School notes for April 21, 2015

Skills Center offers tour, lunch The Clark County Skills Center Director Kari Duffy will host a tour of the technical programs Wednesday, April 29 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The tour includes an overview and walking tour of the campus, with stops at several of the center's programs, including the newly opened aviation and homeland Security programs, and the new cosmetology teaching salon. Lunch will be prepared and served by the culinary arts students. The cost is $5. To make reservations, call 604-1050, Ext. 2151 or email janice.strickland@evergreenps.org. The Clark County Skills Center is located at 12200 N.E. 28th St., Vancouver. HFHS hosts information night for families Hayes Freedom High School is hosting an informational meeting on Thursday, April 23 at 6 p.m. at the school, 1919 N.E. Ione St., Camas. Parents and potential students seeking admission for fall 2015 are encouraged to attend. HFHS was founded on the principle that not all students thrive in a large, comprehensive high school environment. Hayes Freedom High School offers small class sizes; longer, intensely focused classes; project-based learning and strong relationships. For more information, call Kristi Thomas at 833-5600. Local schools receive state honor Several Camas-Washougal schools have been named 2014 Washington Achievement Award winners. The Washington Achievement Award is sponsored by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education. Award winners are selected using the state's Accountability Index and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Flexibility Waiver. Schools are recognized as top performers in one of six categories: Overall excellence, high progress, reading growth, math growth, extended graduation rates and English language acquisition. Local schools receiving the honor are: Camas High School (overall excellence), Grass Valley Elementary School (reading growth), Helen Baller Elementary School (reading growth), Liberty Middle School (overall excellence, reading growth), Skyridge Middle School (overall excellence, reading growth, math growth) and Cape Horn-Skye Elementary School (high progress). The award-winning schools will be honored at a ceremony on Tuesday, April 28 at Spanaway Lake High School in Spanaway. Preschool open house set There will be an information open house for the Roots & Wings Preschool from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday. The preschool is located at the TreeSong Nature Awareness & Retreat Center, 41 Tree-ific Drive West, Washougal. Tree-ific Drive is off of the Washougal River Road between mile markers 12 and 13. For more information, call 837-TREE. Liberty Middle School selected as 'National Model School' Liberty Middle School has been selected as a 2015 National Model School by the International Center for Leadership in Education for being an "innovative leader in driving student learning." Principal Marilyn Boerke and teachers Jackie Hofer and Sarah Kankelberg will travel to Atlanta from June 28 through July 1 to share informaion with educators from across the country at the 23rd Annual Model Schools Conference. Seventeen National Model Schools were selected based on high achievement for all students through best practices such as providing every student with rigorous and relevant instruction, personalized instruction, increased student learning time, parent and community engagement, use of data to make instructional decisions and more. Each year, the Model Schools Conference attracts thousands of educators, who come to learn from these rapidly-improving elementary, middle and high schools, and career and technical education programs. This year's theme is Moving Beyond the Fog to Achieve Focus in the Midst of Initiative Overload. It will feature leaders and practitioners sharing their experiences in implementing system-wide improvement. "Breaking down the barriers of school walls is crucial in order for us, as educators, to learn from each other," said Willard R. Daggett, founder and chairman of the International Center. "By coming together and sharing our best practices, which mirror the International Center's mission of providing a rigorous and relevant education to all students, we are helping schools across the country move forward. We are delighted with the exceptional schools that have been named 2015 National Model Schools."

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