Well, here we are nearing the end of 2007 and almost half way through the school year. My hope is that you have enjoyed a productive year as I believe our students have.

I do want to address a couple of very important issues that I believe could have a significant impact on our graduating class of 2008.

As you may be aware, the Washington State Legislature at its last legislative session delayed the Math WASL requirement for graduation until 2011. A number of superintendents from Central and Eastern Washington mounted an effort at the closing days of that session to request a similar delay for the reading and writing portion of the WASL; but unfortunately, we were not successful. The rationale for our request was similar to the rationale used for requesting a delay in the math WASL requirement. That is, that we need more time to put the necessary systems in place to assure the success of all students including English Language Learners. That should not be interpreted to mean that we are anti-WASL or anti-standard for we believe that a standards-based curriculum has had major positive impact in the improvement of our students’ performance.

This same core of Yakima Valley superintendents most recently prepared a white paper bringing forth this same concern along with a series of recommendations, as requested by the chair of the House Education Committee. The white paper was presented in Yakima to members of the Education Committee and, most recently, formally presented to the House Education Committee in Olympia.

Original drafts of the white paper included 17 recommendations; however, the House Education Committee recommended these be trimmed down considerably. The following four recommendations were the ones included in the final white paper presented to the Yakima School Board on November 20 and to the House Education Committee on November 28:

• Provide resources to extend the student contact time for all high poverty or high count of English Language Learners.

• Initiate legislation to require cultural competence and language acquisition training for all newly certified teachers in Washington state.

• Students who have not met the state standard in reading and writing in the graduating classes of 2008, 2009, 2010 may graduate from high school without earning a Certificate of Academic Achievement or a Certificate of Individual Achievement. Additional course work similar to that required for students not passing the math standards would apply.

• Legislation providing authority to local districts as to when to require passing of reading or writing standards. Districts are best able to determine readiness of their schools’ students.

Our presentation was warmly received and we have been notified by Representative Quall that the committee will formulate legislation supporting the four recommendations.

It is important for everyone to understand that, unless the current law is changed, as many as 110 or so Yakima students will not be awarded a graduation diploma in June 2008. This is the reason that this core group of superintendents is working to provide an accommodation to the students who are impacted.

I hope that this explanation will serve to explain the intent of the white paper. I can assure you that the Board of Directors and I are committed to working on behalf of the unique needs of our students.

White Paper: http://www.yakimaschools.org/Departments/9/White_Paper_-_November_2007.pdf
Presentation at Nov. 20, 2007, Board Meeting: http://www.yakimaschools.org/Departments/9/White_Paper_11-20-2007_Presentation.pdf

Benjamin A. Soria, Superintendent
Yakima School District