MARYSVILLE — When it was converted from Marysville Junior High three years ago, Totem Middle School changed in many ways.
Enrollment dipped from 950 to about 650 students.
Students qualifying for a free and reduced-price lunch based on family income increased from about 31 percent to 48 percent this year.
Minorities became a bigger part of the student body, increasing from 31 percent to 43 percent.
Many parents in the Totem school boundaries entered their children into a lottery to try to get into Tenth Street School, a small option middle school with traditionally higher test scores.
Michele Sawyer, Totem’s PTSA president, was one of those parents.
As it turned out, she’s happy to have a child at Totem, even though it has landed on a list of schools the state identifies as scoring in the bottom 5 percent on state exams over the past three years.
As a result, the Marysville School Board is likely to replace Principal Judy Albertson under new federal regulations that provide extra money to schools that make major changes in how they are run.
Sawyer would be sad to see Albertson go. She said the principal is willing to accommodate parents who want to help in their children’s classrooms.
“Our kids love it and they are proud of their school,” she said.
The school also started an early morning class for advanced math students at the urging of parents.
“Judy really has listened and you can see the improvement at the school,” said Loree Cameron, who has a son in the class.
Mary Anne Bockman, another Totem parent, said it would be hard to imagine Albertson not at the school she has led for more than a decade.
“Judy really is the glue of the school,” she said.
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