Last week Highline Public Schools Superintendent gave her annual ‘State of Our Schools’ speech at the Museum of Flight. Here’s a video of her full speech, followed by what the school district posted on its website: [vimeo width=”500″ height=”400″]http://vimeo.com/109932368[/vimeo]
Superintendent Susan Enfield shared Highline’s progress on its goals for students in her annual State of Our Schools address on October 23 at The Museum of Flight. Dr. Enfield noted progress toward the goal that 19 out of 20 students in last year’s kindergarten class with meet or exceed standards in all core subjects by the end of grade three. She told attendees that last fall only 15% of students entering kindergarten at White Center Heights Elementary were prepared to learn; but with hard work from teachers, staff, and students, nearly 90% were prepared to enter first grade by the end of the year. “This year we have first-graders in Highline who are capable of more than any other first-graders in the past,” said Dr. Enfield. “We are incredibly proud of the early learning work that is happening in Highline. It is truly transformational.” Dr. Enfield also acknowledged disappointing progress toward the goal of ensuring that 19 out of 20 of last year’s ninth-grade students graduate prepared to choose their future. “We put success deans in schools and we monitored ninth-graders every two weeks, but we barely moved the needle,” said Dr. Enfield. “Rather than sit around and bemoan the fact that we hadn’t achieved the success we wanted, our teachers and staff came together to do something different.” This fall, both Mount Rainier High School and Highline High School launched ninth-grade academies, where teacher teams are assigned to a specific group of freshmen. This new model is already proving successful at Highline, where 30% fewer freshman are failing classes at mid-term. “While we have challenges in Highline, we are on the right track. We have dedicated people who are doing extraordinary work each and every day on behalf of our children,” said Dr. Enfield.]]>
