A snowed-out meet-and-greet with the preferred candidate for the Lake Washington School District superintendent position has been rescheduled for Feb. 7.

Dr. Traci Pierce will be at Sammamish City Hall before the Feb. 7 council meeting, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Pierce has worked as a teacher, principal and central administrator for 17 years in Lake Washington schools. The district’s board of directors recommended her as Kimball’s replacement at its Dec. 5 meeting in part because she will bring familiarity with district systems and vision to maintain continuity while executing the district’s numerous current initiatives, the district said.

Pierce is currently the Lake Washington district’s deputy superintendent of instructional services.

Snow continues to fall in the Puget Sound region, but some forecasts expect the majority of the snow to stop by about 1 p.m.

In Sammamish, snow continues to fall and a few inches are on the ground. While snow amounts are enough to be annoying, they are far less than the 6-14 inches predicted a few days ago.

Roads are slippery and officials recommend not driving unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Both school districts are closed, and neither has announced a decision about school tomorrow.

The city has kept its parks open, for people who want to enjoy the snow, but the parking lots have been closed, according to the city website. Officials say that in the past, people have driven into the parks to do doughnuts in the snow, which has damaged city property.

For details on the snowfall, including links to a map of which roads the city makes a priority for plowing, go here.

And don’t get too used to the snow. Forecasts call for rain Friday to wash it all away.

Parents of students in Lake Washington schools heading into ninth or 10th grade this coming fall may learn more about the district’s newest choice school at the meeting at 7 p.m., Jan. 19 at the LWSD Resource Center. The meeting gives families the opportunity to learn about the application process for the district’s numerous choice schools, as well as stay up-to-date on deadlines and admissions processes.

Applications are due Jan. 27 and the choice school admissions lottery is Feb. 3 for schools with more applicants than spaces available.

The district’s resource center is located at 16250 NE 74th Street in Redmond (Redmond Town Center). Call 936-1200 to learn more about the choice school application and admission process. Learn more about each choice school in the Lake Washington School District at www.lwsd.org/Schools/Choice/Pages/default.aspx.

As the district reconfigures the grades — bringing in a whole freshman class to Eastlake next fall — administrators had considered moving the choice school for junior high-age students. But instead, Renaissance will move from its roost on the second floor of the high school building outside to a mini-campus of portables. The classrooms, just like those to be used at BEST High School for Northstar Middle School, will have plumbing and water. Renaissance students will continue to use the Eastlake gyms and library, the district said.

The district’s initial enrollment projections for Eastlake’s new ninth-grade class led administrators to seek a new location for the magnet school. But the plan encountered problems like insufficient building space in the eastern section of the district and limitations on building a new school in rural King County.

To accommodate just the incoming ninth-graders, the district is expanding Eastlake’s gym and adding 12 new classrooms.

Residents in north Sammamish will get a chance to meet and chat with the Lake Washington School District’s preferred candidate for district superintendent at two seperate events.

Traci Pierce, of Sammamish, will be introducing herself to the community from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 10 in the Bytes Café in Redmond City Hall and from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at Sammamish City Hall. She is slated to replace outgoing superintendent Chip Kimball, who took a school superintendent job in Singapore.

Pierce has worked as a teacher, principal and central administrator for 17 years in Lake Washington schools. The district’s board of directors recommended her as Kimball’s replacement at its Dec. 5 meeting in part because she will bring familiarity with district systems and vision to maintain continuity while executing the district’s numerous current initiatives, the district said.

Pierce is currently the Lake Washington district’s deputy superintendent of instructional services.

For more information on the open house, contact Melonie Anderson at 425-295-0511 or manderson@ci.sammamish.wa.us. To learn more about Pierce or the search process, contact Kathryn Reith at 425-936-1342 or kreith@lwsd.org.

After about a year of conducting self-evaluations, writing papers and compiling lesson plans and in-class video, 23 teachers representing all grade levels received National Board Certification, the National Board for Teaching Standards announced Dec. 7. They are among the 6,200 teachers around the country who earned the certification — considered the highest level of certification for a teacher — in 2011.

The Lake Washington School District saw 10 Sammamish teachers become board-certified, according to a press release. In all, 36 Lake Washington teachers achieved National Board Certification.

Of the 24 Issaquah School District teachers who received the certification, 13 of them teach Sammamish students.

The teachers are:

Eastlake High School — Kalle Andres, English language arts/adolescence and young adulthood; Tyrell Hardtke, science/adolescence and young adulthood; Sherilynn Skiba, mathematics/adolescence and young adulthood; John Stratton, mathematics/adolescence and young adulthood; Cassie Wesson-Mast, mathematics/adolescence and young adulthood.

Inglewood Junior High School — Gerald Lenocker, social studies – history/adolescence and young adulthood; Eric Sambrano, mathematics/early adolescence; Heather Tracy, physical education/early adolescence through young adulthood.

McAuliffe Elementary School — Anna Jaross, literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood.

Smith Elementary School — Kathy Hiles, generalist/middle childhood

Skyline High School — Cari Crane, social studies; Elizabeth Lund, language arts; Marisa Reinsch, math; Tracy Schellberg, P.E.

Pacific Cascade Middle School — Heather Weider, humanities; Kathryn Rice, science.

Beaver Lake Middle School — Catherine Johnson, science.

Discovery Elementary School — Abigail Ferguson, second grade; Allison Lehr, fourth grade.

Endeavour Elementary School — Callie Nordell, third grade.

Creekside Elementary School — Neal Pollock, fifth grade, Kathryn Tasa, kindergarten.

The 23 local teachers, along with 922 others around the state gave Washington the second-most new board-certified teachers, according to the district press releases. North Carolina had the most.

Washington has the fourth-highest overall number of teachers who are National Board Certified, with 6,242. The state employs 59,681 teachers, according to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

During their application process, teachers spend an average of about 400 hours putting together a two-piece package, the Issaquah School District said. First they compile a portfolio of lesson plans, student work samples and a video of live classroom teaching, which demonstrate the teacher’s effect on student learning. The second piece is a written assessment, which measures the teacher’s mastery and overall knowledge of their particular subject area, classroom practices and curriculum design. The national panel of teachers must approve the application. Otherwise they return it for further development.

Depending on the district, a teacher may receive $1,500 to $3,000 in grants to pay for the National Board Certification, the Issaquah School District said. And based on a state measure to respond to a federally mandated report in 2008, teachers receive a $5,000 pay increase.

Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com.

The outlook is not favorable for residents for a handful of Sammamish neighborhoods who want their children to attend the Lake Washington School District, instead of the Snoqualmie Valley School District.

At its meeting Dec. 15, the Snoqualmie Valley School Board voted to oppose the transfer. The residents, who filed a petition in September to change districts, now wait on the Lake Washington School Board, which will make a decision Jan. 9.

The Lake Washington board weighed its options during its special meeting Dec. 12.

“It looks like our board is not supporting the transfer,” said Kathryn Reith, Lake Washington communications director.

The neighborhoods, Devereaux, Trails at Camden Park, 26th Street, 27th Place and a few houses along 244th Avenue Northeast, lie at the northeast corner of Sammamish and send their children to Snoqualmie Valley schools. The surrounding neighborhoods send their students to Lake Washington schools.

While negotiating the territory transfer, the superintendent and two board members from each district considered factors like the affected students’ educational opportunities, school capacity, safety and welfare, geographic accessibility, and the history and relationship of the property affected to the students and communities affected. The group considered how the transfer will affect — negatively or positively — each school district, including through increased transportation costs (Lake Washington) or decreased tax revenue (Snoqualmie Valley).

While the change would cut the commute time for the Sammamish students, it could cost Lake Washington up to $35,000 to feed a new bus route through those neighborhoods, Reith said. And the schools those residents attend — Carson Elementary, Inglewood Junior High and Eastlake High — are all currently or will soon be overcrowded, Reith said.

“Snoqualmie Valley, they do have capacity in the schools the kids currently attend. But on our side, those schools are full,” she said.

In addition, Reith said Snoqualmie Valley would lose significant property tax income from the Sammamish homes.

“They would lose some homes with fairly high assessed value,” Reith said.

If both school boards agree on the next step, be it to transfer the land or not, then that decision is what happens. If the boards disagree, the decision goes through an appeal process at the regional level, and could possibly end up in the court system, though that is rare.

This transfer request harkens back to 2009, when the Broadhurst neighborhood, in unincorporated King County north of Sammamish, made the same request.

In that case, the transfer was denied when the school boards found that it would hurt the Snoqualmie district more than it would help the Lake Washington district.

Since receiving the petition from the residents Sept. 10, the two districts had 90 days to negotiate an agreement, but received a 30-day extension because of the holiday break.

Traci Pierce is the Lake Washington School Board’s preferred candidate to replace outgoing superintendent Chip Kimball, it announced at its Dec. 5 meeting.

The board unanimously voted to approve Pierce, who began her career as a teacher at Inglewood Junior High School in Sammamish as its choice for the next Lake Washington School District superintendent. They cited interest among district leaders and community members in having continuity in major initiatives the district has underway including the grade reconfiguration and building a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics high school.

The board will introduce Pierce to the community through a series of public events and will ask for input on her candidacy. As the candidate search and hiring process has just begun, the district will release a calendar of the events, as well as a date for the final vote on hiring, after the holidays.

“Personally I am thrilled with the decision of the board,” said superintendent Chip Kimball, in a statement. Kimball is leaving for Singapore. “Traci is talented, motivated, and cares deeply about students.”

Pierce is the district’s deputy superintendent for instructional services, a position she’s held since 2010. She has already undergone two extensive interviews with the school board, the district said, which gave them a more thorough, detailed view of her experience than they would get from any outside candidates.

Pierce spent her first six years teaching language arts and social studies at Inglewood before working as a district instructional technology staff development specialist. She then returned to Inglewood as assistant principal and, just a year later, became the school’s principal. Pierce later worked in the central office in several instructional leadership roles and became chief schools officer in July 2007.

She earned her doctorate and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Washington and her master’s degree from City University.

She knew she did better than the “B-” reflected in the rundown on the online grade book. But she quickly realized that “B-” was one of six grades she received for the assignment from teacher Sarah Rainwater.

“I didn’t like seeing that in the grade book,” said McIlwain, now a sophomore.

McIlwain, in turn, spent much of her freshman year studying a little harder for writing tests and working a paper’s thesis a little longer, she said.

Rainwater is one of an increasing number of teachers in the Issaquah and Lake Washington school districts turning to standards-based grading systems to more efficiently and accurately gauge their students’ aptitude.

They’re changing from a 100-point, percentage-based grading scale to a 4-point one similar to that used in elementary school classrooms. More than that, teachers are breaking a grade up into components to give students a better idea of which areas might need work.

From math teachers to science and English teachers, more and more are changing their grading methods to get students more involved in their own progress through high school, as well as to more closely align with district and state standards. It helps teachers distinguish between a student’s motivation and ability.

And teachers said they’re already seeing results.

“This is a huge deal for someone,” said Rainwater, who is in her second year teaching freshman humanities at Skyline. “Being able to separate these two things is creating a paradigm shift.”

In the classrooms of those teachers using the new method, it’s easier for students to take initiative and improve on an area of academic weakness. Instead of handing back a test with the final overall grade of, say 80/100, at the top, it’s broken down into respective skill areas, such as “Thesis,” “Evidence,” “Analysis,” “Style,” “Organization,” and “Introduction and conclusion.” Each area has its own grade and is entered into the grade book as such. Even if a student sees their “A-“ at the top, Rainwater said many of them tend to dwell on the “C” they got in a particular area and inevitably work to improve it for next time or for a test retake.

“It gets more buy-in from them, in terms of, “oh, I know specifically what I can work on,’” said Brian Arnot, math teacher at Pacific Cascade Middle School. “The purely percentage-based scale is not good for students. It does not encourage a struggling learner to achieve and work hard. You throw a few ‘zeroes’ in and a few ‘Fs,’ you’re not going to recover.”

In the new system, those students have a greater chance of digging themselves out by the end of a semester, Arnot and Rainwater said. It allows students to retake or re-assess certain things.

“Even the struggling student can be encouraged,” Arnot said.

And it mostly happens without the teacher having to track down each student and suggest they study the part they bombed on the test.

McIlwain doesn’t have any teachers this year who grade like Rainwater. But she took Rainwater’s performance-tracking system to heart last year and has been able to self-direct on certain assignments as a sophomore.

“It’s really helpful to see what I need to work on,” McIlwain said. “I’ve been able to take things I haven’t been as good at … and work on it this year.”

Rainwater provided a specific example of the new grading model. Her honors world studies class conducted in-class discussions Oct. 3 for a grade. Instead of a student getting simply a 39 out of 40 for “Discussion-Economic Systems,” the grade is entered as 10 of 10 on “evidence,” 10 of 10 on “analysis,” 10 of 10 on “style” and 9 of 10 on “thesis.” Within the new 4-point system, the grades are entered as 4, 4, 4, and 3.5. All are still above standard, but a student intent on perfecting her grade might work harder on her thesis for her next paper.

“It forces students to reflect on their ability and what specifically they need to do to grow,” said Rainwater.

While some individual teachers have run ahead of the pack with the emerging grading system, it’s is part of a larger trend to help educators at every level make the K-12 experience as seamless and successful — according to state and district standards — as possible for every student, said Kathryn Reith, director of communications for the Lake Washington School District.

“Standardized grading is really part of a whole system,” Reith said. “It gives whole schools and whole districts the same language and understanding.”

So when a student changes a grade or a school, their teacher can look at them and say ‘oh this is where you’re at,’ and provide appropriate guidance or instruction.

Rainwater and Arnot acknowledged the system, at first, might seem confusing to parents keeping tabs on their child’s academic performance amid varying grading schemes in different subject areas. But so far, they each have noticed parents have fewer questions about how their student can improve with their schoolwork.

“The parents don’t have as many questions for me now,” said Rainwater.

In a time of ever-changing and increasing standards, educators in Sammamish schools are working to identify what is an adequate level of understanding of a subject for a student in each grade level and how to measure whether a student has met that level.

“In our district, we’ve done all the work at the elementary (level),” said Reith. “We’re doing the work right now at middle schools.”

And it’s inevitable that high schools in Lake Washington will adopt the system in the near future, she said. It’s just a matter of working to put it in place.

“It really requires a lot of work and for everybody to know it really well,” Reith said.

While McIlwain didn’t exactly like seeing that “B-“ on the “Thesis” portion of her six-part grade, that’s precisely what teachers are banking on for the new system to work — dissatisfaction with a low grade. Regardless of the impact that “B-“ has on the overall “A” McIlwain got on the paper, it drives her to get better.

“I believe that’s the reason I’m a better writer, because I knew that’s exactly what I needed to work on,” McIlwain said.

Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com.

At first, Caitlin McIlwain got a little nervous when she saw a lower-than-desired grade on her first world studies paper as a freshman at Skyline High School.

She knew she did better than the “B-” reflected in the rundown on the online grade book. But she quickly realized that “B-” was one of six grades she received for the assignment from teacher Sarah Rainwater.

“I didn’t like seeing that in the grade book,” said McIlwain, now a sophomore.

McIlwain, in turn, spent much of her freshman year studying a little harder for writing tests and working a paper’s thesis a little longer, she said.

Rainwater is one of an increasing number of teachers in the Issaquah and Lake Washington school districts turning to standards-based grading systems to more efficiently and accurately gauge their students’ aptitude.

They’re changing from a 100-point, percentage-based grading scale to a 4-point one similar to that used in elementary school classrooms. More than that, teachers are breaking a grade up into components to give students a better idea of which areas might need work.

From math teachers to science and English teachers, more and more are changing their grading methods to get students more involved in their own progress through high school, as well as to more closely align with district and state standards. It helps teachers distinguish between a student’s motivation and ability.

And teachers said they’re already seeing results.

“This is a huge deal for someone,” said Rainwater, who is in her second year teaching freshman humanities at Skyline. “Being able to separate these two things is creating a paradigm shift.”

In the classrooms of those teachers using the new method, it’s easier for students to take initiative and improve on an area of academic weakness. Instead of handing back a test with the final overall grade of, say 80/100, at the top, it’s broken down into respective skill areas, such as “Thesis,” “Evidence,” “Analysis,” “Style,” “Organization,” and “Introduction and conclusion.” Each area has its own grade and is entered into the grade book as such. Even if a student sees their “A-“ at the top, Rainwater said many of them tend to dwell on the “C” they got in a particular area and inevitably work to improve it for next time or for a test retake.

“It gets more buy-in from them, in terms of, “oh, I know specifically what I can work on,’” said Brian Arnot, math teacher at Pacific Cascade Middle School. “The purely percentage-based scale is not good for students. It does not encourage a struggling learner to achieve and work hard. You throw a few ‘zeroes’ in and a few ‘Fs,’ you’re not going to recover.”

In the new system, those students have a greater chance of digging themselves out by the end of a semester, Arnot and Rainwater said. It allows students to retake or re-assess certain things.

“Even the struggling student can be encouraged,” Arnot said.

And it mostly happens without the teacher having to track down each student and suggest they study the part they bombed on the test.

McIlwain doesn’t have any teachers this year who grade like Rainwater. But she took Rainwater’s performance-tracking system to heart last year and has been able to self-direct on certain assignments as a sophomore.

“It’s really helpful to see what I need to work on,” McIlwain said. “I’ve been able to take things I haven’t been as good at … and work on it this year.”

Rainwater provided a specific example of the new grading model. Her honors world studies class conducted in-class discussions Oct. 3 for a grade. Instead of a student getting simply a 39 out of 40 for “Discussion-Economic Systems,” the grade is entered as 10 of 10 on “evidence,” 10 of 10 on “analysis,” 10 of 10 on “style” and 9 of 10 on “thesis.” Within the new 4-point system, the grades are entered as 4, 4, 4, and 3.5. All are still above standard, but a student intent on perfecting her grade might work harder on her thesis for her next paper.

“It forces students to reflect on their ability and what specifically they need to do to grow,” said Rainwater.

While some individual teachers have run ahead of the pack with the emerging grading system, it’s is part of a larger trend to help educators at every level make the K-12 experience as seamless and successful — according to state and district standards — as possible for every student, said Kathryn Reith, director of communications for the Lake Washington School District.

“Standardized grading is really part of a whole system,” Reith said. “It gives whole schools and whole districts the same language and understanding.”

So when a student changes a grade or a school, their teacher can look at them and say ‘oh this is where you’re at,’ and provide appropriate guidance or instruction.

Rainwater and Arnot acknowledged the system, at first, might seem confusing to parents keeping tabs on their child’s academic performance amid varying grading schemes in different subject areas. But so far, they each have noticed parents have fewer questions about how their student can improve with their schoolwork.

“The parents don’t have as many questions for me now,” said Rainwater.

In a time of ever-changing and increasing standards, educators in Sammamish schools are working to identify what is an adequate level of understanding of a subject for a student in each grade level and how to measure whether a student has met that level.

“In our district, we’ve done all the work at the elementary (level),” said Reith. “We’re doing the work right now at middle schools.”

And it’s inevitable that high schools in Lake Washington will adopt the system in the near future, she said. It’s just a matter of working to put it in place.

“It really requires a lot of work and for everybody to know it really well,” Reith said.

While McIlwain didn’t exactly like seeing that “B-“ on the “Thesis” portion of her six-part grade, that’s precisely what teachers are banking on for the new system to work — dissatisfaction with a low grade. Regardless of the impact that “B-“ has on the overall “A” McIlwain got on the paper, it drives her to get better.

“I believe that’s the reason I’m a better writer, because I knew that’s exactly what I needed to work on,” McIlwain said.

Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com.