I鈥檓 very excited and proud that today we have released details of our plans for start and end times in 2017-18.
I realize change can bring some challenges 鈥 for our families, students, staff and community. But I believe making a change to benefit student health, academic success, stress, mood, attendance, etc. (the list goes on) is change worth making.
Details
鈥淎ll labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance
and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.鈥
鈥 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On Monday, our community and country took a break from many of our usual routines in order to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King.
Details
First, a big thank you to those of you who read and commented on my last blog from Nov. 6. I am so appreciative for your energy, questions, suggestions and encouragement. So many of you expressed 鈥渨e can do this!鈥 And of course, I agree.
Details
One subject that keeps coming up, whether I鈥檓 in the grocery store or out on the soccer fields is start and end times for our schools. Many families are curious about our current thinking and whether we will pursue any kind of schedule change after we determined last spring (thanks to valuable feedback from families and staff) that our most recent start and end times proposal needed additional refinement.
Details
Bellingham Public Schools will put two replacement levies on the ballot this February. These levies, our operations levy and our technology levy, are to help pay costs that the state does not fund. They would replace two voter-approved levies from 2012 that are set to expire. Our operations levy comprises about 25 percent of our budget.
Details
It鈥檚 been less than two years since voters approved our facilities bond in Nov. 2013, and it鈥檚 incredible and exciting for our kids, staff and community to see so many physical changes at our schools.
Details
Whether you have kids or work with kids, you are probably noticing the anticipation-for-summer-vacation energy, which is normal and understandable.
But before we get too far down the path of putting this year behind us, I鈥檇 like to share a reflection on some exciting and important work that has been happening in all 22 of our schools this year around math.
Details
I often get questions about how we measure our students, staff and schools. 鈥淗ow are our kids doing in Bellingham Public Schools?鈥 鈥淗ow do you determine a school鈥檚 success?鈥
To answer these questions, folks often go right to state test scores as the most important indicator of how successful a school is. While standardized tests do offer value, I believe much of our country is overly-focused on state test scores. Standardized assessments are only one measurement of a student, a school and a system鈥檚 success. But there is a much bigger picture.
Details
We鈥檙e in the midst of making a shift at Bellingham Public Schools in terms of student discipline. It鈥檚 called Restorative Justice. And it鈥檚 getting good buzz (as you can see in this Seattle Times and ) 鈥 not in the flash-in-the-pan-trend kind of way, but in the Changing Practices Changes Lives way.
Details