Appreciating Our School Board of Directors

January is School Board Appreciation month in the State of Washington, as proclaimed by Governor Jay Inslee.  In South Bend, we are fortunate to have five school board members who are each dedicated to our students, staff, and community.
The school board's role is crucial in the operation of Washington's 295 school districts, where a combined 1,477 elected board members govern the education of over one million students, $11 billion dollars of school operational costs, and 160,000 school employees.  School board members are volunteers, and their service is much appreciated.

Locally in South Bend, our board consists of five members, each of whom hold public service jobs in our community while serving on the school board in their spare time.  Their dedication and service to our school district is second to none.

Chairman, Chuck Spoor

Mr. Spoor is our current chairman and has served on the board since 2010.  He is the Chief of Police for the City of Raymond and is a graduate of South Bend High School.  Mr. Spoor also coaches football at South Bend.  He has a daughter who attends South Bend High School.

Vice Chairman, Todd Strozyk

Mr. Strozyk is our vice chairman and has served on the board since 2012.  He is the Chief of the Raymond Fire Department.  Mr. Strozyk coaches football and basketball at South Bend.  He has two children who attend our school.

Member, Steve Rogers

Mr. Rogers was elected to the board in 2008 and until last year served as chairman.  He is a Pacific County Commissioner and is a South Bend High School graduate.  Mr. Rogers serves with numerous community clubs and organizations, two of which include the South Bend Kiwanis and the Pacific County Historical Society.

Member, Dave Eastham

Mr. Eastham is South Bend's longest serving board member and has served on the board for 16 years.  He is the Chief of Police for the City of South Bend.  Mr. Eastham's three children all graduated from South Bend High School.  He and his wife Carolyn are currently hosting a foreign exchange student from Brazil, who attends South Bend High School.

Member, Andy Seaman

Mr. Seaman has served on the board since 2012.  He is the Computer Services Supervisor for Pacific County and is a graduate of South Bend High School.  His wife, Anita, teaches second grade at Chauncey Davis Elementary.  Mr. Seaman's children all graduated from South Bend High School.



As superintendent, it is a pleasure to work with such a competent group of individuals.  Our board members also visit the campus consistently, and interact with staff and students.  There is never any doubt their desire is to do what is best for all students, a fact that has a strong impact on the quality education South Bend students receive.

The job of a school board member is often thankless and is an important responsibility.  The community of South Bend, our students, staff, and faculty are fortunate to have a school board that is dedicated, supportive, and caring of our children's education.

This month, please take some time to thank these gentlemen for their continued service to our school.   They play a big role in making South Bend, "A Great Place for Kids."

2015 Recap

A NEW YEAR IS ABOUT TO BEGIN 

As we await a new year in just a couple days we have a lot to be thankful for from 2015.  It has been quite a busy year at South Bend School District as we strive to provide South Bend students our very best.  2015 has seen some significant gains across the district and our staff and students continue to work hard.  Below is a brief recap of some of the things we have been doing in 2015.

Looking Back on 2015

Flooding in January, 2015

Koplitz Field House

We started 2015 with some significant challenges related to the January flooding.  Those of you familiar with the flooding event will recall the massive amounts of water covering most of the South Bend area, including the entire South Bend school campus.  The aftermath of the flood left us without Koplitz Field House as a functioning gymnasium, which impacted athletics, PE classes, and other school events.
Though it was challenging to work through the eventual remodel of KFH, the end product was amazing.  South Bend was fortunate to update almost all aspects of KFH at little to no cost to our local citizens.  The new floor gives a fresh look to a building rich of school history and athletic tradition.
Thanks to the generosity of the Ben B. Cheney Foundation, we were also able to update the sound system in KFH and a media screen in the building lobby.

Food Service

Due to careful planning and hard work from our kitchen staff and school office personnel, South Bend implemented a program allowing all students, regardless of income, to eat breakfast and lunch both free of charge.  This has increased breakfast and lunch participation dramatically, and has brought in additional resources to our food service program.  Funded by the Community Eligibility Provision through the National School Lunch Program, all South Bend students have access to quality food, which has a direct impact on student learning and school readiness.

Academics and Instruction

After hiring eight new certificated teachers in 2015, we made several adjustments to the academic program affecting students K-12.  Probably the most significant change was implementing a seven period day, which allowed us to offer more class opportunities and electives for all students including: art, horticulture, robotics, music, physical education, foreign language, and library.  In addition, this switch provided a 50 minute prep period for all teachers K-12, allowing them to better prepare, plan, and collaborate with other teachers.

School Library 

Another significant addition we made in 2015 was in our library.  Hiring Lori Dearmore as teacher-librarian has allowed us to move our library to the next level, and continues to grow.  Along with the assistance of Karen Clements, Mrs. Dearmore has managed the addition of an Internet-based library catalog and checkout system, a mobile computer lab, and approximately $15,000 in new books.  Mrs. Dearmore and Ms. Clements also provide library services to individual classrooms and work with teachers with information literacy and technology.

Curriculum Updates

Led by principals Jason Nelson and Kresta Byington in collaboration with Educational Service District 113, we started the process of formulating a K-12 curriculum committee this last October.  The committee will be researching, piloting, and selecting an elementary math curriculum this coming Spring.  Consisting of teachers K-12, and also from our pre-school, we hope to build vertical alignment of our curriculum and instructional resources.  This will improve our pre-K-12 continuity and will help students as they progress through the grades.

Early Learning & Preschool

South Bend manages the ECEAP program for the tri-district and we serve almost 100 students here in South Bend birth to 4.  This past year we hired a new director, Amy Nelson, who replaced retired director Laurie May.  Mrs. Nelson has done a fabulous job in her new role and is pointing the program to even new levels of achievement.  We are proud to offer such an exceptional pre-K program to our community as we strive to make a difference in the school readiness of all students.

CVA-South Bend

2015 was also a year we saw significant growth in our new online virtual school.  We are the only CVA program in the state serving students K-12, and we currently have over 50 students.  Teachers Dan Raymond, Jeremiah Alvarez, Neomie Kuiken, Kyle Briscoe, and Jackie Sanchez provide educational services to students from across the state.  We provide classes in all subjects K-12.  The program is supported by Laurie Green in the school district office, where she does a great job working with student/family logistics, enrollment, teacher support, and reporting.  We hope to see program growth in the coming year.

Thankful for a Supportive Community

The South Bend community is extremely supportive of our school and students.  I am continually impressed with our community and the generosity provided for the education and support of kids.  South Bend is certainly a community I am proud to call home.

As we end 2015, I look forward to continuing our work into 2016 and beyond.  We are accomplishing a lot of good things for kids, and working together we will accomplish much more.

Happy New Year!

2-Hour Late Start for Wed, Dec 9

Due to expected flooding, South Bend School District will be on a 2-hour late start tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec 9. Please call your school office with questions, 875-6041.

Honoring Our Veterans

Chief Spoor addresses South Bend students at the Veteran's Day assembly

This time of the year tends to produce many thoughts of thanks, and each November 11 we honor and thank our United States veterans.  Without the service and sacrifices made by our veterans and current duty service members, our freedom and country would not exist as we know it.

South Bend Schools honors our veterans each year through special student assemblies, and this year was no exception.  Both Chauncey Davis Elementary and SB Junior Senior High School held assemblies recognizing local veterans, some of which work for the school district.

This year's special speaker at the Jr. Sr. High assembly was Chuck Spoor, who served as a paratrooper in the US Army as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division.  Serving from 1988 to 1992 Mr. Spoor saw action in Panama and the Persian Gulf in Desert Storm.

"These men and women are my heroes," said Spoor as he spoke of the veterans in attendance.  "They led the way for us younger guys and provided us a great example," he continued.  Mr. Spoor, who is the chairman of the South Bend School District Board of Directors and Chief of the Raymond Police Department, told students of his service and encouraged them to remember the sacrifices our veterans have made for our country.

Mrs. Tanaka speaks to SB elementary students

At the elementary, our newest kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Lenora Tanaka, spoke with students about her service in the United States Air Force.

Mrs. Tanaka, who served for six years and is a veteran of Desert Storm, spoke of how the military is important in protecting our country and of the many opportunities it can provide to service members.  She also shared a display of some of her service memorabilia for students to observe.



I think it is important for us to not only remember our veterans, but to teach our students the importance our veterans played in establishing the freedoms we enjoy.  Freedom is not free, and is continually purchased through our service members' sacrifice.  It is important for students to understand our freedom has been continuously challenged throughout our nation's history, and that our country's men and women have always stepped up to meet those challenges.

As students enjoy a day off from school this November 11, take some time to remember our veterans, and thank the ones you know for their
service to our country.

Mid-Semester Update

As first quarter wraps up and we begin the second half of this semester, I want to share some happenings in the district.

I am reminded each day how fortunate we are to have such a caring staff and community in South Bend.  It is a pleasure to work with our school team and surrounding community, as we strive to provide the best learning opportunities for our kids.  I invite all community members to become involved with our school.  If you ever have any questions or ideas, please feel welcome to share!  You can contact me here, or feel free to visit my office.

Enrollment

South Bend School District Enrollment Comparison 14-15/15-16

We started the school year with significantly higher enrollment than the previous school year, and we are continuing to see growth.  We are excited to see new faces in each of the grades and welcome all our new students.

In addition to these numbers, we also are serving over 100 pre-school students throughout the tri-district, with the majority being served in South Bend.

Mrs. Tanaka teaches SB's newly added kindergarten class

Additional Kindergarten Class Added

Due to our large kindergarten class and newly funded class size ratios from the State, we were able to add a third kindergarten class.  We are happy to have hired Mrs. Lenora Tanaka to fill this additional role.

Small class sizes are important, especially at primary grade levels, in order to meet the learning needs of our students.  We are fortunate to be able to offer these smaller class sizes (about 16 per class) and we are already seeing academic gains.


Cheney Foundation Provides New Sound System to Koplitz Field House

If you have attended a recent athletic event at South Bend High School, you probably noticed the new sound in our main gym.  We were fortunate to receive a grant from the Cheney Foundation which provided $30,000 for this new system.  The system includes all new speakers, amplifiers, microphones, and external i-Pod connections.  The system is used daily in PE classes and provides clear sound throughout the building.

We appreciate the generosity the Ben B. Cheney Foundation continues to provide our schools.

New Greenhouse Constructed

South Bend students have several additional classes offered this school year, one of which is Horticulture.  Instructed by Mr. Steve Lazelle, students will be growing a variety of plants while learning the science behind horticulture processes.

The greenhouse was constructed by Gary Wilson, Al Lewis, and the construction class taught by Mr. Ryan McMurry.  They did an excellent job and we are excited to see the program grow.



New School Bus Purchased

The school district purchased a new school bus that arrived after the start of school.  The school receives dollars from the state each year according to the number of busses on our depreciation schedule.  In order for a bus to generate depreciation dollars, it must be less than 13 years in age.  Once a bus exceeds this age, we no longer receive replacement dollars.  Though we currently have a majority of our busses on depreciation, several will be coming off within a few years.  We are working on a replacement schedule to maximize the money available from the state.

Transportation Supervisor Wyatt Kuiken does an exceptional job maintaining our fleet.  He recently received a perfect inspection report from the Washington State Patrol.

Emergency Defibrillators Installed

 Our campus serves many community groups and events.  In addition, we have over 100 employees and over 600 students onsite on a given day.  We believe in being as prepared as possible in order to best meet life-safety needs.  In collaboration with the Raymond Fire Department and the Pacific County Health Department, the district has installed four defibrillators located at key points on campus.  They can be found in Koplitz Field House, the high school office, the elementary school, and the Early Learning Center.



Curriculum Adoption Work Currently Underway

Chauncey Davis Elementary is currently working to update curriculum in the areas of math and language arts.  Because the state has adopted the new Common Core Standards and our students are being assessed by the Smarter Balanced assessment, our curriculum needs to be updated to align with these new standards.  These changes can take time, and also introduce challenges as we learn to adapt both instruction and learning requirements.  At the end of the day, our goal is to provide the best opportunities for our students to be successful.

Similar work is also beginning at the secondary level, where we are now taking an inventory of current instructional materials to assess needed updates.  Administrators are meeting with curriculum advisors from ESD 113 this week for increased support.  Principals Jason Nelson, Kresta Byington, Manuel Rangel, and ELC Director Amy Nelson are all working hard to provide our teachers and students with the instructional resources needed to best impact our students.

New Art Class Offered at SBHS

Our new high school language arts teacher, Mrs. Jana Johnson, is also teaching a high school drawing class this fall.  Currently, 15 students are enrolled in the class and are learning basic drawing techniques.

Our goal is to add additional art classes down the road.  We believe that fine and applied arts are an essential component to a quality education.

The new art class is also generously supported by the Willapa Heritage Foundation, Hearts for the Arts program.

The SB Football Team's spirit bell received a fresh coat of paint this fall.  The bell is actually a historic fixture in the South Bend School District, originally purposed in the old "A Street" School (shown below) around 1914.  The school was torn down in the early 50's and the bell was given to the district to keep as a historic piece.  An old newspaper article can be found here describing the old school and bell.

Wyatt Kuiken and his shop students resurfaced the bell.  Historic information was provided by Steve Rogers.

A Street School.  Photo provided by Steve Rogers

School Year Going by Fast

It is hard to believe we are already in November!  Hopefully this blog article gives you a picture of some of the things happening in the district.  We have lots of other "irons in the fire."  As some of those projects progress and materialize we will provide further updates and information.

We at South Bend School District appreciate our community and surrounding areas.  As superintendent, it is a privilege to serve such a great school and community.