Though Dr. Evans customarily updates our Kingston Rotary every fall, for the last couple years it has been especially enlightening since the pandemic has not only changed education it has also changed public access to the schools. As Dr. Evens states the District has “stood tall & proud through the pandemic” and now has embraced the “new normal.” As she shared, the number 13 is always in her mind; stating that is the number of years we have to prepare NK student for the rest of their life. She explains that through the complexity of pandemic learning the District continued to focus on our Strategic Plan that was adopted in 2019. The 4 main elements are Early Foundation/Whole Child/Equal Access/Future Ready.
Dr. Evans gave examples of how the strategic plan is implemented by emphasizing that student’s learning is directly related to knowing the staff member listens to and care about each student. Social Emotional Learning is reinforced by 2 programs. Kindergarten through fifth grader’s staff utilize concepts from the “Ruler” program, while the “Character Strong” program reinforces these practices for the 6th through 12th grade students. The secondary program also utilizes the AVID framework for College & Career Readiness. The NKSD Connected Program put a Chromebook computer in the hands of each student. This was made possible by funding from a 2018 Levy and was a critical feature of maintaining the schoo instruction during the pandemic. Finally, the All in for All Students effort has provided Equity work for staff and students with concepts of Diversity, Voices, Being Unified and Direction Focus.
The need for community support for Capital Projects was another area our Superintendent shared. A number of facts shared underlined District construction needs. NK School student growth is presently about 3% per year. We presently have 900 students per day that spend part of their days in portables, many portables over 25 years old. Suquamish and Wolfle need construction to remedy instruction hinderances created by their present use of their “cafegymatoriums.” The in-district transfer policy has been modified to help insure greater neighborhood attendance stability. Wolfle modernization and at Gordon a new classroom wing is needed. A twenty acre piece of land in the Poulsbo Urban Growth Area is a possible site for a new elementary school. All of these Capital projects are covered in detail at nkschools.org/capitalprojects.
During the Q&A a number of topics were addressed. Staff shortage was addressed. In short, we presently have a full teaching staff. Presently we do have a shortage of bus drivers and classified support staff. It was also clarified that instruction in the trades especially in construction is now limited by state restrictions because of safety concerns. Some of those trades training opportunities are addressed by our participation with West Sound Academy in Bremerton.
Finally, Dr. Evans reminded our members of her office’s Open Door Policy, to encourage community connection with our schools.