Clover Park School District announcement.
March 13 Regular Meeting
During its March 13 board meeting, the school board heard reports from Deputy Superintendent Brian Laubach and Hudtloff Middle School Principal Cindy Adams.
Superintendent’s Report
In his report, Laubach discussed parent-teacher conferences, kindergarten registration, internet safety presentations and the district STEAM Fair.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
- Parent-teacher conferences were held March 15-17. School staff, administrators and interpreters were on hand to meet with families regarding the progress students have made so far this school year.
Kindergarten Registration
- Kindergarten registration for the 2023-24 school year began on Wednesday, March 15.
- Families can enroll their child through the Enrollment page on the district website.
Internet Safety Presentations
- The district held two presentations on internet safety for families in early March.
- The first presentation was a partnership between the district and Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Military Police Group and is available for viewing on the district YouTube channel.
- The second presentation was a screening of a documentary called “Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic” at Harrison Preparatory School.
District STEAM Fair
- CPSD hosted its district STEAM Fair on Saturday, March 11. Elementary students presented their projects in the morning and secondary students presented theirs in the afternoon.
- Laubach commended out fourth grader Laylah from Dower Elementary School, whose artwork was the best in show winner of the STEAM Fair art contest and was featured on all marketing materials for the event.
Hudtloff Middle School
Hudtloff Middle School Principal Cindy Adams shared a report to the board, which included a review of the school’s demographics and assessment scores and discussed academic reform strategies, family and student engagement and student opportunities.
Hudtloff is in its second year as a Title I school, which means it receives additional funding to support academics. This funding is used to offer learning strategies classes, afterschool academic support and a family involvement coordinator.
Adams emphasized four ways Hudtloff is focused on academic reform:
- Professional Learning Community Plus groups focus on analyzing data and creating formative assessments.
- Universal Design for Learning promotes student voice and choice.
- Classroom teachers co-teach with special education and Multi-Language Learner teachers to support students more effectively.
- Advancement Via Individual Determination classes teach students notetaking strategies, organization and study skills, and time management.
Increasing family engagement and voice is a priority at Hudtloff. The school is addressing this through the formation of a family advisory group and by including families and students on its site council. The school also hosted a Spanish-speaking family community night and is planning to host a family networking night later this school year.
As part of the Individual Action Agenda, the Board of Directors:
- Authorized district to participate in the Washington State School District Credit Enhancement Program. Under the program, the state will guarantee the payment of the district’s bonds issued to refund the 2023 Bonds, which ultimately results in a lower interest cost to the district and savings to taxpayers.
- Authorized the issuance, sale and delivery of refunding bonds. It also delegates to the Superintendent and the Executive Director of Finance and Business Services, the authority to accept the underwriter’s offer to purchase the refunding bonds, so long as the acceptance of such offer is consistent with the board’s parameters.
- Authorized reconvening of district’s Facility Advisory Committee (FAC) and directed the committee to review previous FAC conclusions, develop recommendations and consider future capital bond proposition.
- Authorized superintendent to develop new K-12 Online/Alternative Learning Environment school and establish a naming committee to provide recommended names to be presented to superintendent and school board.
- Approved settlement agreement with JUUL Labs, Inc. as part of multi-district litigation.
- Adopted the following policies (view online):
- 2411, High School Equivalency Certificate
- 3230, Searches of Students and Privacy
- 3421, Child Abuse and Neglect
- 5001, Infection Control Program
The next regular meeting of the school board will be Monday, April 10, at 6 p.m.
March 27 Regular Meeting/Workshop
The school board held a regular meeting/workshop on March 27. During the workshop, board members heard updates on the 2023-24 school year budget process and high school social studies textbook and materials adoption.
2023-24 Budget Process
Executive Director of Finance and Business Services Greg Hart presented on the status of the district’s 2023-24 school year budget. He reviewed previous year enrollment projections, revenues and expenditures.
Hart concluded his report with the budget development timeline. The school board is scheduled to approve the 2023-24 school year budget on July 10, following a public hearing.
High School Social Studies Curriculum Adoption
Deputy Superintendent Brian Laubach provided an update on the district’s high school social studies curriculum process for the 2023-24 school year. The adoption is in alignment with the district’s curriculum adoption schedule, and materials under consideration are currently being piloted in a handful of classrooms.
These materials were identified by social studies teachers from across the district as having high levels of rigor, ample support for various ability levels, inclusive support and alignment with state standards. Eight publishers are considered in the pilot, representing a total of 28 titles.
The following criteria were considered by the adoption committee when reviewing materials for adoption: alignment to state standards, breadth of instructional supports, use of social studies teaching strategies and the quality of assessment tools embedded in the materials.
The district plans to provide a resolution to the school board to adopt the new curriculum at the May 8 board meeting.
The next regular meeting/workshop of the school board will be Monday, April 24, at 5:30 p.m.
