The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting online on May 10, 2021.
Attending were James Nevers, Dave Aubry, Dave DeBois, Joanne Primavera, Mike Hunter, John Woodbery, Amy & Dave Mutal, Jim Meniketti, Brandon Honcoop, Monica Fratita, Rich Bergdahl, Kristin Olson, Rick Walter, George Anderson, Don Dicks, Gary Cohn, and Terry Cole.
President James Nevers rang the bell at 6:15 p.m.
Brandon Honcoop recited the Pledge.
Happy Dollars:
There are a lot of Happy Rotarians, as evidenced by Happy Dollars. Thank you to Dave Aubry, Terry Cole, Don Dicks, James Nevers, Joanne Primavera, and Rick Walter for your generosity.
Rotary Business:
The Duck Dash Committee meets Wednesday as we try to figure out how we can run the Race. We are still looking at June 7 to return to the Woodmark.
Student of the Month:
We heard from Student of the Month Jack Tidd. Jack’s mother, Kristin, dad, and brother were also in attendance. Jack is a senior at Juanita High School, where he is captain of the Lacrosse team. He has a number of volunteer activities, including coaching a 3rd and 4th grade Lacrosse team. He will attend Montana State and study computer science with an emphasis in security. There were several questions from Rotarians with regard to Montana State. He chose the school because he likes the school, likes the weather, has family nearby, and got a scholarship.
Program:
Gary Cohn introduced our speaker, Matt Gillingham, associate superintendent of the Lake Washington School District. He spoke to us about the Community Truancy Boards. Unlike the old system where the emphasis was on ‘catching’ truants and compelling school attendance, the emphasis now is on “supporting schooling attendance and assisting kids in showing up”. In fact, the name was recently changed by the legislature to Community Engagement Boards. They have been investigating the circumstances under which students miss school. They do not want to have an adversarial relationship with kids and their parents. They are trying to be student-centered and to address how to reconnect the student and the schools. They have brought in other community members to help bridge the gap between the student and the school system. They have called on a number of community resources such as Youth Eastside Services. The idea is to address truancy issues outside the juvenile court system.
There were a number of informed questions from Rotarians – the Board has begun to look at the point where students first begin to disengage from the school system. They want to find out why kids start to disengage and how to keep as many kids as possible continuously engaged.
We adjourned at about 7:19 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry - Acting Scribe