BILL REQ. #: S-1701.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/21/11.
AN ACT Relating to innovation schools; adding a new section to chapter 28A.300 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 (1) The legislature finds that Washington
has a long history of providing support for a wide range of innovative
schools and programs and that these can and do operate successfully in
public school districts under the authority of locally elected boards
of directors.
(2) Examples of innovation schools and programs can be found across
the state including, but not limited to:
(a) The Vancouver school of arts and academics, in the Vancouver
school district, offers students beginning in sixth grade the
opportunity to immerse themselves in the full range of the arts,
including dance, music, theater, literary arts, visual arts, and moving
image arts, as well as all levels of core academic courses;
(b) Thornton Creek elementary school, in the Seattle school
district, offers a parent-initiated learning option based on the
expeditionary learning outward bound model;
(c) The technology access foundation academy, a unique public-private partnership with the Federal Way school district, offers a
rigorous and relevant curriculum through project-based learning, full
integration of technology, and a small learning community intended to
provide middle and high school students the opportunity for success in
school and college;
(d) Talbot Hill elementary school, in the Renton school district,
enables students to participate in a microsociety program that includes
selecting a government, conducting business and encouraging
entrepreneurialism, and providing community services such as banking,
newspaper, post office, and courts;
(e) The Tacoma school of the arts, in the Tacoma school district,
is a cohesive, full-time learning community to study the full range of
humanities, mathematics, science, and language, as well as build a
broad foundation in all forms of the arts, culminating with an in-depth
senior arts project that showcases each student's talent and interest;
(f) The SPRINT program at Shaw middle school, in the Spokane school
district, provides an alternative learning community for students in
seventh and eighth grade proposed and created by a group of parents who
wish to be very actively involved in their students' education;
(g) Puesta del Sol elementary school, in the Bellevue school
district, offers a diverse multicultural program and Spanish language
immersion beginning in kindergarten;
(h) The Washington national guard youth challenge program, operated
in collaboration with the Bremerton school district, offers high-risk
youth a rigorous and structured residential program that builds
students' academic, social, and emotional skills, and physical fitness
while providing up to one year of high school credits toward
graduation;
(i) The Lincoln center program, at Lincoln high school in the
Tacoma school district, an extended day program that has virtually
eliminated the academic achievement gap and significantly boosted
attendance and test scores for racially diverse, low-income, and highly
mobile students;
(j) Delta high school, a science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics-focused school option for students in the Tri-Cities,
operates in cooperation with three school districts, the regional skill
center, local colleges and universities, and the business community;
(k) Aviation high school, in the Highline school district, offers
a project-based curriculum and learning environment centered on an
aviation and aeronautics theme with strong business and community
support;
(l) Environmental and adventure school, in the Lake Washington
school district, focuses on environmental and adventure education with
a curriculum built around the theme of the interdependence of people
and their environment, allowing students to explore this theme through
outdoor education sessions and stewardship projects in partnership with
community organizations;
(m) Explorer community school, in the Lake Washington school
district, integrates parents, who each work a half-day in the classroom
every week to forge a learning partnership, provides opportunities for
each child to realize his or her own individual potential, and fosters
an atmosphere of cooperation and trust;
(n) Futures school, in the Lake Washington school district, offers
an alternative high school experience in a smaller environment and
gives students a jump-start with scheduling flexibility and accelerated
education to earn additional credits;
(o) International community school, in the Lake Washington school
district, provides educational continuity and long-term relationships
for its students with an integrated six-year course of study so that
each year's knowledge builds upon the previous years' foundation and
incorporates a global education that draws from sources around the
world;
(p) The international school, in the Bellevue school district,
focuses on the phenomenon of globalization, teaches the principles of
global citizenship, involves the community, students, parents, faculty,
and administration, and encourages students to accept their
responsibility as members of the community through active service;
(q) Northstar junior high school, in the Lake Washington school
district, limits enrollment to thirty students per grade level to give
personalized attention that focuses on moral development, nurturing
individual talents, and encouraging academic growth;
(r) The Tacoma science and math institute, in the Tacoma school
district and located at Point Defiance Park, integrates environmental
and marine studies through community partnerships and hands-on learning
with classes at the marine center, zoo, and aquarium as part of the
schedule;
(s) Stella schola, a middle school in the Lake Washington school
district, exposes students to classic literature and Latin courses
through personalized learning environments, and where students learn
through historical themes to make better choices and decisions in the
future;
(t) The technology education and literacy in schools program, in
the Issaquah school district, partners with Microsoft employees who
mentor students and teach science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics classes in web design and computer science;
(u) The biotech pathway partnership program, at Glacier Peak high
school in the Snohomish school district, offers students a state-of-the-art opportunity to prepare for work in the biotechnology field and
was created in partnership with community entities such as Fred
Hutchison cancer research center, Seattle biomedical research
institute, University of Washington, and amgen;
(v) The machining pathways program, at Snohomish high school in the
Snohomish school district, immerses students in a computer-based, high-technology machining, programming, and engineering design course and
allows students to earn credits in advanced manufacturing technology
through Everett Community College;
(w) The big picture school, in the Bellevue school district, will
feature a small, personalized environment, project-based college
preparatory curriculum, technology integration, and a network of local
partnerships offering college and career preparation (opening September
2011);
(x) The Lt. General William H. Harrison preparatory school, a sixth
to twelfth grade choice school in the Clover Park school district,
focuses on high academic rigor and accountability enriched through
technology, personal projects, and partnership with the Clover Park
Technical College; and
(y) The lighthouse cooperative, a kindergarten to fifth grade
community in the Everett school district, provides opportunities for
families to work with teachers to inspire creativity, active
experimenting, and independent thinking.
(3) Therefore, the legislature intends to encourage additional
innovation schools and programs by disseminating information about
current models and recognizing the effort and commitment that goes into
their creation and operation.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 28A.300
RCW to read as follows:
(1) The legislature finds that innovation schools and programs
accomplish the following objectives:
(a) Provide students and parents with a diverse array of
educational options;
(b) Promote active and meaningful parent and community involvement
and partnership with local schools;
(c) Serve as laboratories for educational experimentation and
innovation;
(d) Respond and adapt to different styles, approaches, and
objectives of learning;
(e) Hold students and educators to high expectations and standards;
(f) Maintain accountability to the citizens through the locally
elected school directors; and
(g) Encourage and facilitate bold, creative, and innovative
educational ideas.
(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
develop basic criteria and a streamlined review process for identifying
Washington innovation schools and programs. Any public school,
including those with institution of higher education partners, may be
nominated by a community, organization, school district, institution of
higher education, or through self-nomination to be designated as a
Washington innovation school or program. If the office of the
superintendent of public instruction finds that the school or program
meets the criteria, the school or program shall receive a designation
as a Washington innovation school or program.
(3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall:
(a) Create a page on its web site to highlight examples of
Washington innovation schools and programs, including those with
institution of higher education partners, that includes links to
research literature and national best practices, as well as summary
information and links to the web sites of Washington innovation schools
and programs. The office is encouraged to offer an educational
administrator intern the opportunity to create the web page as a
project toward completion of his or her administrator certificate; and
(b) Publicize the Washington innovation school designation and
encourage schools, communities, institutions of higher education, and
school districts to access the web site and create additional models of
innovation.
(4) The office of the superintendent of public instruction is
encouraged to identify annually ten innovation schools or programs that
exemplify the values of innovation schools and programs.