DAYTON—The Dayton School Board discussed a possible sports combine with Waitsburg schools for high school baseball and for wrestling during their regular meeting last week.

“Students, coaches and parents have been working well together to support both districts and communities,” Superintendent Doug Johnson said about the football combination program with Waitsburg.

Johnson told the directors that there are ten or eleven high school students in Waitsburg who would like the opportunity to play baseball, and nine students in Dayton, who have shown interest.

Further discussion and possible action will take place at the next school board meeting on Oct. 19, Johnson said.

Middle School Award

Johnson also told the directors that the Dayton middle school has been recognized by the Center for Educational Effectiveness with a School of Distinction award.

The middle school is among the top 5% of the state-wide middle schools showing improvement in English Language Arts and Math on state assessments over the last five years, he said.

“Congratulations to students, teachers, parents and to the Dayton community,” Johnson said.

Middle School Engagement

Committees made up of teachers, parents, and students are being formed over the next few months to focus on middle school engagement. The goal is to increase school activity participation, and to decrease the number of students failing courses and falling short on state assessments, Johnson told the directors.

Project Lead the Way

Plans call for two teachers, the high school principal, and Supt. Johnson to attend a one-day conference later this month in Spokane to investigate a science, technology, engineering and math hands-on curriculum called Project Lead the Way.

While in the Spokane School District, they will visit two schools to see how the program is applied.

Dual Sports Participation

Following a brief discussion, no action was taken by the board of directors regarding dual sports participation for high school.

The WIAA will allow students in B or 2B schools to participate in two sports in the same season, with school board approval, said Johnson.

“There are many things to consider before taking action on this item,” Johnson told the directors, citing several problems for coaches and students.