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Blaine High School’s Senior Culminating Project confirms each student’s mastery of communications skills, time management skills and personal planning skills. There are four required steps to a successful Culminating Project: (1) Students spend at least 20 hours completing an internship, a community service or a physical project. (2) Students must complete a portfolio with a post-graduation plan. (3) Students must write a clear and organized essay that reflects his/her experiences, and receive passing scores from two separate evaluators. (4) Only after these steps are successfully demonstrated may each student present to a panel of teachers and adult community members.
The board presentations, known simply as Boards, are May 22 and 23 this year, and represent the last step in the Culminating Project. Before a board of four to six adults, students must present and discuss their accomplishments and goals, including their twenty-hour choice, their 13th year plans, and highlights of their high-school career.
This will be the 9th graduating class to complete the Culminating Project at Blaine High School. While some seniors are hesitant to admit it during the process, most, if not all, seniors feel a real sense of pride and accomplishment when they walk out of their successful Boards; they feel they have done it and are now ready!
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High School, Middle School and Elementary School state test scores were very strong this year, with 68.7%, 66.0% and 66.3% of students, respectively, meeting standard on the applicable assessment. Specifically we would highlight that the percentage of students meeting standard increased by 8.3 at the High School level, and 39 points at the Elementary School level over the previous year.
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The Blaine High School Borderites are in the top 3 of 35 high schools regionally in science performance! We congratulate our students, teachers, and principals at all three levels on their persistent effort and shared success. We would underscore that there are many factors that have impacted this success, including teachers at all levels working hard to develop engaging, aligned, purposeful science lessons. The result has been a dramatic improvement in our students' performance across all schools.
More specifically, the High School science department has worked together, and with the Middle School, to align curriculum with state science standards and to engage students in the learning process--They have worked together to improve on many levels, including: student thinking, questioning, inquiry labs, small group discussions, organization, family involvement, studying, note taking, and testing. Our teachers have been supported in these efforts by our administration, and by staff and faculty at Western Washington University, through the College Readiness in Science Preparation (CRISP) grant. The CRISP grant has supported our BHS and BMS science teachers and administration in their focus on student learning and assessment. We applaud our students and teachers of science, K-12, for their continued demonstration of excellence in science!
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Student performance on the state assessments this last spring (2011) was consistently strong in the Blaine School District. The 2010-11 school year marked the second year of implementation for the recently initiated assessment tools, including the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) at Grade 10, and the Measure of Student Performance (MSP) at Grades 3-8. In addition, 2010-11 was the first year for blanket implementation of the End of Course (EOC) exams for algebra and geometry.
In comparison to the previous year scores, we saw the following results on the MSP (3-8), the HSPE (Grade 10), and the End of Course (algebra and geometry) exams:
• Reading scores (% of students meeting standard) are up from prior year at five of seven tested grade levels
• Math scores (% of students meeting standard) are up from prior year at six of seven tested grade levels
• Writing scores (% of students meeting standard) remained relatively constant (+ or - 2%) at all three grade levels tested
• Science scores (% of students meeting standard) are up from previous year at three of three grade levels
Our teachers have been working very hard to bring a higher percentage of students to standard, as measured by the state assessment. We are encouraged by this year’s results and look forward to moving into the new school year, striving to assure for an even stronger level of academic performance on the part of all students. We would expect that OSPI will remain a proactive partner in the work of analyzing the results of the assessment data, while helping districts to determine the most important steps that can be taken to impact our overall results in a positive manner. This new assessments represent just one measure of the learning that is taking place for students in the Blaine School District.
All schools are expected to increase the percentage of students meeting standard on state reading and math tests each year at applicable grade levels. The target number increases every three years, and is referred to as the “uniform bar”. Schools that do not demonstrate progress equivalent to or above the “uniform bar” are considered to have failed to meet AYP, and after two consecutive years of failure to meet AYP move into “improvement status”. This year (2011) there was a dramatic adjustment in the “uniform bar” in reading, both at the elementary and middle school levels. This adjustment will be reflected in our school, and overall district, AYP status. We have seen continual progress in our reading scores, and we are confident in our reading program. We expect to continue to make substantial progress in the coming years, and to reach the newly established “uniform bar”.
If a school or district misses the applicable target level(s), it fails to make AYP. Blaine School District did not make AYP this year, as a result of Elementary and Middle School scores in the content area of reading, but is not yet in “improvement status”. Blaine High School has now met AYP, and will remain in Step 2 on the “improvement status” continuum. Blaine Middle School did not meet the AYP target level in reading, but will remain in Step 2 on the “improvement status” continuum. Blaine Elementary did not meet AYP in reading, but is not yet in “improvement status”.
Across the District, our teachers, support staff and administrators continue to work extremely hard to provide students with the highest level of quality instruction. We are expecting 2011-12 to be a very productive year academically for all students.
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On October 24, 2011, the Board of Directors took action on adjustments to the Comprehensive Plan. The resulting document includes; Belief Statements, a Vision Statement and a Purpose Statement, with each intended to guide both the short term and long term work of the District. In addition, the Comprehensive Plan provides reference to priority Goals, Strategies and Action Plans, specific to both district level and building level improvement work. Finally, the Comprehensive Plan includes statements of the accountability that both the Board and the Superintendent will assume in the supporting implementation of each Action Plan. The Board of Directors is committed to annual review of and subsequent updates to this work, as we seek to assure for the highest possible levels of student achievement across the District. |
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Non-Discrimination
Statement: Blaine School District does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, pregnancy, marital status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. This holds true for all
students who are interested in participating in educational programs
and/or extracurricular school activities. Inquiries regarding
compliance procedures may be directed to the school district's Title IX
Officer and/or Section 504 coordinator. Our Title IX Officer, Christine Anderson, and the Section 504 Coordinator, Randy Elsbree, can be reached at 360-332-5881 or 765 H Street, Blaine, WA 98230. |
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