Marysville City Council president earns leadership accolade

Marysville City Council President Kamille Norton has earned a Certificate of Municipal Leadership from the Association of Washington Cities.

The program recognizes city and town elected officials who complete more than 30 training credits in four areas, including: effective local leadership, community planning and development, public sector resource management, and roles, responsibilities and legal requirement.

Norton has served on the City Council since 2013, and was elected president in 2016. Prior to being on the council she served more than five years on both the city’s Civil Service Commission and the Salary Commission. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.

Arlington teacher earns national certification

Arlington High School teacher Callie Stringham has earned her National Board Certification.

To earn the certification, Stringham put in about 100 hours of work.

The process included completing a content knowledge test; providing an in-class video and written analysis to show student interaction skills; and presenting a portfolio of student work and an explanation of how it demonstrated her abilities as a teacher.

“There’s a lot of writing and reflecting on what you do as a teacher,” she said in a news release. “It really helps you evaluate your teaching practices to see which practices are most successful in the classroom.”

Stringham has taught special education students in her Life Skills class for the past six years. Including Stringham, there are now 30 National Board Certified Teachers in Arlington Public Schools.

Boys & Girls Club announces Youth of Year

Brayden Smith is the Boys & Girls Club of Snohomish County Youth of the Year. He’s been a member of the Granite Falls club since it first opened in 2013, and is a senior at Granite Falls High School.

He also received the Bert Cronin Scholarship Award from the Cronin family, along with the InspireHer Dress for Success Award.

Since joining the club, Smith has been involved with Torch Club, LEGO Robotics, Triple Play and is a mentor in the STEM program. At school, he’s involved with ASB, Future Business Leaders of America and is in his second year as the student representative on the Granite Falls School District Board of Directors.

Smith now will go on to compete in the statewide Boy & Girls Club competition, March 24 to 26.

Smith was chosen after 20 candidates gave speeches at an award dinner on Feb. 13. All talked about how the organization has impacted their lives. Some were from extension clubs outside of the county.

The other candidates were: Daniel Bejar of Marysville; Mateo Fuentes of Tulalip; Maia Austvold of Alderwood; Harmony Morgan of Mukilteo; Phillip Hazeley of Everett; Aubrie Davidson of Arlington; Jervin Villena of Snohomish; Rachel Sheldon of Monroe; Taylor Gaspard of Mukilteo; Ambyrlie-Jane Johnson of Oak Harbor; Chase Morris of Everett; Constance Armitage-Buckley of Coupeville; Jordyn Porea of Edmonds; Jacob Schmidt of Sultan; Yesenia Arias of Everett; Noalani Harry of Warm Springs, Oregon; Kaylee Krause of Lake Stevens; Ida Sue Dick of Nespelem; and Goddess Zenith Jitna of North Kitsap.

Foundation donates $1.5 million for STEM

The Hazel Miller Foundation has given $1.5 million to the Edmonds Community College STEM campaign.

Hazel Miller lived in Edmonds for more than 30 years. After her death in 2009, the foundation was created to benefit the people of Edmonds and South Snohomish County.

The money will go toward the college’s new 70,000-square-foot STEM and Nursing building, as well as STEM scholarships, programs and technology. The building is set to open in September.

According to the community college’s research, about 1 million students will use the STEM and Nursing building during its lifetime.

“Helping to establish a building on campus that is dedicated to science and nursing is the most appropriate way to honor the legacy of a woman like Hazel Miller,” foundation chair Pat Shields said.