RIVERVIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 407
CARNATION, WA 98014
Minutes of Board of Directors’ Meeting
February 9, 2010
District Office – Conference Room A/B
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Bawden, Board President, called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM, followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr. Bawden, Ms. Oviatt, Mrs. Van Noy, Mr. Pflugrath, Mr. Edwards
Student Representatives: Ms. Fields
MEMBERS ABSENT
Student Representative: Ms. Bawden
COMMUNICATIONS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS AND HEARING OF PUBLIC
Mr. Bawden mentioned that Glynis Bawden was absent due to illness.
Ms. Oviatt reported on the Cedarcrest wrestling tournament last weekend. This was the first
tournament at Cedarcrest and it went very smoothly, with Cedarcrest winning. Fourteen CHS
wrestlers out of 22 will be going to sub regionals. Cedarcrest will host their second tournament
this upcoming weekend.
Mrs. Van Noy thanked Cherry Valley Elementary and Eagle Rock Multi-Age for the lovely
artwork displayed in the Board room.
Mr. Pflugrath noted he and Mike Miyoshi represented Riverview at the CTE Engineering
Advisory Committee. New software in engineering was discussed that chould change the future.
He also noted Riverview’s website now contains a draft of a Citizen’s Budget for 2009-2010,
and he thanked Mr. Adamo for a great job. He complimented Principal Doug Poage for the
Constant Contact information on the construction plan for Carnation Elementary School.
Ms. Fields mentioned the seniors are encouraging signups for grad night and ASB is planning the
Mr. CHS fundraiser for charity.
Ms. Oviatt also mentioned the Seniors for Seniors Casino Night at Snoqualmie Valley Senior
Center in Carnation on February 27, at 7:30 PM.
Agenda Adjustment
Motion 10-06: To amend the Consent Agenda, Personnel Actions and Service Contracts, to
reflect current changes. (Edwards and Van Noy) Unanimous.
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CONSENT AGENDA
Motion 10-07: To approve the February 9, 2010 Consent Agenda as amended. (Oviatt and
Bawden) Unanimous.
Approval of Regular School Board Meeting Minutes for January 26, 2009
Approval of Warrants
General Fund Warrant No. 174797 through 174922 in the amount of $202,968.41, and direct
deposits of $3,990.76; Capital Projects Fund Warrant No. 174923 through 174926 in the amount
of $276,929.94; ASB Fund Warrant No. 174927 through 174952 in the amount of $9,486.47, and
direct deposits of $36.24; and Private Purpose Trust Fund Warrant No. 174953 through 174956
in the amount of $1,330.83, and direct deposits of $5,905.40. Total payroll for January 29, 2010
was $1,942,139.24, which includes General Fund Warrant No. 174957 through 175027 in the
amount of $645,096.85, and direct deposits of $952,808.99.
Approval of Personnel Actions, as amended
Approval of Service Contracts, as amended
Approval of Donations
The Board acknowledged the $1700 grant from Cedarcrest PTSA for Activotes and ActivArena
math.
OLD BUSINESS
Strategic Plan Community Forum – Mike Vidos
Mr. Vidos, Strategic Plan Consultant, advised the upcoming 2010-2015 plan was the 7th edition
of the Strategic Plan and praised Riverview for continuing to work the plan. He encouraged the
School Board to present this successful process to other districts, perhaps through conference
workshops. The schedule for developing the next 5-year plan is as follows:
February 24 – Board and Goal Managers meet from 5-9 PM to develop the next five-year
plan from vision to goals, present ideas for objectives, and provide direction down to the
goal level.
March 16, Goal Managers meet from 10:00-1:00 to develop objectives and train for
facilitator leadership roles at the Community forum.
March 27 – Board, goal managers and public meet from 8:00-12:00 noon at Tolt Middle
School. Mr. Vidos will define the plan process and report on accomplishments, and then
the public will break into goal groups for input. A final plan should be presented to the
Board the first part of April.
The Board asked if students could participate in the Forum, especially the Teaching and
Learning goal and Dr. Smith said he would pursue that.
Final Acceptance of Tolt Middle School Athletic Fields
Erickson McGovern Architects have recommended Final Acceptance for the Tolt Middle School
Athletic Fields Project.
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OLD BUSINESS, Cont.
Final Acceptance of Tolt Middle School Athletic Fields, Cont.
Motion 10-08: To approve the Tolt Middle School Athletic Fields project for Final Acceptance.
(Pflugrath and Van Noy) Unanimous.
Secondary School Improvement Plans
Cedarcrest High School, Tolt Middle School, PARADE Program and CLIP Program presented
their School Improvement Plans and answered questions.
Tolt Middle School
Janet Gavigan, Principal, reported that this year Tolt looked at data differently, such as what
happens as students go through middle school. With four years of 6th and 8th grade data in
reading and math, staff was able to look from entrance to exit with the goal to get students ready
for high school. For example, in Science there are two data points, 5th and 8th grade. Fifth grade
students came in with 34.37 % and left 8th grade with 59.82%, which is a 25% increase in three
years. Writing had the same results for 4th and 7th grade gains. Reading is a challenge. We see a
drop at 6th grade and a rise in 8th grade. We will refocus around Reading to improve 6th graders.
Language Arts staff retooled Reading standards, gave common assessments, and looked at
student work to determine what they need. We are trying to serve kids better during the day in
Reading by pulling identified kids out of their elective class into a Reading class with a LAP
teacher. In tracking data on these kids, we have seen more gains in the first semester than in the
old model where they were pulled out twice a week. The Reading Intervention Team for 6th
grade is visiting other districts to see what’s working, and we’re also looking at more
professional development for staff. Math is also a challenge. We are focusing on the new Math
curriculum, and MAP testing. Last year, CBA and CBPA were implemented in Fitness, Health,
Fine Arts, and Social Studies.
Dr. Smith said he was proud of the progress in terms of assessments. Tolt Middle School is
district leader in CBA and CBPA’s, especially in Social Studies. Discussion followed.
Cedarcrest High School
Clarence Lavarias, Principal, mentioned CHS is undergoing a six-year accreditation, and is
heavily involved in their self study, a very intense look at the school. The School Improvement
Plan has four areas to look at:
Curriculum: With the change of State Superintendent, there are newly developed standards. Our
goal is to insure curriculum is aligned with state standards, as well as our Scope and Sequence
documents. Secondly, the state required that all CTE courses undergo a reflective analysis of the
content of each class. This intensive review and the state acceptance of the review are necessary
for schools to offer classes listed under CTE and receive the funding that goes along with these
classes.
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OLD BUSINESS, Cont.
Secondary School Improvement Plans, Cont.
Cedarcrest High School, Cont.
Assessment: We are proud of our scores which are above state and national averages. Our goal
is to increase the number of students meeting or exceeding these averages. Two areas that we
need to focus on are: 1) math averages in the HSPE, and 2) Advanced Placement Scores.
Although CHS exceeds the state averages in math, as a staff, we believe that we can do much
better. We will be moving from the Integrated Math Series to a more traditional math program
with Holt. Teachers are trained in MAP testing and excited to see the immediate results,
showing where remediation is needed. Next staff will be looking at how we modify classrooms
to input these students for remediation. AP scores last year dropped for the first time since 2000
to below our average of 83% pass rate. One of our key teachers was out for almost two months
for a family emergency. Our staff will look at national AP standards to be sure instruction is
aligned. We believe our schools will increase to our goal of 83% once more. Dr. Smith added
that CHS has a lot of advanced classes and honors classes that aren’t AP classes.
Environment: As part of our accreditation, we administered a survey to students, parents, and
staff. Students’ area of concern was that the principal didn’t listen to their ideas, such as types of
assemblies and lunches. Mr. Lavarias had Kaye Wetli, Food Services Supervisor, speak with a
group of ASB students about nutrition. Students shared that the menu is so predictable; maybe
you could change things up with themes or something. Mr. Lavarias is trying to bring in
different people for assemblies, on more current subjects such as respect and drugs. Students
also felt there was very little respect for each other, especially in the hallways between periods.
This too will be addressed.
Professional Development: Through the staff survey, it was felt that professional development
was all over the place and lacked focus, with some times not pertinent at all. We have worked as
a staff to find what areas, such as Language Arts or CTE, needed to develop specific department
plans. One area of focus is to have a long-term commitment by both staff and district on Student
Learning Protocol training.
Dr. Smith said Cedarcrest High School should be proud they only missed a Great Schools Award
by two places, and Center for Educational Excellence reported their survey data had the best
results he had ever seen. Dr. Smith also noted a change at CHS in staff being willing to try new
things. Discussion followed.
PARADE Program
Paul Censullo, Program Manger, stated their Mission Statement: The PARADE Program,
working in tandem with home-schooling families, supports the education of students grades K12 to become passionate life-long learners and caring respectful citizens. This year is the largest
enrollment in the program’s history, 140 students, up 32% over last year. The program is
thriving and excited about the new Riverview Learning Center, MAP assessments for Math,
participating in the District-Wide Writing Assessment, and in the statewide Geography Bee
competition.
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OLD BUSINESS, Cont.
Secondary School Improvement Plans, Cont.
PARADE Program, Cont.
PARADE students take 9-12 field trips per year tied directly to the curriculum. This spring, Mrs.
Marshall will take some PARADE students and two CHS students to China. We will target
Reading with a goal of 75% passing standards. Parents need educating as they provide 20 hours
a week of instruction. We have implemented new Reading Inventory program, Reading
Naturally, for struggling learners. We have a specific Math teacher now, and are offering more
courses and better ways. Writing will have more emphasis on the students’ diversity, with
weekly writing labs for 9-12 grades. PARADE teachers are very artistic and have provided
showcases for student art, worked with the Missoula Children’s Theatre, and added more
integration into Carnation Elementary’s total arts program.
CLIP Program
Dr. Anthony Smith, Principal and Program Manager, explained CLIP's three goals, starting with
Goal #3: Substance abuse problems will be reduced. Prevention curriculum is offered all year,
enlisting other resources, intervention specialists, and agency speakers. Goal #2: CLIP
graduation rates demonstrate consistent 5% improvement per year. In 08-09 the graduation rate
was 64.3%, with an extended graduation rate of 92.9%, as compared to 07-08 with a graduation
rate of 49.2% and an extended rate of 61.5%. Goal #1: All graduating seniors will be competent
in math at a graduation level proficiency. MAP testing data in the fall showed a typical junior or
senior enters the program with an average math level of 6th grade. Along with pre-algebra, we
added algebra and next year will add geometry. We have doubled math instruction time this year
and will increase by another half next year.
WSSDA Legislative Conference
The Board and Student Representatives reviewed their recent two-day trip to Olympia for the
WSSDA Legislative Conference, spending Monday on the hill meeting with legislators.
Courtney Fields, Student Representative, thoroughly enjoyed meeting legislators and found the
presentation on the McCleary vs. State of Washington very interesting. She felt discouraged
about a budget fix from the legislators. Fourteen student representatives met with Governor
Gregoire in her office. The Governor explained how she handles things, her experience and how
she has to make decisions even she doesn’t like. Mr. Bawden added the Governor spoke about
the historical mementos in her office and took a picture with the student representatives.
Students were allowed to ask questions and spent approximately 40 minutes with the Governor.
Mr. Bawden said he plans to get a message out on state funding for education asking the public
to contact their legislators, as he feels the legislators are not hearing from the general public.
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OLD BUSINESS, Cont.
WSSDA Legislative Conference, Cont.
Mr. Edwards summarized the conference, using bullet points:
Sunday, February 7, arrived in Olympia in time to have a Board Work Study at
Applebee’s to coordinate and prepare for meeting with the legislators.
We attended a legislative panel consisting of Representatives Marcie Maxwell and Bruce
Dammeier, and Senator Curtis King.
We heard an interesting speaker who felt that state income tax would solve all financial
woes, but acknowledged that it wouldn’t pass voters.
We listened to David Iseminger explain his Five Tenet Plan for funding education.
We heard from the attorney that “won” the court decision in McCleary vs. State of
Washington that the Constitution is not being upheld in funding schools.
Patti Wood, School Board Director from Kelso gave her Federal Relations Network
Report.
We enjoyed dinner with the entire Board and Mr. Phil Gore.
Monday, February 8, met very early with Representative Marcie Maxwell who gave us
some helpful tips for the rest of our meetings with legislators.
Met briefly with Representative Zach Hudgins to get a “photo-op” for the Student
Representatives.
Both of our afternoon appointments were cancelled, but we visited with Sam Reed,
Secretary of State, and took some pictures with the Student Representatives.
We met with Senator Eric Oemig who was very sympathetic to education but was blunt
that this is a bad year financially.
Representative Larry Springer, who had previously cancelled, was able to meet with us.
He echoed many of Senator Oemig’s concerns that there is only so much money to go
around.
Most of us left; however, Mr. Bawden and the student representatives stayed so they
could meet with Governor Gregoire. None of the news on the hill was reassuring.
Mrs. Van Noy said Rodney Tom started a bill that all elections will have Voters’ Pamphlets. Mr.
Bawden thanked the Board for taking their time to attend this valuable conference.
Election Update
The 8:15 PM first count on the election showed all three prepositions were passing.
Proposition #1 Maintenance and Operations Levy 56.66% yes
Proposition #2 Technology Levy
58.18% yes
Proposition #3 Transportation Levy
58.61% yes
Carnation Elementary and Cherry Valley Elementary Education Specifications
As part of the D-5 process, Erickson McGovern has developed Education Specifications for the
elementary projects. Educational specifications are required for each school facility construction
and modernization project exceeding 15,000 square feet if the district is to receive state financial
assistance.
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OLD BUSINESS, Cont.
Carnation Elementary and Cherry Valley Elementary Education Specifications, Cont.
Motion 10-09: To approve the Carnation Elementary and the Cherry Valley Elementary
Education Specifications, as presented. (Van Noy and Edwards) Unanimous.
NEW BUSINESS
Board Agenda Topics
The Board cancelled the February 18th Board Leadership meeting with the superintendent as both
Mr. Bawden and Mr. Robertson would be out of town. The Board scheduled a Board Breakfast
Work Study on March 4th to discuss board goals. The Board Leadership meeting was scheduled
for March 18th in the Superintendent’s office at 7:00 AM. Mrs. Van Noy asked that sharing
ideas with the Snoqualmie Valley School Board be added to the “Parking Lot.”
REPORTS
Enrollment Report
Mr. Robertson advised February’s enrollment was down 1.57 FTE students, which is a very
respectful number for February. Riverview is still over 50.08 FTE students from the budget.
Superintendent Report
1. On February 7th I attended the Center for Collaborative Support meeting in Snoqualmie.
The highlight was a presentation on the draft of a possible grant proposal to bring to
foundations: “Initiative to Enhance Secondary Math and Science Achievement, A
Professional Development Model.” The draft has potential to enhance staff development in
the Mercer Island, Issaquah, Snoqualmie Valley, Tahoma and Riverview school districts.
2. Mr. Robertson praised the School Board for their time and effort in prepping for the
Legislative Conference and attending the conference.
3. Last week I had the opportunity to meet with Mayor Ibershof and Steve Leniszewski,
Director of Public Works for the City of Duvall. I appreciated their assistance and that of
their staff in finding options to lesson the construction costs for the Cherry Valley remodel.
Perhaps we’ll save $60-70,000 in storm water detention.
4. Recently Dr. Ken Heikkila and I met with representatives of the Snoqualmie Valley
Network representatives, Jan-Olov Johansson and Kristy Trione, and the Snoqualmie
Valley School District Superintendent, Joel Aune, to discuss a potential joint grant
application which may help our districts continue to provide services despite the large
budget reductions that we expect from the legislature.
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REPORTS, Cont.
Superintendent Report, Cont.
5. On February 10th representatives from our school district will meet with City of Carnation
staff on the permitting needed for temporary portables for the Carnation Elementary
School. Portables are essential for temporary classrooms at both Carnation and Cherry
Valley Elementary Schools to house students during the upcoming remodel. We will be
moving out of the Carnation 1980’s wing into portables during spring break so we can start
construction. Also, we will be bringing two Cherry Valley portables down to Maintenance
for their storage use.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mr. Bawden adjourned the February 9, 2010 Board meeting at
9:32 PM.
_______________________________
Board President
____________________________________
Board Secretary
MINUTES PREPARED BY
Cheryl B. Layman, Recording Secretary to the Board of Directors.
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