School Board Approves Montessori Program, Talks Traffic Safety

— by Kimberley Kimple, Orcas Issues reporter —

Orcas Island School District Board members passed a new Montessori Policy at the regular monthly meeting in February. The policy ensures a pathway to continue housing a Montessori program on district property into the future.

Concern over the cancellation of the program surfaced when long-time Montessori teacher, Martha Inch, submitted her resignation for the end of the 2018/19 school year. Without a teacher certified in Montessori-based learning, the program would have to end.

Amid growing concerns over the closure, parents and community members gathered together to build momentum toward keeping the program going, and the district formed the Montessori Steering Committee. Since then, the Montessori teaching position opened to applicants and the process of vetting candidates began. While there have been no official announcements made of a recommendation for hire at this time, the district has implied they do have their eye on qualified applicants. The future program, titled Orcas Island Montessori Public, intends to open a Montessori-based classroom utilizing a modular building located on district property in the 2019/2020 school year and will include Montessori students grades 1 – 3.

Traffic Safety

In a December 13 letter to Councilmember Rick Hughes, Superintendent Eric Webb voiced growing concern over traffic flow along School Road and Madrona Street – requesting San Juan County take quick action to review and improve traffic in the area, citing numerous close calls of vehicle-versus-pedestrian incidents.

The district has since launched a new crossing safety program consisting of implementing volunteer crossing guards during peak traffic hours. While there has been some improvement to driver awareness, there is still growing concern over the flow of traffic, resulting in congestion, unsafe driver behavior, and pedestrians –mostly children – at risk for injury.

San Juan County Engineer, Colin Huntermer, was present at the meeting to discuss a two-phase conceptual traffic revision to the area.

Phase one of the traffic revision would entail minimal grading, installing temporary barriers and re-striping traffic lanes to create one-way streets and an expanded student drop-off zone, while phase two would incorporate more permanent traffic control structures and complete street improvements such as curb and gutter, sidewalks, and storm drains. A rough estimate by Huntermer showed a projected range of $80-100k to complete phase one, which would provide immediate improvements to the flow of both vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

San Juan County Councilmember Bill Watson shared that while the council unanimously acknowledges the current traffic configuration presents a real safety issue, a project for safety improvements to School Road and Madrona Street is not currently in the scope of the county work program and would require re-prioritizing the road budget. OISD Board Chair, Greg White, echoed that the school district does not currently have monies dedicated to the project, either. It was unclear between the two agencies as to which holds the financial responsibility for the project. According to Watson, the road – historically maintained as a county road – may actually be on private property owned by the school district.

“We’ve identified a dangerous issue for children and it really comes down to money,” voiced White, adding, “it doesn’t seem like money should be a factor for children’s safety.” The district is dedicated to working with the county to determine the next course of action.

Project Update

Project Manager Liz LeRoy reported the school construction work is currently projected as on schedule, despite the inclement weather shut down in February, thanks to Tiger Construction increasing their work hours from four ten-hour days to five ten-hour days.

The board accepted a $400,000 donation from The Henigson Family Endowment Track Fund, with the remaining endowment dedicated to the track to be released as invoices are submitted.

FastBridge Assessment

Principles Kyle Freeman and Lorena Stankevich conducted a curriculum-based measurement on students aged Kindergarten through 6^th grade in math and reading through the FASTBridge Assessment Screening System. Both reported while most students are making progress toward reaching end of year goals in each subject, there are individual student plans already in place for those students who are not on track.

The assessment is initially conducted at the start of the school year, with benchmark screenings in the winter and spring, measuring student progress. Because the district is relatively small, the percentages can become skewed as students enter or exit the district mid-year. In the same way, one of the benefits of conducting the assessment within a smaller district is the ability to decipher when a single individual is not growing at the expected rate. “It gives us a chance to take a closer look and say, who [is this student] and what is going on with them,” Freeman shared. Both Freeman and Stankevich credited classroom support staff as being a valuable component to the progress students are making.

The final assessment, which is to be completed later in the spring, will give the district a full picture on progress made by students over the course of the academic year.

Orcas Island School District Board meetings are open to the public and take place on the fourth Thursday of each month in the school Library.