Northport Schools to Begin Virtual School

Exciting things are taking place in the small town of Northport. On Tuesday January 19th Dan Benjamin, of FutureEd, presented an opportunity to Northport Schools to create a Virtual School. The School board unanimously voted for Dr. Key, Northport Schools Superintendent and Daniel Benjamin to begin drawing up a contract to be reviewed by the Northport Schools attorney. By the February 9th School Board meeting this agreement should be signed and our community will be well on the way to opening a Virtual Academy by September of 2010.

NCPR designed, addressed and sent out about 600 flyers to local residents advising them of the meeting. Approximately 70 people attended, listening to Mr. Benjamin’s presentation and asking numerous questions. At one point our new mayor, Mike Lamb, stood up and said “OK, I want to know, how many are for this?” Overwhelmingly the crowd was supportive of the proposition.

The Virtual School has the possibility of creating 2 non-teaching jobs per 100 students. This is a much needed boost to a dwindling economy in our area. We just want to acknowledge the leadership and visioning of a few individuals. Four teachers, Leesa Ewen, Don Baribault, Terri Carlson and Heidi Leaden for hours beyond measure; researching and taking the administrative classes necessary to successfully lead this school. To Eric Middlesworth, TECH extraordinaire, for his leadership in setting up the new school and the technical basis for this project to get off the ground. To Dr. Leroy Key, our interim school superintendent, who has vision and drive to move this school forward into the technology age. I am sure there are more individuals who have donated time and to you we are also grateful. Each one of these individuals has embarked on an ambitious timeline to see this project come to completion. What an awesome opportunity for our little town!

Northport Community Preservation and Restoration Introduction Letter

February 20, 2009


Hello,

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves. Northport Community Preservation and Restoration (NCPR) was created in May of 2008 through the commitment and perseverance of a group of community members. As NCPR we are committed to:

• Building relationships and partnerships between Town Council, Northport Schools and existing groups in our community and other communities to educate, improve infrastructure and our economy.
• Focus on community leadership, identifying and developing the activities of citizens to strengthen and move our community forward.
• Build a foundation of success under the youth that they would not continue in the cycle of poverty of previous generations.

Our mission statement is to “Empower the community with leadership skills, to enhance the quality of life and sustain a healthy community”. At this time we have partnered with:

• The Town of Northport on a RCO Boat Launch/Facilities improvement grant. It was applied for in 2008, awarded in November and will begin construction in the summer of 2009.
• The Northport School District to host a community informational meeting on the School Levy.
• The Northport Chamber of Commerce in building a website (www.northportwa.us) to promote the town, area and businesses of Northport.
• Ecliptixnet/USDA to bring high speed Internet to Northport along with a community center.
• The Northport Chamber of Commerce, Men of Valor Ranch and the Northport Community to host an annual town cleanup and beautification, which is going into its third year.
• Men of Valor Ranch for graffiti removal on the Frazier’s Mill Building

Our goals for the future are:

• To establish relationships with the existing organizations in town in order to assist in furthering the sustainability of our community.
• We are awaiting the finalization of our 501C3 status from the IRS in order to be a conduit to funnel funds to educate and improve infrastructure in our community.
• Addressing the needs from the Senior Surveys, including helping to establish transportation to Colville/Spokane.
• Work with AmeriCorp/Vista to establish a mentoring program for the youth working in the following areas: community garden, recycling center, and fire department.
• Continue to seek partnerships to expand on the USDA Community Center footprint to include the Steven’s County Rural Library, Community Colleges of Spokane, Bethel Youth/Senior Center, Business Incubator with TED and more.
• The continuation of P.A. Jarre Jarret’s goal of educating the community on health related issues such as obesity, diabetes, drugs and alcohol.

We welcome your input, concerns, suggestions and involvement. Community members are welcome to attend our meetings, which are held the Thursday following the monthly City Council meetings. We meet at City Hall in the American Legion/Volunteer Fire Dept. room at 9:30 am. Please let us know how we can assist you as we all move forward to see Northport become a healthy and thriving community.

Respectfully Submitted,


Northport Community Preservation and Restoration (NCPR)

NCPR Board and members: Gary Jones, Art Grobben, Rebecca Middlesworth, Nina Grobben, Cindy Knapp, Sandi Everson, Kathy Jones, John Corcoran and Ed Nichols

Northport Community Preservation and Restoration
P.O. Box 967 * Northport, WA 99157

www.northportcpr.org

NCPR Brings Community Together for Schools

Poverty comes in many forms. The higher fuel prices and few local jobs have moved more families out of the area. The fewer children and a mandate from the state governor to cut 10% from the already stretched budget has created a financial decision point for our schools.

Last night Mr. Baribault's 5th grade classroom had standing room only. More than 50 people from the school district got together to discuss the upcoming school levy. The audience included school board members, teachers, staff, volunteers, parents, grandparents and other community members. Mrs. Guglielmino, Northport Schools District superintendent and principal, gave us a comprehensive presentation about the history of the school district and the choices for the future. The community then discussed options and a levy committee was started.

NCPR had a couple of pivotal roles in this. Sandi Everson, NCPR member, worked extensively with Share Marks, financial director of the school, Mrs. Guglielmino, and Julie Simmons, administrator of the school district, to create the PowerPoint presentation. Nina Grobben, NCPR treasurer, called over 900 phone numbers to invite the community to have a part in the discussion. Nina also provided a beautiful drinks and snack station.

Big THANKS! go out to Mrs. G, Share, Julie, Sandi, Nina and any others I am not aware of that helped put this together.

LeadershipPlenty

Over the past school year 24 High School students attended and completed LeadershipPlenty as an elective during school. The course was taught by a youth trained in the LeadershipPlenty curriculum as part of the Horizons project.

WSU Students in Northport

Ten Washington State University students presented an assembly to all the High School students on April 21. The spoke about going to college and how to make it happen. They talked about admissions, financial aid, and opportunities to take advatage of while in college. High School students were able to interact with and ask questions of the WSU students. Several students came up after the assembly to ask questions personal questions. This opportunity to interact with WSU students made college seem more real and possible.

Let's Start Blogging

Hello Northport!

It is time to get with the times and begin blogging!!

At this site you can enter information and have fellow neighbors, friends and loved ones respond to your entrys on the BLOG site.

Have fun!