Kent School District 415 State of the District Dr. Edward Lee Vargas, Superintendent

Our Mission: Successfully Prepare All Students For Their Future s Education is Everyone’s Business!

Kent School District Board of Directors A Laser-Like Focus On Student Success Debbie Straus President Tim Clark Vice President Karen DeBruler Legislative Liaison Bill Boyce Director Russ Hanscom Director Washington State School Directors’ Association Winner of: “2011 Board of Distinction”

KSD By The Numbers 1 Most diverse district in Washington State (more than 138 languages spoken) 2 Second-largest employer in the Kent area with approximately 3,100 employees 4 Fourth-largest district in Washington State (approximately 28,000 students) 40 schools over 72 - square miles, serving the cities of Kent, Covington, and parts of Auburn, Black Diamond, Maple Valley, Renton, SeaTac, and unincorporated King County 1.6 million miles driven over 119 bus routes 3.4 million meals served in a year

KSD District Budget Summary

Demographic Shifts % 17.40% 11.90% 18.90% 2.10% 16.70%.8% 70.80% 6.10% 9.1% 12.8% 1.1%

138 Languages Spoken Districtwide Afrikaans Albanian American Sign L Amharic Arabic Armenian Balinese Bambara Bangala Belorussian/Bye Bemba Bengali Bosnian Bulgarian Burmese Cambodian Carolinina Cebuano Chamorro Chewa Chin Chinese Cantonese Chinese Mandarin Chinese-Unspecified Chungki Chuuk Creole Czech Dari Dire East Indian Efik English Ethiopian Fallani Farsi Fijian Filipino French Fula Georgian German Gujarati Hawaiian Hindi Hmong Hungarian Ibo Ilokano Indonesian Italian Japanese Kakwa Karen Khmer Kikuya Kirundi Kiswahili Kmhmu Korean Kosraean Krahn Krio Kurdish Lao Liberian Lingala Lithuanian LUGANDA Malayalam Mandingo Marathi Marshallese Mien Mixteco Moldovian Navajo Nepali Nuer Oromo Pahlavi Palau Papago Pashto Persian Philippine Pilipino Polish Portuguese Punjabi Romanian Russian/Ukrainian Samoan Serbo-Croatian Somali Spanish Stoney Sudanese Swahili Syrian Tagalog Taishan Taiwanese Tamil Telugu Thai[Thailand] Tigrina Tigrinya Tongan Trukese Turkic Turkish Twi Urdu Vietnamese Yoruba Approximately 138 languages spoken by KSD students and families

Center for Education and Data Research (CEDR) Percentage of English Learners

Free And Reduced Lunch The dots represent identified households F&R meals served in KSD is at 52.13%* * As of 10/5/11

Comparison to State Assessment Scores

CEDR Reading 10th Grade – 80.2%

The Standard Has Changed From: Universal Access to Universal Success For ALL!!! Definitions Of Success:

Focused On Results 1. High Student Achievement 2. Effective & Valuable Communication 3. Highly Effective Staff 4. Maximize Resources (Money, Time, People, & Facilities) 5. Culture of Shared Responsibility 6. Safe, Sustainable, Healthy, and Respectful School Community 7. Effective Partnerships With Families, Community, and Business School Board & District Goals:

Systems Approach to Achievement Gap Strategic Plan from over 7,000 voices. Seven Goals and System Action Plans. Intense Analysis of District Achievement Principal District Support Teams: Targeted Support for School Improvement. Analysis of student achievement by subgroups including: Low income Special Education Asian/Pacific Islanderl Black Limited English American Indian HispanicWhite

Systems Approach to Achievement Gap continued To support English Language Learners (ELL), the district partnered with Heritage University to provide ELL certification to teachers. Inclusive Education (Special Education) increases access for each student to grade-level curriculum and instruction within the general education setting. Tiered Intervention – Instruction personalized to student needs.

A Focus on Results: Graduation Rates Are Increasing:

Characteristics of High Performing Schools 1. A culture of equity and excellence for all: no excuses attitude. 2. Effective school leadership and leaders. 3. Focus on high, standards-based, academic & social expectations for all. 4. High levels of collaboration and communication. 5. Curriculum, instruction and assessments aligned with state standards. 6. Careful experimentation with instruction. 7. Frequent monitoring of learning & teaching through data based analysis. 8. Focused professional development. 9. Collaboration focused on instruction. 10. Involvement of all stakeholders and a strong sense of family. 11. Passion for continual improvement. 12. High levels of family and community involvement.

The Washington Achievement Index

An Example Index Matrix OUTCOMES INDICATORSReadingWritingMathScience Ext Grad RateAverage Achievement of non-low income students Achievement of low income students Achievement vs. peers Improvement from the previous year Index scores Tier:Good

StrugglingFairGood Very GoodExemplary %62.5%25.0%2.5%0.0% %37.5% 22.5%2.5% -10.0%-25.0%+12.5%+20.0%+2.5% Percent of KSD Schools at Each Tier In KSD, 77.5% of schools’ index rates increased. Washington State Achievement Index rates schools

NEW: DRAFT Washington Achievement Index Achievement Gap Data Closed the Achievement Gap Some Gaps Still Exist

School Board & District Goals: Focused On Results 1. High Student Achievement UW Accelerated Program – only pilot district in the state. Seven schools achieved Adequately Yearly Progress (AYP). Combined SAT scores higher than state average, which is highest in the nation. Two National Merit Semi-Finalists for Kinder to College – Early expectations for building a college/career-going culture. Kent-Meridian teacher selected 2011 World Affairs Council’s World Educator for connecting students to the world and developing new programs and resources for other teachers: Award from President Jimmy Carter.

School Board & District Goals: Focused On Results Covington Elementary science scores increased from 14% to 72% in Pilot preschool program starting in International Baccalaureate (IB) success at Kent-Meridian: 100% passed the higher level exam in calculus and world languages. 95% of free-reduced IB students passed the higher level English exam. Kent Elementary received Boeing award - $25,000. KMVA and KPA named Innovative Schools. 77.5% all district schools index rates increased as measured by Washington State Achievement Index in 2011

2. Effective & Valuable Communication Awarded Best of the Web 2011 for K-12 districts. Media advisories and releases routinely sent to local and regional media regarding successes of students, teachers, and the district. Expanded communication to non-English speaking families. New drop-out retrieval program. Goal: Return 300 students to school in 2012 to complete graduation requirements. School Board & District Goals: Focused On Results

Effective and Valuable Communication Multiple advisory committees to engage stakeholders: Strategic Planning Steering Committee – 65 members Alliance for Diversity and Equity Parent/Teacher Associations Superintendent’s Teachers Professional Learning Community Superintendent’s Student Advisory Civic Leadership Summits Superintendent’s Principals’ Advisory Faith-based Community Collaborative Business Advisory Council (CTE) Federal, state, and local agencies

School Board & District Goals: Focused On Results 3. Highly Effective Staff 100% of teaching faculty rated highly qualified by the state. Over 100 teachers are National Board Certified. More than 67% of teachers have master’s degrees. Ongoing comprehensive professional development time for all staff. Transportation Department annually receives high marks from state patrol for bus maintenance and safety.

4. Maximize Resources (Money, Time, People, & Facilities) Innovative Energy Management Program to save funds through conservation savings of $3.5 million over ten years. Sound fiscal management allowed absorption of mid- year budget reductions from state without impact to staff or services. Recipient for 26 th year of the Certificate of Excellence In Financial Reporting Award from the Association of School Business Officials International. Major Capital improvements utilizing bond funds for East Hill, Fairwood, Kent Phoenix Academy, Kent-Meridian, Kentridge, Kentwood, Lake Youngs, Pine Tree, and Scenic Hill, to name a few. School Board & District Goals: Focused On Results

5. Culture of Shared Responsibility Strategic Plan Committee – 65-member committee comprised of students, staff, parents, and community members – continues to meet to review policies and procedures and make recommendations to the school board for improvements. School Site Improvement Councils at each school are comprised of staff and parents. Partner with agencies to support student success. School Board & District Goals: Focused On Results

6. Safe, Sustainable, Healthy, and Respectful School Community Provide students, staff, and families the opportunity to participate in the Annual School Climate Survey, data used to improve school and district services. Safety Services Department partners with Kent Police Department and local law enforcement to ensure a safe, secure, and nurturing learning environment. KSD works with partners to provide sports physicals, dental exams, and vaccinations for students. Food Services partners with local farmers and growers to provide fresh foods in school meals. KSD committed to all students having equal access to education opportunities. School Board & District Goals: Focused On Results

7. Effective Partnerships With Families, Community, And Businesses Developing partnerships with stakeholders including parents, volunteers, civic groups, faith-based groups, businesses, universities, government agencies, non-profits, and preschool educators. Teen Health Clinic at Kent Phoenix Academy provides a nurse practitioner and clerical person funded by Seattle/King County Public Health, and three mental health counselors funded by Kent Youth and Family Services. To date, 374 students have been served. Services include physicals, acute care, and orthopedics. School Board & District Goals: Focused On Results

College Readiness/College Bound Scholarship District-wide focus on college & career readiness. Kinder to College program – taking kindergartners and their parents to colleges and universities to set high expectations early. College Goal Sundays – helping students and families complete financial aid forms. 91% enrollment in the College Bound Scholarship in up from 31% in

College Bound Partners Community Center for Education Results - Developing civic initiative to address the urgent need to improve education in South King County; from early learning to college. Road Map Project - Increasing the number of college-bound students from low-income families by coordinating College Bound Scholarship Candidates. College Success Foundation - Providing mentoring and college planning for low-income, high potential students. Washington College Access Network - Connecting existing college access providers, community-based organizations, and policymakers. LEAP - Improve academic achievement with Latino students in Washington State and provide college opportunities. UW Accelerated Program – Students can earn up to 45 UW Credits and possibly finish first year of college while attending KSD.

Kinder to College Giving Kids Wings to Their Dreams Started 2010 Seattle, Green River, and other area community colleges, Bellevue College, University of Washington campuses, and Seattle Pacific University 2011 Taking kindergartners to college with their parents Visualizing high expectations early in their education National Public Radio broadcast on 187 stations nationally Sponsors are welcome!

Full-Day Kindergarten At All Elementary Schools In ALL elementary schools for School Board views this as a priority. Research shows full-day kindergarten efficacy in student achievement and saving taxpayer dollars long term.

Refugee Transition Center Opened in Serves students K-12. Ensures refugee students’ high academic performance. Strengthens the skills and knowledge of parents. Representing Iraq, Burma, Bhutan, Nepal, Somalia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Iran. Tutoring hundreds of students. Visited by national groups to see KSD’s approach to working with immigrants and refugees.

Community Engagement Key to Current and Future Success Parent volunteers, student-family support, mentors, instructional support tutors, financial support, building, and grounds. More than $1 million in value and growing daily. More than 200 partnerships include: KSD web page - look for the “Volunteer” tab Area Daycares & PreschoolsFaith-based Communities Chambers of Commerce – Covington & Kent Kent Fire Department Cities of Covington & KentKent Police Department Citizens’ Budget Review CommitteeKSD & Auburn School District Civic Groups & Civic Leadership SummitSchool-Site Councils Strategic Planning Steering CommitteeVarious Superintendent’s Advisories

State of the Art Technology One-to-One Laptop: Issued to all middle school and ninth-grade students SMART Boards in all classrooms Tech Expo: Coming soon! – 3,000 attended in 2011 Bridging the Gap: – Refurbishing computers for students to keep KSD website Named Best of the Web for 2011 KSD is an International and National Best Practice Site for Microsoft and National School Board

Successfully Prepare All Students For Their Future s Education is Everyone’s Business