Major Initiatives
The Bellevue School District has set an ambitious goal:
to prepare all graduates for a smooth transition between grades 12 and 13. This initiative makes sense in light of the fact that nearly all our graduates enroll in college within a few years after high school graduation.
Several key initiatives are in place to help reach us this goal including:
A coherent, connected and rigorous curriculum
In 1996 the Bellevue School District started developing a unified curriculum, one that was intellectually challenging, and connected from grade to grade with no gaps in topics covered in each subject area, nor unnecessary repetition of information.
As a result of our work, high schools in our district are ranked in the top of the nation for the percent of students taking challenging courses, meaning that more than than 80% of the current graduating class will have completed at least one Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate course.
AP and IB involvement should not be the only measure of a good high school; however, it is a measure of the commitment of the district and school to providing students with a challenging education. This is significant. In an era when more than 70 percent of high school graduates enroll in college within two years after graduation, but more than 50 percent require remedial courses and only 30 percent graduate, high schools must do more than prepare students to enter more education or training. They must prepare students to make good use of that training and end up better off than they were before they started. Research shows that students who complete challenging courses increase their chances of graduating from college.
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We have established significant partnerships with national and international experts to guide us in developing a coherent and challenging curriculum. Partnerships - a collaborative projectto help Bellevue Schools become even better.
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Professional development for teachers that supports the highest teaching standards
We also set high standards for our teachers. Specifically, Bellevue is committed to dramatically increasing the number of teachers who have become certified by the National Teaching Standards Board, because this is recognized as the most rigorous and demanding teacher certification program in this country. A recent research report said, "The evidence suggests that the teachers who took the National Board test, and passed, produced larger student achievement gains than teachers who took it and failed." Education Daily, March 11, 2004. It is an arduous process of written essays, a portfolio assessment, and an assessment of teaching practices evaluated through videotaped lessons. About five percent of all U.S. teachers have met National Board standards. As of spring of 2008, Bellevue has 158 National Board certified teachers out of 484 statewide, which represents the largest total of board certified teachers in a single district in Washington. Bellevue Schools Foundation raises funds to pay for costs associated with board certification applications and testing. The significance of this is that teachers are setting the same high standards for their own performance that they are expecting from students. More on National Board Certification
Support for students who need it when they need it
Each school has developed programs that best meet the needs of its struggling students. A summer school "Jump Start" program that gives students an introduction to course work for the next grade, during- and after-school academic support classes, and tutoring, when combined with counselors' regular monitoring of progress and bringing a students' parents and teachers together to problem-solve, are among the strategies schools have found effective.
Through a grant from the Bellevue Schools Foundation, all Bellevue middle and high schools were able to implement the AVID program. AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, was featured on 60 Minutes several years ago for its tremendous success in getting kids who might have fallen through the cracks into college.
AVID targets students who have a GPA between 2.0 and 3.5, are underachieving, come from groups generally underrepresented in college populations, have desire and determination, and are the first in their families to attend college.
To ensure that students receive the same level of academic support in every school, the district is developing a support curriculum that will cover the essentials -- behavior standards, before- and after-school tutoring programs, academic support classes offered during the day -- that will be available in very school. More on Student Support Curriculum
Technology web and on-line parent viewer to aid teachers and parents
The district launched a significant technology initiative in 2005. Details can be found at Tech Initiative