The Washington State Board of Education met last week to discuss development and form a plan for high-quality High School and Beyond Plans (HSBP). The meeting and planning retreat started Tuesday in Wenatchee at the North Central Education Service District and finished Thursday at Wenatchee High School.

The board is comprised of 16 members, and together they provide public support and oversee strategies for public education. Members are elected by school board directors and appointed by the governor.

The purpose of this retreat is to discuss the new career and college ready graduation requirements that place emphasis on the importance of the Beyond Plan in a student’s academic career. Plans for these new requirements will vary across and within districts based on students’ schools.

During the first two days, meetings consisted of working in small groups, discussion, and other business items, but this last day the board made site visits to schools and facilities in the Wenatchee School District to observe opportunities already in place. Scheduled visits included Washington Elementary, Wenatchee Valley Technical Skills Center, the Wenatchee Learns Connect Center, and Wenatchee High School.

The board had a tight schedule on Thursday and the WHS administration gave a set plan for their visit. WHS Principal Bob Celebrezze delivered a speech about how the goal at WHS is to go deeper and make students feel like they have hope. The board then went on a short tour of the school and heard from Wenatchee Learns and students in the nursing program.

“We came to Wenatchee because we were impressed with the college and career approach,” the Vice Chairman of the board Dr. Deborah Wilds said. “WHS also has extremely high graduation rates, and we love the emphasis on hope Mr. Celebrezze demonstrated.”