Superintendent's Message

May 7, 2021

 

Crescent Parents,

 

I hope that you are doing well as we close out the 2020- 2021 school year. I am writing to share some good news and seek your input and support. Crescent School District is going to apply for federal grant money to use to expand our services to our Native American students who Crescent School District.

 

Although the preliminary allocation is not huge it is about $15,000. I would like to use the funds to create a part time position for a liaison to work with the district, our Native American students and their families . I envision the “liaison” providing support in the following ways:

• Supporting improved student attendance.
• Improving the academic success of our students
• Improving communication between the school and our families.
• Helping the district identify programs that might be added to our curriculum in the future.
• Improving the linkage between students, families and the school.

 

In order to complete the application that is due on May 14, 2021, evidence of parent and school collaboration is needed.

 

I invite parents to join in a meeting at the school library on Wednesday May 12, 2021 at 6 PM.  

You are welcome to attend in person (masks, health attestations and social distancing will be required.)   You may also choose to join the meeting via ZOOM at this link. 
https://csd313-org.zoom.us/j/86408715895

Or One tap mobile :

    US: +12532158782,,86408715895#  or +16699006833,,86408715895#

 

I hope you can join us for the discussion where I can share the vision for the use of the new grant money for the 2020-2021 school year. I you have questions before the meeting please call me to discuss the planning at 360-928-3311.

 

Thank you,

 

David L. Bingham
Superintendent

Greetings,

 

I have just returned from observing two exciting events on campus this morning. The HS School Robotics class had their ROBOT Wars today and the Spanish I class had a fun assignment involving food.  I know the elementary staff is working on some spring science events, school garden events, and the elementary store that uses Logger Bucks has been open. More information on other activities will be coming soon.

 

We have passed the mid-way point in March, spring break is just around the corner and we are excited to announce our plan to bring our students in grades (9-12) back four days per week beginning Monday, April 12.  They have been on campus two days per week since November and now we can expand to four days per week.

 

The return to more days per week has taken longer than we originally had thought, but in cooperation with all staff we have developed a plan that allows all students in our district to receive in-person instruction four days per week. Wednesday will remain where students work at home, as we have been doing all school year.

 

As we plan to bring the High School students back, it is a great time to remind students and parents that practicing our safety measures is crucial to remain fully open for in-person instruction. Please discuss these safety measures and requirements with your student as we prepare for April 12.

1. Masking everywhere except in assigned seats during lunch in cafeteria while eating.
2. 6’ distancing between self and others.
3. Practice frequent handwashing
4. One-way traffic around campus, follow the arrows.
5. Yield to younger students as they move around campus.
6. 4 days of classwork (not two) to practice for 5 days next year.
7. Complete morning attestations by 7 a.m. or temps at the entrance.
8. Park in front of school if driving - allow time for increased traffic.
9. Lead like LOGGER high school students, our youngsters are following your example.

A final link in a successful reopening plan is busing and place for students to eat. We will be calling all families of students in grades 9-12 next week to find out about busing and eating plans. Will your student(s) ride the bus and does your student eat school lunch or bring a lunch most of the time?  This information will inform us if we need to adjust bus routes and our ability to seat students socially distanced in the cafeteria during lunch.

 

One final note - we have identified some areas on campus where students congregate and test the 6’ distancing requirements and we will close those areas if we find that students are not able to be self-disciplined.

 

Thank you and stay safe,

 

David Bingham

 

Season’s Greetings,

 

Let me start by saying I wish you and your families a wonderful holiday season. I hope the next two weeks will provide you time to recharge and enjoy some time away from you normal routines. Normal routines??? Ok, I hope you get some rest over the next two weeks. 

 

2020 as brought us many challenges, as we near the mid-year on the school calendar we have some things to celebrate.

 

• In November, the Crescent School Board of Directors was awarded one of the State’s twenty-six Washington State Boards of Distinction out of are over 400 school boards in Washington.
• Student engagement during the year is up compared to last spring when schools were closed.
• Our unique size and location as allowed us to continue in-person instruction during a time of increased county infection rates.
• The District continues to provide food service for our in-person and on-line/remote students.
• Families have a choice of the learning model that is the best fit for their student(s).
• Our students are incredibly resilient during this Pandemic.

 

It is nice to see that there may be an end to COVID in sight, but we still have work to do while we wait for the vaccine to become fully available. Even with the recent development of a vaccine, we have many months ahead of us with mask wearing, social distance, increased custodial practices and hybrid teaching four our older students.

 

Because of extraordinary work on the part of staff, we are able to return to in-person learning for most of our students.  All students choosing to participate in in-person learning are being served in-person to some degree in the district. Some students (about 15%) have identified circumstances that make it necessary for their student to remain remote/on-line. We are pleased to provide best educational opportunities during COVID for students based on their academic, social, emotional and safety needs. 

 

We should be proud of the work of our teaching and support staff, our students and parents for the success we have had since returning to class over a month ago.

 

On Wednesday, Governor Jay Inslee provided clarification that science shows that schools are safe and he encouraged school districts to maintain the in-person instruction they are currently providing and increase it when districts demonstrate that they are successful in being safe in their current models.

 

I am looking forward to the return of our students to school on January 4^th after a much deserved break. I hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday.

 

David Bingham
Superintendent

 

Greetings,  can you believe it is almost July 4th,

I wanted to thank those of you that were able to complete the on-line survey last week. I think that about 110 students are represented in the feedback we got. It is quite helpful and I have share it in its entirety with the School Board. I will share some of the feedback with all of you by the end of the week.

I just got word that Port Angeles is going to release their reopening plan today, so I wanted give you an update. Based on the feedback we are working on contingencies for the following:

• A plan that allows us to reopen fully on August 27, 2020 for face to face instruction.
• A plan for distance learning in the event that the COVID-19 spread is so great the the DOH or Governor closes all schools in the state again.
• A plan that would provide opportunities for students in "High Risks" or parents that just are not feeling good about their student returning for full-time face to face school.

In terms of supporting on-line instruction the district has reduced our platform options to two:

• K - 2 will use a platform called Seesaw
• Grades 3 - 12 will use the Google Classroom platform.

This will allow us to provide instruction both in face to face and on-line/remote learning during the school year. We have ordered additional Chromebooks and a Chrome pad to allow every student to have a device that is theirs during the school year.

I have been working with our staff and some service providers to access training in the Platforms/remote learning for both our staff and parents. I believe there will be training options for everybody before school opens in August.

This afternoon I received a draft document from out school nurse that outlines our procedures for screening students and staff, providing for appropriate cleaning measures, school bus procedures, mental health support, what to do if we suspect a student or staff member is sick and much more.

I still anticipate that we will release our draft of our plan around August 1, 2020 and the school board will be asked to approve our reopening plan on August 10, 2020 at a special board meeting.

I have received a number of questions about athletics and our Insurance provider is requiring us to move to Phase III before we can allow summer activities within the guidelines of social distancing etc.....

If you have any questions please call or email me. Our first option and plan is to reopen school fully on August 27, 2020.

Hello,

I hope you are doing well during the "Stay Home, Save Lives", time requested by Governor Jay Inslee.

Federal, State and County COVID -19 update
I continue to hear of progress being made at the National, State and Clallam County levels in the battle with COVID-19. Our county health officer reported today that with two more week of discipline on our part that things will be be leveling off and even dropping off and there may be room for some relaxing of the current orders. Dr. Unthank continues to caution us that Clallam County is a county with many elderly and our discipline is very important for their health and safety.

Continuous Learning Update: CL2020
Staff continues to develop ways to deliver Continuous Learning 2020 (CL2020) as outlined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. I continue to see great creativity on the part of staff as they focus on the "well-being" of students and their "academic growth" in that priority order. We have deployed almost 100 Chrome Books and I anticipate the district will spend close to $3000 on postage during the school closure as we work to provide equitable learning opportunities for students while utilizing a hybrid instructional model.

How is the food paid for?
By the end of next week the District will of provided over 2500 meals to children ages 2 to 18 in our community.

From time to time community members drop by the food pick-up areas and make donations to our food program. Those donations are appreciated and we use them for supporting some special needs as they come up. The meals we provide are reimbursed by the federal government, except for the weekend food. We will some of levy funds you graciously provided us in the last levy election to pay for some food costs related to the food program. In truth, if we were in school providing our full food program the costs would exceed the reimbursement and some levy funds support the food program in normal school times.

Continuous Learning Town-Hall Style Meetings:
I will continue to provide opportunities to gain your input during our "Continuous Learning" Town-Hall meetings on Wednesday nights at 5:30 PM. In an attempt to provide this opportunity and decrease the opportunity for a ZOOM crasher I will send the link on parent square at 5:15 PM just before the meeting on Wednesday night. Previously, I had been posting the link on our Web-Site and FACEBOOK as I wanted the open to community members that did not have children in the school district. If you know anyone that might want to join our ZOOM meetings, but is not on the Parent-square notifications have them call the office to see about gaining access to the meetings.

Report Cards/Working to Improve Parent Communication and Tracking Student Attendance
Report Cards will be mailed on Monday. Kathy Silva is working on the final printing and including a letter to parents with Skyward Access information and Google Classroom information. I have heard from a few parents that they are wanting to be sure that their child is doing the work expected and making the progress needed. I have talked with the teachers via e-mail and will talk more with them in our Monday morning ZOOM meeting about ways to be sure parents are feeling more comfortable and "in touch" with how their student is doing.

Beginning Monday we are going to be tracking student engagement/attendance and making contact with parents of students that are not present. This will work differently depending on the grade level of your student. We want to be sure that each student is participating/engaging in school at this time. I will be asked for this information by OSPI in the coming weeks, so I need to start collecting it. It is not a daily, hourly attendance; it is broader than that. I expect teachers to communicate the attendance practice for their class next week.

Does your student still have personal belonging at School?
Although we do not want large groups on campus at any time the office continues to be open from 8 AM to 4 PM Monday through Friday. Please call if you have questions or need to come to school to pick up some things. 360-928-3311

Facilities Work
We had a number of projects planned for this summer and with the closing of school we are going to begin some of them as soon as next week. One of the final projects of the Capital Projects levy that was approved four years ago was some sidewalk projects. They will begin that project next week. We have already completed a roof replacement on the Cafeteria/Band Room.

Thank you and Stay Safe and Healthy,

David Bingham, Superintendent 

 

 

Greetings and I hope you are all doing well on this first day back from Spring Break.

As you may of just heard, Governor Jay Inslee announced that school will not re-open on site during this school year. We will continue to provide instruction for your student (s)while they are "Staying Home and Healthy". With this announcement we will provide instruction in a distance/continual learning model for the balance of the school year.

Mrs. Carroll and I held a meeting with staff this morning via ZOOM where I stressed:

• communication with students and parents. 
• Let's celebrate the things we are doing for the students of the Crescent School District and build on them. 
• Finally, we need to calm student and parent anxiety about academic expectations by ALL of us working together.

Teachers will provide

• Student work
• outline expectations, and timelines for learning opportunities for the balance of the school year. 
• This will look different in K-5, Middle School and High School. 
• This morning, Mrs. Carroll, Mrs. Lastovica and I discussed common expectation for each teachers in terms of "How much time"  a student should be spend in a learning setting each day.

I know that the teachers in K - 5 have set up a combination of paper and pencil work and are linking with students in electronic formats, such as video, email and phone calls.

Middle School staff have developed lessons that lean on the Google Classroom platform and our High School teachers are using a variety of platforms to offer continual learning for our students.

 I am amazed by the work that has been done by our teachers and the dedication they have shown to their mission to educate Crescent students.

Looking Forward:

We have  identified:

• Food will continue to be available for the duration of the year, I think we have provided almost 1000 meals since the last week of March. REMEMBER YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE LOW INCOME TO PARTAKE IN THE FOOD SERVICE.
•  adjusting  the High School continual learning model so  that a certain period of the school day will be emphasized on a particular day of the week.  
• the USPS in is our friend and we will be mailing work to some families
• that connectivity is a challenge for some of you as I found out today trying to help a family get linked in on a classroom meeting from the school parking lot. 
• For Parents, Connectivity on the internet, meeting ID's, computer passwords are all things we will strive to support in the days and weeks to come.

In the words of a fellow superintendent, "we are building this model for instruction (airplane) while it is in the air. " 

Please continue to reach out to teachers and that staff as you need support.

Be Safe and Healthy,

David Bingham, Superintendent

 

March 19, 2020 Update

Students, Parents and Staff,

 

I hope that you are doing well and taking advantage of the beautiful weather we have been experiencing over the last few days.

 

I want you to know that schools have been directed by Governor Jay Inslee and OSPI to focus on the following items in this order of priority.

 

• Food distribution
• Providing Childcare for children whose parents work in the Medical Care services and first responders.
• Working with the employee associations to develop contingency plans for school closure
• Provide supplemental student opportunities

 

Food Distribution

We began delivering breakfast and lunch items to families that have requested it. Deliveries took longer than we had anticipated and we will make adjustments for tomorrow. If you are not receiving food and would like to receive it call the school office at 360-929-3311 and we will add you to the list.

 

Childcare

Our current guidance from OSPI for childcare is as follows:

 

 

 

I have found that the YMCA is providing Childcare services and they currently have space available. You can contact Nancy King at 360-452-9244 x 102  for registration information. Nancy told me today that if you fit the above-mentioned guidelines that you would take priority. They have a maximum occupancy to allow them to adhere to the “Social Distancing” requirement that has been established because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

 

Contingency Planning with the Employee Unions

I have been working closely with the Teachers (CEA) and Classified Employees (PSE) unions this week and we are very close to approving Memorandums of Understanding with both groups. This outlines options for working “remotely”, an understanding around sick leave should one of them become ill and the extension of the student school year to June 19, 2020.

 

I have found that staff are very willing to support our students during this school closure.

 

Providing supplemental or “Complementary” learning opportunities for our students.

In the earliest part of our planning, OPSI instructed us to be sure that student support during a school closure must be “Equitable”. For our students in grades K – 5 we have provided learning packets that will be updated in the days and weeks to come. The purpose of these packets is to help your child retain the information they have learned so far this year, keep them engaged in school and provide some routine for their day.  Beginning next week you will be contacted by your student’s teacher via, phone, email or even a video call.

 

For our students in grades 6 -12 we are using an electronic platform called Google Classroom to post and manage work that is designed to help your child retain the information that has been taught so this year, keep them engaged in school, and provide some routine for their day. For our students in grades 6 – 12 Chromebooks are available for checkout. Just contact school office (360-928-3311) if you would like access to a Chromebook. Our secondary teachers will also reach out to their students next week to check in on them. Students in grades 6 – 12 that may behind in their work for 3^rd quarter can still complete those missing assignments and turn them in for credit. Contact your students’ teacher with questions about missing work and how to turn it in.

 

This is a time with extraordinary circumstances and our staff is working hard to adjust to them and provide you with the support you need. Please contact the school office if you have questions.

 

 

Thank you,

 

David L. Bingham

Superintendent

School Closure Update

March 16, 2020

 

Dear Staff and Families,

Friday, we received an order from the Governor’s Office and State Department of Health regarding Washington’s efforts to reduce the spread and effect of COVID-19. At 3:00 p.m. all Washington public schools will be closed through April 24 with all classes and events cancelled.

At Crescent, we are taking the following actions effective immediately and they will continue until further notice:

• Parent/Teacher Conferences Canceled: Academic concerns will be communicated via email and ParentSquare. If you do not receive an email by the end of the day on Monday March 23, please contact the school.

• Teaching Resources: Students will have access to learning resources during this extended break so their learning is not interrupted any more than necessary. Many of our teachers have posted activities to their Google Classroom sites. Others have sent home packets of materials with their students. These are not intended to replace classroom instruction but to serve as a supplement to the learning we don’t want students to forget before they return in April.

• Chrome Books: We will be checking out Chrome Book laptops to many students in order to support their learning practices. We realize internet access is limited in our area so will try to support students with hot spots. However, parents need to know that internet filtering now done at school will need to be replaced by parent supervision at home.

• Events and Travel: All field trips, staff travel, as well as indoor & outdoor events including athletic competitions are canceled until further notice.

• Limiting Non-Essential Contact: As added precautions, volunteers and visitors will not be allowed at school. Parents may only be at school for essential business, arranged in advance.

• Community Facility Use: We are suspending all community use of our facilities, fields, and campuses.

We will continue to let you know when changes are made that impact students, families, and staff. If you have any questions, please contact the school. For regular updates please visit our website, ParentSquare and Facebook.

Sincerely,

David Bingham
Superintendent

School Closure Announcement

March 13, 2020

Greetings this has been an eventful day in the history of education in the state of Washington, but I hope that you can find some calm in spite of the rapidly changing landscape around COVID-19. This is the first of what may be many communications over the next few weeks.

This afternoon Governor Jay Inslee announced that all schools in the state of Washington must close beginning Tuesday, March 17.

Crescent School will be open all day on Monday March 16 with classes meeting as scheduled. 

We are fully aware of the hardships this may cause for you and we are working on questions about:

• Graduation requirements for our students
• Co-curricular activities
• Childcare for students whose parents work in the medical field or first responders.

Monday, your child will bring some supplemental materials to support them during the closure.  I expect that we will add to those materials as the closure continues. This will evolve over time and as we get guidance from OSPI and the Governor.

Food Service:  we are looking at offering up to 2 meals per day to anyone from ages 0-18 at no charge.  We will send information out to families next week with further details about service days, pick-up points and/or drop-off locations.  Please feel free to contact the school office at [email protected] or 360-928-3311 if you are experiencing specific hardship and we will see what our options are.

Today has been an emotional day for our teaching staff, they are very concerned about the welfare of your child during this closure, and they are committed to doing what they can do within the guidance they receive from our Principal, Therese Carroll, OSPI, the Governor and me.

Sincerely,

David L. Bingham
Superintendent

Crescent District Update:  Coronavirus

March 12, 2020

 

Dear Staff, Students, Parents and Families,

A little after 2PM today Governor Jay Inslee announced that the schools in Snohomish, King and Pierce County will close no later than the end of the day on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 and be closed until April 24th.  When asked why he was not closing all schools in the state the governor stated that currently the incidences of COVID-19 in other parts of the state are low at this time. The Governor did say he could order the closure of additional schools if the safety need warranted more closures.

I am continuing to monitor the information as it comes in about the COVID-19 virus. It is important to know that as of the time of this writing there are not any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Clallam County.  Tomorrow’s non-student day has been scheduled that way since the beginning of the year. Teachers will work and focus on ways to provide for the instructional needs of our students should there be significant student or staff absenteeism in the weeks to come.

This morning the superintendents of the five school districts of Clallam County met with Clallam County Health Officer Dr. Allison Unthank to discuss issues in our county and she continues her recommendation to keep schools in Clallam County open at this time. Dr. Unthank stated that closing schools in Clallam County could cause harm. Dr. Unthank has been very clear that we should be looking at the situation in Clallam County and today there is not evidence that school closure will be helpful.

Schools are clean. Often-touched surfaces are being wiped down frequently by custodial and other staff.  We stress hand washing, social distancing (6ft spaces), having sick people stay home and the student population is faring very well in relationship to COVID-19. Dr. Unthank continually stresses that if you are sick stay home, and keep your children home if they are sick.

Currently there is no evidence of significant community spread in Clallam County.  Closing schools at this time would negatively affect our students’ who rely on our food program, who have parents that work full time, and a long closure would have a significant negative impact on the academic progress of our students.

I will continue to provide updates via www.csd313.org, Parent Square and Facebook. This situation is very fluid and the recommendation to keep schools open could change with a declaration of the Governor or our County Health Department. In the event of a closure, I am working on our ability to provide food service or even a place for students to be during the day if their parents work full-time, but providing these services might not be seamless and begin the first day of a closure.

Most trainings that staff have been signed up for outside of the county are being cancelled.  We have also cancelled field trips to King County that were planned for next week and I anticipate further limiting student travel in the next couple of days.

Sincerely,

David Bingham
Crescent School District Superintendent

 

Coronavirus
February 27, 2020

Dear Crescent Families,

I hope you are enjoying the first signs of Spring and the longer daylight hours.

When events such as the Coronavirus occur on the world stage it seems to be so far from home, making it difficult to assess the level of precaution needed at any one time. In the hopes of providing information without causing alarm, I want to share that I am monitoring the situation on a daily basis.

You may have heard that a high school in Western Washington closed recently due to an “abundance of caution”. This closure was because of some global travel on the part of some staff members during the mid-winter break last week.

As related to our response and planning for the Crescent School District, I get updates and guidance from many sources:

• Washington Department of Health (DOH)
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction, Chris Reykdal
• Clallam County Health Department
• Olympic ESD 114
• Our School Nurse, Corrie Matlock-Hightower
• Clallam County Fire District #4 Chief/Paramedic, Greg Waters

Here is a link to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) website where they share a fact sheet for the Coronavirus:  https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus

I will continue to provide pertinent information as I am updated.  Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have questions.

In closing, like for all health related issues, continue good hand washing, disinfect touched surfaces often, cover your cough, and if you have a fever stay home.

Thank you,

David Bingham
Superintendent

2019-2020 Mid-Year Update

Greetings,

 

A quick order of business:  Classes will be in session on February 3 and May 22 to make up the days we missed because of snow.

 

Now, on to the rest.  It is hard to believe that we are 50% of the way through the school year already!  It has been a busy fall and winter with increased district enrollment and new staff bringing many new faces to our campus.

 

In the first half of the year, a number of exciting things have happened:

 

• As part of our Health and Wellness Strategic Plan goal, we have improved the quality and healthiness of our school breakfast and lunch program.
• During first semester, the Culinary Arts class helped with lunch preparation in the school kitchen.
• Community Member Joey Currie was recently appointed to the School Board.
• In November, your Board of Directors was honored as a 2019 “Board of Distinction".
• Our midyear bus inspection passed with zero infractions.
• Another successful health inspection of our kitchen and food preparation practices was completed without any findings.
• The Olympic Peninsula HomeConnections program was monitored this fall and we were found to be in compliance with the OSPI requirements.
• Our Student Care committee continues to meet and develop ways to support our students.
• The Logger Football Team once again qualified for the playoffs
• The Boys Basketball Team is in the middle of a battle for a playoff spot.
• Our Spanish III Class is very near its fundraising goal for their trip to Costa Rica.
• Our growing band program has played at Football games, Basketball games and the November Veterans Day Assembly.
• The district purchased new desks for a high school classroom.
• As part of our efforts to provide more electives in the high school schedule, we are offering a forensics class during second semester.

Grants and other financial support for our program

 

Safe Routes to School Grant

 

Immunizations/Nurse

 

Looking Ahead

• The state testing will begin after spring break for students in grades 3 – 11. If you have specific questions about the testing please contact your student’s classroom teacher.
• Mrs. Carroll is already working with staff to plan for the curricular needs for next year. The development of the K-12 master schedule is already in the works.
• The district is planning for summer school and facilities work that will need to be completed this summer.

 

I hope that your student is having a great school year and if you have any questions please contact us.

 

David Bingham, Superintendent