Navigating the State Budget Challenges

Over the past two school years, the Meridian School District has set about the task of supporting and improving the instructional program while working to bring about operational efficiency wherever possible. In addition to these internal objectives the challenges with funding from the state have created additional challenges for the district to navigate.

Our local and regional news has been filled with stories about the extent to which school districts are reducing both staff and instructional programs. In Meridian we have also had to make targeted reductions, yet these will not require the district to lay-off any certificated teaching staff. In addition, our hope is that any impacts to our classified staffing will be minimal as well.

In line with school board goals we have kept the core instructional program and the co-curricular student participation offerings of the district at the center of our focus. While the district and the employees will experience some shifting of responsibilities, our efforts to hone the management and support structures in direct support of the educational program are showing positive results.

Some of our changes, such as the implementation of raised graduation requirements, additional elective class offerings, and new secondary schedules will take place this fall. Others such as online access to grades for parents and the alignment of curriculum, instructional time and professional development in math, are already showing very positive results in our early grades.

As we begin the 2009-2010 school year the Meridian School District will operate as a very lean organization. The organization is, however aligned for the purpose of providing our students opportunities for academic growth that rival any provided in the county.

No one wants to go through the process of reductions, or doing with less. In Meridian we have made the very best of the situation and we are moving forward with a clear sense of purpose and direction aligned with the goals of our school board.

Student achievement and preparing each child for their future is the course that we will continue to follow as we manage the district with the level of efficiency that our taxpayers and community members expect.

Great things are happening in Meridian. It's a great place to be!

Focus on Literacy at Irene Reither Primary

This school year the staff at Irene Reither have received several visits from teachers from neighboring districts to see how it is that they are providing such an effective intervention for students who are acquiring the skill of reading.

As all of us know, the ability to read is fundamental to success at every level of our society. Students who fall behind in reading are much more likely to drop out during high school.

The "Response to Intervention" model that the staff at IRPS has employed is particularly effective in identifying students who may be at risk of falling behind in their development of reading skills. All students are given periodic assessments to determine if the growth of their reading ability matches established targets. Students who are identified as performing at a lower level are provided targeted interventions aimed at helping them regain the same level of proficiency as their grade level peers.

By using a systematic model of intervention for identified students the school has seen a very positive trend of improvement in reading performance by the students most at risk of falling behind. By assisting students early in their education it is our intention that each child is able to make the most of their future.

Capital Bond Consideration

Over the early months of 2009 a citizens committee met on three occasions to consider the many facets of a possible bond issue for the renovation of several buildings in the Meridian School District.

The group of community members, working with the ZERVAS Group architecture firm and the Meridian School Board explored several potential options that would be very mindful of the tax rates as well as maximize state contributions to potential projects. Each community member then provided a set of written recommendations to the school board for their consideration as they continued to their deliberation and additional information gathering.

The Meridian Citizens for Education group has undertaken the task of surveying an even larger cross section of the community for their additional input with regard to a possible bond issue. That information will be gathered prior to the regular July school board meeting and provided to the board for their consideration as well.

Over the last two years there have been several articles documenting the facility needs of the district. It is the intention of the District to involve the community in our decision making process. We encourage your attendance to share your thoughts on this subject with the board on Wednesday July, 15, 2009 at 7:00PM

Middle and High School Schedules

Students in Meridian High School and Meridian Middle School will have a different class schedule than they have had in the past. Students will be assigned eight classes, and will attend four of those classes each day. There will be Black and Gold days which will alternate over the course of each week and the school year.

The schedule is a key component in emphasizing rigorous curricula as well as providing the opportunity for each student to graduate with the academic preparation and credit requirements that will allow them to access post-secondary educational opportunities.

If you have any questions about the change in schedules please contact the office at Meridian Middle School and Meridian High School. They will be happy to answer any question you may have.

Great Things Happening in Meridian

OUTDOOR ED
The 6th grade students of Meridian Middle School spent four days this spring partaking in the Outdoor Education Program that has been offered to our students for over 30 years. The experience included a connections to many aspects of the curriculum at the middle school as well as offering an opportunity for high school students to serve in counselor roles. The staff, parents, and community play key roles in offering this opportunity to our children.

SCHOLARSHIPS
The Meridian Public School Foundation very generously bestowed over $40,000 to a very worthy group of graduating seniors from Meridian High School at the "Evening Of Excellence". Our foundation works very hard to support current and former students to reach their educational goals.

ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS
Meridian High School students took part in the state science and technology competitions, state FFA competitions and the state mock trial competition over the course of the spring. The science student received the “community impact award for their work and performance. Partaking in rigorous academic competitions as well as athletic competitions is a strong aspect of the Meridian High School experience for our students

STAFF RECOGNITION
Mr. Steve Lawrence was honored by the Lynden Masonic Lodge for his excellence in teaching and commitment to the students of Meridian High School. Mr. Lawrence was also able to participate in evaluating the national Advanced Placement Examinations in Florida this spring.

TECHNOLOGY
Technology improvements in the district over the past year include new MS lab and refurbishment of the existing lab, replacement of over 300 computers district wide over the last two school years. The technology services will have a new home within the district to facilitate the needs of students and staff in their use of technology to support teaching and learning.

PARTNERSHIPS
A new partnership with Western Washington University for 5th grade students in Meridian will begin in the fall of 2009-2010. Meridian students will have the opportunity to partake in a field trip to Western Washington University to see first hand one of the options for post secondary education that they may choose to pursue. In support of our children, WWU Students will volunteer in Ten Mile Creek Elementary to support the learning goals of our children. All of this is provided to Meridian at no cost to the tax payers.

SUPPORTING PARENTS
Parent use of the WESPAC online grade viewing system was very successful in our first year of using the program district wide. As we move into 2009-2010 we encourage parents to consider a regular check of their child's progress and communication with the teachers through this tool. Our goal is to partner with parents to make sure that each child is achieving.

There are great things going on in Meridian!

New Buses Save Fuel and Reduce Emissions

The Meridian School District took delivery of nine new school buses in the month of April 2009 and has been operating them for the last seven weeks of the 2008-2009 school year. Aside from being new and very safe, the buses are providing a number of other benefits to the district children and taxpayers of Meridian.

The buses, which run very quietly, emit only a fraction of the exhaust and are nearly twice as fuel efficient as the older buses they replaced. This reduces the impact to our environment while allowing the district to focus the saved resources on the instructional program in schools.

The new buses cost nearly nine-hundred thousand dollars to obtain, yet due to the manner in which the buses were financed there is no cost to the local taxpayers of the Meridian School District.

Meridian now has one of the newest, safest, and most efficient fleet of buses in the northwest portion of the state serving the students of our district. We are very proud to provide this to our children while maintaining the efficiency of our district operation.

A District Wide Focus on Math

Over the course of the 2008-2009 school year there has been a very concerted effort to align the curriculum, instructional time, and professional development on mathematics for the students of Meridian.

The first steps in the process have taken place with our primary and elementary students over the course of the 2008-2009 school year. The results of these efforts have been particularly gratifying for the students, teachers, and the district. Students in the fourth and fifth grade have performed at 22% and 24% above the level expected on the Measure of Academic Progress Assessment.

Performance such as this speaks to the impact that the intentional alignment of factors which impact student performance can bring. Our teachers collaborating on lessons and using similar assessments allows the professional conversation to focus on where improvements in instruction can be made. Having very high quality curricula, such as the recently adopted "Math Expressions", allows our teachers to use materials that are shown to be effective in building understanding of mathematical concepts. Lastly, dedicated time on instruction such as committing eighty minutes per day to the teaching of math allows students and teachers the time to fully develop and understand the lesson being presented.

We are very proud of the progress that we have made in math over the past year and we are looking forward to continued improvement district wide in the future.

Participation Fees

Maintaining a vibrant offering of Co-Curricular Activities and Athletic options for our students in Meridian is a central goal for the community and the school board. In an effort to avoid the elimination of any of the opportunities that Meridian has traditionally offered the need to implement fees to assist with the cost of offering the wide range of opportunities has become a reality for our district.

Consideration to student safety and breadth of opportunity eliminated the option of reducing "C" Teams or middle school athletics. It was also central to the conversation around maintaining bus transportation to and from most events.

The levy dollars that go to support the co-curricular programs have been supplemented in the past by other sources of revenue which are no longer available to the district. In addition the costs for game officials and transportation continue to increase. In-line with many of our neighboring school districts Meridian will be implementing a fee structure moving into the 2009-2010 school year.

Middle School Students will pay $40 for the first season in which they partake, $30 for the second season, $20 and $10 for the third and fourth. High school students will pay $100 per each sport. There will be a maximum cap of $ 400 per family, per school year covering both middle and high school sports. Please note that there are significantly reduced fees for students receiving free and reduced lunch at school.

We realize that fees for participation are both an inconvenience and a challenge. Our effort to maintain the entire scope of our co-curricular program has made it necessary for this step to be taken.

If you have any questions regarding the fee structure please contact Athletic Director Chad Larsen, or visit our Website at

http://www.meridian.wednet.edu/mhs/sports/sindex.htm