For example, the district has recently begun working with the Hutterite community. The Hutterites are very self-sufficient and community-oriented, and they are committed to education, but their children become adults at about age 15, and they have not had much of a desire or a need for a high school education. The community has begun to recognize that their children need more educational opportunities—yet their culture does not support their children being integrated into high schools, which means that very few Hutterite children in the area ever earn a high school diploma.
Working with the community, the East Valley School District pays for a portion of the salary of a high school teacher for the Hutterite community (the Hutterites pay for the other part). The Hutterites do have a school building equipped with computers, and high school students can go to that building, where they can take online learning classes. “By using our shared teacher, online learning, and our assessments and curricula, we are basically operating a K12 school there. And students are actually graduating,” says Glenewinkel.
Glenewinkel admits there is still much to be done around the effort. “One of the things we really need to be able to do is increase the career and technical education programs, particularly around animal science and agriculture. We’re striving to do that while at the same time working to deliver the computer-based instruction. So it’s a work in progress, but everyone appears to be very pleased.”
Another program from the East Valley School District is a blended learning program with the Squaxin Indian nation. “We have a teacher, and we’re working with students who have been displaced from school because their culture doesn’t support traditional high school,” Glenewinkel says.
The Squaxin have a long history of fishing and being connected to the land, so they need flexibility to engage in these activities. By giving them a chance to work out of the tribal center via distance learning, Glenewinkel has provided a program for students who might have started high school but found that the cultural differences were too vast to be overcome. “We monitor the program to make sure that the learning is at the right level, and we can modify the learning to make it culturally relevant,” he says.
Another program works during an unusual mid-winter break that comes in February. During the week off, students who are struggling in a class or who have failed a class can come to school for an intensive program to make up credits. The program is personalized for each student; a plan is put together, a teacher is made available, and the student can work online to accomplish what he or she needs to make up the credits.
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