Latest news with #ParkwayIntermediateSchool
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gilreath appointed as new principal at Parkway Intermediate
Apr. 21—EPHRATA — The Ephrata School District has announced Kim Gilreath's appointment as the next principal of Parkway Intermediate School, effective July 1, 2025. Gilreath will succeed current principal Jeremy Vasquez, who plans to return to the classroom. With over 25 years of experience in various educational capacities, Gilreath said she brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to this role. Gilreath's career spans diverse positions, including preschool director and middle school assistant principal. Currently serving as the assistant principal at Sultan Middle School, she has demonstrated a robust commitment to behavior management, social-emotional learning, and Career and Technical Education programming. Her appointment is poised to foster growth and innovation within Parkway Intermediate. "Kim is a high-energy, thoughtful leader who puts students at the center of everything she does," said Ken Murray, Superintendent of the Ephrata School District, in a statement. "She's passionate about building strong relationships, thinking creatively, and working collaboratively to do what's best for kids. Kim is deeply committed to effective teaching and holding students to high academic and behavioral expectations, believing that all students can grow when appropriately supported and challenged." Gilreath holds a master's degree in school administration from Central Washington University and a bachelor of science in biology from the University of Washington, along with multiple endorsements, including CTE certification. She said her educational background equips her with the skills necessary to lead Parkway Intermediate as it navigates the complexities of middle school education. "I'm thrilled to be joining the Parkway Intermediate team," she said. "One of the things that really drew me to this school is its strong commitment to character development in students. I love building connections, thinking outside the box, and working collaboratively with staff and families to do what's best for kids." Gilreath said that fifth and sixth grades are her favorite group of students to be around because they are young enough that they are still full of energy and they still think she is "cool," but old enough to begin making decisions for their futures. "This is such a unique and important time — it's where elementary students begin to discover who they're becoming as young adults," she said. "I'm honored to be part of that journey and can't wait to get started." With the ongoing challenges faced by schools nationwide, including learning loss due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gilreath anticipates addressing these issues head-on. "I think schools across the country are still seeing challenges with learning loss," she said. "It's essential that we acknowledge and address this for the benefit of our students." As Parkway Intermediate has seen enrollment growth, Gilreath believes that while this is a positive indicator of the school's reputation, it also presents challenges. "Ephrata is growing, which is a good problem, but we must ensure that we plan for the future. Parkway is an older building facility, and we're using lots of portables. We need to thoughtfully plan for the future to provide students with all the opportunities we want for them," she said. Engaging with students is a fundamental aspect of Gilreath's vision for her leadership. "I just love kids, so I plan on talking to them, spending time with them, and getting to know them. I want to find out what they think is important and what gets them excited to show up every day," she said. Her strategies include establishing student committees and conducting regular temperature checks, allowing students to voice their opinions and needs. Outside her professional duties, Gilreath said she holds a strong belief in community involvement. Growing up in Billings, Mont., and educated at the University of Washington, she said she has a personal connection to Ephrata and regards it as a strong community supportive of educational initiatives. She also said she frequently visited Ephrata while her children competed in sporting events and to visit her family members who live nearby. "I love that it's a small enough town that you have a really strong sense of community. Everyone truly has a heart for seeing kids do well," she said. As her inaugural year approaches, Gilreath aims to foster a positive school culture where both students and staff feel valued. "I think we can be stronger together," she said. "I'm really excited for the opportunity to join a strong team in reaching our kids."
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Advancing Tigers
Mar. 27—EPHRATA — A school district has all kinds of children in it, and those children learn at different paces. Some have learning disabilities and need a little extra help, while others excel in one or more academic fields. Programs for those students with a talent for one or more academic endeavors go by different names — talented and gifted, accelerated learning, enrichment — but at Ephrata schools it's called the Highly Capable Program. The Ephrata School District has the Highly Capable Program, or "Hi-Cap," as educators sometimes abbreviate it, at Columbia Ridge and Grant elementary schools and Parkway Intermediate School, meaning students can get the benefit of extended learning through sixth grade. "This year, we've been doing STEM lessons," said Alicia Keegan, who teaches the HCP classes at Columbia Ridge Elementary School. "We've been learning about movement for the entire year, and specifically movement with automobiles and how that impacts neighborhoods. This has gone in many directions, because now my primary kids are actually building bridges." That's the first and second graders, Keegan explained. The third and fourth grade class took a different approach. "In my intermediate class, we are now doing robotics," she said. "They are programming, using code, their own robots and they're seeing how speed impacts turns and how it impacts the balance of the robot and things like that. It's taken quite a dramatic turn, and we all started in the same place. We all started talking about speed, what that looks like in vehicles and how that impacts a neighborhood. The first activity that both of my groups did is we actually built a neighborhood with little cardboard cutouts." Keegan came to choose the topic through surveying the students' parents, she said. Marshall Bilodeau, who teaches the Highly Capable classes at Grant Elementary, has done STEM in the past but is taking a musical approach this year. "This year, I have a group of musicians that has come into my Hi-Cap class," Bilodeau said. "So, I wrote this class called Beats and Bytes. It's kind of like a Chromebook music lab. The class explores digital music, how to create beats and melodies, sound effects, any kind of music that you love." There's no set formula or curriculum for Highly Capable classes, although Parkway Principal Jeremy Vasquez said the district is trying to work one out. In the meantime, the teachers have the freedom to choose their own curricula. Naileah Shaporda, the Highly Capable teacher at Parkway, has led her fifth and sixth graders through a series of projects only loosely connected to each other. The one they've been doing the last few months is a student-run newspaper called the Parkway Post — as reported on by the Columbia Basin Herald last week — but this year they've already done a research project for Women's History Month, where they studied woman who have impacted the world. That was followed by an art unit where they created their own animated film. During the winter Shaporda's class created a winter ecosystem diorama that's now on display in the entry hall. "We learned about the animals that live there," Shaporda said. "We learned about tundras, forests, wetlands, how (animals) adapt to survive, the types of plants that thrive in in the cold environments." Some of the students had some help from their parents; others did everything on their own, said fifth grader Viviene Springs. "(My mom) got me a hot glue gun and some stuff from outside, and then she 3-D printed the animals, but I painted them all," Viviene said. "One person used clay for her animals, and her dad helped her paint the mountains in the background." Their next project will be an invention — nobody yet knows exactly what kind of invention — to help the environment in some way, Shaproda said. The students will come up with their own ideas and then submit them like on the TV show "Shark Tank." "Our students are going to Shark Tank-pitch their idea for their invention, and then we'll vote, and whoever wins, we'll get it 3-D printed," Shaproda said. The Wild-West nature of Highly Capable curriculum is a benefit because children's talents and gifts come in an endless variety, Keegan said. "Sometimes the kids have one avenue that they're really strong in like say, the subject of math," she said. "But often what we get are kids that are highly capable in many different areas and oftentimes the word talented comes with being highly capable. Talent can be musical arts, it can be dramatic arts, like theater or it can be something that they're painting or drawing. Being highly capable simply can mean needing an enrichment, and our job is to try to figure out what type of enrichment is going to be appropriate for those kids in that particular season of their learning." The students come to the Highly Capable Program in different ways, Parkway Principal Jeremy Vasquez said. "Parents can request their kids be evaluated," he said. "This whole week, all fifth graders are being tested to see if they qualify for Hi-Cap or not, and if they do, they will be in Hi-Cap next year. At the elementary schools they do it as well, and if they are qualified for Hi-Cap, when they come to Parkway they're in Hi-Cap and we just keep it going." The effect the Highly Capable Program has had on the students is noticeable, said Viviene's mom, Tammie Springs. "She's definitely improved with her reading," Springs said. "And it totally coincides with her joining the Highly Capable (class). At the beginning of the year, she was supposed to read, like, 40,000 words in the first quarter, and let's just say it by (this time in) the school year, she's over 2 million words. She's just gone crazy with her reading, and everything has improved as a result." The benefit of Highly Capable class slops over into the rest of the students' education, Bilodeau said. "They understand that if they don't get their regular class work done, they can't come into Hi-Cap, because the regular classroom teachers struggle sometimes because (students) are being taken out of their regular subjects to be in the enrichment class," he said. Maintaining the students' enthusiasm for the Hi-Cap program is no challenge at all, Keegan said. "The kids come in motivated, and we as teachers just really want to suit their needs and enrich what they are already developing in their own lives, so it's fun," she said. "I haven't had anybody who doesn't want to come to Hi-Cap ... The biggest challenge I have (is) kids who have recommended to me, 'Can we can we come earlier to Hi-Cap? Can we stay later?' And the truth is, I always have to tell them no." Bilodeau's experience has been similar, he said. "(Highly Capable) is in a spot in the schedule where ... it butts up against their recess time, and so they wind up using some of that time for their projects," he said. "They really are into it. I have to kick them out. I'm like, literally, I have to go. You kids have to leave now." Having lessons, they're eager to learn has an effect on their attitudes toward the rest of their schooling, Springs said. "(Viviene) is getting straight A's in everything," Springs said. "She's got this drive that she wants to succeed now, and she takes a lot of pride in being able to ... There was one kid (on the Parkway Post project) that was kind of messing around in, I think, a Google document. She's like, 'I'm going to have to have a talk with him. He's not taking it seriously enough.'" It's not just the students who love the Highly Capable classes, Keegan said. "Working with talented kids is one of my passions in life, and I'm super excited that I've been able to do that for three years here in this district," she said.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
News beat: Ephrata fifth graders learn the ropes of journalism
Mar. 24—EPHRATA — The Columbia Basin Herald recently acquired some competition in Ephrata. We'd be more worried if the journalists were old enough to, say, drive a car. "I started the Parkway Post news because I thought it'd be a great opportunity for students to get the real-world experience of what journalism is like," said Naileah Shaporda, who teaches the Highly Capable Program at Parkway Intermediate School in Ephrata. "They've really been able to work on their critical thinking skills, working as a team, showing their leadership skills ... and it's also a great, engaging way for them to learn their writing structure and what a newspaper should look like." The Parkway Post is published monthly, printed on 11x17 paper and folded. The March edition was 14 pages long, all written, edited and designed by fifth-graders, and included interviews with Ephrata School District Superintendent Ken Murray and the Parkway Math is Cool competitors, an article explaining book fairs, a man-on-the-street — or rather, student-on-the-playground — survey about the best places to hang out at recess and an opinion column calling for a volunteer cleanup day at the school. "I honestly didn't think that the kids were going to enjoy it this much, because, at the end of the day, it's writing," Shaporda said. "But I think (they like it) because it's so engaging, and they get to conduct interviews and do research about certain topics that they don't usually research or have their own voice or opinion." Before beginning the Parkway Post project, Shaporda brought in other newspapers as a springboard to let the students see how a newspaper is structured. "We went through it in class and circled all the headings and subheadings," said fifth-grader Viviene Springs, who served as chief editor for the March edition and is a reporter for the April edition. Shaporda rotates duties among the students from month to month, she said. As chief editor, Viviene also designed the pages, using the online graphic design tool Canva. "My mom helped me with some of the effects, but I did it mostly," she said. The project has been so successful the sixth grade Highly Capable class is now asking to start a newspaper, said Parkway Principal Jeremy Vasquez. "The cool thing is, these kids are taking something and they're applying it," Vasquez said. "They're not just researching something, they're doing it ... Our staff are reading this to their classrooms, and so kids are questioning some of the calls I make. It's OK, because that's the whole point. Kids are thinking for themselves ... They're taking their recess time to interview staff. They're spending their free time to go watch an event, and they're taking note paper and a marker to go take notes and jot down information for the Parkway Post. It's things like that that's pretty cool."
