And now a roundup of this week’s education news in Kitsap and beyond.
Follow the news as it happens at kitsapsun.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/chrishenryreporter/.
Contact Kitsap Sun education reporter Chris Henry at (360) 792-9219 or christina.henry@kitsapsun.com.
When the big one hits
A team of Kitsap Sun reporters looked at
what would happen to Kitsap County in an earthquake on the
Seattle Fault of a magnitude 7.0 or greater.
“The earthquake is a nightmare for the 40,000 students attending
schools around the county. They have been drilled in earthquake
response, and their teachers keep supplies on hand for emergencies,
but only a small percentage of school buildings were built or
retrofitted to current seismic codes, leaving the rest vulnerable
to shaking.”
Local districts have long-term plans for replacing buildings and
have identified those that are oldest and most at risk, but the
reality is replacing or retrofitting all the schools in Kitsap
County will take decades.
If you haven’t had a chance to checkout the Kitsap Sun’s
comprehensive package on “Our Big One,” I highly recommend you take
some time with it. The package is available on mobile devices but
because of the number of graphic illustrations, it may be more
easily viewed on tablets or laptops.
SK Choir Carnegie bound
South Kitsap High School’s Highlighters jazz ensemble, Chamber
Choir and Women’s Ensemble
will travel to New York City in March for an invitational
performance event at the famed Carnegie Hall. Only 16 districts in
the country made the cut.
South Kitsap Choir Boosters plans a rummage sale 3-7 p.m. Jan. 22
and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Port Orchard Pavilion.
Here, in case you missed it, is a video of the Highlighters doing
their thing.
Free, all-day kindergarten coming to
Bainbridge
The relatively affluent district is the last in Kitsap County to
offer tuition-free, all day kindergarten. The
new deal starts in the 2016-2017 school year.
The state has been ramping up its funding for all-day kindergarten,
starting with the least affluent districts. In 2015 the Legislature
agreed to cover the cost of all-day kindergarten for all districts
in the upcoming school year.
Bainbridge parents can learn about the new program at a meeting
6-7:30 p.m. Feb. 3 in the Ordway Elementary School Multipurpose
Room.
Inslee pushes for education funding plan
The Governor said he wants to
address the teacher shortage by raising beginning teacher
salaries from about $36,000 a year to $40,000 annually, in this
story by the Associated Press.
District provides counselors for students after bus
collision
A
collision Jan. 13 involving a South Kitsap school bus, a pickup
truck towing a trailer of bark and a passenger car resulted in one
student and the bus driver being taken to Harrison Medical Center.
The student was evaluated as a “precautionary” measure, according
to the Washington State Patrol.
(photo shared on Kitsap Sun’s facebook page)
Students on the bus, all from Sunnyslope Elementary School, were
safely evacuated. Counselors were available at school the next day
to support students after the accident, said district Spokeswoman
Amy Miller.
The truck’s driver was cited for driving too fast for conditions,
the WSP said.
“We are thankful that no one was severely injured and for the quick
response from South Kitsap Fire and Rescue, Washington State Patrol
and Washington State Department of Transportation,” Miller said.
“We also thank the community for their concern and well
wishes.”
Coming up next week: a roundup of bonds and levies on the Feb. 9 ballot.
