Eastside schools outline plans to boost belonging, literacy, special‑education supports and student leadership

Olympia School District principals and student representatives presented school improvement plan updates for Eastside schools at a work session Thursday, Feb. 6, focusing on programs intended to increase students’ sense of belonging, scale literacy interventions and broaden inclusion for students with individualized education programs (IEPs).

Principals from elementary, middle and high schools summarized what they are trying, why they think it is working and how they will measure progress. The reports ranged from classroom strategies such as AVID introduction and collaboration routines to buildingwide efforts including intervention blocks, wellness centers, pantry projects and new club and student‑leadership programming.

The work session matters because several schools tied their local plans to district outcomes and state accountability measures: attendees described interventions they said are intended to raise survey indicators (Panorama), improve literacy and monitor IEP progress and graduation rates.

Shannon Ritter, principal at Centennial Elementary School, described a staff professional‑development day on Generation Wellness and said staff “learned by experiencing the different strategies in order to be able to replicate them in their classrooms and across the school.” Centennial staff reported classroom practices to connect, regulate and reflect, and used a schoolwide activity called You Belong Day to reinforce student belonging.

At several elementary schools — including Lincoln and Pioneer — principals described deliberate classroom and school routines to let students share about themselves, use morning meetings and planned writing activities to build connection, and hold family cultural events designed to increase understanding across classmates. Pioneer Principal Joel (last name not specified in transcript) said staff are asking “how well do people at your school understand you as a person?” and have built weekly sharing routines to increase that measure.

Several schools described literacy and intervention work. A presenter identified an all‑school intervention block (described as a daily extension/intervention period) at one elementary site and linked that work to a core phonics assessment; the speaker reported gains for a subset of students identified for intervention but did not provide district‑level longitudinal outcomes.

Michael Havens, principal at McKinney Elementary School, described a special‑education push‑in model for grades that pairs resource‑room staff with general‑education teachers. He stated the school’s SIP goal for students who receive special‑education services: “90 percent of these students will progress toward individualized goals in the areas of reading, writing, and math on their IEPs by June 2025.” Havens said the school will judge effectiveness via progress‑monitoring data, MAP data and the SBA.

ORLA (Orla/ORLA program) leaders described graduation work at that campus. Frank Reed and Stacy Anderson said ORLA aims to raise graduation rates and reported last year’s rate as 70.4 percent; they reported a set of seniors and students on track and noted credit‑recovery and advising structures used to support graduation pathways.

Middle and high schools emphasized extracurricular access and student voice. Paul Anders, principal at Washington Middle School, pointed to increased club participation (including Rocketry/aerospace, robotics, orchestra and band) and described expansion plans for music sections and athletics. Olympia High School Principal Matt Grant highlighted student leadership and the Equity Action Team, saying students “have the courage” to lead difficult conversations and that many initiatives – assemblies, cultural events and curriculum observations – are student driven.

Avanti/Monet High School Principal Mike Velasquez described a program of staff mindfulness training, student workshops (including dispute‑resolution training) and family outreach to increase student belonging after a drop in some Panorama measures.

Several schools reported specific, practical supports: Madison described a wellness center and sensory hallway; Reeves Middle School described a schoolwide Global Read Aloud project and a small, student‑staffed pantry stocked with hygiene and basic items; and multiple principals noted partnerships with community organizations for student supports and training. The district’s student representatives and board members discussed sustaining student leadership (ASB) across grade levels and a planned ASB leadership summit to share practice.

Board and district leaders asked principals about alignment between school improvement plans and district goals, the timing of data (MAP/SBA) for midyear checks, and how the board can use policy or budget choices to support sustained programs such as AVID and staffing consistency for special‑education and classified positions.

The session closed with reminders that the regular board meeting is Feb. 13 and that a Westside school improvement work session is scheduled next month; principals and staff thanked the board and noted interest from district leaders in visiting classrooms and supporting program rollout.

Ending: The presentations reflected a mix of classroom routines and buildingwide initiatives intended to address both academic measures and social‑emotional indicators; principals and student leaders asked the board for continued alignment, funding choices and policy support so the locally tested strategies can be sustained and scaled.