Quail's Eye View

November 19, 2021

Message from the Board

Dear PPCS Families --

In this season of gratitude, we want to send our warmest appreciation to all the members of our school community. We wish our whole CREW a joyful and restful Thanksgiving Break! Please read on for a few Palouse Prairie Board updates:

Seeking applicants for open board seat: Mike Connell has needed to step down from the PPCS board (we miss you, Mike!) so we have an open seat. In situations like this, the Board can appoint a new board member to complete the open term (January - June 2022). We are especially seeking board members with legal expertise, but would be happy to talk with anyone interested in applying to join the PPCS Board. Please email me at jbearman@palouseprairieschool.org within the next 30 days to let me know of your interest or for more information.

Giving Tuesday is November 30 - we CAN finish our playground! Giving Tuesday is an online giving opportunity that takes place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. We only need $3000 more to complete our playground! A generous donor, Paradise Creek Counseling, is ready to match half of that total! So stay tuned for a big Giving Tuesday push to raise the final $1,500!! If you can’t wait that long, you can donate any time!

Our fantastic Development Crew - led by board members Willma Fields and Christen Findley is already hard at work. We are excited to have several energetic and skilled PPCS parents joining the CREW: Meredyth Whiteman, Christopher Tate, and Kate Berti!

Continuous Improvement Plan Posted: Each year, our school completes a Continuous Improvement Plan that is submitted to the state. This public document then lives on our website: https://palouseprairieschool.org/accountability/. As with other schools across the country, PPCS experienced Covid-related challenges to our basic literacy and mathematics achievement measures. We are continuing to project improvements and have taken many steps to provide additional support for students. Our overall school report card names PPCS as a “Top Performer” and “Goal Maker,” meaning that we rank in the top 90th percentile when it comes to core state indicators of achievement.

We hold ourselves to the highest standards. If you’d really like to get a sense of how Palouse Prairie thinks about student learning, the best introduction might be our Credentialing Portfolio, which was created in 2018 as we applied to become a fully credentialed EL school -- one of only a few dozen in the country. Although this portfolio is now a bit dated, it still accurately reflects our school’s philosophy of rigorous and joyful education.

Board Meetings are always open to you. Palouse Prairie’s board meetings follow “open meeting law,” which means that our community is always welcome to observe. Community members can also share public comments with the Board, either in writing or in person. Send requests to speak or comments in writing my way by 4pm on the day of the meeting for inclusion. All comments must be respectful, appropriate to whole-school business (ie: not focused on a specific student or teacher) and limited to three minutes if delivered verbally. Check here for upcoming Board meetings and agendas. https://palouseprairieschool.org/school-board/

Warmly,

Jessica Bearman

PPCS Board Chair