RIVERVIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 407
CARNATION, WA 98014
Minutes of Regular Board of Directors’ Meeting
January 27, 2009
District Office – Conference Room A/B
CALL TO ORDER AND FLAG SALUTE
Mr. Bawden, Board President, called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM, followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance, led by Eagle Rock Multi-Age students.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr. Bawden, Mrs. Van Noy, Mr. Pflugrath, Ms. Oviatt, Mr. Edwards
Student Representatives: Ms. Fields
MEMBERS ABSENT
Student Representative: Mr. Siegel
EAGLE ROCK MULTI-AGE STUDENT PRESENTATION
The Eagle Rock Earthkeepers, members of the Environmental Science Club, presented a skit
called “Sabotaging Ourselves.” Deborah Edwards, ERMA teacher and club advisor, introduced
the students participating: Mason Lantz, Matthew Ibershof, Madelein Buckmaster, Melissa
Aitken, Rene Wolf and Marcus Wolf. The students challenged the Board to an Earth Friendly
Contest, with Ms. Oviatt having the most correct answers. The Board thanked all the students,
staff and parents for coming.
COMMUNICATIONS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS, AND HEARING OF PUBLIC
Mr. Bawden announced the Board held a Work Study on next year’s budget earlier this evening.
Last Tuesday, Ms. Oviatt and Mr. Bawden worked with a community focus group on Strategic
Plan Goal 1.6. Also last week the Board held a Work Study on the Riverview Learning Center.
Mr. Bawden noted all the School Board members would be attending the WSSDA Legislative
Conference in Olympia on February 8 and 9 to meet with the legislators.
Ms. Oviatt mentioned Mrs. Van Noy and she attended the 2009 Center for Education kick-off
lunch event in Seattle last week put on by the Washington Policy Center. Professor Bill Ouchi
spoke about reversing the decline of our public schools by moving key decision-making from
central office staff to the school principals which may result in more effective public schools and
a better learning environment for children.
Ms. Oviatt noted she attended the Senior Project presentations and learned quite a bit. Ms.
Oviatt thanked Cedarcrest High School for hosting the Australian exchange students for ten days
again this year. Ms. Oviatt attended the District Technology Steering Committee meeting and
will be involved with them in the future.
Ms. Fields noted the CHS drama productions just wrapped up. She proudly mentioned her trip to
Washington D.C. for President Obama’s inauguration.
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COMMUNICATIONS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS AND HEARING OF PUBLIC, Cont.
Agenda Adjustment
Motion 09-04: To amend the Consent Agenda, Personnel Actions, to reflect recent changes, and
to amend the Agenda by adding Item B.1, under Old Business, Final Acceptance of the
Cedarcrest Hydronic Pipe Lining Project. (Pflugrath and Bawden) Unanimous.
Hearing of Public
Leanne Christensen, on behalf of all the Riverview PTSA’s, acknowledged January as School
Board Recognition Month and thanked each Board Member for their valuable service to the
students of Riverview. She read a quote from E. E. Cummings, “We do not believe in ourselves
until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our
trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder,
spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” The PTSAs presented
small gifts and refreshments. The Board thanked all the District PTSAs for their support our
students.
RECESS
Mr. Bawden recessed the Board meeting at 7:18 PM for fifteen minutes to acknowledge the
PTSA members and share in the refreshments. Mr. Bawden called the meeting back to order at
7:34 PM.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion 09-05: To approve the January 27, 2009, Consent Agenda as amended. (Oviatt and
Edwards) Discussion followed on the LWTC-Skills Center agreements. Unanimous.
Approval of Regular School Board Meeting Minutes for January 13, 2009 and Board Work
Study Minutes for January 20, 2009
Approval of Warrants
General Fund Warrant No. 169164 through 169231 in the amount of $108,974.33; Capital
Projects Fund Warrant No. 169232 through 169240 in the amount of $1,024,986.68; and ASB
Fund Warrant No. 169241 through 169251 in the amount of $5,533.49. Total payroll for January
15, 2009 was $5,946.51, which includes General Fund Warrant No. 169252 through 169259 in
the amount of $1,279.23, and direct deposits of $3,581.56.
Approval of Personnel Actions, as amended
Approval of Service Contracts
Approval of December Budget Status Report
Approval of Superintendent Employment Contract Extension
Approval of LWTC-Skills Center Construction Agreement and the LWTC-Skills Center Longterm Use Agreement
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OLD BUSINESS
Riverview Education Foundation Grant Awards
Kathy Klein, Grant Administrator for REF, presented 24 grants in the amount of $27,402.22.
She explained REF had $5,000 left and would give that directly to the district for specific needs.
She introduced the REF Board Members: Kim Lisk, President; Jack Bradley, Vice President;
Robyn Vergillo, Treasurer; Mike Ward, Secretary; Paul Censullo, Ex-Officio; Sue Davenport,
Paige Denison, Laura Knox, Maria Mahowald, Becky Nixon, Jeremy Robkin and Rob Tiffany.
Sue Davenport invited all to the March 28 “Evening for Education” auction dinner at Echo Falls
Country Club, noting registration is available on line.
Motion 09-06: To approve the 2009 REF Grant Awards in the amount of $27,402.22.
(Pflugrath and Van Noy) Unanimous.
Construction Report
Sean Ryan, Project Manager, introduced Tim Ausick who is part of the project management
team for Heery International. Mr. Ryan reported on the projects as follows:
Carnation Elementary and Cherry Valley Elementary
Educational Specifications have been developed by the design team with the faculty.
The survey has been completed and forwarded to the design team.
The school district has solicited Statements of Qualifications from local consulting firms
(i.e. SEPA, Hazardous Materials, etc.).
Cedarcrest High School Field Improvements
The design team is ready to submit the permit documents to the City for the baseball
field, parking lot, and bleachers at the existing football field.
A public meeting was held per the request of the City of Duvall on January 14, to allow
surrounding area home owners the opportunity to have their questions and concerns
addressed.
The Duvall Planning Department has commented to the district that the plan review for
the project would be expedited.
Cedarcrest High School Remodel
The gymnasium renovation work has been completed with the exception of a few items,
and the gym has been turned over to the school for use.
The administration area addition is nearing completion and CDK confirmed they
anticipate turning this area over to the school on February 9.
The new gym addition finish work is being installed and CDK estimated the space will be
available for use in early March.
Cedarcrest High School Hydronic Pipe Lining
The district’s legal counsel has recommended that the Pipe Lining Project be accepted for
final completion. BCE Engineers has also stated that the project has achieved final
completion.
Retention on the project cannot be released until the pending litigation between Tri
Mechanical and American Pipe is settled.
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Construction Report, Cont.
Riverview Learning Center
The School district outlined their questions and position to the City of Carnation in
November and the City responded on December 12. The District consulted with legal
counsel on January 21 to outline its response.
Tolt Middle School Field Improvements
The last part of the project is to surface the track when the weather is warmer.
Tolt Middle School Remodel
Building A addition has been painted and the ceiling grid installation is ongoing.
The Gymnasium foyer window panel installation has been completed and the interior
drywall installation is expected to start in the next week.
The roof overbuild installation is ongoing above the kitchen and locker rooms.
The new roof has been installed at Building L and the brick siding is being installed.
Allied continues to renovate the interior hallways and bathrooms, and interior framing is
nearing completion.
A meeting is scheduled on February 4, with the City of Carnation to review the final
layout proposed frontage improvements along Tolt Avenue.
Final Acceptance of the Cedarcrest Hydronic Pipe Lining Project
Motion 09-07: To approve the Final Acceptance of the Cedarcrest Hydronic Pipe Lining
Project. (Bawden and Van Noy) Unanimous.
School Improvement Status
Dr. Smith said the presentations will be a dipstick on School Improvement Plan (SIP) progress.
He thanked all the administrators and dedicated staff for their time and effort to increase
accountability in this district while balancing all their responsibilities and still doing it with heart.
He noted Cedarcrest’s plan is not in a smart goal format due to the number of complexities of
their goals this year. Next year the plan will be back to the smart goal format.
The district’s goal in the School Improvement Plans is to ramp up mathematics. This year I
committed to observe and provide feedback to every teacher that teaches math. We’ve instituted
dedicated math coaches for K-12; planned math awareness nights at the elementary schools for
parents; contacted international math expert, Ruth Parker, to do a community night; and trained
all K-12 math teachers in the math standards. We’ve continued support for the academically
talented students in this area. Three high school regular education teachers have been certified in
Applied Math which will increase the vocational cross-credit opportunities. The math
assessment and intervention committee started with a visioning team although it will be a fouryear process. The district’s professional development has been elevated in math. We are one and
one-half years into a five-year plan to conceptualize a research-based instructional framework;
and we are getting better with aligned curriculum and instruction, using an online elementary
dashboard for the four core curriculums plus the arts and health fitness. The Center for
Education Effectiveness, along with Powerful Teacher and Learning, will pilot a joint assessment
and teaching model starting with one district in the state of Washington and we were asked. This
will begin on June 23 with the Administrative Council all-day meeting.
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School Improvement Status, Cont.
Carnation Elementary
Doug Poage, Principal, emphasized their math goal. One highlight is Math Night which is
Thursday, with parents meeting at the District Office and students engaged in Math Olympics in
the gym. We will have translators available for Spanish families at each event. The second
thing is our Targeted Assistance Plan which was expanded for Math. We have an after-school
Math Club which meets four days a week, with over 30 kids in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades identified
by their teacher as struggling. We also are going into first and second grade classrooms to work
with students for early intervention in math. The power in this will be the consistency available
year after year.
Stillwater Elementary
Amy Wright, Principal, said Stillwater’s primary focus on math came after a decline in WASL
scores. Our main focus this year is developing common language and consistent practice from
classroom to classroom in math instruction. We also started a focus group for teachers dealing
with components of the WASL data and developing specific interventions for specific kids. We
will have our math night in the spring. Our other focus is in Reading. We are piloting DIBEL’s
universal screening tool, with all students taking the test in September. Each grade level is
taking that data and writing grade level plans for all at risk students. Just like math, we are
working for greater collaboration and consistency from grade level to grade level. As one
intervention tool, we started volunteer tutoring for reading with 14 trained parents tutoring 30
kids referred by teachers.
Cherry Valley Elementary
Darcy Becker, Principal, noted some revisions were made this year based on WASL data. We
added to our math goals around algebra. We also added art school, and are in the process of
adding science to our school improvement plan. We are piloting the math DOMA (diagnostic
online math assessment) screening tool and diagnostic tool, which also has an intervention
component online called Unique Math. The screening tool looks at number sense, measurement
and fractions. This gives us real time data, and as a component to that, we can immediately put
students into Unique Math. We are seeing a lot of interest in this pilot from parents. Cherry
Valley and Carnation Elementary participated in a Getting School Ready grant working with
preschool families to help them connect to school. One of goals is how to communicate with
non-English speaking communities. We had a successful Cherry Valley computer night, with six
non-English speaking parents learning how to use the computer.
Eagle Rock Multi-Age Program
Judy Harris, Principal, said their main goal this year is Science. With staff turnover in the past,
the basic foundations were not there by the time students got to 5th grade. Now, we have all the
teachers trained by Pat Orrill in scientific methods. One of our big successes is writing. In
2007-2008, 73% of students passed writing, but only 53% passed in content, organization, and
style. This year 100% passed. However, we are still working on conventions, getting kids to
see their own errors in writing, so we are adding two more writings during the year for all grades.
Tolt Middle School
Janet Gavigan, Principal, highlighted successes in the WASL by using cohort data; i.e. 7th grade
students scored 72.7% in writing, but when they were in 4th grade they scored 54.3%; and in 8th
grade science, students scored 66.2% but as 5th graders they scored 38.1%. One of our
challenges, like the other schools, is math.
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School Improvement Status, Cont.
Tolt Middle School, Cont.
Our professional development opportunities had a different twist this year by having a math
coach provide coaching opportunities through observation. Another piece on which we spent a
lot of time was the implementation of classroom-based assessment (CBA) and the classroom
performance-based assessment (CPBA). Even though these are required for 8th grade, we are
embracing them at all three grade levels. The roll out of social studies 8th grade CBA started this
week, and we are also starting in health, fitness, and fine arts. Also, all of our content areas are
working on the scope and sequence document where we align curriculum standards by grade
level and content area.
Another new thing is we are looking at our Title II data differently to see how to track and
diagnose the intervention process and see if it helps on the WASL scores. We also continue to
work with special education and adjusting that model, and we are also implementing a student
assistance team to help identify kids that are struggling.
Cedarcrest High School
Clarence Lavarias, Principal, reported Cedarcrest is focusing on the scope and sequence
document for all classes offered. He highlighted the four areas on which Cedarcrest developed
their School Improvement Plan.
Curriculum: We are focusing on every class 9-12, except for CTE, by doing the scope
and sequence document and hope to have all classes done by the end of the school year.
One area that is struggling is our Science 9 classes. We looked at the reasons for this
struggle and found the same students were also struggling in math areas. Science and
math teachers are working on the level of math skills that are needed for science. We are
also reviewing the Science program for special education and at risk students, looking at
instruction, more activity-oriented curriculum, and team teaching with a science teacher
and a special education teacher. Our math teachers are working with a math specialist to
develop a learning focus for the department. The CTE department has been pursuing
cross-crediting/course equivalency options. Currently, we have several CTE courses that
are already cross-credited.
Assessment: As mandated by state law by the end of the 2008-2009 school year, all
required social studies, art and health/fitness classroom-based assessments will be
implemented.
Environmental: We believe a positive learning environment is essential for the success
of a school. One way to accomplish this is to have students more involved in school
improvement issues. Approximately 25 students will be undergoing training in Raising
Students Voice & Participation (RSVP) and in turn will be working with students in their
advisories.
Technology: Our goal is that 100% of staff will be able to use their newly installed
presentation stations as part of their daily classroom instruction.
PARADE Program
Paul Censullo, Program Manager, mentioned one challenge at PARADE is that the teachers are
not the primary teachers; every parent in the program commits to teaching 25 hours a week.
Also, students can opt out of standardized tests.
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School Improvement Status, Cont.
PARADE Program, Cont.
We have begun a Reading Assessment Program known as DIBEL’s to determine accurate
reading levels of all K-6 students. DRA is then used for diagnostic purposes to improve reading
skills. In math, we have one teacher delivering math to secondary students who works very
effectively with piloting programs, sharing information with parents and students through
interactive software, etc. Some high school students are having trouble with writing, so we’ve
tried a high school writing lab once a week.
CLIP Program
Dr. Smith, Program Manager, said he has been spending more time with the program mainly due
to student issues. The three main goals in CLIP are increasing math competency, improving
graduation percentages, and reducing substance abuse overall. One success in math is two years
ago we implemented the Bridges to Algebra online program and it’s really making a difference.
Our goal is to have all of our seniors post-high school ready with Algebra II competency in the
future.
In summary, Dr. Smith said if there is only one other thing that should be accomplished in the
next two to three years that would be having a seamless online assessment system in
mathematics K-8 with interventions tied to it that have teeth in them.
Mr. Robertson thanked Dr. Smith for driving all the district school improvement areas, not just
CLIP.
NEW BUSINESS
REPORTS
Student Representative Report
Courtney Fields reported on Cedarcrest High School activities.
ASB is working on an assembly in the new gym; seniors can now order their senior
sweatshirts; and Cedarcrest’s Tolo is March 7th.
DECA Area Competition was January 13 and three students qualified for State
competition in mid-March. Josh Siegel applied for the Washington Award for
Vocational Excellence scholarship and was selected as the recipient from Cedarcrest
High School, moving on to the State level for this two-year education tuition scholarship.
National Honor Society’s annual blood drive was rescheduled to February 4, 2009;
community members are welcome. The canned food was delivered to Hopelink with
over 3,000 pounds donated.
Girls’ Basketball, Boys’ Basketball and Wrestling are all going strong.
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Superintendent Report
Mr. Robertson attended the Skills Center meeting last Friday with Lake Washington, Northshore,
Mercer Island, Issaquah, and Snoqualmie Valley districts. They are close to finalizing the
Interlocal Agreement. He also served on a Senior Project panel last Friday. Mr. Robertson has
been asked to speak on how decisions are made on school closures at the Stillwater PTSA
meeting on January 29th.
Mr. Robertson confirmed that OSPI granted the Riverview School District five waiver days as
requested. He reminded the Board the district will use two of the waiver days in addition to the
other scheduled make-up days, holding three waiver days in abeyance.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mr. Bawden adjourned the January 27, 2009 School Board
meeting at 10:10 PM.
_____________________________________
Board President
____________________________________
Superintendent
MINUTES PREPARED BY
Cheryl B. Layman, Recording Secretary to the Board of Directors.
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