Othello School Board discusses teacher staffing
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 1 month AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | February 19, 2018 2:00 AM
OTHELLO — Art and foreign language instruction, and getting and keeping teachers for subjects that aren’t considered core subjects, was a topic of conversation at the Othello School Board meeting Feb. 12.
The subject came up in a report from Desert Oasis High School, the district’s alternative high school. Isabel Pruneda is the DOHS representative to the board, and she asked about foreign language instruction.
Foreign language is a requirement for graduation. But no foreign language instruction is offered at DOHS, because there’s no teacher. Kids have the option of taking a test for the foreign language credit, but it’s a tough test. Isabel said she tried it and failed. There is an online program, but it’s very difficult, she said.
“Having a foreign language teacher is really important – we really need one,” Isabel said. Alternative school officials are looking at options, including sharing a teacher with either McFarland Middle School or Othello High School, Isabel said. The alternative school might not need a full time foreign language teacher, she said, but they need one or two foreign language classes.
A lot of kids at DOHS need the foreign language credit, Isabel said, enough so that it’s difficult for them to attend a class at OHS.
Assistant superintendent Pete Perez said district officials are looking at alternatives for DOHS. The high school and alternative school principals have been talking about the possibility of DOHS students going to the high school for one period of foreign language instruction. “There’s a level of collaboration happening between those two schools that’s new for our system,” Perez said.
Another possibility is a foreign language instructor from MMS teaching at DOHS for one class. “Is there a way to partner (a teacher from MMS) one period a day (at DOHS), just to make sure we meet the needs over at DOHS.”
Isabel said DOHS also might be losing its art teacher, and with that its art class, for the 2018-19 school year. “I believe we have a formal resignation of a fine arts position at OHS and DOHS,” Perez said. But there are candidates for that job, and he expects that position to be filled, he said.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway
EPHRATA — The grass is starting to turn green, the trees are starting to leaf out, construction crews are starting to build roundabouts – hey, it’s spring. At least one roundabout project is in its final phase, held over from fall 2025. The intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way will be closed the week of April 6 to allow crews to install permanent lights. “This really is the final (closure),” wrote Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines in a media release. “The roundabout will close at 6 a.m. Monday, and we plan to reopen by Friday, possibly sooner if the work finishes early.”
Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate
QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, has announced his candidacy for the Washington Senate. If he’s elected, he would replace Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who announced her retirement in March.
Othello Community Museum to open April 25
OTHELLO — With a couple of new exhibits, a new heating-cooling system, rearranged displays and a thorough cleaning, the Othello Community Museum will open for the summer April 25. The goal, said Molly Popchock, museum board secretary, is to operate for a full season.