Press Release
Contact:  Arlene Hulten
Date:  May 21, 2008

 

Lake’s Safe Schools Program receives Community Partnership Award And Executive Director Rob Manahan Receives Academic Leadership Award

Annually, the Washington Association of School Administrators recognizes regional leadership in the areas of Community Partnerships and Student Achievement Leadership.  This year’s awards were presented to Lake Stevens Police Chief Randy Celori for the Safe Schools Initiative and Executive Director of Mid Level Teaching and Learning, Rob Manahan.

The Safe Schools Initiative
Led by Lake Stevens Police Chief Randy Celori, the district partnered with leaders from the police, fire and county probation departments to attend a five-day intensive training on Safe Schools, provided by the US Department of Justice. 

Superintendent David Burgess and Lake Stevens Chief of Police Randy Celori

Equipped with information from the training, the police department and district have developed an Interagency Safe Schools Team that meets monthly to proactively collaborate and share information about student and school issues. Lake Stevens is one of eight teams across the nation that received this training which implements the most current safety standards for schools.
The mission of the team is to provide a comprehensive interagency strategy designed to proactively collaborate, share information, and make decisions to support and maintain a safe and effective school environment.

The goals of the team are to demonstrate standards of excellence that promote effective communication between partner agencies; To utilize interagency communication and strategy to identify and address school and community safety issues;  To proactively address and evaluate school and student safety issues and concerns using a team collaboration model; To encourage the sharing of appropriate information among community leaders, organizations and schools to make more informed decisions regarding children and families.
The Lake Stevens School District is grateful to Chief Celori for his leadership and commitment to the safety of its students and community. 

Student Achievement Leadership Award -  UW Math Partnership
Spearheaded by Robert Manahan, Executive Director of Mid Level Teaching and Learning, the University of Washington partnered with the district to provide on site training and leadership strategies to improve teaching and student learning in mathematics.

This year-long program targeted two critical components:   Math content training for teachers, and school administrative leadership training.

Twenty-five elementary through secondary math teachers as well as 12 administrators learned side-by-side over the course of eight training days (60 hours). Topics included increasing the depth of student thinking processes and building strategies to increase meaningful student engagement and connections. Teachers and administrators developed action plans and examined case studies as part of this work and were involved in observations and debriefs with the coach on seven additional days (up to 20 hours) outside of the content training days.

School administrator leadership training included six follow-up sessions (40 hours) focusing on  identifying and recognizing effective math instruction, observing the coach work with teachers and act as co-observers, scripting lessons and looking for depth in mathematical thinking.

This partnership with the University of Washington was met with excitement and anticipation as teachers and administrators worked collaboratively to improve math instruction and achievement for all students.

The Student Achievement Leadership Award is presented to an individual who has provided leadership for the implementation of an innovation those results in measurable growth in student achievement.