Warden schools: where students are the center

Size A school shows the benefits of a student-emphasized atmosphere

Every student counts. This belief comes out in actions. For Warden teachers, this dedicated mind set puts kids first, illustrating why school employees' roles are connected to a child's success.

The Warden School District knows why its in existence. For the students of the community and nothing more. Not for egos and not for pride.

In the mornings, Superintendent Larry Blades spends time in the school cafeteria during breakfast. He stands by the door, greeting students and giving them high fives as send-offs, showing that he cares.

Whether you're a first-grader, 12-year-old, or in high school, it doesn't matter. Blades will send you off with a positive word. And he's quick to give credit to others.

"We have an exceptional staff," Blades said.

The Warden School District consists of a high school, a middle school and an elementary school.

Blades joined the school district after he retired from school administration work in Montana. Over the years, he worked as a teacher, principal and superintendent at various Montana school districts.

After Blades retired, six of his close administrative peers came to Washington state the same year he did. And since then, a few more of Blades' friends have made the trek to our state.

In his three years as superintendent, Blades has noticed a few the challenges for his district.

For one, the school district is losing students slowly and as a result, strives to keep as many programs in place as possible.

The other challenge Blades noted is the district's effort to keep each class size reasonable.

A manageable class size, however, is in the eye of the beholder. Depending on the chemistry of the kids, manageable can mean having only 15 kids per class, or 25 students in a room, Blades said.

Or it can mean combining two classes into one for a special activity, like fourth-grade teachers Michelle Geer and Diana Castle were doing right before the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.

Both women were going over recycled short essays from last year's WASL, showing kids what kind of work scores a 4, 3, 2 or 1.

In Warden, learning doesn't stop at the doors of the traditional, year-round school.

Summer school is there for kids who need it and Special Services Director Nancy Larsen said that the summer school ratio is 10 students to one teacher.

"We're going to have a wonderful summer school," Larsen said.

Larsen, a district employee for 31 years, explained the importance of the school to the community, even going so far as to call the buildings the center of the town. The school isn't just a school, it's a recreation and adult learning center.

Warden parents show their support by consistently attending special school events, she said.

"I love it here," Larsen said.

In the elementary school, reading coach Gail Pinkerton and Principal Jill Massa are ready to talk about what goes on in their building.

Other programs that benefit the community are housed in the elementary school. Those programs include the developmentally-delayed preschool and Big Bend Community College's cooperative preschool.

Warden Elementary's enrollment stays at about 480 students most of the time, Massa said.

Pinkerton, an elementary school teacher for 20 years, was hired under the Reading First grant supplied by the federal government.

She makes sure the district complies with the grant's requirements and the kindergarten through third-grade reading program is running smoothly.

The push for better doesn't end with a reading grant. The middle school was chosen for a school improvement grant. As a result, it was decided that this improvement should be taken through the elementary and high schools.

"We're doing well, but we need to be consistent across the board," Massa said.

One school activity helps kids with reading and is called "Freaky Friday Fluency." During one-minute timings, kids practice reading through a certain amount of material.

To help kids who suffer from testing anxiety, old WASL test answers are provided and snacks are available the entire week of the test, Massa said.

Moral support is available from fifth-graders who write letters to younger students taking the test, Massa added.

At the high school and middle school buildings, Leonard Lusk and Mike Villarreal are the principals, respectively.

Villarreal is completing his fifth year as principal and Lusk has put in four years with the district.

Even in Lusk's few years at Warden, he cannot help but notice how well its high school graduates do.

In fact, Lusk highlighted the nearly 30 graduates who earned their doctorates in a range of areas at last year's WHS graduation.

In preparation for college and other post-secondary opportunities, the middle school now offers the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, program.

Villarreal called GEAR UP the "neatest thing" happening in his building.

The GEAR UP program has a site director in Warden and it offers kids the opportunity to tour area colleges and participate in enriching after-school activities.

Lusk said there are 35 kids in the high school who are monolingual (when one language is used). Those students are mostly Hispanic, with two Czechoslovakians.

According to Villarreal, one-third of the students throughout the district are migrants. Another aspect to the traditional side of education is students who work to help support their families, Villarreal said.

Last year was a positive year, though, because Warden 10th-graders scored better on the test than students in some area schools, Lusk added.

"That doesn't mean we don't have a long way to go, though, and that's the challenge," Lusk said.

arreal said that the district has quite a few staff members who have worked for over 20 years in Warden. Some of these employees even commute, so they can work in the school district.

"That doesn't mean we don't have a long way to go, though, and that's the challenge," Lusk said.