discussion Archive

  • Ty Beaver, Tri-City Herald reporter, relates discussion of Kennewick grading policies from a school board retreat on Wednesday.  Giving principals more control over how students in their schools are graded and creating a more consistent grading system were among the topics discussed Wednesday during a Kennewick School Board retreat. The board met Wednesday night to begin reviewing the school year and district policies and philosophies. No changes have been made yet, but board members voiced a desire to see a more consistent and transparent system to evaluate student performance that would hold students accountable but not penalize those who don’t grasp a subject’s concepts right away. Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/05/17/1942889/kennewick-school-board-discusses.html#storylink=cpy    

    Kennewick School Board discusses consistent grading practices

    Posted on May 17, 2012 | No Comments
    Ty Beaver, Tri-City Herald reporter, relates discussion of Kennewick grading policies from a school board retreat on Wednesday.  Giving principals more control over how students in their schools are graded and creating a more consistent grading system were among the topics discussed Wednesday during a Kennewick School Board retreat. The board met Wednesday night to begin reviewing the school year and district policies and philosophies. No changes have been made yet, but board members voiced a desire to see a more consistent and transparent system to evaluate student performance that would hold students accountable but not penalize those who don’t grasp a subject’s concepts right away. Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/05/17/1942889/kennewick-school-board-discusses.html#storylink=cpy    

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  • Kennewick School Board Meeting March 14, 2012   Section 1: What transpired Personal comments (based on my Leadership WSSDA training) in Italics                              Section 2: What was not included Section 1 Present were school board members Dawn Adams, Heather Kintzley, Brian Brooks, Ron Mabry, Ben Messinger and Maricarmen Garza (student).  KSD staff: Dave Bond (Superintendent), Vic Roberts, Chuck Lybeck, Bev Johnson-Torelli, Jack Anderson, Greg Fancher, Dottie Stevens, Ethan Schwebke, Sam Schick, Linda Tucker, and Lorraine Cooper.  Several KSD employees, Kennewick Education Association representative and members of the public were also present.

    Kennewick School Board Report for March 14

    Posted on March 20, 2012 | No Comments
    Kennewick School Board Meeting March 14, 2012   Section 1: What transpired Personal comments (based on my Leadership WSSDA training) in Italics                              Section 2: What was not included Section 1 Present were school board members Dawn Adams, Heather Kintzley, Brian Brooks, Ron Mabry, Ben Messinger and Maricarmen Garza (student).  KSD staff: Dave Bond (Superintendent), Vic Roberts, Chuck Lybeck, Bev Johnson-Torelli, Jack Anderson, Greg Fancher, Dottie Stevens, Ethan Schwebke, Sam Schick, Linda Tucker, and Lorraine Cooper.  Several KSD employees, Kennewick Education Association representative and members of the public were also present.

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  • The following is excerpted from an article by Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit organization created to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers.   “Education “reformers” have a common playbook. First, assert without evidence that regular public schools are “failing” and that large numbers of regular (unionized) public school teachers are incompetent. Provide no documentation for this claim other than that the test score gap between minority and white children remains large. Then propose so-called reforms to address the unproven problem — charter schools to escape teacher unionization and the mechanistic use of student scores on low-quality and corrupted tests to identify teachers who should be fired.”   Read the full article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-facts-that-school-reformers-ignore/2012/01/23/gIQABWQRMQ_blog.html  

    The facts that school reformers ignore

    Posted on January 25, 2012 | No Comments
    The following is excerpted from an article by Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit organization created to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers.   “Education “reformers” have a common playbook. First, assert without evidence that regular public schools are “failing” and that large numbers of regular (unionized) public school teachers are incompetent. Provide no documentation for this claim other than that the test score gap between minority and white children remains large. Then propose so-called reforms to address the unproven problem — charter schools to escape teacher unionization and the mechanistic use of student scores on low-quality and corrupted tests to identify teachers who should be fired.”   Read the full article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-facts-that-school-reformers-ignore/2012/01/23/gIQABWQRMQ_blog.html  

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  • Created by Kathy White Kennewick School Board Retreat January 7, 2012 Section 1: What transpired Section 2: What was not included Section 1 The meeting was scheduled to begin at 8 AM.  Present were Dawn Adams, Heather Kinzley, Ron Mabry, Brian Books, Dave Bond (Superintendent), and Ron Williamson (Assistant Superintendent, Secondary Education). Ben Messinger was not present at 8:15.  Dave Bond attempted to contact Ben to no avail.  Ron Williamson found a contact number in the Messinger’s PowerSchool account.  Ben was held up by a medical emergency in the family and urged the group to begin without him.   At 8:25, President Dawn Adams opened the meeting and led in the Pledge of Allegiance.  There are ten items on the Agenda.  Two of the items, “Sports Recognition” and “Graduation Attire” were chosen to taken first as they were least complex...

    Kennewick School Board Retreat

    Posted on January 15, 2012 | No Comments
    Created by Kathy White Kennewick School Board Retreat January 7, 2012 Section 1: What transpired Section 2: What was not included Section 1 The meeting was scheduled to begin at 8 AM.  Present were Dawn Adams, Heather Kinzley, Ron Mabry, Brian Books, Dave Bond (Superintendent), and Ron Williamson (Assistant Superintendent, Secondary Education). Ben Messinger was not present at 8:15.  Dave Bond attempted to contact Ben to no avail.  Ron Williamson found a contact number in the Messinger’s PowerSchool account.  Ben was held up by a medical emergency in the family and urged the group to begin without him.   At 8:25, President Dawn Adams opened the meeting and led in the Pledge of Allegiance.  There are ten items on the Agenda.  Two of the items, “Sports Recognition” and “Graduation Attire” were chosen to taken first as they were least complex...

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  • I am currently managing the 5 Facebook accounts listed below.  Each has a different focus and much of the content is similar but for a different audience.  You might particularly note Dump Duncan, which has rapidly become a national conduit for in-depth discussion of education policy issues.  Please check them out and join up if you find one (or more) of interest. And, of course, you can participate here by going to the “Write for Kennewick Citizens” button on the right side of this page. Parents Across America-Tri-Cities http://www.facebook.com/groups/listemail/?notif_t=group_activity   School District Citizens http://www.facebook.com/pages/School-District-Citizens/129808317079224   Kennewick School District Citizens http://www.facebook.com/KSDCitizens   Dump Duncan http://www.facebook.com/groups/194348523992014/   Robert Valiant http://www.facebook.com/  

    How the reader can participate in the education debate

    Posted on January 15, 2012 | No Comments
    I am currently managing the 5 Facebook accounts listed below.  Each has a different focus and much of the content is similar but for a different audience.  You might particularly note Dump Duncan, which has rapidly become a national conduit for in-depth discussion of education policy issues.  Please check them out and join up if you find one (or more) of interest. And, of course, you can participate here by going to the “Write for Kennewick Citizens” button on the right side of this page. Parents Across America-Tri-Cities http://www.facebook.com/groups/listemail/?notif_t=group_activity   School District Citizens http://www.facebook.com/pages/School-District-Citizens/129808317079224   Kennewick School District Citizens http://www.facebook.com/KSDCitizens   Dump Duncan http://www.facebook.com/groups/194348523992014/   Robert Valiant http://www.facebook.com/  

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  • Kennewick School Board Meeting      May 25, 2011      5:30 PM All board members were present. Business: • The OSPI Washington Achievement Award was presented to the principals of Lincoln (Doug Campbell), Ridge View (Lori Butler), Canyon View (Mark Stephens) and Washington (Rob Phillips) elementary schools. These schools were recognized for overall excellence and closing the achievement gap. • Superintendent Dave Bond reported on the graduates of Phoenix school from a letter written by the school’s advisors. See details below. • Bond read a letter from the Paramount Duty Coalition detailing the impacts of the state budget on public education. KSD is a member of the coalition. See the letter at this link: http://awsp.informz.net/awsp/data/images/1coalition_budget_statement_05-24-11_final.pdf • Board member Kathy White noted the National School Boards Association (NSBA) is requesting the Department of Education provide regulatory relief from the No Child Left Behind Act...

    Kennewick School Board Report for May 25

    Posted on May 30, 2011 | 1 Comment
    Kennewick School Board Meeting      May 25, 2011      5:30 PM All board members were present. Business: • The OSPI Washington Achievement Award was presented to the principals of Lincoln (Doug Campbell), Ridge View (Lori Butler), Canyon View (Mark Stephens) and Washington (Rob Phillips) elementary schools. These schools were recognized for overall excellence and closing the achievement gap. • Superintendent Dave Bond reported on the graduates of Phoenix school from a letter written by the school’s advisors. See details below. • Bond read a letter from the Paramount Duty Coalition detailing the impacts of the state budget on public education. KSD is a member of the coalition. See the letter at this link: http://awsp.informz.net/awsp/data/images/1coalition_budget_statement_05-24-11_final.pdf • Board member Kathy White noted the National School Boards Association (NSBA) is requesting the Department of Education provide regulatory relief from the No Child Left Behind Act...

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  • Kennewick School Board Meeting     April 20, 2011     5:30 PM All board members were present. Business: • More than a half dozen community members spoke favorably about KSD supporting the establishment of GSA clubs in district high schools. • Superintendent Dave Bond reported that proposed state Senate and House budgets are not good for schools. The House budget is somewhat less damaging to school programs. • Kathy White noted some schools are promoting school vegetable gardens with support from the school lunch programs.  White commended Akshai Baskaran for achieving a National Merit Scholarship in addition to several other scholarships. • Dave Bond and Ron Williamson presented information about student clubs which the board had requested. After considerable discussion the board voted 3 to 2 to give all student clubs equal access to district facilities. See details below. • After consideration of...

    Kennewick School Board Report for April 20

    Posted on April 21, 2011 | 1 Comment
    Kennewick School Board Meeting     April 20, 2011     5:30 PM All board members were present. Business: • More than a half dozen community members spoke favorably about KSD supporting the establishment of GSA clubs in district high schools. • Superintendent Dave Bond reported that proposed state Senate and House budgets are not good for schools. The House budget is somewhat less damaging to school programs. • Kathy White noted some schools are promoting school vegetable gardens with support from the school lunch programs.  White commended Akshai Baskaran for achieving a National Merit Scholarship in addition to several other scholarships. • Dave Bond and Ron Williamson presented information about student clubs which the board had requested. After considerable discussion the board voted 3 to 2 to give all student clubs equal access to district facilities. See details below. • After consideration of...

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