What programs and services are funded by local levies in the Issaquah School District? So many! This video points out just a few, including in-school mental health counselors, career and technical education, school security staff, special education, teacher training, preschool programs, extra-curriculars, and more. An Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) levy will be on the February 11 ballot. It will replace an expiring two-year levy passed by voters in 2018 if it's approved. Levies use local dollars to support students right here in our district. Read more at www.issaquah.wednet.edu/levy-2020. Register to vote at olvr.votewa.gov.
Last school year, 30 of our paraeducators were the first in the state to complete a new paraeducator certificate program established at the direction of the State Legislature. This pilot program trained participants in skills and topics such as professionalism and ethics, supporting a positive and safe learning environment, cultural diversity, special education law, bringing about behavior change, and more. This year, the program was rolled out to all the district’s paraeducators, who received training this year in August and October.
Paraeducators contribute to our schools and classrooms in countless ways and are crucial to the success of students and teachers. They need and deserve professional development opportunities to help them succeed in their jobs so they can help students succeed.
Would you like to work with kids and make a positive impact in your community? Become a paraprofessional! Paraprofessionals get nights, weekends and summers off, and those who work an average of 3.5 hours per day are eligible for full benefits and state retirement benefits. Best of all, they get to help students learn and grow. See job openings and apply at https://issaquahjobs.hrmplus.net/JobOpenings.aspx
Supported by a voter-approved levy, the Issaquah School District has launched a new Dual Language Immersion program. Students in the program learn the same curriculum as other students in the district, but half the time they learn in English, and half the time they learn in Spanish. Kids who speak Spanish at home and kids who speak English at home learn together in the same class, so that all students can help promote each other’s language skills and form valuable relationships with people of different cultures.
Learning another language at a young age is beneficial in so many ways: It promotes academic growth and mental development, it opens up opportunities later in life, and it helps students to understand and connect with different cultures.
Thank you to voters for making this Dual Language program possible and helping our students become bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural! Learn more about our Dual Language Immersion program at https://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/…/departmen…/elementary/DLIP Learn more about levy-supported programs and the upcoming 2020 levy election at https://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/district/levy-2020
Students from ISD high schools spent the day looking toward their futures at the annual Great Careers Conference held at Bellevue College December 13.
Students had the chance to talk with people who work in a wide range of industries, including architecture and construction, education, health sciences, hospitality and tourism, law and public safety, marketing, information technology, and many more. Great Careers is all about giving students the chance to learn about careers they can pursue through apprenticeships, trade schools, or two-year programs.
The event also included a presentation by Nathan Graham, a senior at Gibson Ek High School, who spoke to his fellow students about his research into the benefits of trade school and other alternatives to four-year degree programs. Job opportunities in many career fields that don’t require a four-year degree are growing rapidly and projected to keep growing, Graham said, and attending a trade program can help avoid student loan debt.
To succeed in school, and in life, children need good mental health. They need to understand and manage their emotions and know how to get along well with others. That's why, supported by local voter-approved levies, the Issaquah School District has added more school counselors, licensed mental health counselors, and coaches who work with students and staff to promote healthy behavior and emotional awareness. Each of these roles works together, with teachers, administrators and other school staff, to find out which students need extra support, and give them what they need to live happy, productive lives, in school and beyond.