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Parents, staff and a retired teacher urge Battle Ground board to adopt Wayfinder SEL program
Summary
Multiple public commenters at the Aug. 25 Battle Ground School District meeting urged the board to approve the Wayfinder social‑emotional learning curriculum at its next reading. Speakers said classroom pilots and staff endorsements showed positive student engagement and recommended the board base its vote on the adoption committee’s work.
Three public commenters told the board they support adopting the Wayfinder social‑emotional learning (SEL) program when the board returns to the item in September.
Eunice Ingermansen, who said she works directly with students as a paraeducator and unpaid mentor, described classroom observations and told the board she has seen Wayfinder help students with emotion regulation, decision making and goal planning. "The need for SEL cannot be overstated," Ingermansen said during citizens comments, and she asked the board to respect the adoption committee’s recommendation when Wayfinder comes back for a final vote.
Retired educator Laurie Sidley, who said she served the district 32 years, told the board she found the program "politically neutral" and emphasized practical classroom benefits: collaboration, problem solving, attendance improvement and a separate financial education component she described as broadly useful. Sidley said students who piloted the material responded positively and urged the board to approve the program at the next vote.
Both speakers referenced the adoption process and committee work. Ingermansen specifically asked the board to consider the adoption committee and classroom pilots in their upcoming second and third readings, which the district has scheduled for future meetings. Board members had earlier tabled the high‑school SEL item and clarified in the minutes that the tabled item should return when a full board is present.
What the board has not yet decided The district has not taken a final vote on Wayfinder. At the Aug. 11 meeting the board tabled the high‑school SEL item; directors discussed bringing it to a full board meeting when attendance allows. Public commenters requested the board avoid letting personal preferences override the adoption committee’s recommendation.
Speakers who spoke in favor of Wayfinder at the Aug. 25 meeting included Eunice Ingermansen (paraeducator/mentor), Laurie Sidley (recently retired educator) and others who referenced students’ positive reactions to pilot lessons. The board did not act on Wayfinder at the Aug. 25 meeting; the item is expected to return for further consideration at a future full board meeting.
