Times/News

Students and teachers at Tyee High School in SeaTac will form four small learning communities when Highline district schools resume classes on Wednesday, Sept. 7.

The new structure is an abrupt departure from the way comprehensive high schools have operated in the past.

In a "comprehensive" high school, each student takes up to six classes per day in varying classrooms with different teachers and classmates.

The small learning communities will keep groups of about 400 students together with the same teachers on the larger Tyee campus.

The idea is to give students more individualized instruction. Educators say the new learning communities will especially help minority students and those in danger of dropping out.

Tyee began the new program a week after test results from last spring's Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) revealed that Tyee students in nine subcategories did not make "adequate yearly progress."

This places Tyee in Step 2 under the federal "Leave No Child Behind" Act. The step means Tyee must continue to allow students to transfer to another school of their choice and now must provide tutoring for some students.

Out of 37 subcategories, Tyee failed to make sufficient progress in math for all students, Asian/Pacific Islanders, blacks, Hispanics, whites, English Language Learners and low income students.

Adequate progress was also not made in reading among black and English Language Learner students.

Five other Highline schools also face federal sanctions based on the 2004-2005 WASL results.

The schools are Cascade Middle in North Highline, Chinook Middle in North Highline, Midway Intermediate in Des Moines, Mt. Rainier High in Des Moines and Pacific Middle in Des Moines.

As schools under step one sanctions, Midway and Mt. Rainier must offer students the choice of transferring to other schools.

Pacific and Cascade are in step two with the same requirements as Tyee.

District spokeswoman Catherine Carbone Rogers pointed out that while Pacific did not make adequate progress among black students in math, overall reading scores were up 17 points in reading and 13 points in math.

"You can't call it a failing school with those increases in scores," Rogers declared.

Chinook, next door to Tyee, is now in Step 3 and must change curriculum or instruction to improve student learning.

Rogers emphasized that WASL standards were raised in the spring test so students scores could have increased but not enough to be considered adequate yearly progress.

She also singled out WASL scores at Olympic Intermediate which jumped 18 points in reading, 31 points in math and 13 points in writing.

"That's huge growth," Rogers noted.

About 60 per cent of Olympic students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches. About a quarter of the students are enrolled in English Language Learner courses.

Overall, Highline students improved WASL reading scores, but math scores need improvement, according to Rogers.

"Our students responded to our reading initiative," Rogers said. "We will apply the same principles to a math initiative and are confident our students will respond in the same way."

The WASL tests are taken each spring by fourth, seventh and tenth-graders. Beginning with the class of 2008, 10th graders must meet WASL state standards in all subjects testedto graduate.

The students will be allowed to retake the test.

All Tyee students are enrolled in one of three small learning communities - Global Connections, Odyssey or Citizenship and Empowerment.

Ninth- and 10th-graders at Evergreen also now belong to one of three communities. They are Technical, Engineering and Design; Health Sciences and Human Services; and Arts and Academics.

Ninth-graders at Highline High are grouped into academies with the same teachers.

According to Bill Crossman, district director of high school design and alternative education, Highline High plans to go "wall to wall" beginning in Sept. 2006 with all grades split into four learning communities.

Mt. Rainier ninth graders belong to two academies with some tenth-graders part of a learning community started last year.

Although Tyee will not be offering any honors classes this year, Highline High has doubled its number of advanced placement classes, Crossman noted.

"We are struggling with the (honors) issue," Crossman said. "We want to receive community input."

The first day of Highline's new school year features several other changes besides the high school learning communities.

Students at North Hill Elementary in Des Moines and Mount View Elementary in North Highline return to newly-built schools.

North Hill and Olympic students are combined into the brand new North Hill building after Olympic was closed in June.

Ribbon cutting ceremonies will be held at North Hill on Sept. 7 and Mount View on Sept. 8. Both ceremonies begin at 5:30 p.m.

Students from Sunnydale and Salmon Creek have transferred into different schools after their buildings were also closed in June.

Olympic is the new home for Mt. Rainier High students while their school is being rebuilt. The $73 million Des Moines high school is set to be completed in Sept. 2007.

Almost 3,000 Tukwila district students resumed classes on Sept. 6 at Foster High, Showalter Middle and three elementaries.

No Tukwila schools are facing federal improvement sanctions this year, according to Sharon Manion, Tukwila director of learning and teaching.

Three of the district's five schools did not make adequate yearly progress this year, but schools have to fail two years in a row before the sanctions are imposed, she said.

The three are Foster High, Showalter Middle and Thorndyke Elementary.

Foster missed adequate progress only in math among black students, she said. The district is appealing Foster's designation.

Eric Mathison can be reached at hteditor@robinsonnews.com, or at 206-444-4873.