Peninsula School District's School Board Recognized As Board Of Distinction By WSSDA

Press release from the Peninsula School District:

October 22, 2021

We are pleased to announce that the Peninsula School District School Board has been selected to receive a Board of Distinction award by the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA).

Our school board presented exemplary evidence of ongoing professional development, addressing opportunity gaps, and practicing governance that reflects the Washington School Board Standards during the 2020-2021 school year.

WSSDA annually recognizes school boards for demonstrating alignment with the Washington School Board Standards. The selection process for Boards of Distinction is based on high standards with judges, who include past or present state board members and superintendents along with other education leaders.

Judges for the WSSDA rated school boards based on the decisions the board made, the evidence of the results, and how the evidence fits the state’s standards.

Applications for the award include two written essays, one relating to efforts in closing the opportunity gap and a second describing a local application of one of the WSSDA standards.

Work in closing the opportunity gap essay featured our board’s efforts to better online connectivity access for rural areas, the district’s nationally-recognized COVID-19 testing strategies, hosting school-based health clinics at Key Peninsula school locations (with transportation) to provide vaccine opportunities, as well as strategies to increase staffing and funding for the current school year to address EL assistance, transitional Kindergarten, and ECEAP programming.

The board essay addressing application of WSSDA standards focused on the standard of providing responsible school district governance. Evidence cited in the essay included focusing on student learning and success in the priority for decisions. Highlights referenced work to safely reopen schools for in-person learning during fall 2020, meeting agenda topics focused on student learning, and a prudent approach to the 2019 bond spending to complete promised elementary projects on time or ahead of schedule, while adding two additional projects at middle schools that weren’t included in the original bond.

“I am overjoyed that the selection panel agreed that our board met the standards to be recognized as a WSSDA Board of Distinction,” Superintendent Krestin Bahr said.

Peninsula School Board President David Olson said the award is a recognition of the Board’s belief of putting students first.

"We are honored to receive this award. During a challenging time, the incredible amount of effort that each of us put into this work make it nice to be recognized,” Olson said. “The Board will continue to bring our passion and dedication to providing excellence for all of our students."

Board of Distinction honors are categorized by small district, medium district and large district school boards. Peninsula was one of 14 large district school boards recognized statewide, as well as one of 34 school boards in the state to earn recognition out of Washington’s 295 school districts.

Board members will be honored for their achievement at WSSDA’s 2021 Annual Conference in November.

This press release was produced by the Peninsula School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.