FW School Board holds elections, shares update on graduation rates

The Federal Way School Board held their elections on Dec. 17 and heard an update about high school graduation focuses.

Dr. Jennifer Jones was re-elected as board president with a vote of 3-2. Trudy Davis retained the vice presidency and Luckisha Phillips kept her role as legislative representative, both with votes of 3-1.

Trudy Davis nominated board member Quentin Morris for WIAA (Washington Interscholastic Activities Association) representative and he was elected for that role unanimously.

Joan Marie Murphy nominated Morris for president, vice president and legislative representative, stating: “This is his fourth year. I think he should have an opportunity to be in the leadership role.” Murphy also cast the only vote for Morris on the latter of those two positions as he declined to vote.

Graduation focus

According to a presentation from the school district, graduation rates in Federal Way can be complex because the percentage includes students who had no way to graduate with their class, along with those who transfer out of the district without notification.

As just one example, “many students enrolled with us in their senior year with credit deficiencies, which make that impossible for them to actually graduate with that class,” said Deputy Superintendent Marla Newton at the school board meeting.

These students are often transferring from other states or internationally, Newton said. Sometimes the gap in credits is simply a matter of different course requirements, while other times a language barrier or even a lack of any formal education can require more time to catch up, Newton said.

Other students that have nontraditional graduation pathways include some students who attend the Employment & Transition Program, which is designed to meet the needs of students with developmental disabilities past their high school years.

With all this in mind, the district shared how it is focusing on increasing graduation rates. Some changes include graduation assurance meetings, a new data dashboard and an increased focus on freshmen passing all their classes to make sure they get off to a good start — with an emphasis on algebra especially.

Co-taught classes have higher pass rates, according to the district, by anywhere between 10% to 30%.

One strategy was shared by Todd Beamer High School Principal Travis Savala, whose school was the host location for the board meeting. With a new co-teaching program, they’ve seen higher pass rates in both algebra and ELA classes of between 10%-30%, Savala told the school board.

This strategy involves having multiple teachers collaborate to lead the same classroom. To train more of their teachers on the practice, Savala told the board about professional development they did with teachers at Sunnycrest Elementary.

“It was wonderful to get both the elementary and the high school teachers together,” Savala said, adding that it gave them the chance to “get the different perspectives and really have those who are experienced co-teachers share some of some pointers with those who are new.”

One of the benefits is that it provides “more opportunities for scholars and creates more one-on-one opportunities to get feedback and to get support from teachers.”

Savala also shared some positive progress at Todd Beamer with a reduction in escalations at school, including “less than half as many incidents compared to last year with student to student conflict and physical altercations,” and “a 38% reduction in the number of students who have received a suspension compared to this point last year.”

This success has come in part from “being intentional about our systems to make this school more safe and welcoming environment for all our scholars,” Savala said.

School board member Luckisha Phillips and Superintendent Dr. Dani Pfeiffer meet a student receiving recognition for her swimming wins at the Dec. 17 school board meeting.