WA Scholars Event

Tomorrow, AWSP and the Higher Education Coordinating Board will be hosting the annual Washington Scholars ceremony and luncheon here in Olympia.

The morning session will begin at 9:45 in the chambers of the House of Representatives where friends, family and educators will join in recognition of their achievements. This is an award that is given by the state to three graduating seniors in each legislative district. Students are in the top 1 percent of their graduating classes and are selected based on their academic achievement, in addition to their leadership, community involvement and other extra-curricular activities.

The reward?

A four-year scholarship for tuition at any four-year public or private university in Washington state.

The Legislature started the program in 1981 as a way of honoring these kind of students. But it also helps ensure some of the state's best and brightest advance their education here in Washington. You can read more about the scholarship program here.

TVW will be covering the morning program live tomorrow. Our five morning interest sessions on the role of state government in lobbying, media/communications/the law and the Supreme Court will also be broadcast via the TVW Web site.

Then tomorrow at noon, the Scholars and their families will be joined by their legislators at a special luncheon at Saint Martin's University in Lacey. Gov. Gregoire and State Superintendent Terry Bergeson are among the honored guests speaking at the luncheon.

It should be a nice day for these students, their families and accompanying principals and teachers.

Deadline Nears for Special Circumstances Appeals

High school principals, heads up!

The deadline for filing special circumstance appeals for high school students who missed the math WASL is looming on the horizon. To be considered for the appeal, applications must be received by OSPI by Thursday, May 1. Supporting documentation can be filed after the deadline, but must be received by May 12.

You can download the appeals application here. Or go here to learn more about the special circumstances process.

According to OSPI:

"The appeal was created for students in their senior year who, because of 'special, unavoidable circumstances,' were unable to demonstrate their skills and knowledge on the high school WASL or another appropriate assessment. For example, OSPI has been alerted about numerous cases where students missed one or both days of the WASL because they were ill. Although that doesn’t guarantee an appeal will be approved, that special, unavoidable circumstance certainly qualifies as an appeal. In order for an appeal to be granted, documentation demonstrating that the student has the skills to meet standard must be provided.

Core 24

No, this does not have Kiefer Sutherland in it. (But that would be interesting!)

The "Core 24" is the short form for a new proposal by the State Board of Education to increase the minimum number of graduation credits from 19 to 24. The Meaningful High School Diploma project is one of the Board's major initiatives this year. In order to earn a diploma under the MHSD model:

"...every student will develop and follow a coherent personal plan of study that prepares them for the next step after high school- whether it's a trade, an apprenticeship program or college."

The increase would vary depending on the pathway -- work ready, college and work ready or college ready. Here's the comparison of work ready vs. work and college ready vs. college ready (differences in bold) and they each involve 24 credits:

WORK READY

• 4 credits of English
  
• 3 of mathematics
• 3 of science
• 3 of social studies
• 3 in career and technical ed
• 2 in art
• 1.5 in fitness
• .5 in health
• 4 elective credits

WORK & COLLEGE READY

• 4 credits of English
  
• 3 of mathematics
• 3 of science
• 3 of social studies
• 3 in career and technical ed
• 2 in world languages (the same language)
  
• 2 in art
• 1.5 in fitness
• .5 in health
• 2 elective credits

COLLEGE READY

• 4 credits of English
  
• 3 of mathematics
• 3 of science
• 3 of social studies
• 1 in career and technical ed
• 2 in world languages (the same language)
  
• 2 in art
• 1.5 in fitness
• .5 in health
• 4 elective credits

AWSP is working with its high school board on this issue and will be discussing it with the AWSP board later this week.

Do you support the overall concept and goal of the Core 24 proposal? What specific concerns do you have, if any, about the proposal?

It's Official!

Now the work really begins!

The revised K-8 mathematics standards were approved yesterday by the State Board of Education (SBE) in a brief, 40-minute session held at OSPI. Asa result, OSPI will now shift into professional development mode and begin the task of training the state's K-8 teachers before next fall. The state has already set in motion a professional development plan to ensure this happens.

This summer, OSPI, the ESDs and several of the state' s largest school districts will be hosting trainings to get teachers up to speed on the new standards. At the same time, OSPI is also moving forward with a curriculum review to support the revised standards. The agency has six months from the time the standards are approved to conduct the review and make recommendations to the SBE for three basic curricula for grades K-5 and three for grades 6-8. The review will begin in June and will involve a team of approximately 50 educators from around the state who were selected through a competitive process.

Are you an elementary principal? Have you heard about the summer mathematics trainings in your district or ESD?