What is Wenatchee Learns?

With a promise of putting people first and a purpose statement of “preparing students with the knowledge and skills for life in the 21st century,” Wenatchee Learns has become a multi-layered and constantly adapting system.

Wenatchee Learns aims to “act as a liaison between the community and the schools to connect different organizations and people with opportunities like volunteering, mentoring, tutoring, internships and job shadows,” Diana Haglund, Wenatchee Learns Coordinator, said. Working alongside Director of Career and Technical Education Dennis Conger, Wenatchee Learns attempts to “tap the power of our whole community” and give students a chance to explore real-world careers by bringing more Project-Based Learning to Wenatchee High School.

“There was no road map for [the partnership center], there was no standard already set, so we spent a lot of time listening and learning with our teachers, finding out what sort of opportunities we already had, where we need help and where there are gaps,” Haglund said.

With the original vision and initiatives launching in 2011, Wenatchee Learns has started to perfect and finalize some of its biggest programs. In alignment with the goal of bringing resources to the schools, students at WHS attended the second annual NCW College and Career Expo this year. More than 100 businesses and colleges were represented and more than 2,200 WHS students attended the fair, gaining information and resources for future plans after high school.

In the same year the WSD started to plan its next strategic vision, the Washington State Board of Education announced the adoption of a “24 credit Career- and College-Ready Graduation Requirements” program. A new program was implemented with four hour-long online courses to be completed each year to not only fulfill a state requirement, but to ensure graduating seniors had the ability to successfully transition into any path after high school.

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With Wenatchee Learns, citizens have an active role in shaping the future, not merely a voice.

— Diana Haglund, Wenatchee Learns Coordinator

“We looked at how students were being prepared to enter the workforce… we created a blended learning experience [using Moodle] so that students could choose when and where they learn best,” Haglund said.

“We’ve got a couple of events that are coming up this year that are more career related that we’re pretty excited about,” Haglund said.

This spring, Wenatchee Learns is exposing eighth-grade girls to careers in the construction trade. “We just want [the eighth-grade girls] to get an idea of what those careers are like and to kind of broaden their horizons as well. since there’s a great need for women in those industries,” Haglund said.

Eighth-grade boys will given the opportunity to go to the Wenatchee Valley Technical Institute  to explore the different programs offered.

High school seniors may also be given the opportunity to participate in a hiring fair in April. “It’s kind of a spin-off of the College and Career Expo. We’d be bringing together community leaders and businesses that hire seasonally,” Haglund said. Seniors would have the possibility of participating in mock interviews with the Apple Valley Human Resource Association.

In addition to Haglund, Wenatchee Learns Connect employs two other staff members: Melissa Hernandez, volunteer and parent involvement coordinator, and Mike Wilson, services specialist. Haglund said both Hernandez and Wilson will be relocating to the district office in hopes of better connecting the different aspects of Wenatchee Learns with teachers and students, with Wilson primarily focusing on assisting teachers and students with the College and Career Readiness program, and Hernandez working with teachers on how to engage parents and volunteers.

Described as “a revolution in the way Wenatchee plans for and supports education,” Wenatchee Learns aims to bring students, businesses and the community together to create “a future we all own and support. Eventually, a vision statement consisting of four objectives was released.

“It’s really about connecting all of us together, bringing people face-to-face. When we connect, when we take a special interest in a child and when we know more about the parent and we understand where they’re coming from, they become more human,” Hernandez said.

“The essence of it became a personalized approach to learning, expanding the role of ‘teacher’ to the community, [and] using technology as a bridge,” Haglund said. “Unlike traditional outreach… with Wenatchee Learns, citizens have an active role in shaping the future, not merely a voice.”