2009 No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon Schools Program s17

Name of Principal: Mr. Chuck Wyborney

Official School Name: Columbia High and Elementary School

School Mailing Address:
4961 B Hunters Shop Road
P.O. Box 7
Hunters, WA 99137-0007

County: Stevens State School Code Number*: 33206 3508

Telephone: (509) 722-3311 Fax: (509) 722-3310

Web site/URL: www.columbia206.k12.wa.usE-mail:

I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.

Date
(Principal‘s Signature)

Name of Superintendent*: Mr. B. Paul Turner

District Name: Columbia School District #206 Tel: (509) 722-3311

I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.

Date
(Superintendent‘s Signature)

Name of School Board President/Chairperson: Mr. James Schrack

I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.

Date
(School Board President‘s/Chairperson‘s Signature)

*Private Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write N/A in the space.
Original signed cover sheet only should be mailed by expedited mail or a courier mail service (such as USPS Express Mail, FedEx or UPS) to Aba Kumi, Director, NCLB-Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Office of Communications and Outreach, US Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Room 5E103, Washington, DC 20202-8173.

The signatures on the first page of this application certify that each of the statements below concerning the school‘s eligibility and compliance with U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) requirements is true and correct.

1. The school has some configuration that includes one or more of grades K-12. (Schools on the same campus with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)

2. The school has made adequate yearly progress each year for the past two years and has not been identified by the state as “persistently dangerous” within the last two years.

3. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement in the 2008-2009 school year. AYP must be certified by the state and all appeals resolved at least two weeks before the awards ceremony for the school to receive the award.

4. If the school includes grades 7 or higher, the school must have foreign language as a part of its curriculum and a significant number of students in grades 7 and higher must take the course.

5. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2003.

6. The nominated school has not received the No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, or 2008.

7. The nominated school or district is not refusing OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a district-wide compliance review.

8. OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the school district concluding that the nominated school or the district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.

9. The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging that the nominated school or the school district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the Constitution‘s equal protection clause.

10. There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education monitoring report that apply to the school or school district in question; or if there are such findings, the state or district has corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.

All data are the most recent year available.

DISTRICT (Questions 1-2 not applicable to private schools)

2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: 14659

Average State Per Pupil Expenditure: 8692

SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)

3. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:
[ ] Urban or large central city
[ ] Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
[ ] Suburban
[ ] Small city or town in a rural area
[ X ] Rural

4. 6 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school.

If fewer than three years, how long was the previous principal at this school?

5. Number of students as of October 1 enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school only:

Only the seven standard categories should be used in reporting the racial/ethnic composition of your school. The final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic data to the U.S. Department of Education published in the October 19, 2007 Federal Register provides definitions for each of the seven categories.

7. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 6%

This rate is calculated using the grid below. The answer to (6) is the mobility rate.

8. Limited English proficient students in the school: 0%

Total number limited English proficient 0

Number of languages represented: 1
Specify languages:

Spanish

9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 79%

Total number students who qualify: 160

If this method does not produce an accurate estimate of the percentage of students from low-income families, or the school does not participate in the free and reduced-price school meals program, specify a more accurate estimate, tell why the school chose it, and explain how it arrived at this estimate.

10. Students receiving special education services: 11%

Total Number of Students Served: 23

Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.

11. Indicate number of full-time and part-time staff members in each of the categories below:

12. Average school student-classroom teacher ratio, that is, the number of students in the school divided by the Full Time Equivalent of classroom teachers, e.g., 22:1 18 :1

13. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. Only middle and high schools need to supply dropout rates. Briefly explain in the Notes section any attendance rates under 95%, teacher turnover rates over 12%, or student dropout rates over 5%.

Please provide all explanations below.

Our student attendance rate runs in the 99 - 100% range and our student dropout rate runs in the 1-2% rate. Our students come to school and generally stay until they graduate.

Our staff attendance rate is affected by the number of teachers who attend in-services, professional meetings, workshops, etc. as part of the professional development that is encouraged by our administration. There are relatively few work days missed because of illness, but two of our teachers have had short-term leaves because they have had babies. Teachers were allowed time off to work on their National Board Certification.

14. For schools ending in grade 12 (high schools).

Show what the students who graduated in Spring 2008 are doing as of the Fall 2008.

Columbia School’s mission is to inspire students to lifelong success through academic excellence and responsible citizenship. We accomplish this by believing all students have the ability to learn and are entitled to a quality education, and that the teaching of a student is a collaborative effort between home, school, and community.

Columbia School District #206 is located in the community of Hunters, Washington. Columbia School serves approximately 210 students who come from the areas of Inchelium, Gifford, Summit Valley, Hunters, Fruitland, and the West End of the Spokane Indian Reservation. Students in grades Preschool-12th are served in one building and are offered a diversified selection of classes. The district employs 20.5 certificated staff and 24 classified employees. The average class size is 15 per grade level. With smaller class sizes and the teacher to student ratio at approximately 1 teacher to every 12 - 18 students, we are able to give our students more attention and individualized instruction that would not be possible in a larger school. We pride ourselves in getting to know every student in the school, not just the ones we have in class. This gives the students opportunities to communicate to any of our staff members, whether it is to get help proofreading an English paper, or simply to talk about what they did over the weekend. Because we are a small, rural school, the teachers at Columbia School wear many hats; we not only teach many different classes during the school day, but we also coach academic classes, act as "directors" of assessment, Title I, vocational programs, etc., direct activities such as the Mother's Tea, drama productions, or music concerts, coach sports, and assist wherever our services are needed.

Columbia School offers many extracurricular activities both academic and athletic. The athletic programs we offer include volleyball, football, basketball, baseball, softball, and track. While the sports programs are a big part of our community, we pride ourselves on the academic activities we can offer our students as well. These activities include National Honor Society, Knowledge Bowl, Math Team, Science Club, Drama, Columbia Student League, and Future Farmers of America (FFA). Student academic achievement and outstanding success in extracurricular activities are important sources of school and community pride.

The current school facility was built in 1962 making in one of the oldest schools in the area. Our school has always been the center of our small community. Our school not only serves as a community hub where much of the communication and organization of almost all community activities take place, but we also provide the physical facilities for many of the activities including the Hunters Community and 4-H Fair, Annual Pioneer Days Picnic, and AAU Youth basketball. While the current basic structure is sound, it is in need of updating. In addition to 18 classrooms, the school includes 2 full gymnasiums, a cafeteria, a library, and computer lab. The entire school is networked with over 100 computers for student and staff.

Parents, staff, and community members volunteer many hours of service to Columbia School. Students are involved in a variety of academic and sports programs before and after school. A dedicated teaching and coaching staff, along with a supportive administration, make Columbia School Students successful.