Mukilteo Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

This month is bittersweet for me. After nearly 17 years, this is my last month as superintendent before Dr. Alison Brynelson steps into the role Jan. 1. She will do a fantastic job and she and I have been working on transition... — Updated 12/4/2019

The school district’s new safety and security manager, Tim Reeves, is very busy training staff throughout the district. He is working directly with school security monitors in increasing their training. He has also been training... — Updated 11/6/2019

Students and staff are once again settling into their school day routines. This year, we saw more students walk, skip, and breeze through our school doors than in previous years. Our enrollment numbers continue to grow, but the... — Updated 10/2/2019

Five years ago, a supermajority of about 64 percent of the voters in the Mukilteo School District approved a ballot measure that gave us the authority to finance improvements to many school facilities. The largest of those... — Updated 6/5/2019 Full story

With the end of the school year approaching, it’s a time when schools are planning year-end celebrations and when this year’s graduates are becoming anxious about the big step they will soon take to the next phase of their... — Updated 5/1/2019

February was a record breaker! We’ve never had so many school days canceled because of weather. During the past 20 years, most of our school years have gone by with no canceled days or maybe only one. There have been only four... — Updated 4/3/2019

About three-quarters of our operating revenue comes from the state of Washington, so it only makes sense that we would pay a great deal of attention to what is going on in Olympia when the Legislature is in session. The lawmakers a... — Updated 3/6/2019

With about 2,500 employees and an annual operating budget of about $250 million, the Mukilteo School District is a large organization. In fact, out of the 295 school districts in the state of Washington, we are the 22nd largest... — Updated 2/6/2019

While the focus of our effort is always on what happens in the classroom, there are many other supporting functions that also play a critical role. Education can’t work, for example, if the school buildings aren’t maintained or... — Updated 1/2/2019

In last month’s column, I wrote about the development of our equity policy and why we felt it was important to undertake an effort that ensures a high level of success for all students. I told you how diverse our school district... — Updated 12/5/2018

The Mukilteo School District has become a richly diverse place over the past several years. Our school district is vastly different than it was when I arrived in 2000. We truly are educating students from around the globe, with... — Updated 11/7/2018

The safety of our students and our staff members, as well as those who visit our campuses and facilities, is one of the most important responsibilities that we have as a school district. A proper learning environment must be free... — Updated 10/3/2018

One of the most exciting parts of each summer in the Mukilteo School District is our summer school program. Each year, hundreds of students spend time in classrooms to learn a variety of subjects, help get prepared for their move t... — Updated 9/12/2018 Full story

Summer is just around the corner. We will honor our graduates at ceremonies that will take place later this week and the last day of the 2017-18 school year will be a week from today on June 20. The last several weeks before the... — Updated 6/13/2018 Full story

The issue of safety and security in our schools is always a strong concern, but has been increasingly so during the past few months since the tragic school shooting in Florida, the resulting activism by students, and our own... — Updated 5/2/2018

I wrote a letter to all of our staff members last week that outlines the things we are doing in our schools to improve safety and security. In that message, I had to admit that in my many years in education as a student, a... — Updated 4/4/2018 Full story

The tragedy of school shootings has been in the news again recently with an event in Florida a couple of weeks ago that caused the death of 17 people. At the same time, we were also rocked by the news that one of our own students... — Updated 3/7/2018

Voters in the school district are now considering two ballot measures that would provide funding for our schools. One would provide money for a variety of educational programs and services and the other would provide money to impro... — Updated 2/7/2018

In last month’s column, I introduced you to the topic of school finances. I told you that the state provides us with about two-thirds of the money we use to operate schools. I also mentioned that most of the programs and... — Updated 1/3/2018 Full story

For most people, the issue of how school districts get and spend money is something they likely don’t think much about. That’s only natural. They have a great many other important things to deal with in their daily lives. But,... — Updated 12/6/2017

The process of providing an education for more than 15,000 students requires a very large organization filled with many moving parts. In addition to about 1,000 teachers, we employ hundreds of other employees who drive school... — Updated 11/1/2017

When we went to the voters in February 2014 with a construction bond proposal, we said that building a new elementary school and a new kindergarten center would help us meet the demand of growing enrollment and give us enough... — Updated 10/4/2017

A little-known gem in our school system will be celebrating its 40th birthday soon. Our school district is among the largest in the state, serving a total of more than 15,000 students. We offer classes at three high schools, four... — Updated 9/6/2017 Full story

The end of the school year is an exciting time for all of our students, who are looking forward to taking a break from the classroom to enjoy many summer activities. It’s especially exciting for the high school seniors and their... — Updated 6/7/2017

I had the tremendous pleasure of joining some of our teachers and principals at a ceremony last week down in Auburn where 280 schools were recognized with the Washington Achievement Award, which is the highest honor that can be... — Updated 5/10/2017 Full story