Lakes High School: Headed in Which Direction?

Submitted by John Arbeeny.

Each week as a public service Lakewood CARES will be providing the real academic situation in response to schools highlighted in the Suburban Times by Clover Park School District (CPSD). This is data you will not find elsewhere on the CPSD website, board meeting agendas or “Inside Schools”. The 7 February issue of the Suburban Times covers “CPSD #SuperSchoolShoutOut–Lakes High School”.

CPSD #SuperSchoolShoutOut – Lakes High School

The first six paragraphs of the Lakes article have a lot to say about “diversity”, “culture”, “lifelong learner”, elements of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and self-celebration. This reflects the District’s core “belief system” which focuses on DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) rather than academics. Indeed there is no mention of Lakes’ academic achievement in this article. You’d think that would be of primary importance in a school report.

DEI associated “beliefs” and programs may have some value; but their evaluation, if it exists at all, is subjective, while academic achievement can be measured objectively. Lakes’ principal, staff and students may be “celebrating ourselves…for all the achievements students and staff make each day”; but how do you quantify and qualify those “achievements”, and what exactly do they contribute to academic performance? Isn’t that the primary reason we have schools? The answer isn’t at all clear other than subjective “feelings” about those “achievements”. However, what do the objective academic statistics reveal?

Here is a sample of Lakes academic performance ranking within Washington from 2016 to 2023:
2016 percentile ranking: 58.8 (42.2% of high schools did better academically.)
2023 percentile ranking: 31.4 (68.6% of high schools did better academically.)

https://www.schooldigger.com/go/WA/schools/0141000261/school.aspx

Lakes students meeting Washington State requirements:
2016 ELA (English Language Arts): 75%, Math: 38%
2023 ELA: 50%, Math 16.7%

https://washingtonstatereportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/102235

Take a look at the discipline statistics. Has Lakes been successful in creating a safer learning environment? Apparently not. The out-of-class suspension/expulsion rate in 2016 was 3.7%, in 2022 it was 3.9%, (no statistics available for 2023). What has changed is Clover Park School District’s adoption of a raced based discipline policy which did away with “zero tolerance” and resulted in nearly identical discipline rates across all racial and ethnic groups just to be “equitable”. That was the stated objective. While erasing the alleged disparities between these groups the question remains whether the school environment is any more “welcoming” or safe despite juggling the numbers to come out “equitably”.

Then there is the matter of attendance. What percent of Lakes students had fewer than two absences per month, on average? In 2017 it was greater than 99.8%. In 2023 it was 63.3%. What does this tell you about the “welcoming” environment at Lakes? Students can’t learn if they don’t attend classes and won’t attend classes in which they don’t feel safe.

Then there is the Lakes graduation rate in 2023 which was 91.5%. How does this square with academics, discipline and attendance? It doesn’t. In 2016 the Lakes graduation rate was 94% in a year, as shown above, that greatly outperformed 2023 academically. How do you expect students to be “lifelong learners” as adults outside school when they are failing to do so inside the school system? The reality is that many are ushered out unprepared for adulthood at graduation.

I don’t mean to take away from any of the “heroic” efforts of students, parents and teachers. Kudos to them; however “heroics” are the price you pay in a system that is otherwise failing. While these individual success stories are somewhat anecdotal and inspiring they can’t fix an education system designed to fail. Systemic changes have to happen starting at the top: school board, superintendent, staff and administration. If you really want to make an impact at the bottom, then start at the top.

There are real success stories within CPSD. The District should examine them and bring their “best practices” into the District as whole. They don’t have to reinvent the wheel at the teacher, student, and parent level although the system itself may need to be reinvented in order for it to succeed.

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