My name is
Kirsten Senturia and I live in Woodinville.
I have two
children: one in 10th grade and the other in 12th grade
at Woodinville HS.
I would like
to talk tonight about what Northshore has done right and provide an historical
perspective of the junior high Challenge program in the district because not
all of us have been here as the current system was being developed. The current
Challenge program came out of an effective community process in which Carolyn
O’Keefe and Gretchen Schaefer met with a committee of parents, teachers and
others to adapt the existing Honors program into something more effective which
would meet the needs of more students at each junior high. That was something Northshore did right.
·
I first
became involved in the issue five years ago when my older daughter was starting
seventh grade. Prior to 2010: English and Social
studies were only available in 8th grade and the process for determining
placement in honors classes was primarily test-based. Students had no way to
self-select into the classes and some students who wanted to take honors were
turned away every year.
·
In
fall of 2010: a small group of us began advocating for an
expanded selection criteria or self-selection so students who were motivated
could stretch themselves and commit to a more rigorous learning environment.
·
The
administration developed a plan to expand honors offerings, adding new classes
annually for several years, and potentially convert the process to
self-selection. They had looked at Best Practices and listened to the
community. This was something Northshore did right.
·
In Spring
of 2011, Carolyn O'Keefe and Gretchen Schaefer took their plan for expanded
honors courses to parent meetings at the various JHs to get feedback and buy-in
from the potential consumers of this product.
Again, something Northshore did right.
·
In Fall
of 2011, schools added 7th grade Challenge English and instituted a self-selection
process for 9th grade English and History.
·
In 2012:
7th grade Social Studies was added. I believe this is the year that
self-selection was implemented across the board for all grades---7th, 8th, 9th.
·
In
2014, the 9th grade Challenge science class was first offered. The demand for
Challenge courses had continued to grow as had enrollment, year after year.
I am a researcher by
training, and I can tell you something you already know: in the end, best
practices and research can be shown to support many options. This is why community input is so
critical. Northshore listened to us as
parents before and developed a junior high Challenge program that has allowed
motivated students to learn and thrive.
That is what Northshore did right, and I am confident Northshore will
continue to do the right thing for our students.
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