Thu Mar 27 2025, 6:30pm
Woodland School District Board Meeting Room 800 Third Street, Woodland, WA
Regular Meeting

ACTION ITEMS

Approval of ALE Program

Alternative Learning Experience Annual Report

Woodland School District

Prepared by Jake Hall, Executive Director of Learning Supports, and Dr. Phil Pearson, TEAM HS Principal

Lewis River Academy 2024-25 Annual Board Report per Policy 2255

Lewis River Academy -- Grades K-8

From October 2023 to June 2024, Lewis River Academy has served students Kindergarten through Eighth Grade with 3 certified teachers. Two of the teachers were part time (0.6 FTE and 0.4 FTE), and the third teacher was full time. This was an equivalent of 2.0 FTE certificated teachers for the K-8 alternative learning program.

LRA started this school year with 1.6 FTE certified teachers, one part time for 0.6 FTE and the other full time. Due to increased enrollment, LRA increased staffing in October 2024 by 0.2 FTE of a teacher. 

LRA currently has two certified teachers working the equivalent of 1.8 FTE teaching staff -- one working 0.8 FTE, and one working 1.0 FTE. 

Month and Year

Student Headcount

FTE Claimed For Basic Funding

Ratio

Certified Instructional Staff : Student Headcount

January 2024

56

52.9

1:26.5

February 2024

55

52.2

1:26.1

March 2024

55

52.2

1:26.1

April 2024

58

54.48

1:27.2

May 2024

56

51.31

1:25.7

June 2024

56

51.31

1:25.7

September 2024

43

40.04

1:25

October 2024

43

39.42

1:21.9

November 2024

41

37.72

1:21

December 2024

41

37.72

1:21

January 2025

40

36.47

1:20.3


Description of how Lewis River Academy supports the overall goals for student achievement:

Lewis River Academy (LRA) recognizes and supports family choice education where parents are the first and most important educators for their children. Through LRA, families can enjoy the benefits of being highly involved in their child's learning while accessing the resources made available to all public school students in Washington State.

Families are involved in the learning of students in LRA as “learning coaches” in the teaching and student learning. From the intake meeting to the weekly check-ins, LRA staff promote family partnerships as a necessity for a student to successfully grow academically in our home study program.

Founding Principles:

  • We recognize the parent as the first and most important educator. We are here to offer support, knowledge, feedback and guidance.
  • We recognize that all students develop and learn differently, at different rates. It is our goal to empower each student with the educational tools necessary to learn and succeed.
  • We recognize the teacher as a person of many roles including advisor, supporter, observer, learner, and facilitator. Teachers have the unique opportunity to guide and support our families and are always expected to act in the family’s best interest.
  • We encourage each parent’s active participation, and allow both parents and students a voice in the program development.
  • We recognize that in order to run our program successfully we need the input, respect, and cooperation of students, parents, teachers, and administrators, as well as any other staff or community members who may participate.
  • Since the program is a partnership, we encourage parent involvement. 

At Lewis River Academy, we meet virtually and in-person with students and families. Students and families regularly report to LRA staff that they appreciate individual teaching and learning time as well as whole class time through Google Meet and in the LRA classrooms. LRA staff partner with families to work together to make LRA a great alternative learning option for students. 

LRA certificated teachers meet with families to provide the following services:

  • create an environment of respect and instructional growth
  • identify appropriate curriculum and academic goals
  • develop a Written Student Learning Plan (parents and students may assist)
  • determine appropriate instructional materials
  • supervise, monitor, evaluate, and document the student's progress towards goals
  • provide encouragement, academic support, and insight from their own teaching experiences
  • provide one-on-one or group tutoring through Google Meet
  • assist in career guidance and high school and beyond plans

Lewis River Academy School Improvement Plan Goals:

Lewis River Academy conducted a self-review of the school's program. As part of the school assessment, we considered data such as monthly progress report data, weekly Check-Ins with all families regarding student progress, and Written Student Learning Plans. Based on the data, we created the following School Improvement Plan Goals: 

  • During the 2024-25 school year, the number of students in unsatisfactory progress in any month will not exceed 10% of our entire student population. (Career)
  • Over the 2024-25 school year, at least 90% of LRA students and families will participate in Monthly Progress Conferences (MPCs). (Life)
  • By June 2025, students enrolled in LRA for the 2024-25 school year will have completed at least 90% of their mastery-based Math courses. (College)

TEAM High School 2024-25 Annual Board Report per Policy 2255

TEAM High School -- Grades 9-12

For the 2022-23 school year, TEAM High School served students 9th through 12th grade with three certificated teachers and two classified staff. 

For the 2023-24 school year, TEAM High School serves students 9th through 12th grade with two certificated teachers and two classified staff. 

For the 2024-25 school year, TEAM High School serves students 9th through 12th grade with two certificated teachers and two classified staff. 

Month and Year

Student Headcount

FTE Claimed For Basic Funding

Ratio

Certified Instructional Staff : Student Headcount

January 2024

103

93.8

1:46.9

February 2024

98

88.83

1:44.41

March 2024

91

82.89

1:41.45

April 2024

93

85.80

1:42.90

May 2024

88

80.48

1:40.24

June 2024

87

79.65

1:39.83

September 2024

83

77.67

1:38.84

October 2024

95

88.65

1:44.33

November 2024

100

91.52

1:45.76

December 2024

97

88.18

1:44.09

January 2025

95

86.50

1:43.25

Woodland School District Vision

The Woodland School District Vision is a guide for our work in improving TEAM High School:

91porn, in partnership with families and the community, will create a PreK-12 system that serves and supports ALL children—and ensures that EACH child has FULL access to, is engaged in, and obtains an excellent education that prepares them for responsible citizenship and a future of adaptability and success in life and their chosen endeavors.

Areas of Strength at TEAM High School

TEAM High School has increased the four-year graduation rate from 14.8% in 2014 to 66% in 2022 to 70% in 2024. The increase in TEAM’s four-year graduation rate is directly impacting the increase of Woodland School District’s graduation rate. As a result of this dramatic increase, TEAM is no longer identified as a tier 3 school by OSPI. This does carry some negative financial implications (TEAM no longer qualifies for a specific assistance grant). However, the overall positive impact on students far outweighs the negatives. 

ALE law requires that TEAM students have two way communication with TEAM staff centered around their learning. Historically, it has been a challenge to get students to complete that communication cycle in a documentable way. This past year, TEAM staff, in cooperation with WSD’s technology team, implemented a change in procedure that ensured that that loop was closed each week before students were able to proceed on their week’s work. As a result, virtually every student now successfully completes the required two way communication each week. This, in combination with TEAM’s existing 9-week intervention cycle, has resulted in the graduation rates noted above and a historically low rate of students being withdrawn from TEAM due to lack of progress. 

TEAM HS staff have recently earned more professional certification and have been advancing in ongoing Professional Development. Examples of this are: National Board Teacher status earned, multiple secondary endorsements earned, and active participation in regional and state ALE Professional Development/conferences/workshops. We will continue to work on these Professional Development efforts. We are measuring the effects of these Professional Development efforts through tracking graduation rates, measurable endorsements earned by staff and successful ALE compliance audits.

Description of how TEAM High School supports the overall goals for student achievement:

In October 2022, the Woodland School Board approved School Improvement Plans for each school in the district which established performance goals. One of those performance goals is Graduation Rate:  

  • By 2027 the overall district four-year graduation rate will be at or above 90%.
  • By 2027 the overall district extended (5-7 year) graduation rate will be at or above 95%.

As noted above, the graduation rate at TEAM High School has improved year over year. This improvement in graduation rate bolsters the overall graduation rate of Woodland School District and is the result of persistent efforts by TEAM staff to retain and engage students. As one example, TEAM High School’s 9-week intervention system provides for multiple points of family contact and multiple opportunities for students to recover to a point of adequate academic progress. A second example has also been noted above. Changes to procedure have resulted in a near 100% rate of completion of the required 2 way weekly communication between TEAM staff and students. Though attendance at TEAM High School is measured differently, when more students remain engaged at TEAM the overall rate of attendance, engagement, and graduation across the district improve. 

TEAM High School Self Evaluation Report

The following school improvement goals and mid year progress are reported for TEAM High School: 

  • TEAM High School will increase the overall rate of state testing and ASVAB participation. We believe that the root cause of non-participation with various standardized exams (eg. SBA, ASVAB) is gaps in communication with students. Technology tools (eg. google email merge) will be used to create and implement a comprehensive communication plan. Students will benefit from additional opportunities to satisfy state graduation requirements, and TEAM will benefit from the use of a more comprehensive achievement data set. TEAM staff has organized 1 ASVAB administration per month. Approximately 30 TEAM students have taken the ASVAB this school year. 
  • TEAM High School will decrease the amount of students withdrawn from TEAM High School for Lack of Progress from an average of 3.7 per month to 2.5 per month by May 2025 in collaboration with students, families, and Woodland High School counselors, teachers, and administrators for all students, including students with Individual Education Programs. Through the end of January, 2025, 16 TEAM students have been withdrawn due to lack of academic progress. This equates to an average of 3.2 students per month withdrawn due to lack of progress.

Student agency suffers when students do not see the connection between present activities (school work) and future activities (post-secondary plans). This is especially true for traditionally underserved populations who are often over represented in ALE settings like TEAM. To address this critical need, TEAM high school will increase the  rate of students who leave high school with a well-defined post-secondary  pathway from current baseline to 100% by the end of 2025.. The addition of a time-share, dedicated counselor at TEAM has dramatically increased student access to course planning assistance, post secondary planning assistance, and mental health counseling and referrals. Some of the activities planned around this goal have, however, been slow in getting launched. Struggles persist with regards to this goal around managing work flow and task management for the split TEAM/WMS counselor. Nonetheless, this goal remains an important part of the TEAM school improvement plan.

Administrative Recommendation /MOTION/ "I move we approve the ALE Program as presented."