Kennewick 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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  • While Kennewick School District and the Kennewick Education Association continue work to resolve the KEA grievance over standards based grading in Kennewick middle schools there is no new information from district or building administrators.  A parent has contacted us regarding her experience with SBG which we are reporting here.  I have chosen to not disclose the writer’s name. I have had an issue with my kiddo at Highlands which prompted me to look closer at the grading situation. I am an educator and I have taught in an elementary which used SBG. We collected students’ work and graded it as usual. Then for our report cards we had to align the questions from our assessments with the standards on our report cards and report on how well students master the standards. All the while teaching and reteaching, monitoring student progress,...

    Standards Based Grading – A Parent’s Concerns

    Posted on May 4, 2012 | 2 Comments
    While Kennewick School District and the Kennewick Education Association continue work to resolve the KEA grievance over standards based grading in Kennewick middle schools there is no new information from district or building administrators.  A parent has contacted us regarding her experience with SBG which we are reporting here.  I have chosen to not disclose the writer’s name. I have had an issue with my kiddo at Highlands which prompted me to look closer at the grading situation. I am an educator and I have taught in an elementary which used SBG. We collected students’ work and graded it as usual. Then for our report cards we had to align the questions from our assessments with the standards on our report cards and report on how well students master the standards. All the while teaching and reteaching, monitoring student progress,...

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  • Another view of a test used in Kennewick schools. The federal Reading First program has come under repeated scrutiny for corruption, exposing how individuals in charge of monitoring the program have pushed products, such as the DIBELS test, from which they have benefited financially (see “Reading First,” this issue). Complementing the financial corruption is ideological corruption. In Examining DIBELS: What It Is and What It Does, Ken Goodman and his colleagues carefully dissect the test, concluding that it is conceptually flawed and educationally harmful. Follow this link to the complete article: http://www.fairtest.org/dibels-pedagogy-absurd-hurts-children For the Reading First article: http://www.fairtest.org/reading-first-financial-corruption      

    DIBELS: Pedagogy of the Absurd Hurts Children

    Posted on April 24, 2012 | No Comments
    Another view of a test used in Kennewick schools. The federal Reading First program has come under repeated scrutiny for corruption, exposing how individuals in charge of monitoring the program have pushed products, such as the DIBELS test, from which they have benefited financially (see “Reading First,” this issue). Complementing the financial corruption is ideological corruption. In Examining DIBELS: What It Is and What It Does, Ken Goodman and his colleagues carefully dissect the test, concluding that it is conceptually flawed and educationally harmful. Follow this link to the complete article: http://www.fairtest.org/dibels-pedagogy-absurd-hurts-children For the Reading First article: http://www.fairtest.org/reading-first-financial-corruption      

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  • There was an evaluation system that had passed through the [Washington] state legislature last year which was a four tiered process. OSPI and WEA were working together with a pilot program to develop the system but that wasn’t good enough for the same folks that last year had pushed that very bill. Nope, now the stakes have to be higher. It was determined that a certain percentage of a teacher’s evaluation will be based on their students’ test scores. It doesn’t’ matter what percentage it is, it does matter that it is based on test scores. This is called “high stakes testing”. Follow this link to read the entire article: http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/opting-out-of-high-stakes-testing/

    High Stakes Testing for Kennewick Students and Teachers

    Posted on April 6, 2012 | 1 Comment
    There was an evaluation system that had passed through the [Washington] state legislature last year which was a four tiered process. OSPI and WEA were working together with a pilot program to develop the system but that wasn’t good enough for the same folks that last year had pushed that very bill. Nope, now the stakes have to be higher. It was determined that a certain percentage of a teacher’s evaluation will be based on their students’ test scores. It doesn’t’ matter what percentage it is, it does matter that it is based on test scores. This is called “high stakes testing”. Follow this link to read the entire article: http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/opting-out-of-high-stakes-testing/

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  • Kennewick School Board Meeting March 28, 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, Brian Brooks, Ben Messinger, and Maricarmen Garza (student).  KSD staff: Dave Bond (Superintendent), Vic Roberts, Chuck Lybeck, Bev Johnson-Torelli, Jack Anderson, Greg Fancher, Linda Tucker, and Lorraine Cooper.  Van Cummins, all three high school athletic directors, athletic coaches and an expanded room full of winter athletes, Kennewick Education Association representative and several members of the public were also present.  Two school board members were absent.  More about this in Section 2.   The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM by president Dawn Adams who led the Pledge of Allegiance.

    Kennewick School Board Report for March 28

    Posted on April 4, 2012 | 1 Comment
    Kennewick School Board Meeting March 28, 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, Brian Brooks, Ben Messinger, and Maricarmen Garza (student).  KSD staff: Dave Bond (Superintendent), Vic Roberts, Chuck Lybeck, Bev Johnson-Torelli, Jack Anderson, Greg Fancher, Linda Tucker, and Lorraine Cooper.  Van Cummins, all three high school athletic directors, athletic coaches and an expanded room full of winter athletes, Kennewick Education Association representative and several members of the public were also present.  Two school board members were absent.  More about this in Section 2.   The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM by president Dawn Adams who led the Pledge of Allegiance.

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  • On page 6 of the Tri-City Herald PROGRESS 2012 edition in an article titled District charts course with new strategic plan, Superintendent Dave Bond describes the principles and “North Star” goals which will guide the work of Kennewick School District for the next decade and beyond.  When that edition is available online we will link to it here. Until then, information about the KSD Strategic Plan and North Star goals is available here:

    Dave Bond Describes the KSD Strategic Plan

    Posted on March 28, 2012 | No Comments
    On page 6 of the Tri-City Herald PROGRESS 2012 edition in an article titled District charts course with new strategic plan, Superintendent Dave Bond describes the principles and “North Star” goals which will guide the work of Kennewick School District for the next decade and beyond.  When that edition is available online we will link to it here. Until then, information about the KSD Strategic Plan and North Star goals is available here:

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  • For readers who may not have seen these Tri-City Herald articles we offer links to some recent news and opinion pieces of interest to educators and families.  Follow the links below to read the associated articles and opinion letters: March 19 - Health care proposal worries Washington educators http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/03/19/1870484/health-care-proposal-worries-washington.html Kennewick, Pasco students learn in English and Spanish http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/03/19/1870743/kennewick-pasco-students-learn.html

    Local Education News and Opinion from the Tri-City Herald

    Posted on March 19, 2012 | No Comments
    For readers who may not have seen these Tri-City Herald articles we offer links to some recent news and opinion pieces of interest to educators and families.  Follow the links below to read the associated articles and opinion letters: March 19 - Health care proposal worries Washington educators http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/03/19/1870484/health-care-proposal-worries-washington.html Kennewick, Pasco students learn in English and Spanish http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/03/19/1870743/kennewick-pasco-students-learn.html

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  •                                          Kennewick School Board Meeting                                          February 22, 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 Heather Kinzley, Brian Brooks, Ron Mabry, Ben Messinger and Maricarmen Garza.  KSD staff: Dave Bond (Superintendent), Ron Williamson, Vic Roberts, Chuck Lybeck, Jack Anderson, Linda Tucker, Lorraine Cooper, about six citizens.  President Dawn Adams was sick and did not attend.   The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM by Vice-President Heather Kinzley who led the Pledge of Allegiance.   Communication from Parents, Staff and District Residents:  None   Consent Items:  Minutes of 2/8/12 regular meeting, Certified, Classified and Extracurricular Personnel Actions, and Travel Requests, Payroll and vouchers and Delta High School Inter Local Agreement Addition.  Motion to accept was made by Brian,...

    Kennewick School Board Report for February 22

    Posted on March 2, 2012 | 1 Comment
                                             Kennewick School Board Meeting                                          February 22, 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 Heather Kinzley, Brian Brooks, Ron Mabry, Ben Messinger and Maricarmen Garza.  KSD staff: Dave Bond (Superintendent), Ron Williamson, Vic Roberts, Chuck Lybeck, Jack Anderson, Linda Tucker, Lorraine Cooper, about six citizens.  President Dawn Adams was sick and did not attend.   The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM by Vice-President Heather Kinzley who led the Pledge of Allegiance.   Communication from Parents, Staff and District Residents:  None   Consent Items:  Minutes of 2/8/12 regular meeting, Certified, Classified and Extracurricular Personnel Actions, and Travel Requests, Payroll and vouchers and Delta High School Inter Local Agreement Addition.  Motion to accept was made by Brian,...

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