Medical Lake High School will have to go into the 2015-16 school year without one of its most beloved teachers.
The Medical Lake school board voted not to accept Victoria Hernvall’s letter requesting she work part time at the high school this year. Last year she worked on a part-time basis.
Prior to the vote, Hernvall, who taught several classes including AP English and history, asked the district to consider her letter.
“I love teaching at Medical Lake High School, and I think I’ve had some of your children,” Hernvall said. “I want to continue teaching and I need to honor my commitment to both my students and my family.”
Hernvall, who was also one of the Knowledge Bowl coaches, added that she offered the administration some solutions to her contract, such as working on Thursdays instead of Fridays.
Virgina Luhn, one of the English teachers and the other Knowledge Bowl coach, spoke in support for Hernvall, as well as expressed her concerns relating to the future of AP classes at the high school.
“I’m looking at what happens to us (teachers), and it takes a little while to get new people into the position to teach AP honors, or any of those classes,” Luhn said. “With the state starting to bring back the gifted and talented, it’s really tough to find teachers and it can be a monster workload sometimes.”
Luhn added that if the district started to lose teachers without planning ahead, the high school may lose 2-4 AP classes because of attrition.
Medical Lake High School alumna Jessica Spraklen said Hernvall taught her to love English and how to write a five-paragraph essay.
“It would be a real travesty if future students at Medical Lake didn’t get to have her as a teacher,” Spraklen said.
Hernvall also has support from current and former students in the form of an online petition “Bring Hernvall Back,” which as of Tuesday, Sept. 1, has 479 supporters.
Superintendent Tim Ames recommended the board not accept Hernvall’s letter. He said he discussed with high school principal John McSmith the concerns of having a teacher working only one day of the week, specifically the lack of availability for that indvidual to meet students outside of the classroom.
“With the .2 resignation, students would only have access to the teacher on one day as opposed to the entire week,” Ames said. “Parents would also have difficulty meeting with a teacher for face time.”
Ames added that Hernvall is a wonderful teacher and acknowledged the success she has helped bring to the English department.
“It comes down to students having access to the English teacher,” Ames said. “We would love to have her back full-time.”
As for the future, Ames said the district wants to bring in new instructors and offer them full-time positions instead of keeping part-time teachers with no contracts.
“The teacher shortage is real, so our new strategy is to bring in new AP teachers from other districts that have heard about Medical Lake and want to work here,” Ames said.
While Hernvall will no longer be teaching at the high school, the district will offer her courses online and have English teachers in the building to help students. It also plans to hire an experienced AP teacher and train them for next year.
In action items, school board approved the second readings of policies P2022 “Electronic Resources and Internet Safety,” P3122 “Excused and Unexcused Absences,” P3421 “Child Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Prevention” and P3422 “Student Sports, Concussion, Head Injury and Sudden Cardiac Arrest. “
Kim Headrick, director of teaching and learning, informed the board that Michael Anderson Elementary is no longer eligible for Title I because its free and reduced lunch rate is at 26 percent, below the district average of 35 percent. However, it is able to maintain the K-4 reading requirement through LAP dollars.
“We’re using all of our Title I part A at Hallett Elementary, which is approximately $167,000,” Headrick said.
Headrick added none of the schools have any Title I needs, though the district will set aside funds for supplies and transportation needs for homeless students.
Ames informed the board that crews installed new carpeting in the main part of Hallett Elementary and fixed the sliding doors on the stage. He added that the maintenance team put extra water on the football fields to make sure the grass is green before the start of the season.
In other business, the board approved the district’s annual Highly Capable Plan and the Minimum Basic Education Requirements, the 2015-16 Instructional Technology Agreement and set the Medical Lake Alternative High School graduation date for June 14, 2016.
Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].
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