Kent Reporter
State Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, spent Tuesday morning on campus at Kent-Meridian High School as part of the Kent School District’s “Principal for a Day” event.
The event placed community leaders in the classroom to experience a school day from the perspective of students, teachers and administrators.
“The Principal for a Day event was an excellent opportunity to get a firsthand view of classrooms alive with students as diverse as the topics they studied,” said Fain, who serves on the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, in a media release. “I was pleased to see the true passion for education on campus where instructors use leading technology to aid innovative learning. While we work to improve our public schools, we must not ignore the amazing things students and teachers are already accomplishing together.”
The inaugural “Principal for a Day” event, held during National Education Week, demonstrated the demands for operating a successful school. The Kent district welcomed four distinguished guests into its schools from local businesses, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Fain, who is a leader on education issues in the state Senate where he represents Kent, Auburn and Covington in the 47th Legislative District.
“Principal leadership is central to the school improvement process and this event provided our community leaders a chance to see first-hand the great things happening along with the opportunities in our schools,” said Kent School District Superintendent Edward Lee Vargas. “Thank you to the community leaders for participating, and I look forward to continuing to develop partnerships as we work together to successfully prepare all students for their futures.”
Kent-Meridian is one of the most diverse schools in the state, with students from more than 100 countries speaking 71 different languages. The Kent-Meridian campus also houses the Kent School District’s Technology Academy, providing students with the opportunity to integrate the latest technology into their studies.
In 2011 the school was awarded the Washington Achievement Award from OSPI and the Washington State Board of Education, which is based on overall excellence, graduation rate and progress toward closing the achievement gap, with an emphasis on math, science and language arts curriculum.
“The best way to really engage the community is for the community to come into the schools and for us to go out into the community,” said Kent-Meridian High School Principal Wade Barringer. “We’ve got to come up with creative ways to communicate with our business, faith, civic, and government partners. By inviting representatives from our community into our schools, we are forming relationships that will strengthen the support of our community, and hopefully create advocates as well.”