Many changes in Battle Ground Public Schools

When Battle Ground Public Schools open for the 2012-2013 school year on Sept. 5, the many changes and improvements in the district will include more full-day kindergartens and other new learning opportunities, repairs to school buildings, a “restructured” Maple Grove K-8 school, more operational efficiencies, school boundary adjustments and several new schools with new principals or assistant principals.

District-wide enrollment is projected to average 12,486 full-time-equivalent students over the course of the coming school year, up from an average in 2011-2012 of 12,318 full-time-equivalent students. Current head count is close to 13,000.

Superintendent Shonny Bria, in her 15th year as leader of Clark County’s third-largest school district, said, “I’m proud of our teachers and staff and their dedication to our students. I’m confident Battle Ground Public Schools will soar to new heights this year.”

Bria also said that like all residents and government agencies and services, school district officials have dealt with tough economic times.

“Although state funding just might have bottomed out and there were no additional cuts this year, we’re holding the line on salaries and keeping in place the 1.9 percent pay cut that was imposed a year ago,” Bria said. “There’s no question that the special levy approved by voters in 2010 has been a life-saver for our children. This year, levy funds will cover 18 percent of our daily operating expenses. But that levy expires in 2013, we’ll ask voters in February to renew their support. We think we’ve been good stewards of the public’s money while devoting ourselves to excellent teaching and learning.”

Here’s a look at some of what’s new in Battle Ground Public Schools:

New opportunities for students

The full-day, tuition-based kindergarten program will expand to Captain Strong and Tukes Valley primaries and will continue at Maple Grove K-8, which was the pilot site for the school district last year. Applications are still being accepted at the respective schools. CAM Academy, a rigorous, parent-partnered academic program, is adding third and fourth grades. CAM had been limited to grades 5-12 in the past. Another expansion is Summit View (alternative) High School at the middle school level with seventh and eighth grade classes. The Glenwood Heights Primary pilot “Green House” program to cultivate better ways to teach math at the K-4 level is expanding to Daybreak Primary and will continue at Glenwood Heights.

School repairs, improvements

It has been a busy summer for school district crews and contractors. Projects include roof repairs or partial replacements at Yacolt Primary, Amboy Middle and Battle Ground High School; restroom plumbing and/or floor repairs at Pleasant Valley Middle and at Captain Strong and Pleasant Valley primaries; demolition of the vacant former Amboy Middle School; septic system repair or design work at Amboy and Laurin middle schools; fire-supression sprinkler system upgraded at Maple Grove; floor repairs at Laurin Middle and Maple Grove; exterior painting at several schools, including portables at Yacolt and Captain Strong primaries; and rigging replacement at the Prairie High School auditorium.

Maple Grove restructuring

Maple Grove K-8 school is replacing the former Maple Grove Middle and Primary schools. There are new school administrators and there will be an emphasis on parent involvement in teaching and learning, and intense professional development for teachers.

HomeLink consolidation

In a move aimed at greater economy while ensuring a strong program for students and families, HomeLink Battle Ground is being folded into River HomeLink on the Maple Grove campus. The HomeLink program is a parent-partnered K-12 school. Enrollment is projected to be slightly more than 600 (head count), up from a total head count for the two HomeLink schools of 565 at the end of last school year.

School boundary changes

Due to shifts in populations and in school choices, plus the restructuring of Maple Grove, the attendance-area boundaries for every primary and middle school in the district except Amboy and Yacolt have undergone some adjustments. Parents with questions may call the transportation and boundaries office at (360) 885-6577.

New school administrators

Here’s a list of changes in principals, assistant principals and district administrators in the district as of Aug. 23, with a few additional appointments still to be made:

• Denny Waters, from assistant principal at Battle Ground High School to school district director of special education;

• Bruce Kelley, from district director of assessment and research to district executive director of school improvement and first-year director of restructured Maple Grove K-8 school;

• Michelle Reinhardt, from assistant principal of Daybreak Primary to assistant principal of Maple Grove K-8;

• Barbara Baird, from principal at the former Maple Grove Primary to district director of student support services;

• Bill Penrose, from principal of the former Maple Grove Middle to principal of Summit View (alternative) High/Middle School;

• Allison Tuchardt, from coordinator in Learning Support Programs to assistant director of assessment and research;

• Nealane Riem, from assistant principal at Maple Grove Primary to assistant principal at Pleasant Valley Primary;

• Peter Fallaw, from assistant principal at Maple Grove Middle to assistant principal at Daybreak Middle;

• Nick Krause, from assistant principal at Chief Umtuch Middle to assistant principal at Laurin Middle;

• Steve Hoskins, from assistant principal at Laurin Middle to assistant principal at Pleasant Valley Middle;

• Sue Fine, from assistant principal at both Pleasant Valley schools to assistant principal at Battle Ground High School;

• Stephanie Watts, from physical education teacher at Washougal High School to assistant principal at Prairie High School;

• Ryan Cowl, from assistant principal at both Tukes Valley schools to full-time assistant principal at Tukes Valley Middle.