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High Quality Instruction and Learning for Every Child, Every Day in Every Classroom Twenty additional Renton School District teachers have met the rigorous requirements to achieve National Board Cortication. The district now has more than 120 National Board Certified teachers. Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review. The painstaking process can take hundreds of hours of professional and personal time to attain the certification that many consider the gold standard of teacher credentials. These teachers understand that being a lifelong learner is a core responsibility of their profession. They also know that constantly improving their skills, knowledge and abilities makes them better prepared to help their students succeed. Many teachers report that after achieving National Board Certification, their teaching improves, especially with regards to assessing students, improving practice, and developing a student-centered, personalized approach in the classroom. Washington state has the largest group in the nation of newly- certified National Board Certified Teachers according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. A total of 946 Washington teachers achieved their certification this year. That puts the state within the top five nationwide in the total number of NBCTs (8,196). Twenty additional Renton School District teachers have achieved National Board Certification RENTON SCHOOL DISTRICT 2015 NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHERS BEN BETHEA Benson Hill Elementary MAIA GOODMAN Lindbergh High School JENNIFER HAROLD Hazen High School MEGAN HEINEMAN Renton High School MIRIAM HOGLEY Bryn Mawr Elementary SHEEVA KHASTOO Hazen High School BECKY LAMB Secondary Learning Center REBEKAH MARQUEZ Hazen High School KELLY MURPHY Honey Dew Elementary MOLLY OOSTERHOF Dimmitt Middle School DENIE PAGE McKnight Middle School LAURIE PARTEN McKnight Middle School MATT RANDALL Lindbergh High School CARRIE RIGGS Tiffany Park Elementary ADAM SWINNEY Dimmitt Middle School HILARY VARGAS Cascade Elementary MATT VERMEULEN Lindbergh High School SARAH WYLIE Sierra Heights Elementary JANET REGGE Honey Dew Elementary (recertified this year) ROSEMARY SHAW Renton High School (recertified this year) JOSHUA MELANSON, Hazen High School (Photo not available) Renton teachers are continually growing, learning and connecting with their communities Renton teachers are again this year pair up with local business owners and managers as part of the annual Renton Chamber of Commerce’s Business and Education Exchange program, which connects local business owners and managers with teachers, principals and school staff to build understanding and friendships between educators and the business community. The program fosters understanding about the work being done in schools and throughout the community while also strengthening long-term partnerships and support for schools and students. As part of the program, a businessperson will visit a classroom and see the day-to- day work that teachers do to teach students and prepare them for future employment. The teacher, in return, will visit the business to better understand business operations, management, marketing and more. Teachers and business people agree that the program has created a strong bond between schools and surrounding businesses.

Renton Specials - Renton School Board - January 2015

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Page 1: Renton Specials - Renton School Board - January 2015

High Quality Instruction and Learning for Every Child, Every Day in Every Classroom

Twenty additional Renton School District teachers have met the rigorous requirements to achieve National Board Cortication. The district now has more than 120 National Board Certified teachers. Like board-certi fied doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certi fication have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review. The painstaking process can take hundreds of hours of professional and personal time to attain the certi fication that many consider the gold standard of teacher credentials.

These teachers understand that being a lifelong learner is a core responsibility of their profession. They also know that constantly improving their skills, knowledge and abilities makes them better prepared to help their students succeed. Many teachers report that after achieving National Board Certification, their teaching improves, especially with regards to assessing students, improving practice, and developing a student-centered, personalized approach in the classroom. Washington state has the largest group in the nation of newly-certified National Board Certified Teachers according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. A total of 946 Washington teachers achieved their certi fication this year. That puts the state within the top five nationwide in the total number of NBCTs (8,196).

Twenty additional Renton School District teachers have achieved

National Board Certification

Renton teachers achieve National Board Certification District has more than 120 teachers who are National Board Certified December 4, 2014―Twenty additional Renton School District teachers recently met the rigorous requirements to achieve National Board Certification for teachers. The district now has more than 120 National Board Certified teachers.

Washington state has the largest group in the nation of newly-certified National Board Certified Teachers according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. A total of 946 Washington teachers achieved their certification this year. That puts the state within the top five nationwide in the total number of NBCTs (8,196).

Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review. The painstaking process can take hundreds of hours of professional and personal time to attain the certification that many consider the gold standard of teacher credentials.

THE PROCESS TO BECOME A NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHER The application process includes submitting four components, including video analysis, student work analysis and documentation of work outside the classroom, as well as one testing component made up of a mix of multiple choice and written answer questions that cover both content and pedagogy. Teachers must also document their work outside of the classroom with colleagues, families, and the community, and detail how those efforts influence student learning. Finally, a dozen trained evaluators in the same field appraise a candidate's portfolio submissions against National Board standards. See a list of all Renton School District Board Certified Teachers at the National website.

RREENNTTOONN SSCCHHOOOOLL DDIISSTTRRIICCTT 22001155 NNAATTIIOONNAALL BBOOAARRDD CCEERRTTIIFFIIEEDD TTEEAACCHHEERRSS

BEN BETHEA

Benson Hill Elementary

MAIA GOODMAN

Lindbergh High School

JENNIFER HAROLD Hazen High School

MEGAN HEINEMAN Renton High School

MIRIAM HOGLEY

Bryn Mawr Elementary

NEWS RELEASE Contact: Randy Matheson | Executive Director Community Relations 425.204.2345 | [email protected]

www.rentonschools.us | facebook.com/renton.schools | twitter.com/Renton_Schools

SHEEVA KHASTOO Hazen High School

BECKY LAMB

Secondary Learning Center

REBEKAH MARQUEZ

Hazen High School

KELLY MURPHY

Honey Dew Elementary

MOLLY OOSTERHOF

Dimmitt Middle School

DENIE PAGE

McKnight Middle School

LAURIE PARTEN

McKnight Middle School

MATT RANDALL

Lindbergh High School

CARRIE RIGGS

Tiffany Park Elementary

ADAM SWINNEY

Dimmitt Middle School

HILARY VARGAS

Cascade Elementary

MATT VERMEULEN

Lindbergh High School

SARAH WYLIE

Sierra Heights Elementary

JANET REGGE

Honey Dew Elementary (recertified this year)

ROSEMARY SHAW Renton High School

(recertified this year) JOSHUA MELANSON, Hazen High School (Photo not available)

Renton teachers are continually growing, learning and connecting with their communities Renton teachers are again this year pair up with local business owners and managers as part of the annual Renton Chamber of Commerce’s Business and Education Exchange program, which connects local business owners and managers with teachers, principals and school staff to build understanding and friendships between educators and the business community. The

program fosters understanding about the work being done in schools and throughout the community while also strengthening long-term partnerships and support for schools and students.

As part of the program, a businessperson will visit a classroom and see the day-to-day work that teachers do to teach students

and prepare them for future employment. The teacher, in return, will visit the business to better understand business operations, management, marketing and more.

Teachers and business people agree that the program has created a strong bond between schools and surrounding businesses.

Page 2: Renton Specials - Renton School Board - January 2015

Renton School District students at all grade levels are making great use of school libraries, both online and offline. School libraries are hubs of learning where students of all ages from elementary to high school log onto websites to conduct thoughtful research; use reference and exploration materials to learn more about subjects that are taught in classrooms; find information for school writing and research assignments; and to choose good books to read at school and at home.

Students using school libraries for research, reading

Five teams of Renton students recently competed in the First Tech Challenge robotics competition where they designed, built, and programmed robots to compete against other regional teams. Renton teams included students from Dimmitt, McKnight and Nelsen middle schools and Hazen and Renton high schools, who worked to develop strategies and build robots based on sound engineering principles and apply real-world math and science concepts. The teams will compete again this

week at the final First Tech Challenge competition at Kent ShoWare Center.

Robotics courses and teams are part of the district’s work to improve students’ knowledge and skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and helps improve problem solving skills, technological literacy and develop problem-solving, organizational, and team-building skills.

Students at district middle and high schools use engineering, math and science to build robots

As part of its ongoing work to keep schools safe and ensure students and staff are prepared for emergencies and natural disasters, Renton School District recently hired William Blake, Jr. as the district Safety and Security Manager, a position that has been restored after being lost to budget reductions some years ago. Blake’s work will include helping train teachers, school and district staff on

proper response techniques during emergencies and natural disasters; helping to train and manage school and district security staff; continuing to ensure school buildings are safe for students and staff, and that visitors can properly enter a school building while also keeping

entryways secure; and other aspects of school and district safety and security.

Blake brings a wide range of knowledge and skills to help lead district work around safety and security, including serving 17 years with the Federal Air Marshal Service as regional crisis management coordinator and civil aviation security inspector.

District continues to keep schools safe and ready for emergencies and natural disasters

Page 3: Renton Specials - Renton School Board - January 2015

Renton School District student athletes have been recognized by the state’s athletics association for hard work in the classroom as well as on the track, field and courts.

Twenty-four of the district’s fall sports teams have won the Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires Scholastic Award presented in association with the Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association as top teams in the state to excel in sports while also maintaining high combined team grade point averages (GPA). Teams with a GPA of 3.5 or higher qualify for the Outstanding Team Award; teams with a combined GPA of 3.00-3.49 qualify for the Distinguished Team Award.

Five district high school teams received “Outstanding” honors for maintaining a near-perfect 3.7 GPA including: Hazen High Varsity Girls Cross-Country (pictured),

Hazen High Varsity Girls Swim, Lindbergh High Junior Varsity Girls Cross-Country and Renton High Varsity Girls Cross-Country (pictured). Eighteen additional

teams from Hazen, Lindbergh and

Renton high schools also won

Distinguished Awards with team

GPAs well above 3.0.

District student-athletes win awards for athletic success and classroom achievement

Renton School District works hard to ensure that students receive high-quality education and that there are highly-qualified teachers in classrooms proving that education. Work also includes ensuring that school buildings are well-maintained and ready for learning, and that there is adequate space for student learning.

The district is also responsible for being fiscally responsible, managing budgets and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. As part of that financial responsibility, the School Board recently voted to re finance old school construction bond debt to save taxpayers millions of dollars in property taxes. Refinancing the old debt is similar to refinancing a home mortgage, which reduces the amount of interest paid over the course of a loan by taking advantage of historically low interest rates. The district took

similar steps to refinance old debt in 1998 and 2003, again saving taxpayers millions of dollars in property taxes.

Lower tax rates allows opportunity for citizens to consider school construction bonds

The district routinely reviews increases in student enrollment, and the need for more space and more schools to accommodate growth. When more schools are needed, the work includes reviewing its tax structure to possibly allow a school construction bond measure to be placed on a future election ballot while not adversely effecting tax rates.School district staff are currently reviewing existing district-owned property, and looking for land to purchase that could be developed into a school site. One piece of property owned by the

district being reviewed is Sartori Education Center, located at 315 Garden Ave North in north Renton. The site is centrally located and resides in an area of growth.

This is only the initial phase of the work. Any substantive planning would include convening a committee to create a plan, would

need School Board approval, and would have to be approved by voters in a school construction bond measure. Voter-approved school construction bond measures is the only way school districts in the state can raise funds to rebuild, remodel and make major repairs to neighborhood school buildings.

Work continues to ensure adequate space for high-quality classrooms

Page 4: Renton Specials - Renton School Board - January 2015

Renton School District | 300 SW 7th Street, Renton WA 98057 | 425.204.2345 | www.rentonschools.us www.facebook.com/renton.schools | twitter.com/Renton_Schools | www.youtube.com/user/RentonSchoolDistrict

Looking for a great job?Renton School District is hiring: Apply online now at

https://jobs.rentonschools.us

Teaching and non-teaching, full-time positions or part-time substitute positions, with hours that are set or flexible and

many do not require a teaching degree.Pay can range up to $17.36 per/hour with great benefits.

Current openings include: Bus Driver, Custodian,Food Service/Substitute Cook, Office Assistant, and more.

Renton School District recently partnered with the state’s Department of Agriculture and the Farm to School program to increase the purchasing of produce grown by local farmers to serve in schools. Over the two year grant, the district’s Nutrition Services

Department increased by nine fold the dollar amount spent on produce purchased from local farms, which also helped to introduce students to new and different fruits and vegetables grown right here in the Pacific Northwest.

Renton School buses are safe. The Washington State Patrol recently completed a surprise, random inspection of 25 percent of Renton school buses and gave all of the buses a passing grade. The surprise inspection included checks of braking systems, suspension and steering components, exhaust system, tires, lights and more. The surprise

inspections are part of the State Patrol’s work—along with inspecting all buses before the start of the school year—to keep students and others safe while on the road. Renton’s bus drivers, mechanics, driver trainers, dispatchers, office staff, and others work as a team to ensure the safe transportation every day of nearly 10,000 students.

School buses are safe

District buys fresh fruit andproduce from local farmers