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Be on the lookout for your WFIS membership renewal
information. Packets will be mailed sometime in May.
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The WFIS eMemo is a publication of
Washington
Federation of Independent Schools
Jan L. Morrison
Assistant to the Director
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The
Washington Federation of Independent Schools is the umbrella
organization for private education in Washington State. With seventy
percent of the independent student population enrolled in member
schools, WFIS is the only statewide vehicle for regular communication
and strategic development between the many different constituencies.
WFIS schools are affiliates of the Catholic dioceses in the state; the
Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI); the Christian
Schools International (CSI); Lutheran Schools; Montessori schools; the
Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools (PNAIS); the
Seventh-day Adventist Schools (SDA); and numerous other religious and
independent institutions, including the Waldorf Schools, Hutterian
Brethren, and those institutions with sponsorship within the Jewish
and Islamic communities. The WFIS Board of Directors
consists of eighteen school heads representing the major constituencies
chosen regionally by their respective bodies. WFIS is networked
with similar organizations in other states through the Council for
American Private Education (CAPE).
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2008
Legislature: In Like a Lion -Out Like a Lamb
Typically, the months of January, February
and March are the most exciting months of the WFIS year. It
is then when all of the Executive Director's senses are attuned to
each bill that is introduced, the nuances of language in each
iteration of that bill and what it could possibly mean for private
education in Washington State.
The 2008 Legislative Session was no
disappointment in the number of education bills that were
introduced and passed from committee. They ranged from minute
clarifications to the repeal of the entire education code of
Washington. Since this was not a budget year, however, the
vast majority of those bills failed to go any further. Some
did pass the legislature and have been forwarded to the governor
for signature. She will be signing many of these during the
month of April. Fortunately, private education was not
affected by the outcomes of this legislative session. Within
a couple of weeks a detailed overview of this session's legislation,
including those signed by the Governor, will be available through www.WFIS.org.
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CAPE Executive Board and State CAPE Executives Hold
Annual Meeting in Washington D. C.
Prior to the CAPE Executive Board meeting March 10-11,
2008, twenty state CAPE executives met on Sunday, March 9, to discuss
issues and concerns relevant to private schools across the
country. Among the myriad of topics included were the advent of
universal kindergarten programs, as well as, virtual public and
private schools and their impact on existing educational offerings in
traditional settings. Other topics included state dues
structures, the SCN Summer Institute, and outreach to Muslim school
groups (several states already have Muslim schools as members).
The group also discussed potential public school reforms
that may be challenging to private schools. Among those
identified were the American Diploma Project, which is attempting to
standardize graduation requirements in various states; religious
charter schools; excessive state regulation and standardization of
private schools. The State of Oregon is currently promoting
some new diploma criteria the recognize knowledge and skills gained
through non-school experiences and that allow students to earn credit
by demonstrating proficiency, rather than logging class hours.
After meeting with the CAPE Executive Board on Monday
morning, the state executives went to the U.S. Department of
Education to meet with the new Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of
Innovation and Improvement, Mr. Doug Mesecar. The group
was also greeted by Mr. Jack Klenk, Director of the Office of
Non-Public Education. Presentations were given by Ms. Pamela
Allen, who highlighted the new IDEA booklet that is available as a
PDF download on the Department of Education website. Maureen Dowling
followed with a summary of the FY 2009 budget requests that place the
Title 2A and Title 5 monies in jeopardy of renewal. All of the
meeting participants echoed their appreciation of the Non-Public
Education Office personnel and their zeal to make sure all of our
issues are addressed and resolved.
The three-day CAPE meeting was completed with meetings
at the Capital Building and White House on Tuesday, March 11.
Lloyd Horwich, Democrat Policy Advisor for the House Committee on
Education and Labor, Erika Heikkila, Education Policy Director for
John Boehner, Jason Unger, Education Policy Director for Senate
Majority Leader, Harry Reid and Lindsey Mask, Republican Director of
Outreach for the House Committee on Education and Labor all met with
Board and State Executives to present the current status of NCLB and
their commitment to private education from their respective
committees. Following lunch at the Capital, the entire group moved to
the White House, where they met with Loren Hyatt, White House Office
of Public Liason, Doug Mesecar, OII Deputy Secretary, John Bailey,
Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Jay Hein,
Deputy Assistant to the President and Directory of the Office of
Faith-based and Community Initiatives. All shared their encouragement
to the private education community and their support for all of
private education. All participants agreed that these were
extremely informative meetings.
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State Board of Health School Rule Revisions
The State
Board of Health has been working with the Department of Health (DOH)
and stakeholders since 2004 to modernize the school environmental
health and safety rules. To that end, the Washington State Board of
Health has organized a series of workshops to review proposed
language for technical clarity. The goal is to eliminate
confusion from unclear language and to clearly articulate areas of
disagreement.
Key
participants include local environmental health managers and school
facilities managers - those that have to interpret and implement
the rule changes. Also represented will be school
administrators, local public health administrators, parents,
teachers, school architects and state agencies. At the urging
of legislators, the Board asked several organizations to nominate
participants. WFIS will be ably represented on this task force
by Ed Foster, Facilities Director for the Archdiocese of Seattle
Schools and Michael Brady, Facilities Director for The Bush School in
Seattle as alternate. If you have concerns, please contact one
of these gentlemen.
The DOH and
Board Staff have been working on revised language intended to resolve
many concerns heard from stakeholders this winter. Information
gathered from the upcoming workshops will be used as input in a final
draft proposal. These workshops will be held as follows:
Federal Way Public Schools, Board Room:
April 4, 15, 21 and 28
Highline
Community College: May 20
Meetings are
scheduled from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. The public may attend these
meetings in an observational capacity only. The process will be
completed with a comment period in late May, a Board briefing on June
11 and a rule hearing tentatively set for August 13.
Information may
be accessed at http://www.sboh.wa.gov/rules/schooleh/index.htm
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CAPE set to
launch "Operation Focus"
The Council for
American Private Education (CAPE) is preparing to launch a national
advocacy initiative designed to bolster political support for federal
legislation and policies favorable to private, pre school -12
education. This initiative will attempt to identify and recruit
influential constituents with ties to private education as well as
key legislators. State CAPE organizations such as WFIS are
working with the national organization to identify such
"grasstops" constituents.
Key
"Operation Focus" legislators serve on committees or hold
offices listed below:
- House
Committee on Education and Labor
- House
Committee on Appropriations (and their sub-committees)
- House
Committee on Ways and Means
- House
Speaker and Minority Leader
- Senate
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
- Senate
Committee on Appropriations (and their sub-committees)
- Senate
Majority and Minority Leaders
A total of sixty-six members of Congress have been
identified to date, including one Washingtonian, Senator Patty
Murray.
CAPE has developed a profile for each identified member
of Congress, which includes a variety of information about the
individual's educational and occupational background, organizational
and religious affiliations, etc. Any item of information could
provide a point of personal reference or contact for the prospective
"grasstops" advocates.
"Grasstops" constituents will likely consist
of willing education leaders in home districts/states, religious
leaders, community and business leaders, contributors to political
campaigns, school and organizational board members and
administrators. Once identified, "grasstops"
constituents will be invited to complete an online form in which they
indicate their relationship to the key legislator and designate the
means by which they feel most comfortable communicating with the
official and affirm their willingness to become involved in
"Operation Focus".
CAPE will provide "grasstops" advocates with
briefing materials on key issues, and is currently considering the
provision of web-based training and information sessions, handbooks,
and other methods for keeping advocates informed and updated.
WFIS will keep you updated on how you, as member schools, can support
the rollout of this extremely important project.
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California Takes Center Stage in Home-School Case
On
February 28, 2008, a state appellate court issued a decision in the
case of In re Rachel L. that effectively requires those providing
home school instruction must possess state teaching
credentials. The decision raised important questions concerning
the right of parents to direct the education of their children, the
power of the state to reasonably regulate all schools, and the
legal distinction between 'home schools' and "private
full-time day schools". At present, the California Education
Code does not specifically address home schooling, and the
California Department of Education has distanced itself from
clarifying the legal status of home school students in stating
"Whether a home schooled child is attending a private school,
and therefore is exempt from public school attendance, is a
decision made by local school districts and law enforcement
authorities. In the State of Washington, there is a much clearer
definition of and right to parents to provide home-based education
for their children.
After
several state assemblymen weighed in on the issue in support of the
home schooling community and Governor Schwarzenegger stating that
parents have the right to decide what is best for their children, a
resolution was introduced in the State Assembly that called upon
the California Supreme Court to reverse the opinion of the
California Court of Appeals for the second Appellate
District. Our sister organization, CAPSO, was also called
upon to support this resolution.
On
March 27, 2008, the Second District Court of Appeal which
previously ruled on the case, announced that it will grant a
re-hearing of the case. This announcement effectively voids
the court's ruling until the case is re-heard and a new decision is
issued. It is anticipated that the re-hearing of the matter
will take place in June. Stay tuned.
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On April 3, 2008, The National Center for Education
Statistics released the 2007 NAEP Writing Report Card. The
report includes private school results for grade 8 and Catholic
school results for grades 8 and 12. (The overall private
school response rate at grade 12 was not large enough to produce
private school results. It should be noted, however, that
in NAEP, private school results cover all private schools,
including Catholic schools.)
The entire report is available as a PDF document at: http://nationsreportcard.gov/
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Northshore
Christian Academy, private Christian school, located in Everett
Washington has the following positions available for the 2008-2009
school year:
3rd Grade Full
Time Teacher
5th Grade Full
Time Teacher
Kindergarten Full
time Teacher
Contact:
Linda Dale
Ogilvie, Office Administrator
Northshore Christian Academy
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