Submitted by John Arbeeny.
Each week as a public service Lakewood CARES will be providing an academic-based response to schools highlighted in the Clover Park School District (CPSD) “#SuperSchoolShoutOut“ articles in The Suburban Times. This is data you will not find elsewhere in CPSD public relations pieces, School Board meeting agendas or “Inside Schools”. This week’s CPSD “beaming with pride” article covers Lochburn Middle School which was featured in a Suburban Times article on 9 December 2024:
This CARES article is an update to the CARES Lochburn Middle School article, “Lochburn Middle School: On Life Support Academically?” which was published in The Suburban Times on 18 May 2024. Unbelievably, Lochburn academic achievement continues to collapse with a 2024 academic ranking of 0.4 percentile, down from 2.6 in 2023, 533rd out of 535 State middle schools academically.
That’s just two places from being the worst middle school academically in the entire State! Only Omak Middle School at 0.2 percentile and Mount Adams Middle School at 0.0 percentile under-perform Lochburn academically! 99.6% of State middle schools outperform Lochburn academically. Let that sink in! Yet both the CPSD School Board and Superintendent have received “recognition” from the Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA). The question is, “For what?”
For nearly a decade Lochburn has been at the very bottom academically not only of CPSD schools but all middle schools statewide. This perennial state of very low academic performance doesn’t seem to have been influenced positively by all the technology, building improvements, “effervescent interior lighting” (?), extracurricular activities, programs or a per-student expenditure of $22,374 annually, which were supposed to make a difference. Lochburn’s academic performance is anything but the CPSD-claimed “world class education”.
Lochburn’s statewide academic performance updated to 2024.
Instead, this is an educational catastrophe for the 466 students now attending Lochburn which will continue as they enter Clover Park High School, now ranked academically at 3.4 percentile, down from 6.8 percentile in 2023. Lochburn should be on the agenda of every CPSD School Board meeting until it gets the attention it deserves. However this is not just a Lochburn problem.
There are four elementary schools that primarily feed students into Lochburn. During 2024 the following feeder schools all fell academically from 2023. Dower Elementary ranked 16.5 percentile, down from 19.4; Lakeview Hope Academy ranked 6.2 percentile, down from 12.7; Four Heroes Elementary ranked 9.6 percentile, down from 12.4; Tyee Park Elementary ranked 5.1 percentile, down from 6.5.
All these elementary schools have declining academic achievement trends with no improvement since 2016. Together they are academically average ranked 9.35 percentile down from 12.75. 90.65% of elementary schools statewide on average do better academically. Their 9.35 percentile ranking is almost one-third the average CPSD academic ranking of a mediocre 25.9 percentile which dropped from 28.5 in 2023. Collectively these four elementary schools’ academic ranking plummeted from a 2016 ranking of 32.8 percentile to a 2024 ranking of 9.35 percentile. That’s a 350% drop in academic ranking in the last 8 years! These are academic trends that are impossible to ignore. No wonder Lochburn is scraping the bottom of the barrel academically!
https://www.schooldigger.com/go/WA/schools/0141000263/school.aspx
OSPI statistics confirm the dire academic situation discussed above as shown below:
OSPI Students Meeting State Requirements
NOTE: “Students on Track for College-level Learning Without Needing Remedial Classes Spring 2024” is the equivalent of previous “Students Meeting State Standards”. This is a confusing and unnecessary name change that has no relevance to elementary and middle schools.
Only 12% (down from17.5% in 2023) of Lochburn students met the combined State English, math and science standards in 2024: 88% failed to do so. Average Student Growth Percentile (SGP) for ELA and math was low at 36.5. Lochburn academic growth is less than the SGP median of 50 percentile needed just to stay even academically with peers. As a result, Lochburn students are falling further and further behind their peers as also evidenced by Lochburn’s academic collapse.
Lochburn Student Growth Percentile (SGP)
https://washingtonstatereportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/102239
OSPI defines “discipline rate” as “What percent of students are excluded in response to a behavioral violation?” “Exclusion” means suspensions or expulsions. Since 2018 Lochburn has had the highest rate of exclusions by far at 17.23% annually compared to other District middle schools (Thomas Middle School 7.65%, Hudtloff Middle School 12.10%). Yet the four feeding elementary schools have an average exclusion rate of only 2.56%. Lochburn’s learning environment has an exclusion rate almost seven times that of the feeding elementary schools. Is class room chaos the result? Students need a stable environment in which they can learn without disruption.
What has this CPSD-claimed “world class” education cost the tax payers? In 2019/20 the annual expenditure per Lochburn student was $14,979. In 2022/23 (latest data) it had ballooned to $22,374. That’s an annualized increase of 10.55%! Unfortunately, Lochburn’s academic performance hasn’t improved 10.55% annually over the last four years! We paid for it but didn’t get our money’s worth. Sometimes more money, people and “stuff” aren’t the answer to systemic problems.
Lochburn Student Annual Expenditure
CPHS, Lochburn and feeding elementary schools are all linked together academically and share many of the same systemic problems. The District has concentrated some of its lowest academic performing schools through elementary-middle school-high school. That academic deficit feeds on itself and compounds negatively over the course of a student’s twelve years in the system. Things not learned in elementary school lead to things not learned in middle school, high school, through graduation and beyond in life.
Lack of transparency on academic performance has systemic impacts, especially on parents. They have been lulled into apathy with respect to the school’s and District’s academic performance. Why fret? Everything is fine; only it isn’t! CPSD presents a distorted, one-sided “happy face” view of reality that has become something of an “opiate of the masses”. Then CPSD complains about the lack of parental involvement.
If you have a student who attends Lochburn or any of the other failing CPSD schools and want a change in academic performance, then you’re going to have to get involved! You deserve more in return for your hard-earned tax dollars. It’s the future of your children! Find out for yourself why Lochburn and CPSD are failing academically and what it is going to take to turn that trend around. School Board members are your elected representatives, not just rubber stamps for the hired CPSD employees. Contact them and hold them accountable.
Wondering who your CPSD Board member is? Try contacting the Board’s President, Alyssa Anderson Pearson, via email form at:
https://www.cloverpark.k12.wa.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=236158&pageId=61380455
I’m sure she’ll welcome the opportunity to answer all your questions.
Thank you for caring and providing the unvarnished truth about Lakewood’s disastrous school system.
I refer to your organization as Lakewood Scares
Perhaps you should be “scared” if you have a child headed or in Lochburn Middle School or are paying taxes for education. You’re not getting your money’s worth. Closing your eyes to the problem doesn’t solve it.
You think you are doing “good” but I think you are selling discouragement. Sorry to see the items you publish. Sad on your part.
The “good” is identifying the problem which is the first step in solving the problem. What’s sad is that people just like you would rather not see the obvious. Indeed you could make a difference by encouraging the Clover Park School District to address the issues I raise in these articles. Whether “discouragement” or “encouragement” is based on perspective: not wanting to hear about it or doing something about it. What’s your choice?
This is easy to figure out why the scores are suffering…they were never this bad about 4years ago but are being run into the ground ever since…it stems from the people at the top. I guarantee you if you remove the admin at that school scores would turn around immediately.
Unfortunately it will take more than just changing an administrator here or there or other piecemeal measures to turn CPSD around academically. You are correct in stating the current academic situation “…stems from that people at the top.” Board, Superintendent and administration set the environment within which teachers, students, parents and community have to struggle. The “top” is where the problems originate from and the level at which the solutions must be applied.
I have noted that few, if any, CPSD parents comment on your “ public service” articles?
Do you think it is because of their general apathy or is it just the apathy you report as driven by the lack of CPSD transparency? Most parents are busy and are involved in a variety of activities with their children. Most are more focused on how their individual children are doing than reading long articles on how they are failures.
I can agree that our children should have the best education and that there are real struggles in classrooms. I understand there are numbers that are less than stellar. Do these numbers include students at all levels of aptitude whether
special needs or at grade level? When you mention the cost per student does that factor in para educators, occupational or speech therapists? Those additional costs are necessary for individuals or groups of special needs students. Our military bases have sent many military families to our area because of Madigan services. Those children go to school in our community and benefit from equity.
These were not factors when I went to school as most students with special needs were not in school. Thankfully there is now value placed on the lives of these children.
When some see the word equity they focus immediately on race and stoke fear of “liberals” taking over. Their fear of DEI is tantamount to a race war. Another expressed fear appears to be “teaching the whole child.” Have you not previously written that that is the “parents job?”
Part of teaching children (or even treating medical patients) is meeting a child where they are in terms of their personal needs and understanding. Teachers are trained to monitor and support child development. Children are all individuals and come to school with a variety of life exposure in their lived experience. I cannot understand how inclusion is a negative value? The opportunity to be valued or value others that are different is a great part of growth. Learning empathy, respect, kindness and acceptance leads to greater critical thinking and success as an adult.
The relentless condemnation of our Superintendent, School Board, teachers and even families is meant to be discouraging and is very politically motivated. There have been a multitude of Suburban Times articles written from that ongoing accusatory and negative view of blame. Attacks on CRT and DEI have been the bread and butter of CARES. It has been mentioned of your disgust with “the woke” to include schools, citizens and the military. The state of Washington mandated equity and our Superintendent and board are required to enact those policies. Why not address the issue with your elected officials in Congress and the Senate? Perhaps truly investigate the meaning of Woke, Equity and DEI from a different perspective? These terms are derived from values we first learned in church as children.
Mr. Arbeeny we may not agree on some things, but I must say I was surprised to see you employ a Karl Marx quote? That seemed to come out of left field, but there you go looking at different perspectives.
Shalom
Thank you Valerie for your reasoned response to my article. This is the basis for dialogue.
I think the lack of parental comments is due both to their busy lives and the lack of CPSD transparency regarding the actual state of academic affairs in District. There is also a certain fear of retribution on their children which has been expressed to me several times. There is also a lack of real representation on the Board as members are elected at-large and not by the district they are supposed to represent. The constant District puff pieces obscure the systemic academic problems it faces in many schools. “Things are great”, “don’t worry about it”, “we’ve even won awards” desensitize the public to the reality of a failing District. “Opiate” indeed with the same intent: keep people quiet and under control. People do tend to care most about their individual children but such change can only come one child at a time. It takes real change at the top to affect change for an entire 12000+ students. That is what systemic change is all about. That is not occurring.
I primarily use OSPI data which is published on their Report Card website. CPSD provides this data to OSPI. I cannot use all that data that is available for every possible subject area or my articles would be volumes. I do use the most pertinent facts which address Student Growth Potential, academic assessment, academic ranking, funding, discipline and when necessary other related facts. With respect to funding, I have filed a FOIA request with CPSD on the $28,000+ per pupil expenditure at Custer Elementary School because the question of special ed. was raised in my previous article. A reply is due 31 December 2024
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Equity sounds nice but it is insidious in practice and has its basis in race and ethnicity. It’s not a fear, its reality. Read the District’s DEI policy. Take a look at the news: DEI is dead even if Washington doesn’t know it. Perfect example: CPSD diplomas. The Board claims that graduation rates have gone up from 79% to over 90% during the current administration at the same time every academic metric has fallen significantly: that’s a fact. CPHS’s 2024 academic ranking is 3.4 percentile and Harrison Prep’s 74.6 percentile. That is a stark disparity of 71.2 percentile. Yet the CPHS graduation rate is 88.6% versus Harrison’s graduation rate of 92.7%; a difference of only 4.1%. How is this possible? Students from both schools essentially get the same diploma which has a negative impact on both the successful and unsuccessful students. One does not get recognized for valid achievement and the other is unprepared for life after graduation. That’s the reality of equity in practice. Instead of raising performance it lowers standards.
Inclusion, as expressed in DEI is all about “group” inclusion. Indeed the inclusion most encountered is putting children (and adults) into specific racial, ethnic, sex, language, etc. etc. pigeon holes within which they lose the very individuality that you embrace. I totally agree that children should be treated as individuals and not as some faceless homogenized member of any group. Yet we see that group mentality creep in as “restorative justice” “culturally responsive teaching” “ethnic hiring” and the like. Read the District’s DEI policy!
My criticism is not relentless. I typically respond to CPSD “puff pieces” and have done so positively when warranted. I’ve done several articles and responses about the JBLM elementary schools which should be models for the rest of the District, except for the contention that somehow they have an “unfair advantage”. My articles are primarily fact based rather than mere opinion pieces slinging mud. I seldom deal with DEI or “woke” directly, rather pointing to examples where they exist and impact of academic performance.
You might have learned “diversity, equity and inclusion” as a child in church but not the churches I went to. I think what I learned was “unity, equality and individualism” which are the foundations upon which our Country was founded. The Bill of Rights is all about individual, not group rights and provides for equal, not equitable, treatment under the law. Our Country’s official motto is “E Pluribus Unum”, the Latin phrase for “out of many, one” and is the official motto of the United States. It is not “E Unum Pluribus”! Look on the back of a $1.00 bill.
I hope this answers some of the issues you have raised. Yes we have different perspectives. Life would be boring without them.
When my wife and I moved to Lakewood in 2007 our son was 5 years old. We did not know some of the Lakewood schools were as bad as they are. Kindergarten thru third grade at John Dower Elementary was a disaster. We met with our pediatrician who advised us to meet with his teacher. We did so, and were told after reviewing his academic records there was nothing the district would do for him. We then moved him to a private school in Lakewood, in one year we saw a complete academic turnaround. When I informed John Dower Elementary that we were moving him, the principal asked me to meet with her to discuss the move. The thing is the principal offered nothing to improve our son’s situation. My wife and I felt that if he stayed at Dower he would never graduate High School. It was a finacial struggle but well worth it in the end. Our son spent five years in private school and then moved to Harrison Prep for eighth grade and went on to graduate from there. He went on to, and excelled at Bates Technical College. At 22 years old he is making just over 70k per year. While some of the Lakewood schools do well others do poorly. It has always seemed to me that some schools in Lakewood receive much attention from the district while others are ignored, just my opinion. I strongly feel a parent must be their child’s advocate and do whatever they can for their child, leaving a child’s education solely in the hands of educators and administrators is a recipe for disaster for some children. We cannot assume they are doing a good job! Again just my opinion, but based on my experience.
Merry Christmas Mr. Arbeeny! Or should I say, way to ruin the holidays for Lochburn Middle School and its students and families, Mr. Grinch? Your ongoing crushing of every positive piece, no matter how big or small a CP district school can celebrate, is both irritating and ineffectual! Time after time, readers of the Suburban Times have challenged and corrected your facts and figures that continually downgrade our local school system! Yet, here you are, week after week, month after month and now, year after year, using the same source you have used in all of your negative pieces to try and demolish the CPSD! I remember when Lakewood Cares started. It was totally out to change the City Council! How did that work for you? Now you are taking on the CPSD with all of your negative tactics!
I guess I should not be blaming my criticism just on you! After all, you are very careful about including Lakewood Cares as the co author of your work. Today it struck me to see who all helps you with all of your educational expertise. And yes, I believe you are a systems analyst by trade, but you certainly must be using other members of CARES. So I took the time to research what backgrounds your other members have.
These are in the very order Lakewood Cares lists the contributors:
111+ years of military service- (I thank you all for your service)
30+ years of overseas service-(I am certain that some of all this military service must have included work in education!
169+ years of volunteer service- I am betting that many of these hours were with CPSD!
1 Associate, 8 Baccalaureate and 3 Masters- total for advanced degrees (any in education?)
42+ years of teaching experience (This is very telling of your expertise in evaluation of a school district, the school board, administration and staff, it’s students’ successes and their lack thereof!)
132+ years in business- I am sure this helps with the district’s budget analysis
15 various fields of expertise- at least one was in education! Early childhood, but that counts!
14+ years of children attending CPSD- Not sure how to interpret this! Surely you don’t mean that out of all your members’ children only 14 years were spent in CP???
45+ years in elected positions- this helps explain your knowledge of school board elections
21+ years in advisory board positions- I am sure these are useful in some aspect
I am very intrigued now that I have seen this comprehensive list! Each time the CPSD enters another what you refer to as a “puff piece” its demolition is signed only by you! Do you really speak for all these people? Are any of your co authors ever quoted in any of your critical essays? Oh! Perhaps yours is an elected position. Are there term limits?
Stick, if you can, to the facts of the article. If you don’t, then obviously you can’t. This article is factually based. Your response is not.
Ineffectual? CARES articles are read by a 3-6 times greater audience than those CPSD “puff pieces”. Who’s community relations articles are ineffectual?
CARES article detractors typically use your MO of attacking CARES rather than addressing the facts laid out in CARES articles. That is a logical fallacy called “ad hominem attack”…kill the messenger if you can’t kill the message Not very effective counter on your part since you haven’t challenged a single fact in the article.
OSPI is the primary source of my facts as you can see from screen shots from the OSPI Report Card. If you have a problem with them then I suggest you take it up with OSPI…and CPSD which supplies them to OSPI. Even better how about taking it up with the CPSD Board and Superintendent!
Lyle Attebery,
The more this egotistical man writes, the more people want to know about those in his so called nonprofit which claims to benefit our community. Most of his language and claims are right off of FOX News. I see one reader noticed his Karl Marx reference…no surprise there! No one I talk to has ever heard of Lakewood CARES ever doing anything in our community to help anyone other than to advance their political candidates and agenda. They seem to do a lot of talking and pointing fingers, but no actual experience working to help our children, families, or this community. Arbeeny’s warped sense of importance has become tiresome and I’m happy to read that those outside of his current political camp are fed up. He’s been caught too many times using heavy handed and sketchy tactics to advance himself…always right…always smarter…and rightfully ignored by most.
Oh really? You watch FOX news? I doubt it. See if you can identify the FOX programming that contains the OSPI factual information contained in this article. Deal with the facts of go home.