This article is available in English and Spanish. 

Are you concerned about your child's development?

One of the most important responsibilities you have as a parent is to make sure that your child has what he/she needs.  That goes beyond love, food and clothing.  Approximately ten percent of all children have some special need that requires special attention.  If you think your child (birth thru 21) has difficulty seeing or hearing, has communication or diagnosed health problems, has difficulty learning or playing, help is as close as your Childfind Coordinator at your local school district.  Parents with children in private schools and/or parochial schools, or anyone knowing of a child who is highly mobile, homeless or migrant should contact their closest school district in which they reside for Childfind information. 

Childfind is a process of locating children who will need special services in order to experience success in school.  Schools and community agencies work together to provide these services.  If you know a child that may need help, call your local Childfind Coordinator today.  Childfind is free to parents.

In Grandview, call 509-882-8507 for more information.

Superintendent R. Kevin Chase is featured in a recent article from the University of Washington's Center for Educational Leadership (CEL). 

 "CEL has been leading some exciting work with a network of superintendents in the lower Yakima Valley. Once a month throughout the school year, twelve superintendents have been meeting to form a professional learning community with the intent of strengthening their instructional leadership skills. The goal of this work includes four components:

• To create a deep learning community designed to improve superintendents’ conception of powerful instruction
• To identify current problems of instructional practice
• To use the collective intelligence of the network to help each superintendent grapple with an identified problem of practice
• To develop more powerful leadership strategies and actions that improves the quality of teaching and learning in every school and in every classroom.

Each month the superintendents visit a different district with the focus of a problem of practice that the host superintendent selects. Mornings are spent visiting classrooms and the afternoon conversations are facilitated to debrief learning and to deepen participants’ knowledge and understanding through CEL consultants and presentations. For example, in January these district leaders had the opportunity to work with Dr. Richard Elmore, Gregory R. Anrig Professor of Educational Leadership and Director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at Harvard University. Dr. Elmore helped the group clarify and create plans to address a key issue in their district impeding student achievement. “The single purpose for us to come together each month is to increase our own instructional leadership in order to increase student learning,” Dr. Fink shared with the group. The group itself represents a wide range of experience. Some members are new to the superintendency and others have been education leaders within their communities for years."

Read the full article from the CEL website (pdf).

This is an OSPI Press Release from http://www.k12.wa.us/Communications/pressreleases2008/MathEducationStatement.aspx.

OLYMPIA — We have learned that readers and viewers of recent news headlines are reaching erroneous conclusions about high school graduation requirements related to math.

Nothing has changed the math graduation requirements for students through the Class of 2012. The Class of 2013 will have an additional option to choose end-of-course math exams. Beginning in 2014, the existing WASL will be phased out and math end-of-course exams will be required for graduation.

We are sending you the math requirements for students in current and future classes. Please feel free to use this document in communication to other educators, students, parents and community members in your district.

Math graduation requirements for the Class of 2008
Students in the Class of 2008 (defined as those students who started ninth grade year in 2004-05) will meet the math graduation requirement by this June by:

• Passing the math high school WASL/WAAS (see definition of assessments for students receiving special education services at bottom) OR
  Meeting standard on a math Collection of Evidence OR
• Submitting a score of 19 or higher on the math ACT, 47 or higher on the math PSAT, 470 or higher on the math SAT, or 3 or higher on calculus or statistics Advanced Placement course exams OR
• Earning one credit of math after the 11th grade and taking (not necessarily passing) the high school math WASL/WAAS, submitting a complete math Collection of Evidence , or taking the math ACT, math PSAT, math SAT, a calculus or statistics AP exams.

Math graduation requirements for the Classes of 2009-2012
Students in the Classes of 2009-12 will meet the math graduation requirement by:

• Passing the math high school WASL/WAAS OR
• Meeting standard on a math Collection of Evidence OR
• Submitting a score of 19 or higher on the math ACT, 47 or higher on the math PSAT, 470 or higher on the math SAT, or 3 or higher on calculus or statistics Advanced Placement course exams OR
• Earning two math credits after 10th grade and annually taking (not necessarily passing) the high school math WASL/WAAS, submitting a complete math Collection of Evidence, or taking (not necessarily passing) the math ACT, math PSAT, math SAT, or a calculus or statistics AP exam.

Math graduation requirements for the Class of 2013
Students in the Class of 2013 will meet the math graduation requirement by:

• Passing the math high school WASL/WAAS OR
• Meeting standard on a math Collection of Evidence OR
• Submitting a score of 19 or higher on the math ACT, 470 or higher on the math SAT, or 3 or higher on calculus or statistics Advanced Placement course exams OR
• Passing end-of-course exams in Algebra I and Geometry or end-of-course exams in Integrated Math I and II.

Math graduation requirements for the Class of 2014
The high school math WASL/WAAS will be eliminated as a graduation requirement or option for students in the Class of 2014. Students in this class will fulfill the math graduation requirement by:

• Passing end-of-course exams in Algebra I and Geometry or end-of-course exams in Integrated Math I and II OR
• Meeting standard on a math Collection of Evidence OR
• Submitting a score of 19 or higher on the math ACT, 470 or higher on the math SAT, or 3 or higher on calculus or statistics Advanced Placement course exams.

Students receiving special education services Classes of 2008-2013
Students receiving special education services may use the following assessments to meet the state testing graduation requirements:

• High school math WASL with or without accommodations OR
• WASL-Basic with or without accommodations OR
• WAAS-Portfolio

The following additional options are available only to students receiving special education in grades 11 and 12 who still need to meet the state testing graduation requirement. They will graduate by:

• WAAS-Developmentally Appropriate WASL (WAAS-DAW) OR
• Locally Determined Assessments

For detailed information regarding high school graduation requirements for students in the Class of 2008, please visit: http://www.k12.wa.us/Communications/2008GradToolkit.aspx.