[EVSD News] Superintendent's Newsletter

[Jodi Brown]

September 15, 2008
 
This is the first issue of my East Valley electronic newsletter. The
purpose of this newsletter is to update you on events that are happening
in the district, provide information to address issues or rumors and
provide you a forum to communicate with me on items of interest. If you
are receiving this e-mail you are either an East Valley Staff member,
you have signed up for this service, you have sent me an e-mail or have
had some form of contact that we think would cause you to want this
information. If you do not want to continue to receive this information
you may unsubscribe by clicking the link below or contacting the
district office.  
 
Let me start by telling you how thrilled I am to be a part of this
school district. It is a wonderful place and I have received an
extremely warm and gracious welcome. Over the past several weeks I have
been working to get out and meet as many folks as possible. I still have
a lot of places to go and some of the names are running together but I
am really enjoying the discussions I have had and the honesty that
everyone has shown.  
 
Our enrollment is in for the start of the school year. We opened the
school year with about as many students as expected. While the actual
number of students exceeds the number of students budgeted for last
year, when we account for our all-day kindergarten students, we find
ourselves to be 4 full-time equivalent students below our budget
projection. While we would obviously like to be above our projection,
this enrollment is really a positive sign.  
 
The school year has started smoothly and there have only been a couple
of glitches to deal with. One of the issues that has received the most
attention has been our change in bus routes. Last spring a plan was put
in place to make our bus routes more efficient. This was done to offset
the recent spikes in fuel costs. Some of the changes that were made will
remain in place but we are currently studying the entire plan to see
where adjustments need to be made to ensure that students are safe and
that our service meets our patron’s expectations and that we continue to
be wise stewards of tax dollars.   
 
This year a couple of new opportunities have presented themselves
through grant programs. The district, primarily through the work of
Tammy Fuller at EVHS and her colleagues, has received a multi-year grant
($229,000 for the 2008-2009 school year) to enhance our physical
education department. This is a district wide award. This grant will
last for three years and should have a positive impact on all students
in the district. We will keep you posted on the progress made as this
grant is implemented.    
 
This year East Valley Middle School qualified for and received a state
level fresh fruits and vegetables grant. Trent Elementary is already
enrolled in the federal version of this program. These programs provide
fresh fruits and vegetables, especially locally or at least Washington
grown produce to the students at these schools. Congratulations to our
food service personnel and the administration of these two schools for
their work with this program.
 
During the past three days there have been three board meetings. The
regular board meeting was held on September 9th. This meeting is held on
the second Tuesday of each month and convenes at 5:30 pm in the district
board room. The purpose of the meeting is for the Board to conduct the
business of the district. Agendas are published prior to this meeting
and public comment is welcome. 
 
At the meeting held on September 9th the Board paid the regular bills,
had a discussion about various legislative issues facing our district
and school districts across the state and heard a presentation from
Assistant Superintendent Jan Beauchamp about how our students performed
on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).  
 
The Board also had a discussion about bullying and harassment. The EVSD
Board, administration and staff are committed to protecting all of our
students, employees and patrons from bullying or harassment. The board
has directed me to modify the standard minimum policy required by the
State to reflect how seriously committed they are to eliminating
bullying, harassment or intimidation from our schools. This policy will
be discussed at the next board meeting and your input is welcome.    
 
The Board held a special meeting at 9:00 am on September 10th to visit
each of the schools in the district. This traveling meeting was very
well received by the buildings and presented an opportunity for students
to meet board members.   
 
On September 10th at 6:30 pm the Board held a special meeting in the
EVHS library to gather input on the bond issue that was presented to the
voters last spring. The meeting lasted until 7:30 pm. No actions were
taken but I believe that the sentiments of the attendees could be summed
up as an encouragement to the Board for placing a very similar bond
issue before the voters in the spring of 2009. The Board will be seeking
more input on this subject and you are strongly encouraged to submit
your thoughts to the board members or to the superintendent.   
 
I hope you will contact me if you have any questions or concerns about
issues facing the district. You can call me at the district office at
924-1830 or my home at 868-0087.  You may also contact me via e-mail
GlenewinkelJ at evsd.org.  I hope each of you is having as much fun as I
am having. It is a privilege to be part of this learning organization.  
 
 
John
 
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