Focused on one-on-one

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake’s newest school had its long-awaited ribbon-cutting Wednesday evening.

“It's been some time in the making,” said Moses Lake School District Superintendent Monty Sabin, as he welcomed parents, students and community members to the event at Vanguard Academy. “We're just really excited that we're to this day. We delayed it a little bit because they're still working on the building, and we wanted them to have just a little bit more done before we had the ribbon cutting so you can see what it really looks like instead of with pieces missing.”

Classes at Vanguard started in August along with the other schools, with parts of the building still under construction. There was still work in progress Wednesday night, but that didn’t stop the students and faculty from showing it off.

“When I joined the Moses Lake School Board in May of 2019, the concept of Vanguard Academy had already been formed, and implementation of a new style of learning had begun,” said MLSB vice chair Shannon Hintz. “With the school board's direction and the superintendent's vision and leadership, a core team was built to bring this new style of learning to life. The original plan of a second high school was revised, giving the district opportunity to change the course of learning to break the mold around what high schools have always been, to dream about a better tomorrow for students. Vanguard Academy is Washington state's first full cross-disciplinary, mastery-assessed, project-based learning high school.”

Hintz thanked many people who had been part of bringing Vanguard Academy to fruition, including former board members Vicki Groff, Eric Stones, Elliott Goodrich and Vickey Melcher, former MLSD superintendent Joshua Meek, Washington State Board of Education Vice President Harium Martin-Morris and former MLSD Director of Student Services Dave Balcom, among others.

Vanguard Principal Kelly Cutter took the microphone next for the actual ribbon cutting.

“We're reimagining the way we do education,” she said. “And that requires a giant leap of faith. There is a Zen saying, ‘Leap and the net will appear.’ And to me, that means that everyone who is a part of this Vanguard team has also been charged with creating the net for our students, staff, family and community.”

Cutter then stood back while Seth Smith and Halle Gies held the ribbon and Selena Ramirez cut it. Then a small army of Vanguard students took over to provide guided tours to the attendees.

Anybody who was expecting to see a conventional high school was in for a surprise. The commons area, called the “marketplace,” looks more like a shopping mall food court than a school cafeteria, with a variety of foods offered at walk-up counters. There are huddle rooms soundproofed against noise from the outside, where students can work together on a project, and special chairs for students who have trouble sitting still.

Also unlike traditional high schools, Vanguard is organized into houses, cohorts of students who work and learn together, rather than having hordes of students pour into the halls whenever a bell rings.

“I go to House 1 for a club but most of my day I spend here in this house,” said Alyssa Wassink, a House 5 student and one of the tour guides. “I get more freedom, and also more one-on-one help.”

“I like it because we usually get to pick our schedule each day,” said her fellow tour guide Meadow Saenz. “Obviously, we have some restrictions. Like, we have to have math class (and) science. And I enjoy it because you get more one-on-one with the teacher.”

“At the high school you have like math classes each day,” Wassink added. “We just have to have math three times a week. That's it. Also science three times a week and our main class just three times a week.”

Classes at Vanguard have about 20 students at a time, Saenz said.

“I will always be thankful that I get to be part of the amazing learning experience,” Cutter said. “It has taken a great deal of time, effort and grit to get to this opening. And although there have been a few bumps in the road, I can't imagine doing this journey with anyone else.”

Joel Martin can be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.