The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON-Dayton High School Youth and Government Club advisor Shayna Hutchens and her students, Colton Johnson, Cal Martin, Luis Ortiz and Alex Jenkins, were present for show and tell at the Dayton School Board meeting on Sept. 21. The students shared their experiences in Olympia in May, where they went to simulate the legislative process at the capitol building.

Brent Gaither, the Washington State program director for Youth and Government Clubs was also at the meeting to give the directors a little background information about the club.

"Democracy must be learned by each generation," Gaither told the directors.

Gaither said the purpose of the club is not only to teach democracy to the students, but to introduce them to differences in perspective, and the students agreed with that assessment.

Club members said they are looking forward to going to Olympia, in May, 2017.

In other board business, Clint Atteberry, Code Compliance Officer for the City of Dayton, was also in attendance at Wednesday's school board meeting, and he spoke, briefly, about the Department of Homeland Security program, "See Something Say Something."

Anyone witnessing suspicious behavior can report it to the Sheriff's Department, Atteberry said.

Superintendent Doug Johnson said the program could be worked into programs already in the works, including the Anonymous Alert program, for which staff are undergoing training.

Johnson updated the directors about current enrollment, which stands at 403 students.

"I'm very excited about that," Johnson said. "Only once in the past ten years has the September enrollment exceeded the previous year average."

Johnson expects the number to be higher in October, when Running Start students are factored in, he said.

Johnson also said the District has received preliminary notification that a cohort of 6th and 7th graders will benefit from leftover funds from the Gear-Up Grant. The purpose of the Gear-Up Grant is to help students reach the goal of college or university attendance, Johnson said.

Johnson said that a team of three teachers, and both building principals, will participate in the two-year Washington State Leadership Academy process. The WSLA is funded by the Washington State Legislature, with the objective of preparing the District leaders on ways to problem solve, and how to encourage academic growth for all students, Johnson said.

Johnson gave a short PowerPoint presentation, provided by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, about new legislation and about some changes in Washington State policy and laws about student discipline. Many of the changes, which are to be implemented by SHB-1451, have related RCW and WACs that do not align with it, he said.

Johnson said that he has been told by policy specialists that the 2017 state legislature will have to discuss the bill's potential impact, and the message that being suspended or expelled from school heightens student disengagement, causing a high graduation failure rate.

Finally, the Board of Directors approved a 5:30 p.m. start time for the October 5th, school board meeting.