Vancouver Public Schools will dramatically overhaul student learning and faculty controls at Discovery and Jason Lee middle schools next school year, prodded both by penalties and incentives set by Bush and Obama administration federal policies.
The impact, mostly in relocation of many teachers and other staff, is bound to ripple through more Vancouver schools too. Here is what is happening first:
• Principals at both middle schools are out: Chris Olsen (Discovery) and Susan Cone (Jason Lee) will head for Thomas Jefferson and Alki middle schools, respectively, next summer. Curtis Smith, current Alki leader, will replace Olsen; Marianne Thompson, Jefferson principal, succeeds Cone.
• Teachers at Discovery and Jason Lee will be evaluated more closely than ever on student test performance, with merit rewards or forced removal in the balance.
This new scrutiny could prompt mass transfers of teachers among Vancouver schools this summer — including at least half of current Discovery and Jason Lee faculty under one reform plan being considered.
• Students will see some combination of longer class periods, longer school days, additional tutoring and other enhanced learning options. Teachers will get more professional training and the schools will strengthen community partnerships.
The district mailed a brief explanatory letter to school parents on Tuesday. Staff at the schools were briefed following class the same day.
The intervention stems from Washington state measures — chiefly, Washington Assessment of Student Learning, or WASL, exam scores — that put Discovery and Jason Lee among the bottom 5 percent of “persistently lowest-achieving secondary schools” (middle or high schools) over several years’ time.
For more, see Thursday’s Columbian.
