A Message From Superintendent Patrick Murphy
Dear families and community members,
Sincerely,
Patrick Murphy
Superintendent
Good News From Around the District
Our Schools and Staff
As always, there are many more achievements in our district than we can summarize in this report, ranging from small acts of kindness to schoolwide accomplishments. We have included a few of these highlights from the 2019-20 year.
In 2019, seven schools were recognized by the Washington State Board of Education for their work in demonstrating achievement, showing growth over the previous year, or closing opportunity gaps for students. The following schools were honored:
- Avanti High School: Closing Gaps for all students for improving the graduation rate.
- Capital High School: Growth for students identifying as Native American or Alaskan Native.
- Jefferson Middle School: Achievement for English Language Arts (ELA) and Math.
- Thurgood Marshall Middle School: Growth for students who are English learners.
- Centennial Elementary: Closing Gaps for one or more student groups at a Targeted Support school.
- McLane Elementary: Growth for students who receive special education services.
- Roosevelt Elementary: Growth for students identifying with two or more races.
The success of our schools would not be possible without the hard work of our classified employees. Every year, our district honors classified employees nominated by staff, students and the community. The 2019 Classified Employee of the Year was Linda Kim-Zaccagnini, administrative assistant at Garfield Elementary School. Kim-Zaccagnini began working in the district as a paraeducator in 1997 after serving many years as a parent volunteer. She was in her thirteenth year as the school’s administrative assistant when she received the award.
Every year, OSD calls for nominations and recognizes one or more Teachers of the Year. For the year 2019-20, Elaine Rinker, who teaches special education at Centennial Elementary School, was named Teacher of the Year. At Centennial, Rinker is nicknamed “the golden unicorn.” In praise of Rinker, Ritter says, “There’s no problem she can’t figure out a solution to.” Rinker, who has been teaching special education for eight years, also has high praise for the school she works at. “I can honestly say without any doubt that each and every teacher at Centennial wants nothing more than to have his or her students be successful,” she says.
The administration, staff and community of Jefferson Middle School were recognized by The Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE) for continuous improvement for Black, Latinx and low-income students. JMS was selected from amongst the 295 school districts across Washington state.
Brian Morris, an industrial and technology arts teacher at Washington Middle School, received the Washington Industrial Technology Education Association (WITEA) Teacher of the Year award.
Capital High School math teacher Carol McKay was recognized nationally with the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). McKay was the only math teacher to receive the honor in Washington state that year, and one of only two PAEMST winners statewide. Nationwide, there were 107 winners honored.
Our Students:
We are incredibly proud of the accomplishments of our Olympia School District students. Here are a few highlights of their accomplishments from the 2019-20 school year:
Three Olympia School District students were named as National Merit Semifinalists out of 1.5 million juniors who applied. The mission of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is to “recognize and honor the academically talented students of the United States.” Each year, students throughout the United States who meet the rigorous qualifications for this scholarship program are selected as semifinalists.
Capital High School junior outside hitter Devyn Oestrich was named The Olympian's 2019 All-Area Player of the Year. She began playing volleyball at the age of eight, inheriting a love of the game from her dad. This is Devyn's third consecutive year on the All-Area team. She was named Most Valuable Player of the 3A South Sound Conference. She also holds Capital's career record for service aces with 146.
Congratulations to the team from Jefferson Middle School for winning the 2020 Thurston County Washington MATHCOUNTS competition. MATHCOUNTS is a national middle school competitive mathematics program. It promotes math achievement through a series of fun and engaging "bee" style competitions on the chapter, state, and national levels. The Jefferson MS team was victorious in the county-wide contest and advanced to the state level. The event was 1-of-500 held throughout the country.
Reeves Middle School celebrated National No Name Calling Week. This week was inspired and headed up by school Counselor Marisa Castello, who talked with each of the grade levels about the importance of being an “UpStander” instead of a bystander in instances of bullying.
Centennial Elementary School transformed its building for a student science exposition, with a multitude of exhibits and projects on display. From sound wavelengths, to planets and rockets, to the intricacies of snowflakes and fossils, students were encouraged to visit Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics (STEAM) exhibits spread throughout the school. Teachers and Centennial Elementary School booster club members helped reach out to local scientists in the Olympia community to invite them to the event and provide input into the exhibits. Student projects varied greatly from growing borax crystals, putting engineering concepts to work by building a Billy Goats Gruff Bridge to learning more about the color wheel.
District continues to boast high graduation rates
The Olympia School District’s on-time graduation rate for the Class of 2020 reached 92.8%, marking the highest on-time graduation rate in district history. The percentage of students who graduated in five years also rose in several high schools and contributed to an overall district extended graduation rate of 94.5%.
Board Continues Focus on Student Outcomes
At its December 16 meeting, the board elected Hilary Seidel as this year’s board president. The board also elected to have Scott Clifthorne continue as vice president. Outgoing Board President Joellen Wilhelm administered the Oath of Office to newly elected directors Maria Flores, District 1, and Justin McKaughan, District 2. Both won their respective seats in the November 2019 General Election. Seidel was also re-elected to her District 4 board seat.
The OSD Board of Directors approved a list of student outcomes at the December 10, 2018 school board meeting. They read:
Our students will:
-
Outcome 1: Be compassionate and kind.
-
Outcome 2: Have the academic and life skills to pursue their individual career, civic and educational goals.
-
Outcome 3: Advocate for the social, physical and mental wellness of themselves and others and be hopeful about the future.
-
Outcome 4: Have the skills, knowledge and courage to identify and confront personal, systemic and societal bias.
-
Outcome 5: Discover their passions, be curious and love learning.
-
Outcome 6: Be critical thinkers who contribute to and collaborate with our local, global and natural world.
Progress continues on 2016 voter-approved school bond projects
The 2019-20 school year was a busy year as construction activity in our schools and Knox 111 Administrative Center continued. These facility and safety improvements were approved by voters in the 2016 school bond. Below is a brief summary of some of the major projects:
Capital High School
The new two-story Performing Arts Center (PAC) was one of these projects. It will be complete in March 2021 will seat 500 people. The existing PAC was converted to a lecture hall. Work was also done on the siding of Capital’s main building and portions of the school are being reroofed. Other improvements included replacing single-pane windows with double panes, removing non-functioning in-wall heaters and adding a new air distribution system. A new security vestibule at the front of the school is scheduled for completion in August 2021.
Olympia High School
Several construction projects were completed at Olympia High School. The Main Office was under construction with the installation of a new reception window and secured vestibule. Carpeting was also replaced in existing classrooms, offices and the Performing Arts Center. Work on the addition of a 2,000-square-foot music room and four additional science classrooms and science prep rooms was completed in January 2021.
Centennial Elementary School
Construction was completed in 2019 on the Centennial Elementary modernization project. Work included modernizing the kitchen to make the food service system more efficient; adding a permanent stage, as well as adding new lighting and new ceilings in the multipurpose room; adding new classroom furniture throughout the school; and reconfiguring the parking lot to streamline pick up and drop-off, as well as ease traffic congestion on side streets.
McLane Elementary School
Similar to Centennial, McLane Elementary School construction included a modernization of the school kitchen to make the food service system more efficient. New basketball backstops were added, and the installation of a new heating and cooling system were among the upgrades to the gym. The multipurpose room features a permanent stage, new lighting and ceilings. Like Centennial, McLane’s parking lot was reconfigured to ease congestion. The school playground surface was also upgraded in Summer 2019 with rubberized tile.
Roosevelt Elementary School
Work in summer 2019 included the renovation of the school’s front entry canopy to allow more daylight in, while allowing for a covered area for students and parents to stand on rainy days. The parking lot was reconfigured to ease congestion. The San Francisco Street entry was closed to minimize congestion along that busy street. Similar to Centennial and McLane, improvements at Roosevelt included modernizing the kitchen and service area, improving the heating and cooling system in the gym, and repainting.
.jpg "New Knox 111 building front with autumn trees and blue sky")
District Office: Knox 111 Administrative Center
Also during summer 2019, extensive work was completed on the new location of the Knox Administrative Center at 111 Bethel St. N.E. (former home of The Olympian newspaper). Administrative offices began moving to the new site in late July from the former location at 1113 Legion Way S.E. The move will make way for the eventual expansion of Avanti High School, which is also part of the 2016 school bond improvement projects.