The Highline Public Schools board opened its May 6 public meeting with student musical performances and recognition of Arts Education Month before moving into discussions on teacher appreciation, nursing services, student advocacy, and concerns over the district’s continued use of the tension-wrought i-Ready educational platform.
Students from North Hill Elementary performed songs from multiple cultures and languages during the meeting, including renditions of “Thank You for Being a Friend” and “We Shall Not Be Moved.” Music teacher Leah Stevens praised the students’ abilities and highlighted the importance of arts education in the district.
“These students are extremely talented,” Stevens told the board. “They are adorable. They are precious. They are also extremely skilled.”
The meeting highlighted several recent district arts initiatives, including the expansion of mariachi programs from three secondary schools in 2023 to five schools this year: Evergreen, Highline, Mount Rainier, Cascade, and Glacier. Chinook is expected to add mariachi programming in 2027.
District officials also announced plans to expand elementary orchestra access to Mount View, Hilltop and Seahurst elementary schools after years of orchestra programming being limited primarily to Parkside and Maravista.
Teachers have reportedly received additional training in Somali, Vietnamese and Spanish music pedagogy to create more culturally responsive instruction. Secondary music teachers will also begin studying Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCU, band instruction methods and incorporate elements of those traditions into band and drumline programs.
Recognizing Teachers and Nursing Staff
The board also formally proclaimed May 4-8, 2026, as Teacher Appreciation Week, recognizing educators for their role in supporting students and public education.
“Teachers keep American democracy alive by laying the foundation for good citizenship,” the proclamation stated.
District nursing staff were also recognized during the meeting. Officials said five schools currently require full-time daily nursing support and three students receive one-to-one nursing services because of increasing medical complexity among students. The district currently employs 19 registered nurses and 16 licensed practical nurses.
Community Engagement Efforts
Board members and district staff discussed efforts to improve community engagement at schools through flexible “toolkits” rather than standardized districtwide events. Officials said the goal is to support engagement efforts already happening at individual schools while encouraging more consistent family participation.
Immigration rights advocacy also surfaced during board comments. One board member described meeting recently with a coalition of students from Federal Way, Auburn and Highline schools who advocated for increased awareness around immigration rights and community support resources.
Grading i-Ready
During public comment, community members raised concerns about the district’s use of i-Ready, an educational assessment and intervention platform. There were eight people on the list for public comment, according to Dr. Duran, and eight more queued up on the waiting list.
The first speaker, Kelly Stonelake, introduced herself as a Highline High School alum and current Highline parent. She raised concerns about i-Ready’s effectiveness and said she had “many” copies of her investigative report to share with the room on her findings. She also referenced ongoing litigation involving student data privacy concerns.
“While I understand that assessment continuity is a priority, California and Michigan recently conducted extensive reviews of tools for assessment and screening based on criteria like validity, reliability, and representative norming,” Stonelake said. “I-Ready did not make California’s list, and it appears on Michigan’s explicitly unapproved list.”
Stonelake added, “If the district believes it needs i-Ready continuity for assessment next year, I urge you to approve only the assessment-related portion.”
Another parent questioned how much screen time younger students spend completing i-Ready assessments. District staff responded that kindergarten through third-grade students typically spend about 25 to 35 minutes per subject, for reading and math assessments administered three times per year.
Paraeducators Speak Out
Brenda Limric, a paraeducator at Hilltop Elementary and parent to three Highline School District graduates, stressed the importance of valuing staff.
“I am the shop steward and executive board member of Teamsters 763, and a member of the current bargaining team,” Limric said. “I’m here tonight because classified staff are essential to fulfilling Highline’s promise to ensure every student is known by name, strength, and need. That commitment must extend to your classified staff. Know us. Value us. Invest in us. You cannot fulfill your promise to students without investing in the people that make that promise possible.”
Limric added, “We are in the front office, keeping our schools running, serving as the first point of contact for students and families, all while simultaneously supporting student health and daily operations. Classified staff are leaving Highline for neighboring districts that offer higher wages. Others don’t stay because the emotional demands of this work are not matched by the pay or working conditions.”
Limric stressed, “We do more with less in this already short-staffed system. Many of us are parents of Highline students, caregivers, working families, longtime district employees, and college graduates. All of us care deeply about our students and our community, but that care should not require financial or emotional sacrifice just to survive. Right now, morale is low. Many of us feel unseen and underappreciated.”
Paraeducator Patty Boyd said her mother graduated Highline High School in 1955, then she did the same in 1977. “I had kids that graduated from ’88 all the way to 2006. I have three grandchildren here,” Boyd said.
“I’ve been a paraeducator for over 20 years. And I will advise you, as I advise many of our paras, is we work hard, and if you are young, please do not stay in this role. You can’t afford it,” Boyd warned.
“Our single parents can’t stay here and work this job to be with their kids. We’re there every day supplying the need for our students, and right now, the need isn’t being supplied for us. I will tell our paraeducators, ‘Go get your teaching certificate. Don’t stay here,’ because it’s not doable.”
Boyd cautioned, “You are losing those paras because they can’t come in here and earn an income without working at least one additional job. I work with somebody that has three additional jobs and is going to school just to get out of here.”
North Hill Transparency
North Hill Elementary Principal Kimberly Jones and Assistant Principal Kaitlyn O’Leary will depart North Hill at the end of the 2025-26 school year to take leadership roles at Des Moines Elementary.
Katie Paulson is a mom to current and past North Hill students. She shared her reservations about the new principal search.
“When you find a team that achieves number one status while maintaining the absolute heart of their community, you don’t dismantle it, you protect it,” Paulson said. “I urge you to reconsider these reassignments and keep the leadership team at North Hill. However, if the district will not reconsider, then you must earn back our trust. We ask you allow current North Hill staff and community advocate to be formal members on the hiring committee of the next principal.”
A third-grade student at North Hill, Sarah Creer, spoke next.
“I’m here today to speak against the decision to send my principal and assistant principal to another school. I disagree that Ms. Jones and Ms. O’Leary should leave because they have been at our school for so long and made it a very good place. All the students know Ms. Jones, and she knows every one of them by name. We don’t want to lose that,” she said. Adding, “Also, you can help Des Moines Elementary find their own principal instead of giving them ours. It’s not fair to make my school have all this stress and complication, and the students will be really upset that their principal is being taken away, and that’s just not right.”
Creer concluded, “I think that you should not take away our principal but help Des Moines Elementary find their own.”
Kristen Price is a self-professed “fierce supporter” of the Highline School District and said that two of her daughters attended North Hill.
“In my conversation with Superintendent Duran yesterday, he called this a planned move. If so, why was it kept secret until after the transfer deadline? This lacks transparency and feels vindictive,” Price said, adding that the transition “… feels more like a strategic displacement.”
Looking Ahead
The next Highline School Board meeting is scheduled for May 20, 2026. School board meetings are held at the Central Office, 15675 Ambaum Boulevard SW, Burien, 98166. All regular board business meetings, work sessions and hearings are public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. School board meetings are also available via live stream.
Video
Below is the full, raw video of this meeting:
