ESD Update
March 2022
Great Happens Here!
A few of the many celebrations include:
- National Classified Employee Week: Please take time to thank our amazing classified staff!
- We are grateful for the critical support and expertise of our Mental Health Specialists and Family Liaisons who are funded by ESSER (federal dollars) monies.
- EHS Girl's basketball team won the 2A State Championship!
- Bravo to all who produced the EHS musical "Legally Blonde"!
Some of the challenges are:
- Now that masks are no longer required, it will be important to respect staff and students who choose to continue to wear masks. Every person's choice should be supported and kindness demonstrated to all. Click here for information on Health and Safety in ESD schools https://www.esd401.org/covid-19/current-covid-19-reopening-safety-plans-communications.
- Continue to utilize the ESD Enrollment website for any questions that you may have concerning the 2022-2023 school year. Transfer request forms may also be found on this website.
- Next year is a gap year with funding because ESD will not receive an increase from the new levy funds until January of 2023. Student enrollment is the main driver of funding for schools from the state. ESD's enrollment is up slightly, but still down by an average of about 60 students. Other factors also impact ESD's budget as outlined in the Board meeting on March 9. Therefore, ESD will need to reduce the overall budget for next year by about $1 million dollars. Again, a huge thank you to our Ellensburg community for passing the EP&O and Technology levies. Without these levy funds, the reductions to the budget would have been over three million dollars. Regarding the process used to determine budgetary reductions, district and building level administrators met several times to look across the system and make decisions that would reduce the budget in ways that would: (1) minimize the permanent loss of jobs by staff ( by shifting current staff into open positions), (2) reduce budgets equitably across most departments including the central office, and (3) keep reductions from significantly impacting the students' learning in the classrooms (like large increases in class sizes). The overall reduction plan that will be followed for next year across the district can be found on our website at https://www.esd401.org/departments/business-office under "School Year Budgets and Financial Reports."
- New Opportunities: We have heard the desire of many to consider reinstating the secondary librarians after our enrollment increases, and ESD is no longer projecting necessary budgetary reductions. We agree that collaborating with staff, parents, students and community members will be important in prioritizing the positions that we should reinstate, once the ESD budget has stabilized.
- ESD will be forming a Board Committee with the title "Student Centered Learning" and will start this committee in April. This committee will be researching and identifying the types of learning experiences that we desire for our students in ESD.
- Next year, this committee will also be responsible for gathering feedback from all stakeholders regarding the types of positions ESD should prioritize for reinstatement. This committee will sift through this feedback and make an official recommendation to the Superintendent and the ESD Board of Education regarding prioritization of positions that should be reinstated when the funds are available. Please sign up here if you are interested in joining this committee. We will be meeting by Zoom the third Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. starting April and May of this year.
State Champions!
Not only did the girls bring home the top prize in the State, they finished their season undefeated with a 26-0 record.
Winter Musical Enriches Our Community
This Winter Musical is always a testament to the great work we can accomplish as a team, and the power of art to bring people together.
Nationally Recognized FFA Springing Into Action
Mt. Stuart Robot Reign Continues
Mt. Stuart Elementary robotics teams, 53065A, B, C, & D, were all selected to represent our community at the Washington Regional Championship, which was held at Mt. Stuart, and one team will be advancing to the World Championship in Dallas, TX in May!
This marked the sixth consecutive year Mt. Stuart qualified to compete at the State level and second consecutive year that every single Mt. Stuart Elementary robotics teams qualified for the State Championship, under the guidance of teacher Jason Eng.
Emory Kylve (Damman student), 3rd grader Madi Bryant, and 5th grader Aspen Moore won the Design Award at regionals and will be advancing to the World Championship. For the competition, the girls presented their engineering notebook and participated in an interview process with the judges. The engineering workbook includes a timeline of the development and modification process, as well as pictures, sketches, programming and data to explain their process and robot.
Kam Yee, team engagement manager for The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, wrote, “Throughout this robotics competition season, your students have demonstrated perseverance through teamwork and creativity in their engineering design process. We are so proud of your students’ accomplishments!”
A big shout out to Mt. Stuart for hosting the State Championship and Mr. Eng for his dedication to student success. Stay tuned for an update on our students headed to the World Championship.
Spring Wishes
I wish you a restful, relaxing and rejuvenating Spring Break. We are headed quickly towards graduation and will be celebrating our 2022 seniors before you know it. I’m looking forward to a spring filled with picnics, field trips, outdoor adventures and all of the traditions we’ve been missing these past two years. Together everyone accomplishes more!
Sincerely,
Jinger Haberer, ESD Superintendent
Ellensburg School District
Email: leslee.caul@esd401.org
Website: esd401.org
Location: 1300 East 3rd Avenue, Ellensburg, WA, USA
Phone: (509) 925-8010
Facebook: facebook.com/ellensburgschools