The Bellingham School District Board of Directors established two task forces at the Nov. 8 meeting. Applications from interested community members, students and staff are being accepted now through Nov. 26.
The All-Day Kindergarten Task Force will develop a plan to implement all-day kindergarten during the next three years. The task force will then make a recommendation to the Superintendent and School Board. Currently, the district has a half-day, every-day program at all 13 neighborhood elementary schools and an extended day kindergarten program known as KIDS at Title I schools.
"The research about the value and importance of providing high quality early education is overwhelming," says Deputy Superintendent Susan Zoller, who will facilitate the task force. "It is much easier and more cost-effective to close the achievement gap for 5-year-olds than to remediate older students. As part of our work, we will be reviewing our current programs, considering national and international standards for early childhood education, and developing a long-range proposal for our district that will enable us to start offering all-day kindergarten programs for some students in 2008-09 and all students within three years."
A second group of a K-12 World Languages Task Force will review the district's current language program and make recommendations to the Superintendent and School Board for a long-range proposal to prepare all district children with the language and cultural skills needed for our diverse and multi-lingual world. The task force's work will include reviewing the district's current programs and considering national and international standards for the teaching of world languages. Currently, the district's three comprehensive high schools offer world language courses and Spanish is available at each of the four middle schools; some elementary schools have an after-school language enrichment program known as FLAN. Beginning with the class of 2014, district students will need to complete two consecutive years of the same world language to meet graduation requirements. This requirement aligns with college eligibility and the increasing demand for multi-language skills in the workforce.
Interested parents, community members, students and staff may complete the Letter of Interest for Participation in Task Forces form at http://www.bham.wednet.edu/staff/committee.htm and submit it by Nov. 26 to Deputy Superintendent Susan Zoller, 1306 Dupont Street, Bellingham, WA 98225, (360) 676-6512. The facilitator will review each interested member and propose a group to the Superintendent that is balanced with representation by diverse geographic regions/neighborhoods, student groups or grade levels, background/experiences relative to the task, etc.
Much of the work accomplished in the school district is the result of committees and task forces. Membership consists of representatives from stakeholder groups. All do specific work at the direction of either the School Board or the Superintendent. The chair or facilitator for all groups is approved by the Superintendent. Major decisions, periodic minutes, and any report or recommendations resulting from the committee and task force work are posted for review on the district's Web site at http://www.bham.wednet.edu/staff/committee.htm
printer friendly