High School math curriculum adoption is put on hold
June 25, 2009
NEW — 2:31 p.m. June 25, 2009
After community concern and lack of clarity at the state level, Issaquah School District Superintendent Steve Rasmussen told school board members June 24 that he had decided to delay the district’s high school math adoption for one year.
“The teachers on the adoption committee have done thorough, exceptional work and we don’t want to lose that. But it is prudent to wait for the dust to settle,” he said.
Teachers will continue to use the current math program, College Prep Mathematics, when students come back to class in the fall, said Patrick Murphy, executive director of secondary education.
Bring questions to garden, historic roads open houses Thursday
June 24, 2009
NEW — 3:15 p.m. June 24, 2009
Pickering Farm Garden open house
Bring fresh ideas to a city open house Thursday night. City officials and Seattle Tilth staffers want to hear suggestions for improving Pickering Farm Garden.
The open house is from 5-7 p.m. at City Hall Northwest, 1775 12th Ave. N.W.
City officials formed a partnership with the Tilth to plant the seed for the garden’s vision, design and growth.
Officials have received several ideas for the garden, including establishing city demonstration gardens, offering hands-on educational opportunities for organic gardening, creating a hub of a connected community trail system that includes other community garden sites and connecting to a Gilman Boulevard edible landscaping parkway.
Pickering Farm Garden is located on the west side of Pickering Barn. City and Tilth employees hosted an earlier open house related to the garden June 11.
Plane crashes into Lake Sammamish; pilot unhurt
June 24, 2009
UPDATED — 12:36 p.m. June 24, 2009
Paul Weston pointed to a purple dot, about the size of dime, on the crook of his right arm — the only sign on his entire body that he had just crashed a plane into Lake Sammamish.
“I’m just thanking the lord that everything turned out fine,” Weston said.
The 83-year-old Redmond resident was testing out a seaplane he designed when he came in at angle, dipping the left wing into the water, and crashed at 10:45 a.m. today. The flight lasted about five minutes, starting with an eastward takeoff that ended as Weston circled back around and tried to land. The plane hit the water about 300 yards from Vasa Park in Bellevue.
Paul Weston, of Redmond, an experimental float plane pilot, talks on his phone at a Vasa Park boat launch ramp after a safe but ungraceful landing June 24 in waters off the park on Lake Sammamish. By Greg Farrar
Summer Living 2009
June 24, 2009
To view Issaquah Living – Summer 2009, click on the link below.
Class of 2009: 93 percent pass WASL, graduate on time
June 23, 2009
State average is 72 percent
This year’s Issaquah School District graduates are ahead of their statewide peers when it comes to graduating on time and meeting state requirements.
State Superintendent Randy Dorn announced some preliminary graduation information regarding students in the class of 2009. It is the second year students have been required to pass the reading and writing Washington Assessment of Student Learning exams. They are also required to pass the mathematics WASL exam and/or take the exam and additional math courses or another exam to fulfill the requirement.
In addition to passing the WASL, students are also required to complete a high school and beyond plan, a culminating high school project and meet their district’s credit requirements.
This year, 93 percent of students from the class of 2009 passed the reading and writing requirements of the WASL, according to the state superintendent’s office. Other information about WASL math scores wasn’t available and won’t be until the fall or winter.
However, the state’s on time graduation rate in 2008 was 72 percent. Students who graduate on time are those that do so in four years, ninth through 12th-grade. The state’s dropout rate is nearly 6 percent.
In Issaquah, district officials handed 1,104 students in the class of 2009 their diplomas. Issaquah’s on-time graduation rate has been 92.6 percent and its dropout rate has been 1.6 percent in recent years.
Only three students districtwide didn’t receive their diplomas.
Those three students would have graduated if they had been able to meet state standards for the WASL. However, two of the students are English language learners, still trying to master enough English skills to pass the exam; the third is a special-education student.
State officials’ focus in coming years is shifting from the WASL to implementing a new assessment system, which will begin next spring.
The new system will reduce testing time but still capture student performance on necessary skills and will mainly be provided online.
Details regarding that system are still vague. However, students in grades six through eight will take online reading and math tests beginning next spring.
In spring 2011, students in grades five through eight will take reading, writing, math and science tests online and high school students will take reading, writing and math exams online. By spring 2012, students in grades four through eight will take online reading, writing, math and science exams and high schoolers will take online reading, math and science exams.
The goal is to reduce the dropout rate by reducing testing time and putting more emphasis on identifying children’s learning needs in and outside the classroom to help them pass.
“Keeping students in high school and engaged in learning is an issue that every community, school, legislator and state leader must address,” Dorn said in a press release. “We can’t afford to fail our students.”
Officials advise to plan ahead for summer roadwork
June 23, 2009
State transportation officials have spent months warning Eastside commuters about weeks of traffic congestion and headaches when the westbound Interstate 90 floating bridge shuts down next month. But other roadwork closer to home could also complicate commutes for Issaquah drivers.
City, county and state crews will resurface roads, build sidewalks and shore up overpasses in Issaquah and the surrounding area. Other, long-term construction projects — like the state Route 900 widening — will continue through summer.
“Compared to past years, it’s a little more than average but far from the busiest,” City Public Works Engineering Director Bob Brock said. Read more
Arts calendar
June 23, 2009
JUNE
25th
Brian Detlefs performs from 7-9 p.m. at Grimaldi’s Coffee House, 317 Gilman Blvd., Suite 47. Call 427-8161. Read more
City considers ban on Styrofoam
June 23, 2009
Jose Enciso Jr. fills Styrofoam cups at XXX Rootbeer in Issaquah. By Adam Eschbach
Stop by XXX Rootbeer Drive-in for a to-go root beer, and the signature drink will be served in a plastic foam cup — for now. Employees at the drive-in and many other Issaquah restaurants could be forced to swap Styrofoam and other polystyrene containers for eco-friendly materials.
Drive-in owner Jose Enciso said his restaurant uses polystyrene products because they cost less than alternatives. As the City Council considers a ban on Styrofoam to-go boxes and other food containers made from eco-unfriendly polystyrene, Enciso and other business leaders said the ban could mean higher prices on the menu.
But Enciso said he was comfortable with the switch for environmental reasons. Read more
Issaquah Silver wins Battle of Bothell
June 23, 2009
Nate Bean (8), Issaquah Purple midfielder, drives the ball against Puyallup, in one of the Battle of Bothell tournament games that got them into the finals against the Lake Oswego, Ore., lacrosse team. By Charles Mauzy / Issaquah Youth Lacrosse
They didn’t have it in the bag, but going into last weekend’s Battle of Bothell, the Issaquah Silver fifth- and sixth-grade lacrosse team was confident about its chances of winning the tournament championship.
The boys, from Issaquah and Sammamish, had won it in 2008 and looked to capitalize on their experience and disciplined conditioning. They did, and after easily winning the first few rounds on the waterlogged North Creek playfields, Issaquah Silver outshot and outhustled Beaverton, Ore., in a 7-3 championship victory.
“In the early rounds, it was pretty easy, but it started getting a little harder. In the championship round, it was pretty tough,” said standout attackman Jordan Greenhall. “Beaverton, they had a couple of really strong middies that were really good.”
The annual Battle of Bothell tournament featured 62 teams from the Northwest, including dozens of local teams and some from Oregon and Canada, with players ranging from fifth to 11th grades. Parents and players gathered at the playfields June 19-21 to enjoy a weekend of lacrosse.
In the end, the teams had played 107 games combined, said tournament coordinator Stan Kosick. It was the first year Battle of Bothell had rain. Read more
Today’s PTSAs fund more than playgrounds
June 23, 2009
Books are set out for students at Maple Hills Elementary School in April that were purchased by the PTSA for the Eager Reader program, an incentive reading program that students do at home. By Chantelle Lusebrink
In a time when education funding is uncertain, parent teacher associations do more than provide an extra set of swings on school playgrounds.
In fact, local PTSAs have provided $592,542 to the Issaquah School District between March 2008 and April 2009.
“Basically, it expands the reach of what happens day to day, but also supplements the instruction in the classroom,” said Nancy Campi, co-council president of the districtwide PTSA. “Unfortunately, now what we are doing is filling in the huge funding gap of money that isn’t being paid by the state for basics, like expanded hours, basic supplies and professional development.”
In the face of a $5.4 million budget gap, district officials have already had to increase class sizes by one child in each classroom in kindergarten through 12th grades. They’ve also reduced other operational costs by about $2.2 million. The cuts are making district officials realize PTSA funding is more crucial than ever and they are beginning to collect data on it. Read more
