State honors WVSD board for efforts, accomplishments

The West Valley School District Board of Directors was named a 2005 School Board of the Year by the Washington State School Directors’ Association at the organization’s annual conference in Seattle on Friday.

According to a news release from WSSDA, the awards are given to one small, medium and large school district that have demonstrated outstanding efforts and accomplishments in promoting student achievement.

In order to be considered, districts submitted essays describing what the school board has done to improve learning.

West Valley’s school board was selected as the top board among school districts with 1,001 to 5,000 students for its communitywide strategic plan adopted in 1993, which involved developing a five-year plan to guide the work of the board, the superintendent, administrators and staff.

In keeping with the plan, the board helped to promote and develop several innovative programs for students, WSSDA said.

Those programs include the West Valley City School, a middle school for grades five through eight that runs like a small city; the Rivercity Leadership Academy, a project-based high school where students complete hands-on projects in lieu of traditional time in the classroom; and the West Valley Outdoor Learning Center, a 3.5-acre wilderness lab with a hawk and owl sanctuary.

In addition to West Valley, the Battle Ground and Okanagan school districts were also honored Friday during the WSSDA annual conference. Each board, including West Valley, will receive a gift of $500 from the Washington State School Boards Educational Foundation.