An Advisory Committee is an ongoing group that serves as a continuous source of input and feedback for the school board and the district administration. We encourage you to partner with us by joining one of the committees.
A Task Force is a group who serves for a limited time period and focuses on a single topic. Task forces make recommendations to the district administration and board of directors.
Committees & Task Forces
- Bond Task Force
- Communications Advisory Committee
- Early Learning Task Force
- Facilities Advisory Committee
- Graduation Advisory Committee
- Safety Advisory Committee
- Grading Practices Committee
Bond Task Force
The Ferndale School District’s bond proposal was approved at 62.04% during the February 12, 2019 Special Election – an approval rate that meets the super-majority requirement for municipal bonds.
Thank you, Ferndale School District community, for supporting Ferndale Schools. For the latest information and updates about the bond projects please visit https://www.ferndalesd.org/bond/bond-2019
Communications Advisory Committee
The Communications Advisory Committee (CAC) was implemented in 2011. Its overarching goal is to recommend actions to the school board and administration that will improve communications within Ferndale schools, and between the district and its constituents. This group of community members, parents, teachers, support staff and administrators has educated itself about the latest and most effective trends in school district information. They have become experts in the current state of communication in our district. CAC meets on the first Thursday of each month during the school year months.
Purposes of CAC
- Assess the current state of communications in the Ferndale School District.
- Research best practices related to school district communications.
- Examine the needs of students and staff in relationship to communication.
- Create a vision and plan for effective communication in Ferndale.
- Make recommendations regarding the implementation of the plan to the school board and the executive team.
School Board Commitment No. 2 Guides the Committee’s Work
Commitment to Communicating Openly and Effectively
We know that good communication is vital to the success of any organization. For our public school system, regular, transparent, inclusive, two-way communication is critical at all levels with students, staff, parents and community members. (View the 6 Strategic Commitments developed by the Ferndale School District School Board here)
CAC Members
Early Learning Task Force
- Purpose of the EL Task Force
- Members
- Early Learning Task Force Meetings
- Key Recommendations & Big Ideas and Outcomes
- Final Early Learning Task Force Recommendations
Purpose of the EL Task Force
Purpose(s)/Goal:
-
Develop a 3-5 year plan for Early Learning in Ferndale School District.
-
Examine current Early Learning Programming in Ferndale Schools
-
Align Early Learning Programs with inclusive, best practice
-
Explore transitioning Early Learning Programs into their neighborhood schools where possible
Basis for Establishment:
-
Building a vision for enhancing the student experience in early learning across all FSD schools.
-
To ensure alignment with the Washington State requirements and state early learning model
Decision-Making Process:
-
Recommending body to the superintendent.
-
Decision-making within the task force will be consensus-based.
Plan of Work
-
Form representative task force
-
Conduct needs assessment of current programming
-
Review best practice for high quality early learning, P-3
-
Establish criteria and goals for FSD early learning programming
-
Develop an action plan towards those outcomes
-
Develop a recommendation to the superintendent
Responsibilities
-
Attend all meetings
-
Represent for constituents
-
Share information and gather feedback, when determined by the task force
-
Abide by the task force norms for productive collaboration
-
Assigned tasks between meetings
Timeline
-
Meeting every 2 weeks January 2023– April 2023
-
Jan 5, Jan 19, Feb 2, Feb 16, Mar 2, Mar 16, Mar 30, Apr 20
-
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. at Mountain View Conference Center, Building B
-
Recommendation to the superintendent by end of April
Implications
-
Professional development costs
-
Materials, equipment, curriculum, etc.
-
Potential relocation costs (staff time, equipment)
Other
-
Potential implications for change to campus locations
Members
- Trina Hall, Committee Co-Chair, Executive Director of Teaching & Learning
- Ashley Hill, Committee Co-Chair, Early Learning Principal
- Kellie Larrabee, Committee Co-Chair, Executive Director of Teaching & Learning
- Celina Rodriguez, Executive Director of Communications
- Angie George, Teacher
- Georgia Eiford, First Grade Teacher
- Kim Hawes, Elementary Principal
- Kate Walker, Transitional Kindergarten Teacher
- Rachel Bowlden, Early Learning Coordinator
- Joan Youngquist, Community Member
- Juliana Larson, Kindergarten Teacher
- Letha Nungesser, Teacher for the Visually Impaired
- Sarah Hare, Occupational Therapist
- Tashena Montoya, Parent
- Maggie Homer, Parent
- Maureen Hodge, Early Learning Director, NWESD
- Jazzy Gonzalez, student board member
- Lea Morris, Committee Secretary
Early Learning Task Force Meetings
Key Recommendations & Big Ideas and Outcomes
Final Early Learning Task Force Recommendations
Facilities Advisory Committee
The Facilities Advisory Committee is comprised of a cross-section of stakeholders from the community and district who are identified through an application process to serve two to three year terms.
The committee:
- researches best practices in education and the facilities needed to support such practices;
- develops a long-range vision for Ferndale’s educational facilities;
- examines the needs of students and staff across the district as they relate to the condition of their learning environments;
- assesses the state of the district’s current facilities in terms of identified needs and long-range vision;
- creates a comprehensive, prioritized list of immediate and long-term facilities projects; and
- makes recommendation to the school board concerning the next steps for addressing needs and realizing the vision.
Graduation Advisory Committee
Purposes of Graduation Advisory Committee
- Assess the current dropout rate in the Ferndale School District
- Connect dropout rate to graduation measures
- Research common obstacles in our system that our students encounter which may lead them to dropping out
- Research and report out possible solutions that will reduce the dropout rate in the Ferndale School District.
Safety Advisory Committee
Our board-directed mission is to bring together a group of experts with specific skills to help improve the safety of our children by evaluating and improving upon systems that are currently in place. The initial impetus came as a result of the horrific events that took place December 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary. We began meeting weekly with the Ferndale Police Department, mapping projects, meeting with our principals, and identifying inconsistencies and vulnerabilities within our district.
A recommendation was made to form a committee that would help us reinvent ourselves and our work. We have a talented group of members and welcome inquiries of those interested in joining our committee.
If you have questions about the Safety Advisory Committee, contact Mark Deebach’s assistant, Tammy Longstaff via email or 360-383-9203.
Grading Practices Committee
- Committee Members
- Grading Overview
- Grading Practices Plan
- Grading Practices Meetings
- Grading Practices Community Listening Session
Committee Members
Grading Overview
Grading Practices Plan
Grading Practices Meetings
Grading Practices Community Listening Session
As we are implementing a multi-tiered system of support throughout our district schools, an important part of this work is for us to look at our grading practices at the secondary level. Our elementary report cards are standards-based, whereas at the secondary level, our students are graded on the traditional 100% grading scale.
Our committee has been working to understand best practices for grading and assessing learning. We would like to invite you to join our conversation and share your thoughts on student grading and assessment at the secondary level at one of three listening sessions:
May 2nd, 6:30pm at Horizon Middle School (Library)
May 3rd, 6:30pm at Ferndale High School (Second Floor Learning Commons)
May 4th, 6:30pm on Zoom
- For the Zoom session, please register in advance:
- After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We hope that you will join us at one of the three sessions; you are welcome to attend the session that works best for you. We will have Spanish interpreters in-person at these sessions and full access to interpretation for all languages.
Ben Goodwin and Faye Britt (Grading Practices Committee co-chairs)