Alison Boggs

It's back to square one for advocates of a four-period school day at Freeman High School. The school board decided in May that the alternative scheduling option was not right for the 300-student high school south of the Spokane Valley. The new schedule, in which students would take four longer classes every day instead of seven shorter ones, did not have the support of the community, school board members decided.

An 18-year principal in the Central Valley School District has been reassigned to a teaching position for the 1995-96 school year. Tom Eastman, principal of Ponderosa Elementary, said the decision between him and district administrators was mutual. Eastman is, however, looking for a job as a principal in another school district. "I have mixed feelings," he said about leaving the position. "I've been a principal a long time."

More than 400 students at Trent Elementary in the Spokane Valley missed two school days and will miss another before the melted electrical system in their building is fixed. Students will return to Trent on Tuesday morning, but might be bused to other schools if electricity has not been restored. "The building is in need of updating, so this was kind of a wake-up call," said East Valley School District Superintendent Chuck Stocker.

Watch out world. Here comes the Spokane Valley's class of 1995. Boasting one of the highest numbers of valedictorians in years and a host of community-minded do-gooders, this class is being touted as an overachieving bunch. "There's an abnormal amount of gifted students," said Ken Stacy, a counselor at East Valley High School, where the number of valedictorians jumped from five last year to eight this year. Sixty-three EVHS seniors, as opposed to 35 last year, are eligible for golden cords, signifying a grade point average of 3.4 or above, said Joaun Clark, an adviser at East Valley.

Wendy Leavitt, a new mother and wife, valedictorian of Spokane Valley High and a teller at Spokane Teachers' Credit Union. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

When Marilynn Jensen Mortensen graduated from West Valley High School in 1942, boys from her class were going off to war and not coming back. "We lost a lot of them," said the 71-year-old grandmother. "We had a big flag (in the school gymnasium) with stars for all the boys that were killed. It's something we kind of expected."

Heather Whinnen of University High offers a thoughtful essay about her high school years and her future dreams. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Horizon Junior High Principal Glenna Smith takes a pie in the face from a student after the school raised money for Oklahoma City bombing victims. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

1. J. Carney 2. A. Dickey 3. J. Evans 4. M. Richmond 5. B. Schmauch 6. K. Temple 7. S. Yoke 8. B. Blakesley 9. H. Carlson 10. L. Diener 11. J. Halttunen 12. J. Hildahl 13. B. Norquist 14. R. Shogren 15. S. Tate 16. K. Olson 17. J. Freeman 18. B. Bishop 19. J. Burningham 20. B. Enevold 21. T. Garner 22. A. Gibson 23. K. Kimbrough 24. C. MacDonald 25. R. Monson 26. G. Rapp 27. A. Richardson 28. G. Rivers 29. S. Sander 30. S. Santens 31. R. Stone 32. E. Thompson 33. E. Drozdov 34. H. Beese 35. P. Kelly 36. K. Stansbury

Burglars were licking their chops waiting for people to head out of town for the Memorial Day weekend. At least nine Spokane homes were burglarized late Friday and early Saturday as the holiday weekend began.

A visit to North Central High School by several University High School parents and teachers put Erik Ohlund over the top for the job of principal at U-Hi. "The people who worked with him had nothing but good things to say about him," said Wally Stanley, Central Valley School District's personnel director.

1. Lilac Queen carrie Keyes of Shadle Park High School shares a royal wave with the spectators lining downtown streets. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Underdog prepares to battle the city skywalks. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Jeanne Baynes and her 9-year-old daughter Brittany have had their poems published in the 1995 Calendar of Black Children. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Students with learning disabilities have a better chance at finding jobs thanks to a school-to-work program at East Valley High School. The program stumbled to a start last year. This semester, 11 students - from sophomores to seniors - have worked unpaid for about two hours per day at a variety of businesses.

'Do you want to say one, two, three, four, five in Japanese?" Minako Harada asked a room full of elementary school students. "Yeah," the students chorused back.

Liddy

The Central Valley School Board plans to find a new principal for University High School by May 22. Twenty-one people - 18 men and three women - applied for the position which will be vacated when principal Dennis Hill accepts a position with district administration. One of the applicants was African American; the rest were white.

Teacher Bob Bohlen leads the West Valley High special project science class in a discussion of upcoming projects. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Jeff Jones, a Japanese and math teacher at East Valley High School, "makes me look forward to coming to class every day," a student wrote. John Siverson, an East Valley Middle School custodian, "is the kind of man who will do anything to please people," noted a teacher. "He's a teacher in the true sense of the word."

Three Spokane Valley high school seniors won full rides at any public college or university in Washington. They were named Washington Scholars - along with 143 other students across the state - by the state's Higher Education Coordinating Board last month.

Almost 450 students, teachers and staff members at South Pines Elementary wore tie-dyed T-shirts during the school's Imagination Celebration. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

East Valley teacher John Swett, in white shirt, with students Steve Miles, Maggie Anderson and Jamie Jones in the school's greenhouse. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Fearing budget cuts from the state Legislature, Central Valley School District this week announced a hiring freeze. But district officials quickly reassured teachers and principals that no schools would go short-staffed.

Spokane Valley school districts are scrambling to plan tighter budgets in anticipation of a funding cut by the state Legislature. All of the districts estimate their budgets will be cut by several hundred thousand dollars, regardless of whether the Legislature finally passes the House version of the state budget, the Senate version, or a compromise budget. East Valley School District Superintendent Chuck Stocker estimates his budget will be cut by about $100,000 if the the Senate's version of the budget is adopted. Under the House version, EV could lose up to $1 million, Stocker said.