High school students get new chemistry curriculum
July 27, 2010
Issaquah School District high schoolers will come back to their science laboratories this fall with a new chemistry book.
Issaquah School Board members unanimously voted to adopt the textbook “Chemistry 2008,” by Prentice Hall, at their July 14 meeting.
The new curriculum cost about $120,000 and was paid for with money donated to the district by the Issaquah Schools Foundation.
The curriculum replaces one the district has used for more than 14 years. While the science of chemistry hasn’t changed in that time, the best methods for teaching it has, district spokeswoman Sara Niegowski said.
The new books are more hands-on, she said, with more inquiry, deep-thinking problems and new laboratory experiments for students to do.
Issaquah School District stands to lose after Washington stumbles in Race to the Top
July 27, 2010
NEW — 4 p.m. July 27, 2010
It’s official. Washington is out of the running for the Race to the Top federal education grant program.
On Tuesday, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced 19 states as finalists advancing to the next round. Washington was not among them.
Race to the Top is an incentive-based grant program that asked states to submit bold education reform packages addressing assessment, teaching standards and professional development, early childhood education, increasing graduation rates and requirements, and closing the achievement gap.
The grant money is part of a nationwide initiative to kick-start a more competitive education system. At stake is a $3.4 billion grant jackpot to advance plans of the final states selected.
Teen wins first trails club scholarship
July 20, 2010
Skyline High School graduate Miles Burns is the first winner of the Issaquah Alps Trails Club scholarship of $1,000. The scholarship is in honor of Bill Longwell, a founding member of the club, which began in 1979.
Miles Burns
The 10 applicants for the scholarship were each evaluated on their essay, The Significance of the Issaquah Alps, as well as basic academic information, according to Doug Simpson, vice president of the club.
The three runner-ups— Jaron Kent-Tobias and Rachel Grasso, of Skyline, and Jenna Lambdin, of Issaquah High School — each received $100.
Issaquah School District high schoolers get new chemistry curriculum
July 15, 2010
NEW — 1 p.m. July 15, 2010
Issaquah School District high schoolers will be greeted in their science laboratories this fall by a new chemistry book.
Issaquah School Board members unanimously voted to adopt the textbook Chemistry 2008, by Prentice Hall, at their meeting Wednesday night.
The new curriculum costs about $120,000, and was paid for with money donated to the school district from the Issaquah Schools Foundation.
The curriculum replaces one the district has been using for more than14 years. While the science of chemistry hasn’t changed in that time, the best methods for teaching it have, district spokeswoman Sara Niegowski said.
Echo Glen Children’s Center receives solar energy grant
July 15, 2010
NEW — 10:30 a.m. July 15, 2010
Echo Glen Children’s Center — a state juvenile detention facility in Snoqualmie with education administered by the Issaquah School District — has received a grant from Puget Sound Energy for a renewable energy program.
Echo Glen has been awarded funding for a 1.5-kilowatt portable household power system, charged by an 85-watt solar module. The grant also includes funds for educational materials and teacher training. The total award comes to about $6,000.
Sunrise Elementary School in Redmond also received a grant for the system.
Teachers’ union leader takes many memories with her into retirement
July 6, 2010
Neva Luke, who is retiring as Issaquah Education Association president, sits in her office with a picture of her and husband Pat Ciairelli, and a framed Rosie the Riveter World War II poster. By Greg Farrar
Neva Luke, 60, cleared the treasure trove of memories from her office at the Issaquah Education Association in the days leading up to her retirement from the Issaquah School District.
Photos of her travels to Versailles with her husband, Pat Ciairelli, the framed placard of Rosie the Riveter saying “We can do it!” and a card from her sister of Gilda Radner’s “Saturday Night Live” character Roseanne Roseannadanna, whining that “It’s always something,” — all are mementos of a life dedicated to helping children and advancing public education.
Mr. Ritzer goes to Washington: Issaquah teacher picked for C-SPAN program
July 6, 2010
NEW — 2:40 p.m. July 6, 2010
Issaquah High School teacher Jeremy Ritzer is headed to Washington, D.C., for part of summer break.
Ritzer is among 30 teachers from across the nation who were invited to attend C-SPAN Classroom’s 2010 Summer Educators’ Conference on July 12-13. The conference is primarily aimed at teachers of sixth- through 12th-grade students who teach civics, social studies, history and media studies classes.
Ritzer teaches Advanced Placement U.S. government, U.S. history and sociology.
Registration deadline for exam retakes has been extended
June 23, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. June 23, 2010
Registration has been extended for students who missed or would like to retake their High School Proficiency Exams.
Tenth-, 11th- and 12th-graders can register online here through midnight Sunday for the summer reading, writing and mathematics exams. Students can opt to take all of the exams or just the ones they need to fill remaining state requirements.
Testing in Issaquah will take place from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Aug. 9-12 at Pacific Cascade Middle School, 24635 S.E. Issaquah-Fall City Road.
Lawsuit spearheaded by Issaquah district reaches state Supreme Court
June 22, 2010
NEW — 11:55 a.m. June 22, 2010
State Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments Tuesday afternoon from state and school district officials about how special education is funded statewide.
Spearheaded in-part by Issaquah School District officials in 2004, the 12-member School Districts’ Alliance for Adequate Funding of Special Education lawsuit calls into question how the state funds special education.
The court will hear attorneys for the alliance and the state at 1:30 p.m.
Specifically, district officials say the state’s funding system for special education is unconstitutional and inadequate, leaving them to fund a large portion of special education programs with local taxpayer dollars. They argue that under the state’s constitution, state officials should fully fund all special education programs.
Issaquah students lead charge, pass state requirements to graduate
June 16, 2010
NEW — 5:35 p.m. June 16, 2010
The Issaquah School District’s most recent graduates are ahead of their peers statewide.
District officials handed 1,240 seniors their diplomas June 11. Districtwide, only three students didn’t receive their diplomas because of High School Proficiency Exam requirements, district spokeswoman Sara Niegowski said. Those three students — one each from Issaquah, Liberty and Skyline high schools — didn’t pass some combination of the three exams, or a math requirement.
State Superintendent Randy Dorn announced preliminary graduation rates and state High School Proficiency Exam scores at a press conference Wednesday in Olympia.
