Two schools win awards
Bainbridge’s Odyssey Multiage Program and Eagle Harbor High School have been recognized as “Schools of Distinction” by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson.
The schools were among 98 statewide to receive Learning Improvement Awards for student achievement on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, at a ceremony at Garfield High School in Seattle, Wednesday.
“Students and teachers and schools continue to make incredible progress,” Bergeson said. “This award celebrates the real gains these schools have made, gains that aren’t recognized by the federal No Child Left Behind law or its ‘Adequate Yearly Progress’ calculations.”
To be considered for the award, each school had to exceed the state average performance in 4th-, 7th- or 10th-grade reading and math, as measured by the spring 2008 WASL. Schools that met the average performance requirements were then evaluated for WASL performance during the last six years. The top 5 percent of elementary, middle and high schools, as well as alternative schools, were given awards.
This was the first year either of the Bainbridge schools were recognized. Representatives from Eagle Harbor High School and Odyssey Multiage Program will be recognized at the school board meeting on Oct. 30.
Forum series starts Sunday
What do two historians, a lawyer, a grammarian, and storyteller have in common? They’re all participants in the 2008 Library Speakers Forum series. Now in its 11th year, the series, which begins this weekend, encourages islanders to exercise their Sunday afternoon intellects.
“It turned into a somewhat eclectic group, with a little bit of a theme,” Pamela McClaran said.
McClaran, a member of the Bainbridge Public Library board of directors, teamed with fellow board member George Edensword-Breck this year to put together the roster of five individuals notable for their accomplishments and in some cases, their connection to the island.
The first talk, at 4 p.m. tomorrow in the library, is by Mary Woodward, island native and author of the recently published “In Defense of Our Neighbors: The Walt and Milly Woodward Story.”
Following Woodward, lawyer and professor Hugh Spitzer will discuss the impact of the late-19th century populist movement on Washington’s constitution.
In January comes author Linda Carlson discussing “The Women Who Built Western Washington,” followed by islander Paul Brians in February offering “unthreatening and helpful guidance for English speakers.”
Rounding out the series in March will be musician and storyteller Karen Haas with a dramatic presentation of Narcissa Whitman, a missionary to the Cayuse in what is now Eastern Washington. She and Carlson both appear courtesy of the Humanities Washington “Inquiring Mind” series.
Tickets for the series, all at 4 p.m. on Sundays are $40, or $10 for individual talks. All proceeds go toward the ongoing maintenance of the library and its grounds.
For more information, call the library at 842-4162.
– Lindsay Latimore
BIFD, city will team on IT
The city and the Bainbridge Fire Department have entered into a joint pilot program which will provide information technology support to the department.
The agreement allows a city IT professional to work with the BIFD once a week to maintain servers and help the department transition from DLS to a fiber-optic network. The new network is needed to cope with large amounts of data on a new geographical information system (GIS). GIS will map all of Bainbridge, pinpoint hydrant locations, and predict future fire service needs.
“Basically, if our server goes down we have someone on the island who can respond to make sure emergency operations are not hampered,” said Carol Mezen of the BIFD. “That is a huge benefit to us and every citizen.”
– Sean Roach
