001Good afternoon. Welcome to the March 2nd meeting of the Yakama School Board. Before we begin, there are a few announcements I will make. First of all, we offer Spanish interpretation services from Jorge with Language Connection. If you need translation assistance in person, please check with Jorge for a device. And Jorge, please translate that information. If you wish to make a public comment today, there are two options available for you. The first option is for commenting on agenda items only. And the second option, which comes toward the end of the meeting, is for all other topics. In order to speak, you will need to sign two forms, a sign-in form and the guidelines form. We do provide live streaming for this meeting. The link can be found on our web page under board of directors and
002recordings. If you are interested in watching past meetings, you may find them on our web page YSD YouTube channel. Or would you call the meeting to order, please? >> Um, President Navaro, I mean, Director Navaro Jr., >> Director Rice here, >> Vice President Beckett here, >> President Walker here, >> and Director Shelton is excused. Today we're honored to have two students from Bridge View that will lead us in the pledge of allegiance and I believe Mr. Whiters is going to introduce >> Yes. Today we have Sharon Guzman and Sophia Perez to lead us in the pledge of allegiance and the word character word of the month. >> Do I do it? Which one's first? >> So, please rise. We're going to do the pledge of allegiance first. >> Okay. Together. >> Ready? Begin. >> I
003pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. March's word of the month, collaborative. Promoting working together effectively to achieve common goals. like to thank you girls for helping us today. Do any members of the board like to ask any questions of our our students? They've been primed that they might get a question or two. If not, would you mind just tell giving us your name and then maybe one or two things you really like about school or one or two things you're really looking forward to in the next couple years? >> My name is Sophia and two things I like about school is recess and reading. My name is Sharon. Two things
004that I like about school is math and recess. >> Okay. Thanks again for helping us out today. Today, the schools of the Yakama school district rest on the ancestral lands of the 14 Confederated tribes and bands of the Yakama nation. The people of the Yakan nation inhabited more than 12 million acres. Kitas Clat and Yakama counties. >> Today we honor those native peoples who are tied to the land through history, legends, and culture. We acknowledge our descendants who live in the world today. We thank the caretakers of this land who have lived here and continue to live here since time immemorial. An acknowledgement is a simple powerful way to show respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase indigenous people's history and culture. It also honors the truth. >> As a
005school district, we will continue to build upon our relations with the Yakama nation. >> Thank you students. Before we continue with the business part of our meeting, like to take a a moment to honor four former members of the Yanka School District and their obituaries are attached in the board documents, but I'd like to tell you briefly a little bit about each one of them. I first met Willie Turner in the tenor section of aolons at Davis High School in the late60s. And one little factoid people don't know about Willie who was at one point the fastest runner in the world is that he had a really good singing voice as well. Kathy Davis I worked I had the privilege of working with her at Barge Lincoln for a number of years. Believe she spent
006most of her career at barge probably nearly 30 years I believe right at all at Barge Lincoln. Danna Cortez um I had the privilege of working with her at Franklin Middle School and uh Bruce er was a longtime district administrator and well beloved throughout the district. He was a real support to all the staff and students in the district. So please join me in a moment of silence today for our former district members. Thank you. They will be missed. Now, today we're privileged to uh hear from Christopher Whitehurst, principal of right here at Ridge View Elementary, and he's going to give us his site report. Well, good afternoon and welcome to Ridge View. I am honored uh to address our distinguished board members, Yakma School District Leadership Team, and valued community stakeholders. Um I was
007proud to hear today that uh I heard Miss Miss Bryce that uh you have some deep connections to Ridge View. Um, so welcome back. I guess not a welcome to but a welcome back. Um, I want to thank our two kiddos that came up and did the pledge and that um, though quiet, they are part of our leadership team here at Ridge View. Um, and both um, very excellent students. I had one of their older siblings while I was a teacher at Lewis and Clark. Um, very great families in our community. So, I want to thank them. Um, but thank you guys for your time and continued investments in our students. Um today I'm uh pleased to present a comprehensive overview of Ridgeview's strategic initiatives and measurable outcomes. Over the past two years under my
008leadership, our work has been firmly grounded in datadriven decision-making and aligned with the district's commitment to the professional learning community or PLC framework. Um the next slide, Barb, please. Oh, I have the clicker. Sorry. Our mission is to ensure high levels of learning for all stakeholders, um, students, families, and the broader community. We are committed to creating an educational environment where every child has access to rigorous grade level instruction and equitable opportunities for success. Our vision statement, we envision a school where all students achieve at grade level or higher, supported by a collaborative staff culture centered on collaborative inquiry and actionoriented responses to student achievement data. Additionally, we strive to cultivate an inclusive environment where students, staff, and families feel welcome, cared for, and valued as essential members of our school community. Our core values.
009Our work is guided by four fundamental values being maintaining high expectations for all learners, focusing on the whole child, ensuring all children feel included and valued, and operating as a true community school that serves as a hub for family engagement and support. We have established three measurable goals to drive our improvement efforts. Today, we're going to focus on goal three that you see up there. um excuse me and that is focusing on students with disabilities and increasing the percentage of students with disabilities demonstrating substantial growth to 45%. When I first joined Ridgeview approximately 5 years ago as an assistant principal, I brought a clear focus and vision centered on educational equity, ensuring that all students truly means all students. Uh I am fortunate to work alongside an exceptional team committed to this work. Our priority
010has been guaranteeing that every student regardless of subgroup um designation or background receives the same highquality educational experiences and opportunities. At the time I took over, the building was transitioning and adding more self-contained classrooms, and the need for more inclusive practices was evident. I'm a strong advocate for students needing to learn with and from their peers. During the first two years of my instructional leadership, I identified multiple opportunities to advance this equity agenda. I initiated this work using data from the Washington School Improvement Framework. You will hear that referred to as WISF. with particular attention to multilingual learners and students with disabilities. While we have achieved significant growth with multilingual learners, this success has allowed us to sharpen our focus on students with disabilities where the greatest opportunity for improvement remains, as you'll see as
011we move forward. Examining our trend data provides clear evidence of our strategic shifts in 2324 school year. Prior to my direct involvement in instructional decision-making, growth was evident primarily in reading with significant opportunities for improvement in mathematics. In 2425, I assumed full leadership of the building and began implementing my mathematics vision and instructional plan with our collaborative teams. That year, we observed meaningful growth in both mathematics and reading. Those students with disabilities continue to require additional support and examination by 2526. This is preliminary WISF data from this year that hasn't been quite published yet on OSPI. Um but it's a data that they've pushed out to us. We have successfully extended that growth now across all student subgroups as you can see on the 24 or the 25 26 school year. Um you can see
012at the trend the arrows everything improving the blue meaning good growth. Um we have made growth in now every single area across the board on our WISF um scores and trends this year. The district's math end of unit common assessment reveals the impact of sustained coherent instruction practices. Our fifth grade data reflects students who have experienced my instructional model for only the past two years following four years under a different approach. These students did not benefit from our current emphasis on targeted interventions, inclusionary practices, or our mature PLC process until they were in the fourth grade. In contrast, our second grade cohort has spent nearly their entire educ educational experience within my instructional framework and model. The comparative data clearly demonstrates the compounding benefits of consistent equity focused instruction from the earliest grades. So we
013can see the fifth grade being the bottom two graphs. All students on the left, students with disabilities on the right. We have some major holes um we are trying to address. And when I took over, we noticed those holes. Um students with disabilities were being left behind. um all students were struggling with math, but we saw a bigger hole with students with disabilities with the programs and stuff that we've implemented with including um some inclusionary practices um some other things that I'll get into on some further slides. You can see in second grade with students who have now been in our program and the things that we've changed, you can see that that their graphs are almost identical with the practices that we now have in place. So, you may be wondering what specific leadership
014moves produced these results. The expansion of the PLC process. I'm grateful to Miss Foggusen, principal at Lewis and Clark, who you heard from earlier this year. Um, she introduced our leadership team to the 15-day challenge process. Initially, I was a little skeptical about adding another layer to our already robust PLC process. Um, however, after my instructional facilitator, Miss Henson, and I presented this process to our staff, um, worked through it with them, the response that we received was overwhelmingly positive. Teachers reported that the structure enhanced accountabil account accountability among team members, maintained instructional pacing, and provided clarity regarding learning progressions. I also advocated for increased implementation and utilization of smarter balance practice items and interim assessments throughout the instructional year. The strategic move has aligned our daily instructional work with the rigor and depth of
015knowledge required by state assessments while simultaneously familiarizing students with assessments formats and question types. Importantly, this work extends to our self-contained classrooms, ensuring all students have access to grade level content and assessment practices. I redesigned our master schedule to facilitate the inclusion of self-contained teachers and grade level planning sessions aligned with their students chronolog chronological age and developmental needs. At minimum, all students in self-contained settings participate in recess, lunch, and specialist classes alongside their general education peers. As students demonstrate readiness, they have opportunities to join intervention groups and other instructional blocks, creating a continuum of inclusive experiences. Looking ahead, as we move forward, I am committed to several strategic priorities. I will continue to pursue professional development opportunities focused on inclusionary practices and universal design for learning principles. Our instructional teams have already transitioned the
016PLC process to our language arts curriculum to replicate the success that we have seen in math into the reading curriculum. And most importantly, I am committed to stay ahead of the data. I expect our staff to enter every meeting fully informed with no surprises regarding student performance. Every educator in our building should know precisely where their student is performing and should be actively working to accelerate growth. This is what it means when we say all means all truly represent. It's truly represented in practice. My expectation is to be surprised only by outcomes that exceed our projections. Evidence that our collective efforts are creating transformational opportunities for every child at Ridge View. So, I've added some pictures here for us to look at from kiddos of our our building in the last couple years. The top
017left is uh an author night. We invited an author in. Um her mother actually works with the school district. Um she is um a student with disabilities herself. um she has autism, but she came and shared her story with our building and invited kids up and handed out a few books to some some students. It was a great event. The bottom left is the apple crunch. That is our first grade kiddos who went out in the hallway um and all took a bite out of the apple at the same time to celebrate that this year. The center picture is a third grade classroom. Um, a little hard to see, but behind them are their math posters, ones, tens, hundreds. Um, and they were doing some expanded form and just some examples of their math work
018behind them. The top right is a student who's getting a little extra math help, uh, a little one-on-one kind of tutoring. Um, he's working writing on the table to work out the equation. And the bottom right is one of our self-contained students who during a um during an assembly we had a Native American group come and they were doing dancing and playing drums and he was enamored with the drums and he kept getting closer and closer and eventually they invited him in and he was able to play the drums with them and so he was just ecstatic to be able to play the drums that night with them. So, just a little example of the events and things that are happening around Ridge View. But, um um questions from the board. Any questions or comments
019from the board? >> I'm always excited to come to Ridge View. It feels like home coming here. Coming back here. Um, it was built to uh consolidate a couple of of older schools and my son was in third grade. He started at the old Broadway and he was in third grade when he moved over here and then my daughter who was six years younger than he um followed in his footsteps. But um when he was bringing me in this evening, he he he said that he hadn't been inside this school since he left, but he still has very fond memories of sliding down the banisters in the new school. And I told I told him I said, "Well, you know, I'm thinking that your teachers probably weren't real crazy about that idea, but nevertheless, he
020was a third grade boy." I want to congratulate you on the not turnaround but the improvement that that you have brought to this school and to the kids in this school. um being being a um kind of a retired parent of this school, I it's it's encouraging to see the growth that you have brought. So, congratulations on that. I often when I was a parent here and then um in my time on the board, the quiet little schools, I see Rigidu as a quiet little school. Maybe not so much not so little anymore, but um the quiet little schools sometimes just plug along and tend to get overlooked for in many ways. And I'm encouraged to see that you're being intentional about bringing equity in and um looking for ways to um encourage students to
021be aware of their learning and and being, you know, all of the doing all of the things that make them successful as they move on. So congratulations and thank you very much for hosting us. >> Thank you, Miss Rice. >> Yes, it's great to Excuse me. It's great to see the the perform the students performing so well in math. That's great. Awesome to see. So, I'm just wondering about the curriculum. Can you elaborate more and why these students are being so successful? Are they are using the district curriculum? are using other supplemental models or >> No. Yeah. Our our push is to stick to what the district is providing. The what was happening I think before is we did not dive into a lot of what the state offers and dive into what the state
022puts out as examples for here's what's going to be on the state assessments. And before I don't think a lot of those materials were being used and we've implemented and included that into I mean our daily conversations. It's when we sit down and plan out a math unit, it's okay. Well, where can we include some of this language from the SBA or SBA sample questions into entry tasks or exit tasks or the end of that unit assessment or um so that those kids the entire school year are seeing those types of questions and they're seeing that type of rigor all school year long. It's not here's the end of the school year and here's the state assessment and I've never seen this type of question before. It's it's oh I I know how to do
023this type of question because I've been seeing it all year long now. So some of it's exposure and some of it is just ramping up the rigor level of what type of math questions they are getting. Uh thanks again for for sharing with us today. I do have one question. you didn't mention in your presentation um the activities of PLC's and what to what extent and I know there are varying degrees to to where different schools in the district are in implementing that process. How would you describe where where you are and your staff is with PLC's? >> Yeah. Um we've had various other buildings come watch our process. Um I would say we're quite far along in our PLC process. um the 15-day challenge. I talk about that being kind of our extra piece,
024but we we've been doing the PLC process consistently for the last 5 years. And um Mr. Jensen, who was here while I was the assistant, was very good at the PLC process. Um and I came when I came in and assisted him with that process. I had some background in PLC process already. So, I think we shored that up fairly quick within the building. Um, our teachers bought we got them to buy into that fairly quickly, the PLC process. Um, it's just making some of the smaller tweaks and and um the added pieces like the 15-day challenge of actually laying out the unit and diving deeper into the standards and having some of those deeper conversations and really looking into your data and really letting that data drive what you should be doing with your
025kids. >> Thank you. And also I'd like to compliment you on your efforts in inclusionary practices in this building. I think that's as a former sped teacher myself, I think that's really really important in helping those kids progress and helping our other students also develop empathy and and understanding for kids that struggle. So thanks for that. >> Thank you. >> Um thank you for the report and for again for hosting us. just curious um what does the parent involvement component look like here at Ridgefield? >> So the first the first few years was kind of rough hit and miss. Um we have a lot of parents who come to the family nights and do all of those things but they don't really dive deep and get involved. But this last year and a half, we've
026had a much larger turnout. And actually this year, we're turning the page finally and getting that that actual PTO back and established with um you know going and filing all the paperwork and actually moving back that direction. Um so they've just started that process again this year. Um before it was kind of the the parent volunteers and we relied on them quite a bit to do some of that work and we have um staff members doing a lot of that work as well. A lot of the staff members love the school so much they're putting in a lot of their extra time. Um but this year we're back. We've gotten quite a few community members to come back and start building that up again because they do see some of the things that we're doing
027and they want their kids to be kind of like Miss Rice said, they, you know, they we're one of those smaller schools that tends to kind of be just we're moving along. Um you don't see us in the paper, you don't see us in all the different little things here and there, but um but they know we're a community school and they try to build that. And so this year building that PTO out has been kind of a big push for us. Um even though it's not in our presentation, it's been one of the big key things we're moving along this year. Yeah. Any other questions or comments for Chris? Okay. I believe we'll take about 10 to 15 minutes and have a brief tour. So we'll take a break in the meeting and we'll
028be back in 10 to 15 minutes. Okay, >> good. >> Go. Let's go. >> All right. So, school board president um Walker, Deputy Superintendent Larson, and esteemed members of the Yakma School Board. Good afternoon. Uh today I will be sharing with you one of the most uh compelling opportunities we offer the Yakama school district students and it's our uh Yakama uh dual credit opportunities. These courses and programs allow students the opportunity to earn both high school and college credit while advancing towards graduation. Thus saving time, saving tuition money, and while earning and building confidence um for their next step, the student's next step after graduation. This diagram highlights our steady improvement for the Akimma School District uh four-year graduation rate where during the 2425 school year, our students had a 4-year rate graduation rate of
02983.4% seen there in the upper uh representing a 1.7 percentage point increase over the past three years. These aren't just numbers though on the slide. These represent real students and real futures. The steady progress reflects our commitment to ensuring students graduate college and career ready, not just the diploma in hand. And I want to point this out because this connects directly to our Yakama school district strategic plan goal number five, graduation and beyond. But one thing down there in the bottom with with 51% of students, please note that during the 2425 school year, 51% of all high school students completed at least one dual credit course. Think about that. more than half of our Yakama School District students are earning college credit while in high school, saving again that time and that money. Um, and
030then when we look at this, I want to accredit that to our high school administration. Um, they are actively working to make dual credit accessible and supportive for all students regardless of their background, regardless of the neighborhood or circumstances or prior academic experience. Running Start, Director Navaro, I know this is your favorite one. Uh, Running Start participation, as you can see, has grown 56% from 2019 to 2024, demonstrating strong student interest with our partners in town, uh, Yakama Valley College. This program allows eligible juniors and seniors to take college classes on the YBC campus, earning both their high school and, uh, college credit simultaneously. The students coursework counts towards their high school graduation requirements but also goes towards that 90 credit associate of arts degree that YBC offers. As of December uh we had 224
031students enrolled um from Davis Eisenhower and then right now we actually have five from Yakama online. So our numbers from Yakama online are increasing for that running start opportunity at YBC. CTE dual credit um career technical education has grown 55% uh participation in 2018 as you can see to 78% in 2024 making it the fastest growing dual credit program plus you have a a strong team that focuses on this. So we're trying to do our job as see fit um on behalf of the district and for students. But what you're seeing when you look at this um diagram is you're seeing the numbers are based on each graduation requirement cohort year. This is the percentage of students for the specific graduation year that took a CTE dual credit course. Last year 161 Yakama School District
032students earned 967 credits at YBC. CTE dual credit opportun um CT dual credit oper operates through articulation agreements between Yakama school district and Yakama Valley College. Um and students enroll in our high school career technical education courses or CTE courses taught by district faculty who meet the college credentiing requirements. Um, uniquely with this, um, it's related to both the high school and the college in their high demand career fields such as healthcare, construction, automotive tech, culinary arts, and information technology. Graduates are um earning dual credentials, transferable college credit, in this case to YBC, but also industry recognized certifications that are valued by employers. That's our dual credit college in the high school dual credit. This um this college in the high school diagram is cohort best based data and tracks graduating class showing the percentage
033of students who complete at least one college in the high school course during their high school career. As you can see, college and the high school programming has experienced tremendous expansion um and in participation which has increased from 4% in 2019 to 18% in 2024. This represents about a 350% growth and we're looking because of student access with that because it's offered right in our high schools. The college and high school model delivers college courses on our high school campuses, reducing those barriers that often exist trying to get off campus for college credits. Um, and they're taught by our district teachers credentialed as college instructors. And so with the college and the high school now, students are able to complete their college general education requirements, including English, math, even the social sciences um, right on
034our high school campuses. In this slide, you can see that Davis High School has achieved a 250% growth in college and high school offerings, expanding from two courses in 2019 to seven courses in 2425. We've um principal Hasty and her staff have added more courses on for this year um for the 2526 school year. In addition, if you as you can see, Eisenhower High School has seen a 500% increase from three courses in 2019 to 18 courses in 2024 2025. And again, a few additional courses that we're adding on this year. Again, this expansion represents a transformational shift in how we're preparing students for post-secary success, increasing equity for all students, and increasing access through removing barriers. And that's the important piece. Um again all students advanced placement. So at Eisenhower School advanced placement remains
035a cornerstone of college preparation at Eisenhower High School with enrollment growing by four percentage points. This growth reflects sustained student commitment to rigorous college level coursework. AP courses. I wanted to remind you that what the AP courses are are nationally standardized curriculum and culminate by taking a college board exam in the subject area. Students scoring three or higher um typically earn the college credit but at universities nationwide allowing them to bypass introductory college courses and save on the tuition costs scores out of five. So they have to score at least a three out of the five on an AP exam. On this slide, you're going to see that we've combined students that have taken college in the high school course um and an advanced placement course. And this uh illustrates the combined power of college
036in the high school and advanced placement courses for students on the Eisenhower campus, demonstrating that students have multiple pathways to earn college credit. Many students participate in both the AP, the advanced placement and the college and the high school programs to maximize their uh college credit opportunities. At our other high school, Davis High School, um they are focused on the international balorate program or IB program, which is a globally recognized curriculum preparing students for college and career success. In 2024, as you can see on this chart, 40% of Davis students, approximately 540 students enrolled in at least one IB course. IB requires critical thinking, extensive writing, and long-term research projects that mirror college expectations and develop essential analytical and time management skills. Students earn college credit by scoring a four or higher out of seven
037on an end of course IB exam. And then we put on this slide we wanted to show you the opportunities again with college in the high school and the international baloria program the IB and what is offered um at Davis and again opening and keeping and ensuring options for Davis students. So whether students are pursuing a full IB diploma, taking individual IB courses or combining IB with college and the high school courses, students can build college transcripts that reflect unique goals and interests of the students. That makes it nice. And then the last slide uh we wanted to show you tonight is our Arizona State AA in the high school opportunity. In 2022, um, the ECMA school district launched an ambitious partnership with Arizona State University that gave Davis and Eisenhower students an extraordinary opportunity
038to actually earn a complete associate of arts AA degree from Arizona State while finishing high school. From 2022 to now spring 2026, we have 51 students, 13 from Davis and 38 from Eisenhower High School that are on track to complete all required Yakma School District graduation requirements and ASU degree coursework to graduate with a high school diploma and a two-year college associates degree from Arizona State, saving again time on or saving about two years of tuition costs um so that they can either go to two-year for a four-year college or earn the workforce with an already earned credential. >> Bonnie, I believe the the Arizona State program ends after this cohort graduates. >> Yep. So, we are sun setting after this year. Um the opportunities in Washington have opened up for us to be able
039to obtain the college and the high school right in our schools. >> Thank you. >> Yep. What um postsecary schools are working with are we working with now in Washington? >> Right now for college in the high school opportunities uh Martha we're working with Clover Park Technical College um that actually have four-year degree opportunities in place. Central Washington University and Eastern Washington University. some of our needs that we've looked at um we've talked to Superintendent Green um allowed us to work with UDub, but they've got a moratorum on a lot of courses. Um and we're working with UDub and Tim Statatler to talk to them. That's for the west side. They have a lot of course opportunities that Central and Eastern don't have that we might need on the east side of the state. Um
040but those are the courses or the colleges we're working with at this time. >> Thank you. We are on a limitless grant with Central Washington University. So you see our big numbers coming in with Central Washington University. The Gates grant um allows us to do some unique opportunities or trial and and new avenues to work with Central um for equity and access for our students. So you're going to see bigger growth at Central right now with our course opportunities. How are we communicating this to u parents and guardians? >> So, we're able to take um we've had the college and high school faculty come down and they work our let's do it this way. Our faculty from IKEA and Davis actually go to trainings in the spring at either Eastern or Central depending on where
041they're um teaching from. Those instructors are then armed in a good way with that information for students in the classroom. We've actually also worked with the principles so that we have handouts that are going to transition nights and getting to parents during student led conferences on opportunities that exist. We need to expand those opportunities and up upgrade what we offer so that they have a better understanding like this of the true picture because look at how many opportunities I presented. we have several and what is what's the difference. >> Um and so I think it's doing better on our part not just to have information but to dive deeper so that families understand which type of credit their student is earning and what that means for them. Um in each high school now we're supporting
042a college and career readiness specialist to support the counseling staff too. So, we've got that connection piece because the counselors, right, with their busy schedules, we're trying to add another person on to support information sharing and help with some of those responsibilities. >> And the um the college and the high school credits don't come at a cost for our families. Correct. >> Correct. So, the college and the high school is paid through legislative funds um at this time. Yeah. So we >> at this point it is not limitless. >> No. >> Well, speaking of college or or legislative funds, my understanding is that there may be cuts coming to Running Start first of all and are are you anticipating maybe cuts in some of the other supports for college and the high school programs as
043well? >> So the understanding we have currently, if we could read minds, right, the 0.2 cut from running start from a 1.4 four to 1.2 to what we call a super FTE, right? That's taking out the summer opportunities for kids to take the classes. So, it's right now it's just impacting summer is what we're understanding. And right now, >> they're trying to work magic to not make impact on the other ones, right? If if I've followed my updates on my legislative stuff last week correctly. Um, but it's getting tight because they're also seeking funding for that new high school and beyond plan, school links. Um, that's statewide. So yeah, >> question. >> Yes. I'm wondering do you have aggregated data in regards to classes that are being completed by our students? I'd be curious to
044see that. You have to do that now, but like how for for example, how many students are completing English 101, >> maybe math, whatever levels of math, psychology, more of those class courses that apply towards an AA degree that you mentioned. So I'll just be curious to Yeah, Director Navaro, I can get that to you. Um, we actually have what the classes are in the rosters in our Skyward system. And then our college partners actually send what's called an A19 that verifies students that finish. Some students might not have a passing grade that we they don't want on a transcript, so they might withdraw >> that out, but we can get that information. Yes. And then I I think I've shared this before, but with regards to Running Start students, sure they complete the associates
045degree, but they some of them have to continue working on their associates degree after they graduate from high school if they're not they're not targeting that degree towards their their pathway, their career, right? So if if they complete just what we call more of a general associates degree, associate arts degree and they plan to go into business or any other STEM related field, engineering so forth, they'll have to come back and complete a lot more courses, right, when they already have their associates degree. So, I'm just wondering how can we help those students get more directed on that correct pathway so they're not having to come back after they graduate. >> The we worked with Hillary at YBC that's in charge of the running start program and part of the work is we're taking the
046courses that we offer for the Akma school district that count for both dual credit for the college and for the high school graduation requirements. What we're actually doing is we're actually making sure that it's meeting the general ed requirements, but that this um YVC has been pointed in asking kids what they want to do and go into. And so we're actually seeing them uh place students in what YVC calls those vocational classes. So those kids are getting experiences into what they want to go into. The example I just saw come across my desk last week was vet science, right? We don't have vet science. We have egg programs that start along or human anatomy and biology, but the vet science or classes they're taking because that's the avenues they're starting to go towards. So they're
047actually getting those in some of their elective courses for running start. So we are doing better at that. >> I I noticed that when I speak to students have that transfer college level AP whatever courses from their high schools sometimes disappointed because we can they can only count 10 credits of a lot of a lot of those courses they completed in high school and they go towards a certain part of the associates degree so they can't count a lot of those classes so I'm just wondering how we could get them more focused on like to align with some of those um oh sorry thanks to align with I wonder sounded kind of quiet align with the associates degree requirements you know like social sciences rather than just having to count those under general electives which
048is very limited. So they have all these courses that they've taken at at high school, their college level, but they can't. I'm just wondering how, you know, so just putting a bug in here to kind of >> That's good about that. >> The one encouraging that we've seen and and Chad Quiznell, the college and career specialist from um Eisenhower High School is here. One of our the promising practices that we're seeing is the colleges are actually talking and they have a transfer book. So now we know what counts at the U at Eastern um even that will transfer to PLU or even go into YBC. And so I think if we start utilizing that more so we make sure what those kids are taking in the high school for those dual credit opportunities like you
049had said we they could see then where it goes. I'm wondering though, right? It makes me think like how do we get all that information to students so that they can take something with them to say here's what I have and I know it counts for this at your college because my specialists at the high schools have walked that through with me. I wish we were there, right? We're excited to grow, but these are things we need to think about. >> Well, if they just send their transcripts from the high school to YBC, they'll evaluate them and they'll show up. >> So, >> yeah. But and then President Walker, there there is some talk in Olympia about eliminating one community college in Washington. >> Wow. >> That would have some >> eliminating the whole >>
050the whole college. >> Oh my gosh. >> Yes. You imagine YBC being gone? >> I doubt if it would. >> They're having discussions which is can be dangerous in Olympia. >> Well, I know. I doubt it would be YBC, but >> No, but you never know. And apparently I just met with a senior administrator in YBC. They're in actually pretty good shape compared to a lot of other community. >> That's that's a good thing for our community because I know we just lost our nursing program from Wazu. Pulled out the nursing >> Oh yeah, I noticed that. >> Nursing program from from the valley. So >> but the good thing is they are financially speaking better. >> Enrollment's increasing significantly. interesting times. >> Any other questions or comments for Bonnie? >> And I will get
051that information to you. >> I have a couple questions. Um, you may not have this at the tips of your fingers. I'm curious. I know that IB kids can take partial IB or they can take the full IB diploma, >> right? >> Which, uh, do you happen to know how many kids are receiving the full IB diploma? >> I can get that for you. >> Yeah. I didn't expect you to have that right now because that guarant that gives them a junior placement in college in most most colleges. So that's very beneficial. The other one was I think I don't know if we ever stated it publicly but um I've seen a statistic and you and Jake can maybe clarify for me that we've saved parents in this community about $3.5 million in tuition costs
052so far. Is that accurate? We can we can recalculate that because we with the growth uh we did present that last year at the retreat but we can get current numbers. >> I think that would be a good information to get to our public as we >> Okay. Yeah. >> Approach bonds and levies. President Walker though go you know I just have to follow up on on what you just said about going in as a junior which is a good thing but I think what's more important is is having those right courses or prerequisites right to go into >> uh whatever major that they want to go into rather than going to transferring out of high school to WSU want to go into engineering but they're spending two years there doing taking care of the
053math and the physics and >> and u so forth. So to me it's more the the prerequisites and focusing on those and being prepared and ready to >> but the the full IB diploma does give them a pretty because it's prescripted by the IB. >> So it is a pretty rounded >> Yeah. >> program. They're going to have tons of math, science, >> theory of knowledge and all kinds of things. So it it does leave them pretty well prepared. >> Oh yeah, it does. >> For their junior year. >> Okay. It would be nice if all kids had comprehensive career and planning, but think back to when we were How many of us knew as 18 year olds exactly where we were going? Not even with good preparation. Sometimes things happen in college in terms
054of >> Yeah. They'll switch about seven times on that. >> That's right. Their careers, >> but that's part of college, too. That's part of, you know, >> liberal arts, right? It it opens your horizons to things you might not have considered before that. >> Anyway, we're getting off this. Thanks so much, Bonnie. >> Thank you guys. >> Um, always learn so much when you present. >> Okay, we have now arrived at members of the board updates. Do we have anything from members of the board? um legislative session is scheduled to end next week, next Thursday. Now, whether they get there or not, it's another issue, but um I could give you a report now and by tomorrow morning it will probably be incorrect. So, >> why don't we why don't we wait till they're done
055and then we can >> It's moving or celebrate so fast, right? um that the information that's available now is not going to be correct tomorrow. So, um there is there is um we are seeing some articles in the paper about things that are moving through and like the Running Start issue and um financial issues and legislators that land on one school doing something and then all of a sudden All 295 school districts need to comply, >> right? >> Um, >> one of those kind of >> Yeah. So, it's it's fast and furious. >> Okay. >> Anyone else? >> Okay. Is that it? >> That's it. >> Want to cut you off? Okay. We now have our superintendence update. Dr. Larson. >> Thank you. So, we're going to start with a bond ballot April 28th, 2026
056update by Jake Cooper. >> Hello everybody. Um, so Barb's going to bring up the presentation, similar presentation that I have been giving around the district to lots and lots of staff. Um, they've been great and but we thought we would update you briefly on what we've been presenting out and also so you can see some new pictures that may you may or may not have seen. Just a reminder, April 28, 2026 is the election day. Um, and I know this group is well founded in this, but 60% plus one and then 40% for validation. So, just to put in perspective, how last general election um was just under 10,000 voters. So, at a minimum, we need about 4,000 voters to turn out for validation, which I don't believe will be a problem. It is an
057interesting fact when you think we have almost 100,000 residents in the valley. Only 10,000 turned out for the last general election. So we do have the lowest voter turnout in the state. Um but that is not insurmountable by mathematics by any means. Um just a reminder of the bond proposal. So Hoover and Garfield of course are two most aged facilities are up for rebuild. Um Hoover has a total project budget of just over 85.2 2 million in Garfield, just under 83 respectively. Um, I've been telling staff and I'll tell you again, that the first elementary that I was involved in building was Newcastle in 2003. We built it for $12.5 million. They're running, as you can see, just about a thousand bucks a square foot um for those same buildings. And so, you look at
058below 80 million um by the time it would go out to bid. Then, of course, there's a laundry list of other items. Um the title 980 upgrades and the sidewalks, courtyards, HVAC, asphalt, and roofs really are an opportunity for us to keep some pressure off the operating fund. And um one equivalent that I often provide is, you know, you can buy a curriculum adoption for a grade span K5 for a couple million dollars or you can buy a roof for an elementary school for a couple million dollars, one elementary. So there's some interesting equivalents. Those are not easy choices to make, particularly when we've been reducing the operating fund. and then um turf replacements um and resurface of track. So I'm on Mr. Phil English has been out volunteering his time to speak about the
059need for some track resurfacing and you know Zeal Stadium is what 10 11 years old and so the carpet the rug itself about to useful life that's about a million dollars just for the just for the rug. Um and then of course after that would be any track resurfacings. Um, of interesting note, I I went to Monday morning quarterbacks my first time um which is which is an interesting group uh on sports in the valley and I do I'll share this story briefly but um one gentleman uh had is an older fellow and he had attended Hoover. He told me when he was there and the cabinets heard me tell this that there were iron lungs in the classroom at that point in time. So remember everybody Hoover was built six years after Pearl Harbor
060when Truman was president. So 1947 and so when he was a young gentleman going to elementary school there were students getting iron lung treatment during the day in certain classrooms for polio and then coming back out to learn. So that just goes to show you how how many generations that you know right during World War II, post World War II all the way to now that that building has served. And so that's a very interesting story. I didn't I didn't didn't believe we had iron lungs in Hoover but we did at that point in time. So, um, and again, um, this is that the graph on the our levy passage over time, I do think it's important to note that even back in 2006, we the district had requested the rebuild of Hoover and Garfield.
061This is not a new need. It was articulated almost two decades ago and one that is reemerging again today. Um that of course what presentation would be complete by the finance department without a good bar graph. So the bucks some >> really tiny print >> I know let's we let's focus on the colors more than the numbers. Um and so as the my uh my cat colleagues like to joke that is the buckskin portion that is the uh current bonds for Iken Davis and Stanton. As you can see they begin to tail off and they will be fully repaid by 2031. Then the blue are the new bonds on top. So target level rate after that. But you can see the old bonds from the high school that were passed in '09 will be fully
062paid off. And then ideally when the bond passes they would the new debt would be layered upon that. Um and then just to remind everybody you know my job as your chief financial officer is to tell you what is in a bond package and then of course how much it costs. So for simple math I use 80 cents per thousand accurately it's 79 but that means every $100,000 of home you have as assessed value that's $80 more a year. So, if you have a half million dollar house, that would be a $400 increase annually. The average sale price um last round was 315 for the assessor for the single family residence. So, you use that. That's approximately 20 bucks a month or 240 bucks a year on the potential tax increase. We always provide information
063for renters because there's there's a knock-on effect to renters that is dependent upon your landlord and your you know, what your pricing is, but I'd be remiss not to mention it. Then of course, last but not least, our website has a plethora, a ver veritable cornucopia of information um on our uh bonds and what's in them. And then I thought Barb, we don't have any cool slides, do we? On There we go. We're getting there. Okay. Pictures are worth a thousand words. I'll try not to say many more than that. There is, of course, Garfield. There's a rendering of a new Garfield. Um, we haven't shown these to you in public. They are on the website and have been circulated, but I thought I'd let the board digest that a little bit. So, uh, new
064school construction generally would be more vertical, smaller footprint, multi-story, that's a three-story elementary, K1 on the bottom floor along with self-contained special ed rooms. And then um for fire safety and exit, and then the grade levels go up each floor. um that is a 28 classroom uh building with two classrooms purposely built for special education self-contained setting. So you bring them you build them with a hoyer lift bathrooms and then office in the middle so they're properly built for any self-contained or medically fragile students that might be there. Um but that is a rendering um from Cornerstone Architects who did a lot of work for me in Isiqua. So I was able to call them and get some artist renderings for the best price ever which is free. Um there's the aerial. That would be
065what Garfield would look like after construction. So you see the site is skinnied up. Garfield's a very small site, just over five acres, five and a half. A very traditional urban site. Um but again, the uh more verticality and less California rambler um would make the site uh more usable once the construction is complete. and then also makes the exit and entering. And of course, traffic of course is one issue that you'll deal with along with permitting. And that's just the artist rendering. A lot of water would go underneath that bridge before it's finalized, but it gives you a good idea of what it may look like. >> There any discussion? >> Excuse me. >> Is there any discussion about, and of course, it would be hugely expensive, but acquiring that bit of property on
066the west end of that campus up to the next cross street. I think that what do we see like eight houses? >> I have be able to expand that um property site. I have not yet entertained that idea. Um but I will I'll take a look at it. >> I have acquired a lot of property over my career and sometimes it's fun and sometimes it's not. >> Can be challenging. >> Yes, it can be or it can take a lengthy time period if you know you're just waiting for home homes to flip as they go. There's the Hoover Dome, as it most affectionately is called. Um, as we said, built in 47. There is a rendering of what a new Hoover would look like. >> Oh my goodness. >> 32 classrooms. Um, little, as I
067said, the budget's about 85 thou uh million, so around 80 85,000 square feet in total. Um, as you can see, vertical um multi-story construction allows us to it's cheaper um in one regard. And then we also work on the envelope. So least amount of articulation or angles. Um that is one conversation you often have have with architects is they start with glass and they they love curves. Um I'm a simple man. I like right angles, clean envelope, durable materials. And so um we did mock that up based on some previous designs that I was part of. So you can see potentially uh a rendering of what a new Hoover would look like. Hoover is a rather uh standard size. I would say what you would expect in a a more suburban school site. Usually 8
068to 10 acres on an elementary. Um I think Hoover's right close to 10 10 and a half in gross. So that site allows obviously you can see lots of beautiful space once the building is constructed but give us several options for both uh parent and but bus drop off. And so, um, see, the site would be, uh, utilized. And then, uh, Hoover is big enough you could build on site and do flip-flop construction, um, because we would build in the vacant play area and then flip-flop the parking lots over. And then, of course, part of the bond that we didn't I didn't go in detail at the very start, I my problem, my mistake, is the playgrounds. So spend about $100,000 a year on rock chips and wood rocks and wood chips to fill our
069bins up. Um this the 14.5 million would allow for new playgrounds uh and all the elementary schools um including fall matting and which would allow for ADA access which we have limitations on and again most of that is because our most of our facilities were are grandfathered in because we have not modernized them or reconstructed them post ADA. Um, and so this would give us an opportunity to improve access and prevent all kinds of sprains and breaks and it's great for fall safety. The or matting is um, good for kids to bounce off of in a good in a good way, better than rocks and wood. Um, so there's just another rendering of a potential big toy throughout. And that's by Northwest Playground, uh, who does a huge amount of playground work around the state
070of Washington and has been a longtime customer of mine in a prior district. And then wrapping it up. As I said, the cornucopia and veritable popery of information is available on our website if you have any further questions. Anything for me to answer? >> Just uh one one question I think. Um you identified that Garfield is a small footprint now. I mean 5 acres of land which is less than two blocks. Um what what happens to those kids during the >> during the construction? >> So uh post successful bond measure we hope um Hoover would start and bond passes in April. We would go into permit and design be likely hopefully be in the dirt spring of 27. Our field would then trail because we can't sell all $200 million worth of bonds at once.
071We sell 100 million then in two tanches and another to keep the principal and interest just as we projected in the graphs. Um we will have to relocate our field students for two cycles. >> So maybe move them into the old Hoover. Um that would be one potential but ideally that would be demolished before because if we we rebuild Hoover we were going to we would be demolishing the old Hoover to start it in 28. So we still have a one-year problem. The other hard part is if you put both those campuses on an active construction site and you're going to have what 900 kids um in an active construction zone which is not insurmountable. We rebuilt high schools where we had to relocate and have 80 portable classrooms and segregate the construction from the
072the student learning. I would say more likely than not we would be looking to uh move those students to a few a couple elementary buildings. Um trying to determine how we keep them together whether it's by grade span or it's it's essentially there's just their boundary within Garfield and we split it and take the kids that way because we have siblings in their grade level. So grades spans gets a little complicated. So logistically that's the most difficult part of the bond in this case. Not insurmountable by any means. Um we will find a place for those students and the teachers and support staff that follow them. Remember I had this I've been at several staff meetings. So teachers follow students. So whatever building you're in, it doesn't matter. You're going to follow if if we
073have 20 20 kindergarters that need a teacher, we need a teacher no matter where it's located. So there are several op options of permutations. Um uh bonds is successful. We will need to redraw boundaries. We've talked about K8. They're very st they're very stale. About half the kids that go to each school don't reside in the neighborhood catchment as they would. Um nobody can remember when we did boundaries last. Um so it' be a good opportunity to redraw catchment areas and make them clean. And then you know part of that will be how much capacity do we have in new Hoover, new Garfield and then what's remaining across all the rest of the elementary schools. So um it is a fun process um kind of uh but again my goal will be to be transparent
074and then be very chronological how we calendar it out so people know when they're going to return back to their home home school based on their geography. Again, similar to any major construction project, we've all potentially been part of remodels or rebuilds. There is sometimes some inconvenience um to get to that big new building, but um I would love that opportunity. I would love the logistical challenge, which means we have a pass bond. And so in that regard, um we will of course put more flesh on that bone uh as we move closer. But those those logistical issues are uh something we can easily accommodate and we just have to communicate in advance and be clear to families about and teachers and and staff about what what's going to happen to them and their students
075during that time period. >> I I do have some comments here. I you know being in the community last week and the weekend I've run into people that have that provided me feedback on the bond right and so I'm sure we all get that feedback and a lot of it has to do with course increased taxes but also has to do with our and we know it's it's I don't know what the correct term for that is or emotional or politically charged Zuff Stadium and being a big sports town that we are you know a lot people support that, but other people are saying, well, do we really need to replace and and and renew the the surface and so forth and at that cost? So, there's I'm getting a lot of feedback from that.
076And then also suggestions, right? They're saying why can we limit the use if if if it does pass and it's it is re resurfaced and so forth and the district limit the use of that those facilities to just games and events not and and keep practices off of that those facilities. So those are I just wanted to share th that feedback that I'm currently receiving. I don't know if it's a deal breaker or not. for some people it can be uh just because you know we're such a a big sports town. So just wanted to to to share that. >> I think you're you're right. There are pros and cons when you have items related to sports on a capital measure. >> I have generally found it to be more positive than negative over my
077career because um the district has so I came from a district that unfortunately made a decision in the 70s to have a a stadium at every school. So we had three stadiums. We have one stadium here. It is a community and district asset that we that a lot of people use and you know maintaining that asset that's that's what I'm tasked with trying to figure out how to do. So how to I would say I also believe this is a personal Jake opinion that we have to balance community access because they paid for it with our ability to on for ongoing maintenance and longevity. So I think we hopefully find a good balance with Zeil. I believe it's used by all types of groups. Um you know the state track meet superintendent brought that in
078that provides a huge economic uh kick to the city. The hotel years are very happy when they can double the occupancy rate uh in town. So I do think it's a balance Raymond. I I I agree with you. There there are pros and cons to both approaches, but it's a balance to the community because they paid for that asset and and deserve access and at the same time we have to provide and make sure it's maintained well and um the hard part is earthf has a useful life. It's pretty well known. It's not unknown that you know you get 15 years out of astroturf um that's a good run um especially with with any uh normal usage. So most of the time in Isiqua I was turning them every 8 to 10 years. So you
079get beyond that then you have to start to just you spend a lot of money patching it and sewing it um like we're doing with the tracks now. So I agree with you on the feedback. Hopefully it's a net positive um for the community because there's a lot of use but I understand the counterpoint as well. Just one figure that occurred to me out of when when $20 increase in taxes a month and that's that's not really an increase because we've been paying certain amount a month for the existing bonding. 20 bucks a month is a hamburger. You know, you think about it anymore. That's a hamburger. um maybe two lattes or maybe two depending on where you go, but that's um that's not a huge tax hit for most people, I don't think. Maybe
080in our well, people in our community that are in on the lower end of the income spectrum, it it could be a huge thing, but but many of those are renters, not property owners. Well, hopefully inflation or things don't get crazy with our what's currently happening in the Middle East and and gas prices go up and everything else goes up and >> those things we don't control. >> Well, yeah, but it could it could impact on >> April 28th, right? >> It could be. >> I don't know. So, maybe I don't know the timing is >> it could have waited maybe a couple few months, right? >> You never know. Thank you, Jake. Um, I want to highlight that in the month of February, we had a number of sites who um had celebrations for
081Black History Month. I had the opportunity and the honor to participate in Hoover's um celebration on Wednesday and they honored a number of our leaders in the community um for their um um for the contributions that they've made and the model that they demonstrate for students who can identify with them as um leaders and black members of our community um and for committing themselves to Yakama. Uh, also in the coming week, beginning March 9th is education support professionals week, the 9th through the 13th, and just want to highlight that as it's coming up. You also in your board agenda have a link to um the WASDA um pamphlet um um um publication and that on page 23 um it does um highlight Yakima's recipe for success, student voice, board efficiency and strategic focus. And at
082the time board president Beckett was interviewed and contributed to this article. So that if you haven't had a chance to read through that yet, I would encourage you to do so. Uh for your calendars, graduation dates, uh we did have a slight change in that on June 4th, Stanton Academy and Open Doors will hold their graduation uh earlier than previously scheduled uh at 5:30. And then June 4th at 7:00 Yakama online. So that's a change of date from um the previous schedule. And then June 8th will be Davis High School as scheduled at 7 PM. June 9th at 7 p.m. Eisenhower High School. And just a reminder that all graduations are ticketed events. Thank you. >> Thank you. My my magazine for WASDA arrived today, so you probably will get yours in the next couple
083days. Nice article. Um >> it's also available on the WASDA website. >> Um if you were to go to wssda.org, there's a pull down menu somewhere there where you can review publications. So, if you don't get that, I I know we all do, but for the general public, if if they're interested in that or other articles u from the state schoolboard association in that publication, um it is available on the WASDA website. >> Okay, thank you. Next up, we have any just a reminder on community engagement opportunities. Is Kristen here today? >> Okay, just uh just a reminder that this time there are a number of musical opportunities in several schools as well as athletic opportunities. Um so check those out. >> Extensive >> an extensive list of time. Some of them you have to
084be two places on the same night. So you just have to pick. Okay. Um we have now arrived at opportunity for comments from the public. >> There are no comments for neither for either section. >> Okay. Next up then we have um financial planning and budgeting policy governance policy. Um, and so Jake can highlight that for us and then that will be sent out to us uh in a survey monkey to respond to Jake's findings. Thank you, President Walker. Um, before you this evening is 1000.2.4 and quickly I'll just read the policy statement. Financial planning for any fiscal year or the remaining part of any fiscal year will not deviate materially from the board of directors ends goals, priorities, risk fiscal jeopardy or fail to be derived from multi-year considerations. So um before you are
085um we have updated all the information in the packet. Additionally you will see I get to use cornucopia several times. You will see many examples of uh the detailed financial information is provided you throughout the year um both in multi-year fashion and then on a singular year basis. I would recommend obviously superintendent is in compliance with 1000.2.4 for and I would be happy to answer any questions. >> Thanks. And and Barb, I believe that the survey monkey will be due back when. >> Um, we're going to ask for it back by March 11th for the March 17th meeting. >> Okay. Thank you. Any questions for Jake on that? Okay. We do have a need for executive session this evening. I believe it will be about an hour and we will move to room 159 for
086executive session. Do I >> principal Whitehurst is going to direct us? >> Do I hear a motion? I move that the board of directors um adjourn for executive session for the purpose of valuation of a public employee um to room 159 at Ridge View. Mayor >> second >> for an hour. >> Second. >> Moved and seconded. All in favor say I. I. I. All opposed. Motion passes. Anything else for the good of the order? >> Meeting adjourned.