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Kennewick High School Students Add Mentoring Program to Their Schedule

Posted on: Thursday, 15 June 2006, 09:01 CDT

By Stacey Palevsky, Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash.

Jun. 15--The schedule at Kennewick's three high schools will be slightly different starting in September.

A new mentoring program will increase the number of early release dates from six to 16, a change principals proposed and the Kennewick School Board unanimously approved Wednesday evening.

The mentoring program is called Navigation 101. It pairs one teacher with 20 students for the students' four years in high school. Several districts in Washington already use the program.

The goal: Prevent kids from dropping out and better prepare them for life after high school.

The early release dates will allow teachers to learn how to implement the program, which consists of 10, 40-minute classes throughout the year.

"We think this will really increase the personalization of our high schools," said Dave Bond, the outgoing principal of Kamiakin High School and incoming assistant superintendent of secondary education.

The principals' proposal increases instructional time slightly by changing the existing early release time from 11:50 a.m. to 1 p.m. and increasing each class period by one minute, to 55 minutes each.

Kim Mattson, an English teacher at Southridge High, said she's thrilled about the new outreach effort. She's also a mother of three, whose youngest will be a freshman at Kamiakin in the fall.

"It always helps to know that there's one more person out there going to bat for your child," she said.

Also Wednesday:

-- The board announced new hires. Vic Roberts, previously an accountant for the city of Richland, will be the new business manager beginning July 1. Chris Chelin, previously principal at Moses Lake High School, will serve as the new principal of Kamiakin.

Roberts, a certified public accountant, said he knows it's a tough time for school districts around the country, and is looking forward to the challenge of managing Kennewick's $110 million budget.

Board president Lynn Fielding said Roberts will work closely with a newly created three-person committee of expert Kennewick residents.

"This is the first time we've hired a CPA and the first time we've had community oversight," Fielding said. "This will create financial health around our organization. I think it's the tightest accountability system our district has ever had."

-- Kennewick Community Education classes may cost 25 percent more next year. Lorraine Cooper, director, recommended the board consider the increase at its next board meeting June 28.

The ultimate goal of the community education program is for it to pay for itself, she said, which can happen if the district increases rates by 25 percent to 30 percent. It cost the district about $5,000 for the 2005-06 school year, which was about $1,000 less than the previous year.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Tri-City Herald

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