From the SVSD website...
The Snoqualmie Valley School Board of Directors has voted to place a school bond measure on the February 10, 2015 ballot, to address district-wide facility needs and provide more space at all grade levels to serve the District’s growing student population. 

The Challenge: More space is needed in Snoqualmie Valley schools, for ALL students at all grade levels (elementary, middle and high school), to alleviate overcrowding and accommodate long-term enrollment growth.  At the same time, ensuring schools are safe, well-maintained and responsive to students’ needs — not only by replacing aging systems that have exceeded their functional lifespans, but also by providing modern learning environments to support new educational programs and skills — will help teachers boost learning and students achieve their potentials. New educational programs being implemented at the high school to better prepare students for college, career and citizenship include: the transition to more rigorous Common Core State Standards, increased Core 24 graduation requirements, and a focus on expanding opportunities around Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) learning and career exploration. 
 
The Proposed Solution: Invest in safe and modern schools for ALL Snoqualmie Valley students.
 
What: A comprehensive, long-term bond proposal to build and make critical repairs and upgrades to schools across the district will:

• Rebuild and expand Mount Si High School (to include a Freshman Campus concept on the main campus),then reinstate a third middle school
• Construct a new elementary school
• Make district-wide improvements to existing schools and systems

Why: Snoqualmie Valley schools are running out of space to serve the growing student population.

• All elementary schools are nearly full this year and more space is needed by 2016 for state mandated full-day kindergarten, efforts to lower class sizes, and growing enrollment at grades K-5.
• Both middle schools are nearing capacity with growing enrollment in grade 6-8.
  
• Modernizing Mount Si High School benefits ALL students in the community — and expanding the facility to serve freshman on the main campus will allow the District to reinstate a third middle school and alleviate crowding among grades 6-8.
• Mechanical systems that have exceeded their functional lifespan need to be upgraded, to maintain the integrity of our school infrastructure across the district. 

Who: ALL Snoqualmie Valley students will benefit, as the bond effects all schools across the district.
 
How: The 20-year bond would raise $244.4 million for capital improvements including school construction and repairs. (The estimated additional cost for per home owners is $1.29 per $1,000 of 2015 property valuation.) The District has a history of completing bond projects on time and within budget as promised.
 
When & Where:
Ballots must be mailed by February 10.
Passage requires 60% voter approval.
 
For more information:

• Check out the School Bond Facts page on the SVSD website.
• Explore the Bond Facts Mailer that was mailed to all residents.

The 2015 Legislature kicked off this week in Olympia — and it’s our best opportunity in a generation to win increased funding for public education, including educator compensation and smaller class sizes.

“This is a critical opportunity to make a lasting impact for public education and our students,” said Karen Cornell, a teacher at Cascade Middle School near Vancouver and a member of the Evergreen Education Association. “The crisis mode is over. We need to restore what we’ve lost and fully fund public education.”

“It’s what our kids deserve,” added Emily Humphrey, a teacher at Orchards Elementary and also an EEA member.

As educators, we are facing an opportunity that comes along once in a generation. Consider:

• The Supreme Court has issued a contempt order for the Legislature to increase K-12 funding.
• I-1351 passed and smaller class sizes for all students (and more support staff) are now the will of the voters. In a democracy, that matters and we can’t let legislators and others pretend it doesn’t.
• By law, the Legislature has to restore the voter-mandated cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for educators this year.
• The economy is expanding.
• Polling shows public education is voters’ top priority for the 2015 legislative session.

“Knowing that the Legislature last year found an $8.7 billion tax break for Boeing means that there is absolutely no reason why the public’s and our priority can’t be funded,” said WEA President Kim Mead.

WEA members believe every student should benefit from qualified, committed and caring teachers and education support professionals. We’re advocating for:

• Competitive professional compensation, including salaries, health insurance and retirement benefits
• Smaller class sizes approved by voters via Initiative 1351
• Resumption of the voter-mandated COLA
• Solid funding for higher education to ensure college students receive degrees, not debt

You can read WEA’s full set of legislative priorities for ensuring all students have the opportunity for success in school.

The priorities were approved by the elected WEA board of directors in November. WEA members will have many opportunities to help achieve these goals in the coming months, both in Olympia and in your local community.

Click here to email Gov. Inslee and your legislators and tell them to fully fund our K-12 schools and higher education.

From January 23rd to February 10th, Snoqualmie Valley Citizens for Schools will be calling bond supporters in the Snoqualmie Valley and reminding them to vote. Help is especially needed for February 2nd and later.

This is their single most important campaign effort and where they can make the biggest difference.

The phone banks will operate at Mount Si High School and at least 16 volunteers per night are needed to remind school supporters to vote. Grab some friends and volunteer together!

Visit the Eventbrite Page to pick a phone bank night that works best for you.

From OurVoice WEA...

Monday night, Gov. Jay Inslee released a preview of his education budget.

He makes some much-needed progress on education funding, but his plan falls short of meeting the requirements of both the McCleary decision and I-1351. That is unacceptable. We urge you to tell the Governor and your legislators to fully fund smaller class sizes in all grades and to improve professional educator compensation, per the WEA 2015 legislative priorities.

Here are a few highlights, though many details are still lacking, and we expect to learn more when the governor releases his full budget this Thursday, Dec. 18.

• The budget doesn’t fully address the requirements in I-1351. It does make progress in K-3, beginning in 2016, and provides limited investments toward other staffing categories in accordance with I-1351.
  In 2016-17, K-3 class sizes are funded at 17 students and full-day kindergarten is fully implemented at all schools, with the I-1351 language that allows class size funding to be used for direct services if classroom space is not available.
• The COLA is funded in the budget along with additional funding (about $150 million) to provide educators 3 percent in 2015-16 and 1.8 percent in 2016-17. In addition, the governor meets the legal pension requirements.
• Funding for Materials, Supplies and Operating Costs (MSOC) is increased significantly beginning in the 2015-16 school year.
• The budget proposal to be released on Thursday will create more affordable higher education opportunities — but at the same time will under-fund those institutions. More scholarships and frozen tuition — but not enough funding provided for higher education.
• Finally, higher education faculty salaries, community and technical college faculty increments, and many, many other details of the budget haven’t been released yet. Stay tuned.

You can read more about the governor’s education budget highlights and priorities that were released Monday night. Then make sure to send him and your legislators a message to fully fund professional compensation for educators and smaller class sizes for students.

Thanks to the hard work of thousands of WEA members across the state, Initiative 1351 to reduce class sizes will be on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Nearly 350,000 Washington voters signed the I-1351 petition, and Snoqualmie Valley Education Association members helped collect those signatures. Our success is an indication of the widespread support for reducing our state’s overcrowded class sizes. Thank you!

Now, we need to make sure voters – our friends, family and co-workers – know why I-1351 is good for kids and why they should vote YES this fall.

The reasons to support I-1351 are compelling:

• Washington is 47th out of 50 in class sizes in the nation. Our kids deserve better.
• Small class sizes, which foster better connections between teachers and students, are the basic building blocks for academic success.
• Lower class sizes help struggling students receive the individual attention they need to get back on track.
• In subjects like math and science, small classes make it easier for kids get interested and engaged in these subjects that will help prepare them for success in our high-tech economy. It makes common sense –  lower class sizes make it easier for students to get the attention they need to succeed in school. I-1351 benefits students in every grade, and from all backgrounds across the state.
• The initiative also increases the number of caring adults who help kids succeed in school every day.
  

To learn more about I-1351 and how you can get involved, visit www.yeson1351.com.

From DRS...

From WEA...

Wow! When was the last time you recall getting a pleasant surprise out of Washington D.C.? Earlier today, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he will allow flexibility to delay the high-stakes testing consequences for up to two years. We think this is good news, but as many of us know, the devil is in the details. We are working to find out what those details are and will keep you posted as we learn more.

At first blush, we read this as meaning high school students' results on the SBAC won't affect graduation, but we still have state end-of-course exams in place. According to the state Superintendent of Public Instruction's Office, this doesn't affect the Adequate Yearly Progress letters being sent out now, but we will investigate more about if or how this policy change relates to our teacher evaluation program and ESEA waiver loss. Tomorrow, WEA President Kim Mead will be sending more information about those "AYP" failing schools letters along with information about how to talk with parents about them.

Stay tuned.

Many of our schools will required to send out letters informing parents that the school is failing according to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). In response, the Snoqualmie Valley School District has signed on to an accompanying letter that describes the many problems with NCLB and reassures parents that our schools are not failing.

From KOMO News...

Nearly every school in Washington is failing, at least according to the No Child Left Behind federal proficiency standards.
 
Soon, parents will be receiving letters from those school districts explaining the failing marks. With it they'll also get a letter signed by 28 state superintendents who insist the standards and failure label are antiquated, punitive and wrong.

Superintendents and some parents insist the testing standards don't account for other student and school achievement.

"We have kids that are succeeding and being labeled as failure it's very unfortunate and I don't think it's fair," said Patty Phavong, a parent with four students currently in the Tukwila School District.

The Superintendent says every school in the Tukwila district is considered a failure -- including Phavong's daughter's middle school.

"We're not actually failures because we are working our best to do what we need to do at school," said Sudee Phavong, a sixth grader at one of Tukwila's middle schools.

During a Wednesday news conference, John Welch, Superintendent of Puget Sound Educational Services District, said a school is labeled "failing" under the No Child Left Behind Act, if 100 percent of its students do not meet proficiency requirements in reading and math.

"Even if one student isn't proficient, that school is a failing school," Welch said. "We think that is absolutely the wrong message to send parents."