Six out of seven Whatcom County school districts will have middle-school-aged students take the Measurements of Student Progress (replacement WASL) online this spring.

In al, 364 schools around the state will provide the test online. Taking the test online will supposedly allow for quicker turnaround on scoring and will allow the test to be shorter, two things state Superintedent Randy Dorn pushed for with test reform.

The following Whatcom County schools will provide the test online:

Bellingham: students at Fairhaven, Shuksan and Kulshan middle schools (as well as Whatcom students where computers are available).

Blaine: Blaine Middle School

Ferndale: Cascadia Elementary (the list says North Bellingham Elementary, but that school doesn’t technically exist anymore, so I’m assuming OSPI means Cascadia)

Lynden: Lynden Middle School

Meridian: Meridian Middle School and the Meridian Parent Partnership Program

Nooksack Valley: Nooksack Valley Middle School.

On Thursday, Feb. 4, King County Superior Court Judge John Erlick ruled that the state is failing to meet its “paramount duty” of fully funding basic education, as outlined in the state constitution.

As part of the ruling, the Legislature will need to determine the actual cost of providing basic education for all k-12 students in the state, and come up with a reliable source of funding.

The ruling comes during a time the state if facing more budget cuts, with education funding being one of the areas that can be cut.

The case stems from a lawsuit, filed by the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools, a coalition of school districts and education groups from around the state. The Bellingham School District was part of the lawsuit. In the suit, NEWS, claimed that the state wasn’t following the rules of the Constitution by not fully funding education. In most school districts, about 20 percent of the operating budget comes from local taxes. When the current funding model was developed in the 1970s, local taxes were supposed to be used for items the school districts wanted to have above and beyond “basic education.”

To read the Associated Press story about the ruling, click here.

Below is a round-up of comments sent to me by various education folks.

Randy Dorn, Superintendent of Public Instruction for Washington

As a former teacher, principal and current chair of the Quality Education Council – the implementation arm of last year’s Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2261 – I am painfully aware of the state’s underfunding of basic education. The bill is a first step, but it doesn’t go far enough to amply fund education or eliminate our reliance on local levies.

Now that Judge Erlick’s decision has been returned, we, as a state, need to fully fund basic education. For more than 30 years we’ve been heading down this road, and the time for action is now. Only when the Legislature acts affirmatively and addresses this issue can our students obtain the education we are morally and legally obligated to provide.

Gov. Chris Gregoire

“Improving the quality of our schools and the education system has been, and remains, the top priority of our state.  I agree with the court that we have a duty to provide a high quality education to our children.

Working with my staff and the Attorney General’s Office, I will be reviewing this decision to determine where we go from here.

Last year we passed significant legislation that would institute major funding reforms to ensure the necessary resources and programs to help every student succeed.  That work must continue.

Regardless of whether this decision is upheld, I will continue working with the legislature to improve school accountability, close the achievement gap and ensure we provide our children opportunities for success in the global marketplace in which they will be competing. The legislative process is the best avenue we have available to determine those components.

Right now there is legislation being considered that would reform our education system.  In light of this decision, I think it’s even more important that we pass these proposals that will put us in a better position to improve educational opportunities for every student in our state.”

Washington State School Directors Association President Kevin Laverty

“This ruling is a win for students in Washington’s public schools. Once again, the courts have affirmed that the state constitution means what it says: education is the paramount duty of the state and the responsibility for funding public schools rests squarely on the shoulders of the state Legislature. Today’s decision means that legislators must follow through on the commitment they made in approving HB 2261 last year. This law lays out a road map for reforming the way the state defines and pays for basic education. The journey has begun and there is no turning back.”

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna

“Judge Erlick rightly recognizes in his ruling the Legislature’s authority to set education funding policy.”

“The Legislature took positive steps with its 2009 education funding reform efforts, and we understand the decision to suggest those reforms could be the basis for progress in this case.

“My legal team will review the specifics of this complex decision with our state clients to determine appropriate next steps.”

Chris Korsmo, executive director of the League of Education Voters

“Today, Judge Erlick affirmed what many of us in the education community have known for a long time. We are not adequately funding our public schools. The state itself acknowledged that we finally have the right framework to address the needs of our kids – the new definition of basic education that we passed in 2009.”

Diana Cieslak, Education Policy analyst at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation

“Judge Erlick demands that the Legislature perform an impossible task: to identify to the dollar a single number that represents the exact cost per student of basic education. There is no one-size-fits-all answer in any area of education,” says Cieslak, “including funding.”

“This decision shows what happens when judges interfere in policy. Judge Erlick presupposes that every education dollar is well spent—a claim few teachers would make. In most cases half or less of education funding ends up in the classroom. Increasing ‘education’ dollars—without restructuring how they are spent—is worse than useless.”

“Rather than proving a relationship between increased spending and better student performance, experts fear the negative impact of plaintiff victories on quality education.”

Source: Washington Votes

House Bill 2580 - Concerning high school students taking community or technical college courses. Substitute offered in the House on February 2, 2010, adds provisions regarding approval of dual credit agreements by the Chief Instructional Officer of a community or technical college. It also removes a provision regarding high schools or skill centers requesting assistance from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) in a situation where a college was not following the law pertaining to granting college credit for secondary CTE courses. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on February 2. Referred to the House Rules Committee.

House Bill 2834 - Prohibiting gang and hate group activity in schools. Substitute offered in the House on February 2 includes “hate groups” within the definition of “criminal street gang” to the extent that such groups otherwise satisfy the definition. The substitute requires consistency with other discipline and rules for the authority to expel or suspend for gang activity. It also requires school district policies with respect to criminal street gangs and gang activity to include, within an outline of progressive discipline, an initial warning and opportunity to correct. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on February 2. Referred to the House Rules Committee.

House Bill 3035 - regarding educator performance and innovation. Substitute offered in the House on February 2 adds “collaborating” with parents to the criteria for evaluating teachers. The substitute requires the SPI to create common statewide models for the evaluation system criteria and the four-level rating systems for teachers and principals, which are implemented in 2011-12 in a set of school districts that were selected to participate in their development, and then implemented in 2012-13 in all school districts for at least some employees. It also creates a new process and standard for transferring principals who have been employed for more than three years to a subordinate position. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on February 2. Referred to the House Ways & Means Committee.

House Bill 3036 - Concerning public school indebtedness. Substitute offered in the House on February 2, 2010, exempts the refinancing or refunding of bonds from the requirements and indicates that the notice and hearing requirements apply prospectively only. It also includes specific provisions are included indicating that the public hearing may be held at any regular or special meeting of the school board. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on February 2. Referred to the House Rules Committee.

House Bill 3038 - Regarding standards and accountability in education. Substitute offered in the House on February 2, 2010, doesn’t allow school districts who volunteer to participate in the federal grant in 2010 to be designated as Required Action for three years; however they may be designated after that if they still have a persistently lowest-performing school in the district and meet the criteria for designation. It requires school districts to submit their Plans to the SPI, rather than the SBE, for approval. The substitute also creates a Joint Select Committee on Education Accountability with eight legislative members to examine options and models for significant state action. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on February 2. Referred to the House Ways & Means Committee.

House Bill 3039 - Streamlining the truancy process) Substitute offered in the House on February 1  provides that a school’s duty to notify a parent after a student has one unexcused absence and schedule a parent conference after a second unexcused absence applies to students who are in the sixth grade or above and clarifies that a school may take these actions for a student who is in the fifth grade or below. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on February 1. Referred to the House Rules Committee.

House Bill 3059 - Expanding teacher preparation programs. Substitute offered in the House on February 2 requires candidates who complete, rather than start, residency programs in 2012-13 must take the new preservice assessment. It authorizes the PESB to contract for the administration of the assessment with a third party. The substitute also requires all public colleges of education with residence certification that are not already offering an alternative route program must submit a proposal to the PESB. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on February 2. Referred to the House Education Appropriations Committee.

Senate Bill 6502 - Restoring the school district levy base. Substitute offered in the Senate on February 4 to provide that the change from current year to prior year as the point of reference for calculating the difference between the allocation the district did receive and the allocation the district did receive is effective for calendar years 2011 through 2017 rather than for calendar years 2010 through 2017. The method of calculating the difference is the I-728 rate times the number of student Full-Time Equivalents, rather than the total allocation. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on February 4. Referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

Senate Bill 6629 - Convening a working group to create a basic education program for gifted students. Substitute offered in the Senate on February 4, 2010, to provide that the recommendations of the working group must minimize overrepresentation and under-representation of any particular demographic or socio-economic group relative to the presence of this group in the overall student population. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on February 4. Referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Senate Bill 6759 - Requiring a plan for a voluntary program of early learning in basic education. Substitute offered in the Senate on February 4 to clarify the intent to reflect that the Department of Early Learning, the Superintendent of Public Instruction , and Thrive by Five’s joint recommendations, suggested that early learning should be included in basic education. Clarifies that the Legislature’s intent is to examine these recommendations and the Attorney General’s Opinion through the development of a working group that will recommend a comprehensive plan. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on February 4. Referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Senate Bill 6760 - Setting allocation levels for basic educational instruction. Substitute offered in the Senate on February 4 to replace the current funding formulas in statute with the new prototypical school funding formulas using the baseline values as determined by the funding formula working group with some additional technical refinements but no enhanced funding levels. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on February 4. Referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Senate Bill 6761 - Regarding the recommendations of the quality education council. Substitute offered in the Senate on February 4 to remove the phase-in of the new student transportation formula  from the bill.  Technical corrections of an internal reference and a report date are made. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on February 4. Referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Source: Washington Votes

Senate Bill 6403 - Regarding the improvement of graduation rates.  Substitute offered in the Senate on January 26 to add certified school counselors to the definition of the K-12 dropout prevention system. Removes the section requiring the State Board of Education(SBE) to include a graduation planning component in school improvement rules. Removes the changes to the K-12 education data system’s dropout early warning system. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 26. Referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

Senate Bill 6488 - Modifying school levy provisions. Substitute offered in the Senate on January 26 to define districts eligible for 18 percent local effort assistance as those districts with a 12 percent levy rate that exceeds the statewide average 12 percent levy rate and that, in the prior school year, were in the one-fourth of such districts receiving the least per-pupil funding from state and federal sources.  Those districts not in the least one-fourth of all districts for per-pupil funding from state and federal sources are eligible for 12 percent local effort assistance. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 26. Referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Senate Bill 6518 - Changing school levy provisions. Substitute offered in the Senate on January 26, 2010, to provide that beginning in calendar year 2011, the Initiative 728 base must be calculated based on the prior year as opposed to the current year. Districts are allowed to include any cuts to the kindergarten through four classroom enhancement initiative into the levy base. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 26. Referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Senate Bill 6466 - Authorizing advertisements on school buses. Substitute offered in the Senate on January 28 to require OSPI to adopt and enforce rules regarding the placement and securing of advertising material on school buses. The Washington State School Directors Association is required to develop a model policy and procedures regarding the content of advertising materials placed on and in school buses. Each school district board of directors must take into consideration the model policy developed and approve its own policy. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 28. Referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

House Bill 1418 - Establishing a statewide dropout reengagement system. Substitute offered in the House on January 26 retains the definitions of a dropout re-engagement program and eligible students, but removes the role of the ESDs and responsibilities of school districts and program providers. Instead, the OSPI develops model contracts and inter-local agreements that address a number of specified topics. School districts are authorized but not required to use the contracts or agreements to offer dropout re-engagement programs to their students or students who enroll in the district through the state’s “Choice” laws. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on January 26. Referred to the House Education Appropriations Committee and then the House Rules Committee.

House Bill 2801 - Regarding harassment prevention in schools. Substitute offered in the House on January 26, 2010, allows for contacts designated by school districts to receive both informal and formal complaints. Now includes elements that must be in a district policy and procedure for training materials provided by the OSPI. School districts now have direct access to the OSPI safety center website to post both their policies and their procedures. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on January 26. Referred to the House Rules Committee.

Senate Bill 6355 - Expanding higher education system upon proven demand. Substitute offered in the Senate on January 29 to provide that he development of applied baccalaureates (AB) is not subject to appropriation. Mission change means a change in the level of degree offered or institution type.  Major expansion means a requirement for significant new capital investment. Private non-profit institutions may also be eligible for innovation incentive grants. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 29. Senate Rules Committee.

Senate Bill 6357 - Awarding academic recognition for certain life and learning experiences. Substitute offered in the Senate on January 29 to provide that the workforce training and education coordinating board should be consulted. Also clarifies that the policies must address prior learning from experience rather than just experience. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 29. Referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

Senate Bill 6359 - Promoting efficiencies in the community and technical college system. Substitute offered in the Senate on January 29 to provide mechanisms for cost-effective partnerships and coordination between institutions of higher education, including shared services, and increased complimentary programming, as well as structural administrative efficiencies. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on January 29. Referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

House Bill 2915 - Meeting new mathematics and science high school graduation requirements. Substitute offered in the House on February 2 removes a provision that would have allowed students, beginning with the class of 2015, to graduate without passing the mathematics assessment if they achieved a “Basic” score on the assessment and earned four credits of mathematics in high school. A provision is also removed that students would be able to meet the state standard for graduation in science by earning a “Basic” score, beginning in 2017. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on February 2. Referred to the House Education Appropriations Committee.

Senate Bill 5237 - Requiring the development of three-year baccalaureate programs. Substitute offered in the Senate on February 3, 2010, to shorten the bill to the basic intent of the legislature that an accelerated baccalaureate be available. The state universities, regional universities, and The Evergreen State College shall report on their plans for the accelerated baccalaureate degree programs to the higher education coordinating board for approval. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on February 3. Referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

Senate Bill 6409 - Creating the Washington investment in excellence account. Substitute offered in the Senate on February 3, to provide that funds may also be used to fund the state work study program.  A technical change is made to conform a potentially conflicting statute. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on February 3. Referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Senate Bill 6706 - Allowing commercialization of research at state universities. Substitute offered in the Senate on February 3 to provide that Universities may perform one or more of listed commercialization activities rather than all of them.  Language regarding facilitating the formation of companies was reworded. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on February 3.

The rank-ordered list from the Bellingham School District Budget Advisory Committee is now available online. To view the list, and provide input, go to www.bellinghamschools.org.

In my quick look through the list, there were some items I was surprised to see on there. For example, eliminating high school sports (which would save an estimated $1.4 million), closing Options High School and moving the GRADS program to a high school. Some other items, including cuts to staff at the district office and combining athletic director positions and elementary principal positions, were on the list last year.

If you have something to add to the list, be sure to give input. All input to the district must be received by Friday, Feb. 12.

(Sorry for the delay is getting these up, but all the releases got buried in my inbox…)

Whatcom County has several new National Board Certified Teachers in local schools.

Across Washington, 1,248 completed their national board certification this school year, ranking the state second in the country for new NBCT. When compared to last year, that’s an increase of more than 300 teachers. Part of the increase can be tied to a 2007 law that gives a $5,000 bonus each year to nationally certified teachers.

In all, there are 3,974 National Board Certified Teachers in Washington, ranking the state fifth in the country.

To complete certification, teachers must submit a four-part portfolio and a six-part assessment, all of which document a teacher’s success in the classroom.

The following Whatcom County teachers earned their certification.

Bellingham: Amy Berreth, Bryan Berreth, Ashleigh Bobovski, Matthew Cole, Kevin Criez, Lara Crome-Guthrie, Catherine Crouch, Jill DeJong, Jonathan Fleck, Mary Hornof, Bruce Mansfield, Dawn Oehlerich, John Schick, Sarah Smoldon, Jodi West, James Yoos, James Zurcher.

Blaine: Sue Steelquist, Terre Shapiro, Mary Edgley, Mike Coffey, Mike Couto, Mike Stevens

Ferndale: Terry Udo, Cathy Schuman, Patty Yunge, Melissa Engels, Keely Lewis, Dawn Bungard and Julie Hunter.

Lynden: Layne Hutchins, Cindy Bell, Michelle Coburn

Mount Baker: (note, I found these in the minutes of a board meeting due to their supplemental pay. If these names are incorrect, please let me know) Jon Anderson, Linda Anderson, Robin Bruntil, Kevin Candela, Max Duncan, Julianne Evangelista, Annmarie Henterly, Holly Koon, Diane Leigh, Melissa Menti, John Mumma, Julie Sargent, Neal Schlegel, Kimberly Scott, Kim Sutherland, Justin Thibault.

I haven’t heard about any teachers from Nooksack Valley or Meridian school districts, so if I’ve missed someone, please let me know.

Lynden Superintendent Rick Thompson has accepted a three-year contract with the San Juan Island School District to be their new superintendent.

To read the story in today’s paper, click here.

To read the story that appeared in the San Juan Journal, click here.

Since the board meeting last night ran right up to deadline, there was some information I wasn’t able to fit into today’s story.

Before voting, the school board members, acting superintendent Sherrie Brown, and assistant superintendent of business and operations Ron Cowan, spoke about why an off-site location to keep everyone together didn’t happen.

They said that they visited the big box stores (Toys R Us, Good Guys, GI Joes, etc) on Meridian and deemed them unsuitable for a learning environment, plus they lacked several necessary items, including enough bathrooms. They also visited the Squalicum Lofts on Squalicum Parkway, and thought that might be a solution. But, there was a severe lack of science lab, cafeteria and indoor PE space, plus safety concerns due to other businesses already being there.

The most promising option to them, and the one they thought was going to work until Tuesday afternoon, was leasing the North Bellingham Elementary site from the Ferndale School District. The board and the group helping Brown make her recommendation (WMS administrators, a couple teachers, and principals from the high schools and Geneva) were ready tour the site Tuesay afternoon, but it got canceled at the last minute after they found out it was going to cost more than $1 million to make the site viable. From what they said, this sounds like a combination of what the district wanted for a lease (Clearview High School is currently housed at the site and would have to be relocated if WMS were to go there) plus what would be necessary to make some repairs to the school (the main building on the site, which is where the library, main office and some classrooms are located, has been condemned since August 2007.)

According to board member Ann Whitmyer, the $1 million price tag was five times what insurance was willing to consider.

Now that the relocation plan has been approved, Brown said they will start working to figure out details, including transportation, student class placement, teacher placement and how to make life easier for the elective teachers who have been “running themselves ragged.”

Sherrie Brown, acting superintendent of the Bellingham School District, will be recommending to the Bellingham School Board today that Whatcom Middle School students remain split by grade level until the school can be rebuilt.

Under her recommendation, sixth graders would attend Geneva Elementary, seventh graders would attend Shuksan Middle School (and stay there for their eighth grade year) and eighth graders would attend Fairhaven Middle School (where they are now). Seventh-graders in 2011-12 would attend Fairhaven.

To read the story in today’s paper, click here.

To read the full statement from the Bellingham School District, click here.

It’s been pretty well reported how dismal Washington’s chances are in getting much of the $4 billion Race to the Top funding. In fact, Washington didn’t even submit an application for the first round of grant giving.

State Superintendent Randy Dorn released details about what would make Washington more competitive, and none of the things will be easy, or cheap, to change.

According to Dorn, bills currently in front of the Legislature that deal with changing teacher and principal evaluations are good starting points. However, there is still three areas the state falls way short in meeting the criteria of the federal grant contest.

1. Washington doesn’t have truly independent charter schools. States are graded on a 500-point scale, with 40 going towards how well the state has embraced charter schools and other innovative schooling options. Washington does have a couple non-standard schools, including School of the Arts in Tacoma and Aviation High School in Des Moines, but will likely receive no more than 10 points for those. States that are more competitive in this area have rules allowing five percent of the lowest performing schools to become charter schools.
2. It takes too long to remove bad teachers in the state. While there is no specific point value for this, several categories include items about ensuring teachers are effective.
3. A lack of linking between data and teacher performance. To comply with the RTTT guidelines, the state needs to have a stronger tie between student achievement/test scores and teacher effectiveness. There are 58 points allotted in this category.

Any thoughts? Gov. Chris Gregoire has said Washington will submit an application in the second round of funding this summer.