March Luncheon

Marisol Rodriguez-Price and Sarah Duran 

The program today was Heritage University, with Marisol Rodriguez-Price and Sarah Duran.

Heritage, 40 years young, is based in Toppenish, but they have opened a thriving satellite campus on the larger campus of Columbia Basin College in Pasco.

Heritage offers programs where Associate Degrees or Bachelor's Degrees can be turned into a master's. While they offer an extensive degree program, our interests lie mainly with those focused on a future career as a professional educator.

The Masters In Teaching Program (MIT), is designed for students wanting to obtain Washington State Certification for a career in education. They may be undergraduates to begin, or they may have earned Bachelor's degrees years before, but have decided they want to teach.

We wish them all great success!!     

February Snow Storm

Snow in February this year resulted in  BFSRA cancelling both its Executive Board Meeting and its monthly luncheon: schools were closed, roads were closed, record auto collisions and slide-offs into the ditches all around town. Oddly enough, I didn't get any pics this time, but I have this one I took of Badger Mountain February 5th of 2017.  I'm thinking this February was worse. Especially since most of us don't even remember the snow we had two years ago.  

Superintendents' Panel

The big three school districts, Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland, shared their superintendents with us at the January luncheon to bring members up to date regarding their individual districts. Unfortunately, yours truly couldn't attend the luncheon, so until I could pick up a copy of the approved minutes, there wasn't much to report. I have no pics from that event, so I'll post up a few links that maybe will help you get caught up.

Dave Bond, Kennewick School District Superintendent, presented current bond projects planned for the district which includes replacing Kennewick High School (my old alma mater . . . it needed major work when I was there as a senior in 1964!), update Southridge and Kamiakin High Schools, replace Amistad Elementary, construct a new elementary, and renovations on Ridgeview Elementary. Update: The bond passed on February 25th with a 69.2% approval rating.

Learn more about the schools in Kennewick, here. 

Michelle Whitney, Pasco School District Superintendent, spoke to the physical and emotional safety of their students. A District Level Crisis response plan has been initiated.  This plan addresses Evacuation, Lock Down procedures, Sheltering in Place and various drill.  The Pasco Police Department, Resource Officers, Outside Third Party Reviews, and Safety Procedures are being instituted for the school district. Lock down buttons in security foyers are in place, or soon will be in all buildings. Update: The bond was a cliffhanger, passing at 60.07 %. 

Learn more about the schools in Pasco, here. 

Rick Schulte

Rick Schulte, who will retire at the end of the year as the Richland School District Superintendent, and his replacement, Nicole Mactavish, reported that the Kindergarten program has been expanded by one semester. Richland did not run a bond this year.
                                            Learn more about the schools in Richland, here.

Nicole Mactavish