Professional Growth Wednesdays don't just apply to West Linn-Wilsonville teachers and administrators. The day of learning is important for all district-wide staff, providing an opportunity for job-alike professionals to meet with staff across buildings and levels for professional growth. 

One example of that professional learning took place at Athey Creek Middle School Wednesday afternoon, where front office staff from across West Linn-Wilsonville gathered for a series of updates and collaboration. Administrative and Office Assistants from every WLWV school reviewed district systems, received recent changes to practice and policy, and shared insight and advice with one another.

Wilsonville High School was recently named a Unified Champion School, joining West Linn High School as one of just 126 schools in the nation to earn the prestigious distinction. Unified Sports is a program through Special Olympics that blends equal numbers of Special Olympics athletes and athletes without intellectual disabilities (also known as unified partners) into one team. Unified athletes were presented with their Champion School banner during a school assembly in December.

Wilsonville High School enjoys a Unified Soccer team for the fall season, a Unified Basketball team for the winter season, and a Unified Softball team in the spring. WHS competes against other Unified athletes across the Portland-Metro area throughout the year. Congratulations, Wilsonville High School!

Students from Wilsonville and Arts and Technology high schools received quite the boost on Monday night when their design was selected to be featured on Wilsonville's new SMART electric bus fleet.

Students from the two high schools presented their design at the Dec. 17 City Council meeting following months of hard work that date all the way back to last school year. Buses will be wrapped with the design in the spring with the unveiling of the new buses set for the end of the school year. Students will tour Gillespie Graphics headquarters where they will print and install the wraps themselves.

The team of student artists includes Leilani Bautista, Vianey Bautista, Jasleen Kaur Bhullar, Elaysia Gates, Eleanor Karrick, Angelica Maldonado, Max McGuire. A special thank you also goes to WHS Art Teacher Christopher Shotola-Hardt and ATHS Teacher Philip Clark for their support of students during their design process.

Community members can read all about possible high school options on the district website. The district will continue to seek input in the coming weeks. To provide feedback, please email Communications Director Andrew Kilstrom at kilstroa@wlwv.k12.or.us. An online survey will be available for additional input starting next week.

The West Linn-Wilsonville community began the public input process for future high school possibilities during two community forums this past week. Parents, community members, Long Range Planning Committee members, Board members, and staff convened on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 to contemplate possibilities for addressing projected high school enrollment growth in a future capital bond.

Community Forums followed the Nov. 28 Long Range Planning Committee meeting where members discussed potential options. The School Board adopted a fourth goal this summer to address facility needs through long-range capital improvements and financial planning that lead to long-term financial stability and sustainability.

With 10-year enrollment projections showing both West Linn and Wilsonville high schools more than 300 students over capacity, and the lease of Arts and Technology High School’s building expiring in 2022, the Board has suggested that the time is now to think about future high school learning spaces.

One option discussed during the two forums involved the expansion of the district’s two large high schools to accommodate more students while finding a new location for Arts and Technology High School. This option could potentially require additions to “core” facilities at either high school, including additional gymnasium space, commons areas, bathrooms, and parking.

Another option would be to expand Arts and Technology High School to approximately 500 students. This could be achieved by one of three methods: leasing or purchasing an existing building in the community, purchasing property to build a new facility, or using an existing West Linn-Wilsonville property or school building.

A third discussed option would have Arts and Technology High School take over Athey Creek Middle School. A new Athey Creek Middle School would then be built on the district’s 21-acre Dollar Street property in West Linn, moving closer to the majority of ACMS families while increasing capacity to accommodate future middle school enrollment growth. Arts and Technology would serve approximately 500 high school students, implementing CTE programming and course options outlined in the district’s recent High School Study. This option would make the new Arts and Technology High School centrally located, providing access for students on both sides of the district, while leaving flexibility to grow the school depending on enrollment needs far in the future.

Community members can read all about possible high school options on the district website. The district will continue to seek input in the coming weeks. To provide feedback, please email Communications Director Andrew Kilstrom at kilstroa@wlwv.k12.or.us. An online survey will be available for additional input starting next week.

The district will continue to gather community input as the Long Range Planning Committee and School Board continue discussions about capital projects for a potential capital bond. For more information about potential high school possibilities please visit the district website.

The Long Range Planning Committee  (LRPC) discussed potential capital projects during their regular meeting on November 28 in the event that the School Board decides the time is right for a Capital Bond. Most notably, the Long Range Planning Committee discussed possible high school learning spaces to address growing enrollment at West Linn and Wilsonville High Schools.

In preparation for a potential Capital Bond, the School Board commissioned a 10-year enrollment forecast last spring, giving the district and LRPC student growth projections across the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. The Long Range Planning Committee also completed capacity analyses of all of the district’s schools this fall to account for changes to school buildings and schedules.

During the meeting, members of the LRPC addressed those two recent reports, noting a clear need for future learning space at the primary level in Wilsonville and at the high school level in both West Linn and Wilsonville. In the School Board’s adoption of Board Goal No. 4, the Long Range Planning Committee’s purpose is to monitor school and community growth as well as project district facility needs.

LRPC members noted that the need for additional high school learning spaces has been known for a number of years as they have watched enrollment numbers climb across the district and at the two comprehensive high schools. Those factors, in addition to direction from the School Board, caused the LRPC to begin discussing the future of high school in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. [READ THE FULL STORY]

On Nov. 28, Sunset Primary played host to the West Linn and Wilsonville Rotary Clubs on behalf of the West Linn-Wilsonville School District.

It was the second time in as many years that the two rotaries have joined the district for a joint luncheon, giving the three groups time to connect and fill one another in on the important work each is doing in the West Linn-Wilsonville community. [READ THE FULL STORY]

The West Linn-Wilsonville School District hosted its fourth Health and Wellness Information Night on Tuesday, Nov. 27, providing updates on the status of the district’s Health and Wellness Plan.

Since the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, a WLWV team of counselors, teachers, and administrators have been working to learn about the new State standards, explore curricular resources, and implement practices to teach toward those standards. All Health and Wellness teachers at the secondary level are certified in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. Those teachers frequently engage in professional development and research in health and wellness curriculum.

Parents joined administrators on Tuesday night to learn about the standards and provide feedback about the implementation process of health and wellness practices throughout K-12 in the school district. The State of Oregon adopted new Health and Wellness Standards in 2016, requiring school districts across the state to approve and implement Health and Wellness Plans during the 2018-19 school year.

As the district continues the process of creating health and wellness instructional practices across the K-12 system, community members asked for additional attention to nutrition, mental health, bullying, social media, and understanding of alcohol and substance use. Community members also noted that gender identity language and discussion could be made more clear as to avoid confusion, and asked for an increased commitment to ensuring that the personal values and beliefs of individual educators do not influence the teaching of health and wellness.

The district’s comprehensive Health and Wellness Plan will continue to be refined in the coming weeks before adoption by the School Board in January. The Health and Wellness Plan is renewed every two years.

West Linn High School’s journalism students have been turning heads for years. It’s no surprise that the talented group of journalists took home a number of awards from the Regional Journalism Awards earlier this month.

Journalism students attended the Fall Media Day in Eugene in early November, participating in the Best in Show Competition. WLHS students competed against more than 600 students from all around the Pacific Northwest.

West Linn High School Broadcast students won Best in Show for their high school newscast “The Breakdown,” and the student-run online news website wlhsNOW.com won Best in Show for the High School Online category. Led by “The Breakdown” editors Rory Cheevers, Nolan Lampson, and Cameron Massey, as well as wlhsNOW.com editors Wallace Milner and Philip Chan, it was another successful showing for West Linn High School.

Yearbook, journalism, and broadcast students all contribute to both publications, with many students receiving individual awards during the prestigious competition. Congratulations, West Linn High School students!

Teachers throughout the West Linn-Wilsonville School District spent Monday learning together across a variety of subjects. From reviewing potential science units to mastering restorative practice techniques, teachers spent Nov. 19 honing their craft before they enjoyed Thanksgiving break like their students.

Teachers from all nine WLWV primary schools flocked to Boones Ferry Primary, taking part in co-learning through the lens of writer’s workshop and science. Teachers gathered across schools and grade levels, narrowing their focus on learning progressions through a student’s K-5 experience. Teachers used that focus to create potential reading units that included learning targets and success criteria.

Through teacher collaboration, educators discussed how commonality and cohesiveness can be fostered across all WLWV schools and grade levels to provide equitable and successful outcomes for all students.

Primary teachers also spent parts of their day looking at science curriculum, experimenting with potential science units they can bring to their own classrooms. With an emphasis on hands-on learning to promote student engagement, teachers are sure to impress their students when it comes time for science throughout the school year.

Over at Meridian Creek Middle School, many secondary teachers participated in professional development of their own. Similarly, grouped across schools and grade levels, teachers collaborated with one another on topics such as restorative justice, health and wellness standards, and a variety of strategies that can be used in the classroom. Teachers talked through their own classroom experiences while discussing creative solutions to events that oftentimes present themselves.

Another group of teachers, counselors, and other WLWV staff explored recent mental health research and resources, learning about suicide prevention among other topics. West Linn-Wilsonville educators focus on educating the whole student, engaging in important learning that helps to create safe and welcoming school environments for all students.

While the learning that took place across West Linn-Wilsonville was broad and diverse in nature, it all helps move the dial for student growth in the classroom. Teachers will continue professional development on Tuesday before students return to class on Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday.

When Boones Ferry Primary students participated in their annual Fun Run earlier this year, they had goals that went beyond raising money for their school. The class that raised the most money received a special prize — the chance to visit Arts and Technology High School, where art students would teach them to make their own custom T-shirts through print-making.

When the final laps had been run, it was Stacey Parent's third-grade class that had raised the most money. Students traveled to Arts and Technology High School on Friday, Nov. 16, to finally collect their reward. Art Tech students taught their younger WLWV peers how to use the print-making equipment, and fourth-grade students painted the Boones Ferry Dragonfly logo onto shirts — a design they took part in creating as well. The morning of learning and fun provided the perfect capper before students head off for Thanksgiving Break.