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Every Monday, Superintendent Brian Wharton sends a message to all Yelm Community Schools staff members.
Monday Memos
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September 20, 2021
Good morning,Just prior to the start of the school year, author Rick Miller spent significant time with our Southworth and Ridgeline staff talking about the science of hope. His message was outstanding and acknowledged the challenge we face in starting this new school year. We begin working with students this year not completely knowing what their experiences were last year in school and out, and we also face a significant challenge assessing where they are in their learning. I am so proud that in the first days of the new year we have stepped in with great passion and concern for our learners.In his book The Soul, Science and Culture of Hope, Miller forwards five notions that give us the entry points for this fall.
1. It is not risk or adverse childhood experiences that prevent children from succeeding emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, and economically; it is the absence of hope.
2. We don't control most of the risk our children and youth experience, but we do control much of the hope.3. Even within the child who is mostly at risk, there equally exists a youth at hope.4. Hope is taught and learned.5. Programs or curricula alone do not improve a child's sense of hope - relationships do.
As we enter the third week of our school year, we are getting to know our students and their learning. It is, though, our relationship with each that serves as the springboard to academic success.Have a great week of learning.Brian -
September 13, 2021
Good Morning and welcome to the first Monday of the new year.Today is a special day for more than 400 of our students. Today is the first day of school for our kindergarten cohort. Welcome to the graduating class of 2034! Just imagine our youngest learners, wide-eyed, entering their classrooms for the first time. What a joy! Today marks the first day of their 13-year journey with us. Please remember our strategic plan goal #2 that states, "Each student will be on a path (starting in Kindergarten) to graduation, continuing education and work.I want to commend everyone for a great start to the new school year. In my travels to schools I witnessed great strategies for building relationships and engagement. I also witnessed some truly impressive instruction. Teachers and staff were focusing intently on tier 1 instruction, working with students to build those strong habits of high quality learning. It was great to see everyone in class.Lastly, I want to thank our transportation staff for their strong work last week. The first day is so hard when students don't know their bus routes and are unfamiliar with procedures. By Friday last week, we shaved off 45 minutes on our homeward routes at the end of the day. Thanks to everyone who made last week such a success.Have a great week of learning.Brian -
September 8, 2021
I know it isn't Monday, but I had to celebrate the first day of school."We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." This quote from American writer Cynthia Ozick truly speaks to my experiences visiting all our schools today.
It has been two years since we had a full opening of schools. Overall today was my 36th first day as an educator and I am grateful to you all for creating schools today that are welcoming and positive for students. I heard laughter, and saw the joy of the first day of school. In most ways it felt like I remembered it. We can't take the positivity of the first day of school for granted. It is incredibly precious.I do have to share a quote from our first day opening at the new Yelm Middle School. Right after breakfast a young man came up to the school administrators very excited about the new building. He said, "This place is so piped out!" I am going to assume that was a compliment. It sounded like it.I am grateful to you all for working so hard to make today a great start to our school year. Thank you. |
Brian -
June 14, 2021
Good morning and thank you for reading the final Monday Memo of the 2020-21 school year.
Well, we were able to take advantage of the only sunshine of the weekend to send off our 2021 Senior Class Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day and an even more spectacular ceremony. The most poignant portion for me was that graduation on Saturday marked the first time the class had been completely together since March 13 of 2020. Congratulations to all the graduates and their families. Thank you to all staff who worked with students and helped prepare the stadium for graduation. It was a great day.As we finish up the last few days of 20-21, please know that all of the efforts put forth this year in support of students are immensely appreciated and acknowledged. Thank you for your constant flexibility in the face of changing requirements, schedules and instructional models. We found new ways to feed students, transport them, outfit them with technology, and found new ways to engage students outside our traditional classroom settings. Time for a gigantic exhale.I know your efforts will pay great dividends moving into our summer programs and our return to regular scheduling in the fall. Until then, enjoy a much-earned break. I hope you all join us for our virtual staff breakfast on Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m.Thank you all.Brian -
June 7, 2021
Good morning.This Saturday, our seniors will experience the first graduation ceremony in our school stadium for quite some time. Rain or shine, the ceremony will mark a significant transition in their lives. Working with some of the senior leaders to plan graduation, I was struck by the depth to which they wanted to come together as a group. They have not been able to assemble as the Class of 2021 since before the first covid cases hit Thurston County in March of 2020.
Graduation is the celebration of a group's accomplishments. Plays, concerts, sports, clubs, dances and graduation walks all come to the forefront of reflection and celebration. Graduation is also a celebration of individual accomplishment. Acceptance into continuing education, the enactment of each student's plan, and also the celebration with families of moving from high school to that next positive step make graduation a special time. Since many of these typical facets of the senior year have been impacted, I can truly see why the class of 2021 wants, more than anything. to come together as a group for celebration.Please join us in celebrating the seniors this week. Like everyone, they have had to show grit and determination over the past 16 months. We are proud of them. Have a great week of learning.
Brian -
May 24, 2021
Good morning,
I take great pride in our district's overarching belief that "All means all." When that belief is tested, I truly feel that our response will always be led by the needs of the individual student. Schools can be our society's best examples of inclusivity and support.Tomorrow will mark the one-year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd. Since then, our country has continued to face racially motivated violence against Asian people, and recently more violence targeting people for their religious beliefs. It has been a difficult year.What gives me hope is the aspiration that schools will always make a difference. I am heartened that our district will be the one where every student feels welcomed, supported, represented and encouraged. These tenets are the foundation for strong relationships with our students and their families.As part of a great week of learning, please continue to reach out to every individual. All means all, and our support can make all the difference.
Brian -
May 17, 2021
Good morning,Last week I referenced our school board interviews for the position of junior representative to the board. Five outstanding, articulate and caring students interviewed - all to our amazement. I know at that age I did not possess the confidence to take on that role, or to interview in a public forum.At the end of the evening the board made two decisions. First, Azariah Carter and Skylar Meyers were appointed as the formal student representatives on the board for next year. Ileana Wall and Quentin Robinson were selected to become the junior representatives and will learn the role throughout next year.Student voice will continue to be on display over the next several weeks. Our current board representatives Natalie McLaughlin and Kya Ramirez will open our ceremony celebrating the new Yelm Middle School on June 23. Azariah and Skylar will also have prominent speaking roles. During the ceremony two quotes that will be unveiled in the main entrance and locker rooms, and all were chosen by the YMS students. Lastly, there are three large vertical banners on the Solberg St. side of the school that were also student-driven choices.One thing our board has referenced this year with the addition of students to the board is that we learn as much or more from the students as they learn from us. Have a great week of learning.
Brian -
May 10, 2021
Good morning,
This Thursday night at our board study session student voice will be front and center of our work. The directors will interview five rising juniors who aspire to be a junior representative to the board. These five students are taking a significant step toward leading their peers and representing their voice on school governance.
Recapping our brief history of student representatives, last fall the board enacted policy 1250 - Students on Governing Boards. Subsequently two seniors, Natalie McLaughlin and Kya Ramirez were appointed as student representatives on the board. Azariah Carter and Skylar Meyers were appointed as junior representatives to learn the role and prepare to move onto the board. All four have been outstanding contributors this year.
Our board members, and I, have been amazed at the contributions of our student representatives. They have brought a strong perspective of student life to the board, and have succeeded in helping us move forward on policy issues, and our Graduate Yelm! initiatives.
Please join us via Zoom on Thursday to listen to how our students will bring their voice to the board. Have a great week of learning.
Brian -
May 3, 2021
Good morning and welcome to May,
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week across the country. We certainly will have many different celebrations across our district this week. In an incredible time, teachers have looked for new ways, new tools and new strategies to navigate the teaching and learning process.
One of my favorite education authors is Philip Schlechty. In his book Engaging Students, he writes about teachers as leaders and not as performers or presenters. He states, "There are really only two things that have the prospect of having a direct impact on student performance over which the teacher has any real control. First is the relationship that teachers have with their students and the way teachers, as leaders, treat their students. Second is the work teachers assign to students or encourage them to undertake...Effective teachers get students to do the right things, and they design things for them to do that are right for the students they teach."
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Have a great week of engaging students in great things.
Brian -
April 26, 2021
Good morning,
Things are happening quickly with our many construction projects across the district. This pace will continue to grow throughout the spring and summer. Here are a few highlights:- Construction of the Southworth water tower goes vertical this week. This is a key step in getting ready to start construction of the new school this summer. The water tower is for the fire suppression system.
- We have scheduled a small grand opening event on June 23 for the new Yelm Middle School. The finishing touches for the building will be done in July and the staff will gain full occupancy over the summer. This school is really amazing.
- Planning is well underway for the YMS staff to move into their new building in late June. At the same time, the Southworth staff is preparing to move into the existing YMS for one year.
- Construction is underway at Ridgeline on their new track and field. Athletic field work at YHS starts in May.
- Construction is also underway on the performing arts center at YHS upgrade.
Demolition of 3 portables at Ft. Stevens will start this week. Newer portables from the Southworth site will be moved over once school is out.
Things really kick into high gear once school lets out with HVAC projects at Mill Pond, Prairie and Ft. Stevens. McKenna and Lackamas will receive their safety upgrades from the bond over the summer as well.
I am very optimistic that we will have a full reopening of school next fall, and we will have significantly upgraded facilities for our students, and for our community use.
Have a great week of learning.
Brian -
April 19, 2021
Good morning,
Our work last week allowed us to revisit and reconnect with our partners at No Excuses University. Reviewing their work and intended outcomes led me to reread a section on teacher and administrative leadership regarding, "Going all in." There are two quotes that really spoke to me with respect to our work in the second half of this year.First, much has been reported on the mental health status of our students. As our students return to the classroom, Damen Lopez stated that going all in requires the action of building positive relationships with kids. He wrote, "Dedicate yourself to building your students up when you refer to them in all contexts, not tearing them down. Speak positively about all the students you work with and show your pride in them."Second, I continue to see evidence of student growth acceleration from our in-person instruction. "The time students have in their classrooms to work with their teachers is sacred." Lopez writes. "Do everything you can to minimize interruptions of the teaching and learning process."
Have a great week of learning. We all make a difference.
Brian -
April 12, 2021
Good morning and welcome back.I spent some time last week going over student achievement data as I wanted to find evidence of how our students are doing since returning to in-person learning. We have strong anecdotal evidence that students were excited to return to school and were engaging in their learning. The great news is that we have tangible data that shows our students are performing better after several weeks of in-person opportunities. The evidence shows increased engagement and improved performance when compared to our remote-only environment.
Going back to the work of John Hattie - we have to constantly look at our impact. What we also know is that every adult in our system positively impacts students. I am truly enthusiastic about the impact we will have this spring. I want to give all of our staff a gigantic, "Thank You!" for your work this year. You all make a difference.
Have a great week of sunshine and learning.
Brian -
March 29, 2021
Good morning and welcome to April (this week anyway)!Spring conferences take on a much greater importance this year. In some cases and grade levels, we are only now getting to know students in person, and meeting with parents for the first time. Conferences offer the opportunity to build a partnership with families and to clearly articulate the learning goals for the spring. By partnering with families, we have a great chance of pushing achievement forward in a robust way.Setting goals, and creating pathways to achieve them is a signature trait of high hope people. Educators have always been able to articulate a road to success and to inspire students to see their strengths. It is my hope that this week of conferences results in partnerships, passion for learning, and a clear pathway to high achievement.
Have a great week.
Brian -
March 22, 2021
Good morning,Last week allowed me to feel a sense of calm because our students K-12 were back in school for at least two days. During my school visits, there was amazing positive energy throughout. For short periods of time, things felt closer to normal.As good as that felt to see and hear students on campuses, I continued to wonder, "How are we all doing?" How are our students from impoverished settings doing? How are our families coping? Given the current situation in Atlanta, how are our Asian and Pacific Island families doing? How is our staff doing?One of the many great things schools do is build a sense of growth, grit and a sense of accomplishment. Schools also give us the great opportunity to check in on each other in a variety of ways. I really appreciate our elementary morning meetings and the different ways we explore SEL lessons. Thanks for all you do to make students feel welcomed, supported and cared about every day.Have a great week.Brian -
March 15, 2021
Good morning,I am completely energized from this weekend and into today. Why today? It was so amazing seeing our high school students back on campus this morning. All throughout our phase-in of hybrid learning, the staff enthusiasm for returning students has been so inspiring. Our students are really excited to be back in class, and our families have been wonderfully supportive of all the preparations for hybrid.
On Saturday Yelm High School served as the host site for a drive-through vaccination clinic for our staff. Thanks so much to Tim's Pharmacy for providing the staff and resources for an incredibly smooth operation. Additional thanks to our district nurses and staff who worked the clinic. We were also able to open up time slots for Rainier and Tenino district staff, along with local child care workers. In all, about 450 doses were administered which is great for our district and community.Then, on Saturday night, the Dollars for Scholars organization hosted its yearly auction for our senior class. The downside was that the auction had to be virtual instead of at the high school, but the community participation was really strong. We benefit from an incredibly giving community.I am really proud to be a member of this community and a part of this school system. Have a great week of learning!Brian
