Clover Park School District Earns "Board of Distinction" Honor

The Clover Park School Board has some bragging rights.

It is one of 23 elected boards across the state recognized as a "Board of Distinction."

The announcement was made Friday evening at the Washington State School Directors’ Association's Annual Conference in Spokane.

Clover Park was honored in the category for school districts with more tha 9,000 students.

Congrats to board members Carole Jacobs, Marty Schafer, Jose Salamanca, Joseph Vlaming, J. Paul Wagemann, as well as Superintendent Debbie LeBeau.

Here is the press release:

Ferndale, Marysville and Prescott school boards have been selected as the 2011 School Boards of the Year by the Washington State School Directors’ Association. The announcement was made Friday evening at the WSSDA Annual Conference in Spokane.

The Marysville School Board was honored in the category for districts with more than 9,000 students, Ferndale for those with 1,001-9,000 students and Prescott for those with 1,000 or fewer students. The three districts were chosen from among 23 boards honored in 2012 as Boards of Distinction.

“These boards have excelled as school governance teams,” said Dr. Jonelle Adams, the association’s executive director. “They provided extensive documentation and our evaluation was rigorous. They are exceptional school boards.”

By district size category, the other Boards of Distinction included:

More than 9,000 students – Auburn, Central Valley, Clover Park, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Puyallup, South Kitsap and Vancouver.

1,001-9,000 students – Anacortes, Camas, Chimacum, Franklin Pierce, Lakewood, Monroe, Sunnyside, Tumwater, West Valley (Spokane), and White River.

1-1,000 students – Methow Valley.

WSSDA’s Boards of Distinction awards honor school boards that demonstrate effective use of the Washington School Board Standards. The standards, developed and adopted by WSSDA in 2009, promote researched-based governance practices that lead to high levels of student and district achievement. This was the first year that the association separately honored a board in large, medium and small district size categories.

Award applicants submit an essay and supporting evidence to demonstrate how they are putting the standards into practice. This year, applicants addressed the following:

• Respecting and advocating mutual understanding of the roles and responsibilities of board members and the superintendent.
• Adopting a collaboratively developed district plan focused on learning and achievement outcomes for all students.
• Providing for learning essentials, including rigorous curriculum, technology and high quality facilities.
• Measuring student academic progress and needs based on valid and reliable assessments.
• Ensuring district information and decisions are communicated community-wide.

Applications are evaluated by an independent review panel, and awards are given to those who receive at least an 80 percent score.

As School Boards of the Year, Ferndale, Marysville and Prescott each received a $500 award for use by the board.

Members of the Ferndale School Board are Lee Anne Riddle, Stuart McKay, Kevin Erickson, Hugh Foulke and Andrew McLaurin. The superintendent is Linda Quinn.

Members of the Marysville School Board are Chris Nation, Wendy Fryberg, Tom Albright, Cindy Erickson and Pete Lundberg. The superintendent is Larry Nyland.

Members of the Prescott School Board are Karen Tonne, Sara Fletcher, Ada Gonzalez-Hernandez, Eva Madrigal and Erik Young. The superintendent is William Jordan.

Award-winning essays are made available to all school boards and districts in the state as an example of successful implementation of the Washington School Board Standards.

The following is a list of WSSDA Boards of Distinction Award recipients for 2012.

Anacortes: Jeannette Papadakis, Bobbilyn Hogge, Lynne Lang, Karl Yost, Robert Maxson.  Chris Borgen, Superintendent

Auburn: Lisa Connors, Janice Nelson, Ray Vefik, Carol Seng, Anne Baunach.  Dennis Kip Herren, Superintendent.

Camas: Casey O’Dell, Julie Rotz, Connie Hennessey, Douglas Quinn, Mary Tipton. Mike Nerland, Superintendent.

Central Valley:  Debra Long, Tom Dingus, Keith Clark, MJ Bolt, Amy Mason.  Ben Small, Superintendent.

Chimacum: Ted Friedrich, Anna Brown, Kristin Butler, David Robocker, Kevin Miller.  Craig Downs, Superintendent.

Clover Park: Carole Jacobs, Marty Schafer, Jose Salamanca, Joseph Vlaming, J. Paul Wagemann. Debbie LeBeau is Superintendent.

Federal Way: Ed Barney, Claire Wilson, Danny Peterson, Angela Griffin, Tony Moore.  Robert Neu, Superintendent.

Franklin Pierce: Mark Baumgarten, John Harstad, Reva Palmer, Cole Roberts, Mary Sherman. Frank Hewins, Superintendent

Issaquah: Brian Deagle, Chad Magendanz, Marnie Maraldo, Suzanne Weaver, Anne Moore. Stephen Rasmussen, Superintendent

Kent: Agda Burchard, Russell Hanscom, Timothy Clark, Karen DeBruler, Deborah Straus. Edward Vargas, Superintendent

Lakewood: Kelly Allen, Lawrence Bean, Ken Christiansen, Oscar Escalante, Gregory Jensen. Taylor Studzinski, (Student Rep.). Dennis Haddock, Superintendent

Methow Valley:  Mary Anne Quigley, Dana Stromberger, Donald Calvert, Gary Marchbank, Frank Kline.  Mark Wenzel, Superintendent.

Monroe: Gregory Accetturo, Thomas MacIntyre, James Scott, Nancy Truitt Pierce, Katy Woods. Ken Hoover, Superintendent.

Puyallup: Pat Donovan, Greg Heath, Christopher Ihrig, Patrick Jenkins, Dane Looker. Tim Yeomans, Superintendent

South Kitsap: Keith Garton, Patricia Henderson, Christopher Lemke, Kathryn Simpson, Gregory Wall.  Bev Cheney, interim superintendent.

Sunnyside: Sandra Linde, Lorenzo Garza, Michelle Perry, Miguel Puente, Rocky Simmons. Richard Cole, Superintendent

Tumwater: Rita Luce, Kimberly Reykdal, Jay Wood, Robert Barclift, Janine Ward. Arianna Cecotti (Student Rep.) and Trevor Hargrave (Student Representatives).  Michael Kirby, Superintendent.

Vancouver Public Schools: Kathy Gillespie, Dale Rice, Mark Stoker, Edri Geiger, Mari Greves. Steven Webb, Superintendent.

West Valley (Spokane): Samuel Andrews, Robert Dompier, Pamela McLeod, Robert Wentworth, James Williams, Shannen Tai Mei Wan (Student Rep.) and Ashlynn Sellers (Student Rep.). Gene Sementi, Superintendent

White River: Michael Jansen, Jean Rich-Lacy, Susan McGuire, Cassandra Pearson, Denise Vogel. Janel Keating, Superintendent