Welcome to Mount Vernon Schools

The Mount Vernon School District hosted the 58th Annual New Staff Barbecue for 100+ guests at Hillcrest Park Lodge on August 30. The event, which welcomed 30 new certificated staff and their families to the district, was attended by community partners, elected officials, civic leaders, and education representatives. Pictured are new teachers Anna Barker (MVHS French teacher) and Kortney Marlatt (LaVenture reading teacher), along with their guests.

District announces assistant principal appointments

The Mount Vernon School District is pleased to announce the following assistant principal appointments: 

Mount Vernon High School
Clinton Carlton has been involved in public school education in Texas and Arizona since 1997. During this time, he has successfully held a variety of positions as a teacher of school biology and science, athletic coach, instructional coach and curriculum specialist, and middle school principal. From 2007 to 2010, he served as assistant principal at the highly performing 1450-student Sahuarita High School in Arizona. Clinton's education includes a bachelor of science degree from the University of Arizona, completion of the teacher certification program at Southwest Texas State University, a master's degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University, and an internship in K-12 administration at Prescott College.

Mount Baker Middle School
Julie Sager has been involved in secondary public education since 1989, and served as family and consumer science instructor at Mount Vernon High School beginning in 1997. Her leadership experience includes six years on the school improvement team, serving as coordinator for the senior culminating project and Navigation 101/Bulldog Advisory, a team leader role, and facilitator for LINK and High Yield Strategies. Julie completed an administrative internship at Mount Vernon High School in 2010. She is a graduate cum laude of Central Washington University.

LaVenture Middle School
Lori Stolee will take on a one-year role as interim assistant principal at LaVenture Middle School. She served a principal internship at LaVenture last year. Lori launched her secondary teaching career in 1980 in the Stanwood School district as a PE teacher and coach, and continued in the Arlington School District as a health teacher and coach. She has many years of experience as director of the prevention center at Northwest Educational Service District 189. Lori has a bachelor of science degree in physical education from Washington State University. She earned her master's degree in education and a principal's certificate from Washington State University. 

School begins on September 8, and our building staffs will be hosting open houses and other back-to-school events in late August and September. (Seventh grade students will attend orientations at their assigned middle schools the morning of September 7.)

Elementary and Middle Schools Events:

• Centennial Elementary School: September 23, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
• Jefferson Elementary  School: August 31, 4:00-6:00 p.m.
• LaVenture Middle School: September 22, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
• Lincoln Elementary School: September 23, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
• Little Mountain Elementary School: September 2, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
• Madison Elementary School: August 31 (time to be determined)
• Mount Baker Middle School: September 22, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
• Washington Elementary School: September 2, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Mount Vernon High School Events:

• August 30, 5:00-9:00 p.m.: Link Leader Training
• August 31, 8:00 a.m.-noon: Link Leader Training
• September 1, 8:00 a.m.-noon: Freshman Orientation (with lunch for freshman from 12:00-12:30 p.m.)

Math and reading changes slated for elementary school students

Some important and exciting changes in elementary reading and math are planned for the 2010-11 school year. Read more here.

Mount Vernon taxpayers to benefit from refinancing of bonds

The Mount Vernon School District completed a refinancing of its 2002 voter–approved bonds on May 12, using for the first time a competitive bid process.  The sale resulted in savings to taxpayers of $395,308 over the next nine years.  The District received 11 bids from underwriting firms nationwide, and was able to reduce the average interest rate on its bonds from 4.8% to 2.8%.  Superintendent Dr. Carl Bruner stated, "We are thrilled to be able to achieve these savings for the benefit of the taxpayers during these difficult times." 

Guarantee college savings

Did you know that you can guarantee your child's college tuition with Washington's Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) Program? GET is a 529 prepaid tuition plan, backed by state law and a secure place for college savings. The state guarantees your GET units will keep pace with rising tuition costs, no matter how much they increase in the future. Along with flexible payment plans, GET also offers tax-free growth and withdrawal. GET units can be used nationwide at nearly any college, university or vocational school. Enrollment is open September 15 through March 31. For details and to enroll online, visit www.get.wa.gov. Questions? Please call 1-800-955-2318.

Nixle: A new way to get urgent info

Government and law enforcement agencies are adding a new networking component to their communication arsenal, and it's not Facebook or Twitter, but quite similar. It's called Nixle, a community information service that enables public entities to blast information—including Amber Alerts, advisories and community and traffic information—directly to residents by email and text. Unlike its counterparts, though, Nixle provides only one-way communications and no advertising.

The platform for police, crime watch groups and other organizations disseminates information based on the user's geographical location. Law enforcement officials say they like the service because it has a secure server. Only users who have been authorized by Nixle can post information on the network, which ensures that residents get information from a reliable source. Many cities that previously used social networking platforms are switching over to Nixle because of its secure communications platform.

There are four types of messages you may receive: Alerts (emergency type information); Advisories (less urgent information); Community Information (day-to-day neighborhood information), and Traffic (very localized traffic information).

To learn more about Nixle or to register for its services, please visit the Nixle website by clicking here.

Class of 2010 Graduation Toolkit

The Class of 2010 Toolkit is a resource to help educators and families understand state graduation requirements. The toolkit is periodically updated with new materials and information. In the toolkit, you'll find:

• 2009-10 Key Dates
• 2010 Graduation Requirements
• Alternatives to Passing the WASL: Certificate of Academic Achievement Options
• Important 2010 WASL Information
• Options for Students not Graduating After Four Years of High School

To access the toolkit, please click here.

School District news on TV-10

Join us for the Mount Vernon School District TV show, Focus on Learning, as we explore school-related issues, instructional programs and important community partnerships. Focus on Learning airs at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on channel TV-10.