Foto February #7: Busy Weekend!

Congratulations to the finalists for Highline superintendent! It is a talented group. You can read more here.

Students compete in the middle school math contest at Mount Rainier on Saturday

I spent some time on Saturday at Mount Rainier High School. I was visiting the regional math contest for middle schools. Several of our Highline schools participate in math contests, and Pacific was making us proud on Saturday. While I was there, I also absorbed the energy of a huge regional gymnastics meet. Did you know Mount Rainier is the SPSL North champions in gymnastics, and Highline H.S. is co-champion of the Seamount League? Congratulations!

MRHS is one of the schools I visited this fall, but never got back around to blogging about. Principal Julie Hunter is doing great work there, and the particular day I visited I had the pleasure of watching the Language Arts department and the Career and Technical Ed. teachers conduct their Friday PCT staff development, as well as having lunch with a group of teachers who invited me to visit. Thanks for the hospitality!

Foto February #6: Adaptive Technology at Bow Lake

Last week I visited Bow Lake for the primary and intermediate NOBLES assemblies. That's an acronym for Noteworthy Outstanding Bow Lake Effort. I loved seeing a large turnout of parents and lots of recognition for behaviors that will help students be successful in school and in life.

After, I went upstairs and checked out the double computer lab. Wow! They have opened a divider between two rooms and can accommodate two full classrooms at a time for our computer adaptive math programs. Adaptive technology engages students at their instructional level and this year just about all Highline elementary students use adaptive math software twice a week. What I love about Bow Lake's approach is that the two teachers, math interventionist, and math coach can all work with small groups of students during that time. It's a microcosm of some of the most innovative technology driven school models from across the country.

Great job Bow Lake for mixing innovative approaches in the computer lab with the citizenship development that has always been an important part of schools!

Foto February #5: Shorewood's Citizens of the Week

When I'm out in the community a question I frequently am asked is, "What is the district doing about citizenship/civics?" These are community groups and Rotary, parents, business owners, and retired citizens. They know students need academics, but they want to see students who are reliable, are good neighbors, and will grow up to be model citizens who contribute to the community. Today, I was fortunate to be out at Shorewood Elementary for the Citizen of the Week recognition. Principal Colin Ryan started the day with a P.A. announcement calling 17 students to the office for recognition. What an impressive group of young people! And they do this every week, posting a picture on the wall of each week's group. I observed breakfast, line-up before school, and a few classrooms and it looked to me like all of Shorewood's students are great citizens. Way to go kids!

Foto February #4: Healthy Food Kids Love to Eat?

Today we received a very special visit from the U.S. Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, Kevin Concannon, in recognition of four schools' award as Healthy U.S. Schools. Beverly Park Elementary, Madrona Elementary, Southern Heights Elementary, and White Center Heights Elementary were recognized for promoting healthy options for school lunches and providing opportunities for physical activity.

I am so proud of our Nutrition Services team for their efforts to include more healthy options in our school lunches. To brag a little, only five districts in Washington State had award winning schools, and the four schools in Highline had the highest recognition in Washington State - silver medals - placing them in the top 1% nationally according to Under Secretary Concannon.

Madrona kitchen staff (center) make a great school lunch!

Mr. Concannon and I ate school lunch, and made some friends in the second grade!

They didn't have a fresh fruit and vegetables bar when I was in school!

Nutrition Services Director Chris Neal (right) with Mr. Concannon

L to R: Registered Dietician Megan De Vries, Principals Leslie Perry, Deborah Holcomb, Dave Darling, and Daniel Yarbrough, and Nutrition Services Director Chris Neal

Foto February #3: A Teacher's Reward

With Hannah Baisch, 4th Grade Challenge Teacher at Parkside

I was recently asked about the things I enjoy most about my time in Highline, and without a doubt one of them is being around to see my former students become teachers. There are now, to my knowledge, three Highline teachers who were in my elementary band classes of the mid-1990s. When I was visiting Parkside several weeks ago, Principal Robin Lamoureux told me there was one classroom I had to visit before leaving. It was the class of fourth grade Challenge program teacher Hannah Baisch, a flute student many years ago at Valley View. So great to see her very engaging classroom! Former students of mine also teach at Hilltop (the tip off was hearing "Mr. Spicciati..." at a staff meeting) and at Bow Lake. I'd be proud of any profession my former students are pursuing, but none more than those who have chosen to return to their community and serve our children. Now if only they would get out those flutes and clarinets and practice! ;-)

Foto February #2: Dual Language Training

This is about as close to live blogging as I'll get... Today through Saturday (Feb. 2-4), Highline is hosting the Dual Language Training Institute. Dr. Leo Gomez is here for three days to share his expertise on dual language models. Normally, people fly to Texas to see this workshop, but Bernard Koontz took the initiative to bring him up and invite others. Today there were 80 people in the board room from Highline, five other Washington school districts, one Oregon district, and two local Catholic schools. (Outside schools paid for their own registration.)

Among the important research findings Dr. Gomez shared was that students in dual language immersion (instruction half in English and half in Spanish) end up performing higher in English over the long haul and have a better grasp of content as well. While it may seem that learning partly in another language will slow you down, over time students gain academic literacy in both languages, which leads to higher performance in English for native Spanish speakers, and biliteracy for both English and Spanish speakers. We currently have two dual language immersion programs in Highline, Hilltop (K-3) and Mount View (K-2). In my opinion, it's not a question of if we'll expand dual language, but where, when, and how much. After careful consideration and stakeholder input, we'll bring a proposal to the School Board in the coming months.

Foto February #1: Para Los Ninos

Throughout the month of February, I will be sharing picture posts of many of my visits I haven't yet shared on the blog. Hope you enjoy...

With Lupita Ayon and Carla Jackson

On Monday evening, I attended the Para Los Niños open house for the Aprendamos Juntos program at Hazel Valley Elementary. Lupita Ayon, the interim executive director of Para Los Niños, threw a great party with taquitos to nourish the stomach and lots of great information about the program to nourish the soul. PLN board members were also present, including our own Deputy Superintendent Dr. Carla Jackson. I was really impressed with the Aprendamos Juntos ("Let's Learn Together") model, which includes a Spanish language pre-school, an elementary age literacy support that's getting great results, and English language classes for parents. The program meets twice a week in the evening and is truly good for the whole family. It's community organizations like Para Los Niños that are making a difference for kids in Highline!