LAKEWOOD, Wash. – The Clover Park School District (CPSD) Board of Directors has been recognized by the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) as a 2024 Board of Distinction. It received WSSDA Board of Distinction honors in 2016, 2017 and 2020 and was named WSSDA Board of the Year for large school districts in 2019.
“We are focused on providing governance and guidance to the school district in creating a system that supports the education and development of the whole child,” Board President Alyssa Anderson Pearson said. “Through these efforts CPSD is removing barriers and shrinking gaps that impact our most vulnerable learners. As a result, we are seeing steady growth.”
WSSDA made its selection based on the school board’s demonstrated commitment to the holistic success of CPSD students and its focus on equity, student growth and the Four Pillars of Student Success (lifelong learner, collaboration, character and leadership).
The Board of Distinction program encourages boards to examine their practices as governing bodies and how their actions and decisions impact the success of students. Boards must show a clear link between their leadership in applying the Washington School Board Standards and closing opportunity gaps that impact student success to be awarded this distinction.
The school board has acted to build a strong foundation of skills that increase CPSD students’ resilience and confidence to succeed holistically. It has focused on supporting the needs of the individual student and has aligned policies and systems to support equitable access, utilizing multiple methods to monitor and support individual student growth. It receives updates on academic performance measures along with updates on data related to student attendance, behavior and social-emotional/wellness.
“Throughout the Clover Park School District system, we are creating promising futures for our students,” said Anderson Pearson.
Congratulations to each of you for being a great team…we know that there are many school boards in this state but only a few have the honor of being named Board of Distinction!!
Really? This award was given to a school board, on which Carol Jacobs served for 20+ years, that has presided over CPSD’s academic decline from a 2016 ranking of 46.3 percentile down to 25.9 percentile in 2024. Just about every other academic metric declined as well. Who is WSSDA kidding? Is the CPSD Board kidding itself along with the public? “Board of Distinction” appears to be, in some cases, just a “participation trophy”. Sounds “equitable” to me…
Congratulations! I’ve been impressed by how well this school board is working well with each other and for our students.
School boards aren’t supposed to be “mutual admiration societies”. They are supposed to wrestle with the weighty issues of academic performance which can generate “heat” in the midst of debate between board members and staff. This and past school boards have failed to do this since 2016 as evidenced by the District’s academic performance.