PUBLIC COMMUNITY FORUM
This forum is an opportunity for Commissioners from the Washington State Charter School Commission and the public to learn more about the proposed school, Pullman Community Montessori (PCM). This is a great venue for people to show their support for expanding our community's public school options, enabling our public school system to reach more students.
If you were unable to participate in prior community events to learn about and inform our program development, it's not too late and you don't have to wait until the virtual forum on May 12th from 6:00-7:00 PM. Give us a call to learn more and share your questions, concerns, and comments.
May 12, 2020
6:00 p.m - 7:00 p.m
Please Note: registration is appreciated but not required
GENERAL OUTLINE
The public forum is an important component of the New Charter School Application process. It is the final step in the process prior to the publication of the Recommendation Report. While the “event” is not formally evaluated, the public forum and public comment may be used to evaluate the applicant when recommending the approval or denial of an application.
Due to the uncertainty of the ongoing COVID-19 situation and Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, the public forum will be conducted in an alternative, virtual format this application cycle. Commission staff have worked to develop a format that is consistent with the spirit of the law and still allows for authentic and meaningful engagement with each application team.
Members of the public will have access to the virtual public forum event and to any materials requested by the Commission of the applicant.
Accessibility: This meeting is accessible to persons with disabilities. Special aids and services can be made available upon advance request. Advance request for special aids and services must be made no later than 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, 2020. If you wish to receive general information about this meeting, please contact the New School Application Coordinator at (360) 725-5511. Please call 711 or (800) 833-6388 to reach the Washington State Relay Service for deaf callers. If you need assistance due to a speech disability, Speech-to-Speech provides human voice for people with difficulty being understood. The Washington State Speech-to-Speech toll-free access number is (877) 833-6341.
[10 min] Commission Executive Director Opening Remarks
[5 min] PCM presents Model Overview
[40 min] Question and Answer Session with PCM panel
(~8 min) Opened with a scenario question from the Commission
(remaining) PCM panel addresses community and commission questions
[10 min] Commission Executive Director Closing Remarks
Prompt for additional public comment (see options in section below)
Interpretation/Translation: PCM will work with the Commission to make every possible effort to have interpretation services available via Zoom. If that is not possible, a transcript of the event will be available after the event in the languages requested. All materials submitted will be closed captioned and/or translated into languages identified by the requester. We do need time to plan, so please provide this request by May 1, 2020.
Call for Public Comment
Individuals and groups interested in providing comments on PCM's application are encouraged to submit their comments. Any and all individuals and groups are free to comment. Comments can be made the following ways:
MAKE COMMENTS AT THE VIRTUAL EVENT
Members of the public may use the Zoom “chat” feature to submit comment up to 15 minutes after the live public forum end time.
SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENTS
Individuals and groups can submit their written comments to the Commission by mail.
WRITTEN COMMENTS ARE LIMITED TO ONE PAGE USING A MINIMUM OF 12 POINT FONT
Mail written comments to:
Washington State Charter School Commission
RE: Public Forum Comment
P.O. Box 40996
Olympia, WA 98504-0996
EMAIL COMMENTS
Individuals and groups can submit their comments to the Commission via email.
EMAILS MUST BE LIMITED TO 500 WORDS
Send emails to:
The following methods of comment must be provided by 5:00 PM MAY 27, 2020 to be considered.
PHONE/VOICEMAIL
Individuals and groups can provide public comment via phone/voicemail by calling the Commission at
360-725-5511
Looking for format ideas?
-
Your name
-
General location of residence (ex. Pullman, Colfax, Colton, etcetera)
-
Relevant background on yourself (ideas listed below)
-
I've lived in this community for ____ years...
-
I am a parent/community member/grandparent....
-
I am a parent/grandparent of a struggling student, a highly capable student, a student with specialized needs, a student of color, a transgender student, etcetera.
-
-
Identify what you are making your comment about (ideas listed below)
-
Speak to the community or personal impact:
-
PCM will diversify the public school options in our community, this will.....
-
PCM will impact my family.....
-
PCM will impact our community.....
-
-
Speak to leadership and/or board capacity:
-
I have known the school leader/head of school for.....
-
I have know ________ board member for x years......
-
To date the team has ________ this suggests......
-
-
Speak to how a specific component of the model with affect your family (see model overview below for reminders)
-
PCM IN A NUTSHELL
Mission: Pullman Community Montessori prepares all students to reach their full potential for future success in high school, college, career, and life, using the rich resources of our community.
Vision: Pullman Community Montessori serves as an instrument of change, helping to progress our education system to better meet the needs of students, families, and educators. We nurture students to be self-empowered lifelong learners, global citizens, environmental stewards, and compassionate and collaborative leaders, bringing positive changes to their communities and the world!
Core Values: To prepare all students for future success in college, career, and life, where learning is more independent
and requires strong self-regulation and time-management skills, we have identified core values that
embody the actions and habits necessary to achieve this mission. These core values, developed in
collaboration with our community, take the form We Are LEADERS:
Norms: Our core values create the internal framework and outline actions each member should aspire to take, to build and maintain our culture. This blueprint of actions displays how we create and reinforce the habits and language that support an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion, where differences are the norm and accountability, integrity, character, and a growth mindset are the norms that guide under-gird each core value.
Major Program Features:
-
A dual certificated Montessori teacher and Montessori trained classroom assistant will lead each classroom.
-
Teachers will be supported by a Montessori Instructional Coach and will engage in 140+ hours of professional development annually.
-
Students will be arranged into developmentally appropriate age groupings: stand alone Kindergartner, Lower Elementary (1st - 3rd grade), Upper Elementary (4th - 6th grade), and Adolescent Community (7th - 9th). There will be approximately 7-10 students in each grade represented within a classroom.
-
PCM will start our program with a full-time Special Education Teacher and Program Manager that will work with our educational service district to secure additional specialists support if needed.
-
Our high expectations for all, and push-in rather than pull-out practices, help maintain an inclusive and equitable system where all are valued for their differences.
-
We will partner with YMCA of the Palouse to provide extended care opportunities before and after school and during 1/2 day Wednesday's.
-
PCM features robust K-9 social-emotional and life skills programming, both as a stand alone Character and Leadership class and integrated into daily activities.
-
Each student will maintain Personalized Work Plan where they, guided by the teacher, set goals, plan their daily work cycle, and track their progress.
-
Adolescent Community students will build employability skills to help prepare them for the professional world that they will soon engage in.
-
PCM’s unique place-based Montessori activities extend student options to learn through action and community, apply concepts to real-world examples, and hone leadership and executive functioning skills.
-
Co-curricular activities include an annual week-long Outdoor Science School (OSS). Upper Elementary and Adolescent Community students will participate in their OSS in the fall. OSS programs will be co-designed and organized by students and teachers (responsibly scaled by developmental appropriateness). These Upper Elementary and Adolescent Community students will help to plan and host the OSS for lower elementary students in the spring.
-
6th grade and up will participate in the Eastern WA Regional Science and Engineering Fair in Spokane every spring. K-5th students will host their own in-house science fair.
-
PCM students will engage, at age-appropriate levels, with programming and opportunities provided by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and the Palouse Discovery Science Center.
-
PCM focuses heavily on family and community engagement to bolster student outcomes. Our academic calendar provides ample opportunity for family involvement, community building, and showcasing of student work.
-
An extended school day and year ensures students get the support they need in an engaging and supportive atmosphere of high expectations.
-
PCM extends its definition of community to include not only members of the school, but also the broader Pullman community that we will frequently engage with through place-based learning, which includes walkabouts, passion projects, service-learning projects, and field trips.
DO NOT SEND COMMENTS DIRECTLY TO US, PLEASE SEND THEM DIRECTLY TO THE COMMISSION USING THE METHODS LISTED IN THE PREVIOUS SECTION ABOVE.