do a demonstration in baking bread while talking about the science, math, and vocabulary behind the process. It was a fascinating meeting that was well presented and engaging on many levels. Thank you also to Becca Freimuth for the technical support that allowed for seamless transitions between presentation and demonstration. We had over 30 families in attendance and had some excellent participation. The feedback we have gotten from our families has been outstanding. We've even received a few pictures of finished products already. As always, these meetings wouldn't happen without the tireless effort of our migrant team - Maribel, Martha, and Lourdes. Thank you to Lisa, Kate, and Gaby for thinking of us to try this wonderful experience out on! Our families are so fortunate. Also, thank you to the King Arthur Baking Company and their Bake for Good program, which donated the supplies needed for making the two loaves of bread (or pizza, or cinnamon rolls). One for the family to keep, and another for the family to give to someone else.

• Retirement:
  Mikey Sackman – High School Special Education Teacher
  Lauriekay Henley – Outreach School Teacher
  Cindy Williams – First Grade Teacher
  Janet Glanzer – Executive Assistant – Effective August 31, 2022
• Resignation:
  Jessica Bolt – Middle School Counselor
  Brittany Jones – Elementary School Special Education Teacher
  Julio Alejandre – High School Custodian
• Hiring:
  Bobbi Stirek – High School Custodian
  Luis Rubio – Assistant Soccer Coach
  Alan Field – Assistant High School Track Coach

• Good luck to our Girls Basketball Team in their first round of the State Tournament tomorrow in Longview!
  
  
• At Wednesday’s board meeting, the Board approved moving the Teacher Learning Improvement Day (LID) from March 14, 2022, to June 13, 2022. We’ll hold a regular school day for K-12 on March 14 to make up for the missed day on February 14, 2022, so we don’t have to add a day in June for students. The last day of school for students is still June 10. Administration will be developing the plan for training on June 10th. We will be doing the required CCDEI (Cultural Competency, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) training on this day.
  
  
• Masking Mandates in Other School Districts

1. Three school districts across the state, (Richland, Kettle Falls, Colville) have passed board resolutions declaring masks optional. Richland closed for two days and then reinstated the mask mandate, Kettle Falls has just reinstituted its mask mandate, and Colville is currently reconsidering its decision. Based on the involvement of Washington State Labor and Industries and OSPI (Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction) and the threat of very large daily fines or withholding of funds, I anticipate that Colville will either reinstate masking or move to remote learning until March 21.