Dispute scrambles school improvement process

MOSES LAKE - A dispute on education policy between the federal and state governments will mean every school district in the state will be offering additional education services to some students.

Linda McKay, director of teaching and learning for the Moses Lake School District, said the state lost a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education that had allowed it to use a different evaluation system. With the lost waiver, all school districts are required to use the system that was in place when the waiver was granted, McKay said.

That system required that all students in the state pass the test by the 2013-14 school year, she said. Since no district managed to hit 100 percent, most schools in the state are now in the school improvement process.

Which schools fit where in school improvement will depend on where they were in the old process, which was last used in the 2010-2011 school year, McKay said.

Knolls Vista, Larson Heights, North and Longview elementary schools were at a place in the old process that will allow parents of some kids to take advantage of tutoring services.

Students at the other six elementary schools don't qualify, McKay said, nor do students at Moses Lake High School, or at Frontier, Chief Moses or Endeavor middle schools.

The tutoring is free of charge for qualifying students, she said. The free tutoring will be available to students at the four schools who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and who aren't meeting the benchmark on achievement tests, McKay said.

Each school has a limited number of spaces available, McKay said, and qualifying kids who need the most help will have the first choice at the free tutoring. Children will be rated based on their individual test scores, she said.

Parents who want a free tutor will have to pick from a list of tutors approved by the state, McKay said. There's a list on the website of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, but not all of those companies (or individuals) offer services through the whole state, she said.

Each of the schools will have an open house where parents can learn about their options, McKay said. Parents are encouraged to do their own research on the tutoring providers, she said.

There are provisions in the law that don't apply in the current circumstances, McKay said. The law allows children at schools designated as failing to transfer to other schools - but kids can't transfer to a school in school improvement, and all schools throughout the Columbia Basin are considered to be in school improvement, she said.