Wahluke School Board changes meeting time

MATTAWA — The Wahluke School board voted to add a second meeting per month during their regular board meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8. The second meeting was approved through a vote to update board policy No. 1400 regarding board meetings. The updated policy changes the meeting dates to the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

The board approved a closed campus policy.

“Kindergarten through 10th-grade students shall remain on school grounds from time of arrival until close of school unless officially excused,” states the newly adopted policy. “High school students grades 11-12 may receive permission to leave campus at lunch breaks as a privilege granted based on parent permission and guidelines set by school administration.”

The closed campus policy is based on a survey taken of high school parents during an open house at the high school.

The board also approved a policy regarding calming and break rooms, primarily for special needs students. A calming room and a break room are the same room used in different ways.

“A calming room is where a child can choose to go on their own free will,” said Shari Steele, special education director for the Wahluke School District. “When a child feels icky and aggressive, they can go in there and calm down. It has music. They are all physically safe. It becomes a break room when a student is escorted by a staff member to stay.”

At this point, no students have used any rooms, as the rooms haven’t been created yet. Steele said that the district intends to line the rooms with wrestling pads, something not required by state law.

“We have decided to go the extra step to make them as safe as we can,” Steele said. “It’s the safety of the students. At Wahluke School District, we don’t want students hurt.”

Steele also told the board that this school year, there are two inclusive preschool classrooms for special education students. She said that students with disabilities tend to learn at a rate double that of normal, while the typically developing children learn empathy.