Nespelem School district working on expansion into high school

Nespelem School District, which has for decades sent its students to “the dam” after eighth grade to attend high school, is looking at ways to expand its service to the community by moving toward a high school offering.

The school board formally approved the move Monday night, directing Superintendent Effie Dean to continue working to set up an “emergent high school,” offering just ninth grade in the coming school year, with a “career technical education” component under discussion with the Colville Tribes.

“Everybody is super excited about it,” Dean told The Star in an interview Tuesday. “CTE is something the community has wanted to bring into the school for a long time,” she said. “When I look at our kids, I think it would be a huge benefit. There’s a lack of hope, and I think that it would create hope.”

Dean said the school will meet with next year’s ninth-grade parents next week to explain the “very practical goal” to provide an option for students who don’t want to go to a regular high school, “the go-to-work” kids who could be helped by a different approach, such as internships at the tribe.

But it will be a growing program, starting with one teacher who has asked for the ninth-grade assignment next year. Two are currently working on getting a CTE certification and will have those bona fides in hand by fall, including one for middle school students who will be able to take a “career exploration” subject, readying them for “very light” job shadowing experiences at the tribe as freshmen.

Dean said they’re expecting about a dozen students the first year. They’ll work with the teacher on the core subjects — English language arts, math, science and history — with an online curriculum. Other subject requirements can be met with the right internship experiences, Dean said — things like art, PE and other occupational areas.

The program would grow out, adding grades as needed, funded with state basic education and federal Impact Aid dollars, plus money that is available for CTE programs.

Those considerations extend to building planning for the school that’s 40 years old and ready for upgrades or replacement, Dean said, noting Impact Aid has a construction component too.

The district has almost no taxable property value, so relies on grants to fund any capital improvement projects.

Dean, who at one point was meeting over Zoom with 17 people in a discussion on how to go about adding a high school, has been pumping experts at the state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Education and the North Central Educational Service District.

She also noted that Wenatchee Valley Community College might someday come into play, too, allowing kids to get college credit for their CTE work, and more.