School Briefs

Published 2:42 pm Thursday, December 20, 2007

Input sought on changing math standards

The state’s proposed new math standards for kindergartners through 12th-graders have been clarified in a draft rewrite. Public comment is sought. Changes in math standards could mean changes for future textbooks and standardized tests.

The draft is the result of work by the Charles A. Dana Center, a consultant that’s helping the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or OSPI, make recommendations to the Legislature by the end of January.

The revision draft lists math-content priorities and what students have to know about reasoning, problem solving and communicating their work at each grade level.

In spring, the superintendent’s office aims to recommend textbooks that fit the new standards.

The full draft report and a feedback form are at www.utdanacenter.org/wamathrevision/standards.php.

The deadline for submitting comments is Dec. 30.

Focus groups will be held in mid-January with math stakeholder groups to obtain feedback on a close-to-final draft. Washington educators will provide input at the OSPI January Conference in Spokane Jan. 29 through Jan. 31, 2008.

The deadline for presenting the final draft to the state Legislature is Jan. 31, 2008.

Girl Scouts help stuff Christmas stockings

Girl Scout Troop 467, sixth-graders from Seaview Elementary School, participated in a Holiday Stocking for Homeless Children event Dec. 8. They helped stuff over 2,400 stockings, which were to be delivered to 63 shelters across the Puget Sound region.

The girls were part of the Holiday Stockings for Homeless Children volunteer team. Donations are collected through the year, and each December a Santa’s workshop is set up at the U.S. Coast Guard facility on Pier 36 in Seattle.

“This is a real eye-opening experience for the girls and they are always eager to participate each Christmas,” said Kara Heck, whose daughter, Lauren Heck, is in the troop.

College seeks donors to name theater

The Edmonds Community College Foundation seeks bids of $1 million or more to name the college’s new 200-seat black box theater, which opens this winter in Mukilteo Hall.

Theater patrons may also put their name or company name on a theater seat for a donation of $500 per seat. The donations will help pay for lighting and sound systems for the theater.

The new theater gives the college an on-campus flexible performance space for its Theatre Arts department and the community a new space to host lectures and events.

To purchase naming rights to the theater or theater seats, call the Edmonds Community College Foundation at 425-640-1884. To learn more about the foundation’s initiative to equip the new theater and the college’s culinary arts facilities, see http://foundation.edcc.edu

The Edmonds Community College Foundation provides scholarships for students, support for the college, its faculty, staff and facilities.

Governor proposes safety improvements

Gov. Chris Gregoire this month proposed investing $14.3 million to improve the safety of students, faculty and staff on the state’s college and university campuses.

“One thing parents shouldn’t have to worry about is the safety of their children while they attend college,” Gregoire said in a press release. “But in the past year, we have been reminded that our campuses are not immune from violence.”

She noted the mass shooting at Virginia Tech University last April, and the shooting death the same month of a University of Washington employee by a stalking ex-boyfriend.

The governor’s 2008 supplemental budget proposal will include $14.3 million for instant warning systems on campuses, community notification systems, assistance for first responders, redundant communication systems and access-control and shutdown mechanisms.

As part of her initiative on campus safety, Gregoire also will introduce legislation to direct each state college and university to update its campus plans for emergency preparedness and response procedures and provide this information to students, faculty and staff.

Earlier this year, the governor asked each state college and university to review its resources and emergency plans, and to identify weaknesses in its ability to prevent or respond to campus emergencies.