Chehalis Foundation's Student Achievement Initiative Thriving After Four Years

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After four years of an aggressive, complex and comprehensive focus on drastically improving educational outcomes for students in the Chehalis School District, the Chehalis Foundation and its partners are counting their successes and seeking to set the bar even higher moving into the new year. 

The pursuit, which is defined by the Foundation as the Student Achievement Initiative, is geared toward better preparing students for college and careers by changing the way students are educated in the Chehalis School District and at Centralia College, which has recently strengthened its partnership with the Foundation. Through an array of programs, focuses and the ever-present eyes and data of the prestigious BERC Group consulting firm, the Foundation is seeing a mounting number of accomplishments and successes.

Representatives of the Foundation, the Chehalis School District and Centralia College met with The Chronicle Wednesday to outline their goals and announce developments, including a $10 million commitment from W.F. West graduate and former Starbucks CEO Orin Smith. 

The accomplishments thus far are numerous. 

Teachers using the best practices identified through Powerful Teaching and Learning, a term coined by the BERC Group and comprised of the group’s findings and determinations over the years as the firm has worked in other districts striving for positive evolution in local education, has increased from 36 percent in 2013 to 81 percent in 2017. 

The number of students enrolled in eighth-grade Algebra 1 — a key metric in preparing students for the school’s rigorous STEM program — has grown from 28 percent in 2012 to 58 percent in 2017. A new goal has been set at 65 percent. 

“We are changing instruction beginning in kindergarten to get them ready by eighth grade,” said Mary Lou Bissett, assistant superintendent in the Chehalis School District. 

Meanwhile, 90 percent of eligible students in the class of 2019 have applied for the state’s College Bound program, a state scholarship that allows for low-income students to attend college through financial aid. With 50 percent of students in the district on free or reduced lunch, that represents a large number of students who otherwise would face difficulty paying for college. Parents or guardians must sign their child up by June 30th of the student’s 8th grade year, and Bissett said the district has identified the 10 percent of students not signed up for the program and is working to enroll them. 

Preliminary data shows the class of 2017 graduation rate at 91 percent, well above the state average. 

Those are just a few of the accomplishments that the Foundation and its partners, buoyed by Orin Smith’s $10 million commitment, hope to expand on in the years ahead. 

 

Leaders from the college, school district and foundation say they are setting their sights even higher, hoping that the Student Achievement Initiative becomes not just a success story, but a model for education throughout Lewis County, the state of Washington and the country as a whole. 

“That’s what I’m most excited about,” said Steve Ward, vice president for finance and administration at Centralia College and a member of the Chehalis Foundation, “becoming a model.” 

A leading goal of the initiative is to have graduates of W.F. West move on to higher education or careers that are in-demand, many in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The Foundation is working to have 60 percent of its students not only attend college, but graduate from college by the class of 2022. For the class of 2019 (junior class), the goal is to have 80 percent of students eligible for four-year institutions and have 45 percent of those students graduate with a college degree. 

When the program was started four years ago, just 20 percent of students graduating from W.F. West went on to earn a vocational certificate or college degree.

The preparation for college starts in middle school, as students are taken to Centralia College — along with other colleges and universities — for visits. High school juniors and seniors are able to visit colleges through funding from the Chehalis Foundation. Juniors can get a glimpse of college by being able to take a college class at Centralia College, an offer more and more students are taking advantage of.

The Chehalis School District has put an emphasis on its STEM program in recent years, including the addition of a STEM wing, which is scheduled to be finished in January. W.F. West has seen the investment of more than $1 million into STEM, robotics and molecular genetics programs. 

“With 740,000 job openings projected by 2021, there are near limitless opportunities for young people in Washington state. Most jobs will be filled by workers with a post-high school credential — a degree, apprenticeship or certificate. Our schools need to graduate students ready to compete for those opportunities,” President Washington Roundtable Steve Mullin said in a provided statement. “I am very encouraged and impressed by the strides being made through the Student Achievement Initiative in Chehalis, including the community partnership between the school district Centralia Community College. This Initiative is preparing more young people for success in postsecondary education and career opportunities.” 

 

In order to prepare students for the high school STEM program, they need to have taken Algebra 1 by eighth grade. In 2011-12, only 28 percent of students were enrolled in Algebra 1. With the help of the student achievement initiative, that number is at 58 percent in 2017-18. 



“Our first goal was to get 50 percent of kids eligible by eighth grade. This year, we have 58 percent in and we have a new goal of getting 60 to 65 percent of our kids in algebra by eighth grade,” Bissett said in a presentation to The Chronicle. “But what we aren’t doing is saying, ‘OK, you’re in eighth grade, you need to take algebra.’ We are making sure that the instruction that they are going through prior to eighth grade has them prepared to work at that level of rigor and then we put them in the Algebra class.”

It is a true K-12 initiative, with Bissett stating the groundwork to prepare kids for algebra starts in kindergarten. 

“Little things like the amount of time spent on math instruction, the curriculum that we’re using. We have a math instructional coach. The importance of math instruction is changing systematically throughout our school district,” Bissett said. 

The program’s been so successful that people, school districts and academic institutions across the state are noticing and providing praise. 

Sen. John Braun was impressed with the initiative’s impact.

“I was briefed again last week on the Student Achievement Initiative underway in Chehalis and at Centralia College. It’s very impressive and is helping young people prepare for today’s economy,” Braun said in a provided statement. “There are elements of this effort that may be adopted by districts across the state.” 

Dr. Mia Tuan, dean at the University of Washington College of Education, said it was inspiring and encouraging to see the work being done in the community. 

“It is inspiring and encouraging to see the deep, data-driven work Chehalis is doing to ensure all of their students are prepared for and have the opportunity to receive a degree or career credential,” Tuan said in a provided statement. “The schools and Centralia College are engaging in programming and policy changes that research has shown to be very promising in improving the experiences of kids through a system that better serves all families within their community.” 

Why is the program so successful? One reason is it’s being pursued by leadership and a team that care about the kids of Chehalis and Lewis County.

“First and foremost, we are doing what we are doing because we believe in it and we want to help our hometown of Chehalis and we want to help Centralia College and we hope that spreads throughout Lewis County,” co-chairman of the Student Achievement Initiative Kevin Smith said. “Having a top notch education system that leads to a credential that gives kids the opportunity to have success in life.”

The partnership between the Chehalis School District, The Chehalis Foundation and Centralia College is also a big part of the program’s success. About 50 percent of students that graduate from W.F. West attend Centralia College, a big reason for the partnership. 

“We couldn’t do what we are doing alone. We couldn’t do it only with public funds. The partnership is huge,” Bissett said. 

The teachers of the Chehalis School District also deserve credit for making sure kids start preparing for college early in life and school to set them up for success once they reach high school. 

“I doubt if you see a school district in the state that has had the type of private support that the school district has received in Chehalis,” Smith said. “The culture, I’ve noticed the shift in the culture over the last four years. The biggest shift I see is I truly believe that teachers are not just thinking about high school graduation as being the end game, because people understand that that’s not enough anymore.  As proud as I am of the 91 percent figure, and that’s an amazing accomplishment. What matters is the goal to get the credential that leads to meaningful employment opportunities. That’s the end game. As a state, that’s what we should all be focused on.”

With future funding for the program in hand, the leaders behind the Student Achievement Initiative will continue to try and achieve their goals by 2024. From there and throughout the process, new goals will be set. 

“Every child in the Chehalis School District (deserves) the opportunity to have success in life. It’s an overriding goal and I think many of those kids are going to get success going through Centralia College and meeting job opportunities in Lewis County,” Kevin Smith said. “Those kids may move on to other areas and we should be proud of that, wherever they go, to have a great opportunity in life. With a great school district in Chehalis and Centralia and Centralia College, to me that seems like a pretty attractive vehicle for economic development opportunities in the future.”

The Chehalis Foundation was considered a model for the Centralia Community Foundation, which last month announced the TransAlta Coal Transition Board has provided a $2 million grant for improvements in the Centralia School District. 

Learn more about The Chehalis Foundation at chehalisfoundation.org. 

Learn more about the Centralia Community Foundation at centraliacf.org.