A car prowler was caught red-handed in the Wenatchee High School main parking lot by WHS Safety and Security Officer Janine Owyen and Wenatchee Police officers this morning.
Dustin Graff, a 21-year-old East Wenatchee man, was booked into jail, facing charges of vehicle prowl, theft in the third degree, and criminal trespass, a Wenatchee Police records staffer said this afternoon.
Owyen spotted a Pontiac Grand Prix on surveillance cameras around 9:30 a.m. Owyen noticed the car because it was the same car that entered the parking lot on May 12 and whose driver ransacked a student’s car near the athletic entrance, stealing small items such as nail polish, Owyen said.
Graff is shown on surveillance recordings from this morning’s incident pulling into the parking lot, parking in a normal stall, waiting for passersby to clear, then putting a black glove on his hand to begin the prowl.
That’s when he noticed someone passing by, and quickly got back in his car to hide. After the students passed, Graff exited his car, had a discussion with his passenger, and approached a car parked in the next row. It was unlocked.
Owyen followed Graff on surveillance cameras while Principal Bob Celebrezze called RiverCom 911.
Nearly 15 minutes after Graff first entered the parking lot, three Wenatchee Police officers arrived and went right to the car Graff was in. Guns drawn, the officers jumped out of the car and began the process of taking Graff into custody.
An unmarked police car then approached the parking stall where the Grand Prix was located, and the officer drew his gun on the 21-year-old female passenger. She received a criminal trespass warning from Wenatchee School District. Her name was withheld from the report. There’s no record of any criminal charges being filed.
Graff is now awaiting an arraignment hearing in Chelan County District Court from the Chelan County Regional Justice Center.
“Cameras were our number one tool that we used to solve this vehicle prowl,” Owyen said. “Be aware of your surroundings, [and] lock your car.”
Wenatchee High School staff members voted this morning to approve a modified block schedule for the 2014-15 school year. The vote passed 63 to 37 percent, just three percent over the required 60-percent mark.
The modified block schedule would consist of four 85-minute class periods Tuesday through Thursday, and Monday and Friday would have six 42-minute periods per day. All five days will have a 13-minute long “nutrition” break which would replace the current PAWS/break, and lunch will be 40 minutes long, including the six minutes of passing time, compared with the current 35-minute lunch, including the five minutes of passing time. About 14 minutes would be added to class time each day under the schedule.
Voting took place this morning between 7 and 8 a.m. Votes were submitted in a room in the music department. A total of 120 staff members voted and no administrators were allowed to vote. All teachers were given the choice to vote and some did not because they arrived late, weren’t here today, or simply didn’t want to. A total of 122 certified staff members were eligible to vote.
“I think there are lots of good reasons to have block scheduling,” Dean of Students Mike Franza said. “When students wake up in the morning they have fewer classes to deal with, so when they go to bed at night they have fewer things to worry about for tomorrow. They have longer times in class to either develop relationships with teachers or get work done. So again, as long as the teachers are trained and prepared to do it the right way then it works out well.”
Principal Bob Celebrezze said if the proposal is approved by Wenatchee School District Superintendent Brian Flones and the school board, teachers will go through training because they are used to teaching in a certain time period. The training will teach them how to use the longer class periods effectively.
Flones said that the district is still working on the logistics of total time that students are in class before taking it to the school board.
“I think it’s got a lot of promise,” Flones said. He said that a major problem educators are facing is that there is not enough time or days to effectively teach. However, he does anticipate a learning curve for everyone involved.
“It will make for a more relaxed school atmosphere. I can only speculate that the superintendent will support my recommendation,” Celebrezze said.
So far, a mixed reaction has come from students. Out of the seven interviewed, four students disapproved, but remained optimistic about what the schedule could bring to WHS. “I’m going to hate being in class for that long but it’ll probably be really helpful,” junior Christaldo Rodriguez said.
Freshman Bryce Peters sees the block schedule as a helpful tool. “I like it because it’s going to give us more time to learn and work on our own,” Peters said.
Senior Ali Marboe doesn’t like the idea but will not be affected by it when she graduates. “I feel bad for all of the kids that have to go through block schedule,” Marboe said.
Teachers have mixed feelings as well. “Now that it is being proposed I hope we do it the right way,” said English teacher Dave Carlson, who opposed modified block scheduling. “I would like to know if it works for the students; I will support anything for the right reason.”
“I don’t know; I have questions about it,” math teacher Tom Alexander, another opponent, said. “It will be difficult for math and AP classes. Students doing sports will also be affected since they will miss a day and a half of school. I hope we make an objective evaluation at the end of one year. I am committed to making it work though.”
English Department Head Chris Cloke remains neutral. “I anticipated it would pass. I think there are emotional arguments for me. Student learning comes first and if this is something that will improve that I am all for it,” Cloke said. “It’s not a major shift. I feel like and a relaxed pace would benefit both students and staff. Why not try it? We can always go back.”
Originally suggested by Celebrezze, he will continue to push the proposal through school district administrators.
“The faculty wants to give each and every student the best opportunity possible to find success and happiness. This is one way to do that, it’s just one piece of the puzzle,” Celebrezze said.
Flones said students will notice additional time and the pace of the school day will have benefits that students haven’t experienced before. He looks forward to watching it progress.
Story originally published in The Apple Leaf Oct. 15, 2014.
Some high schools in the United States are equipped with high-tech security systems, extra campus officers, and even sniffing dogs. With the traumatic school shootings that have occurred in the last few years, some schools are even sending their teachers and faculty members to school with loaded weapons. And I say, more power to them.
When schools allow their faculty to be better equipped to take charge in an emergency, not only are they protecting the lives of the nation’s most vulnerable, but they’re also sending a message to any intruder that may think of shooting up a school. Putting myself in the shoes of an intruder, I would likely think twice about a school standoff if I knew that people inside could fire right back.
In Utah, it’s actually legal for someone with a concealed weapons permit to have a weapon with them at any time. For teachers in that state, bringing a gun to school isn’t out of the ordinary, and if anyone wonders, Utah’s state law says it’s illegal for them to ask.
This brings up the point of: “Yikes, I don’t want just any teacher to be carrying a gun around…” Well, yes, I would completely agree with that. In order to be effective, a school would have to be discreet in who gets selected to conceal a weapon.
If there were only a few “first responders” in a building, who were unknown to all except administrators, the hype and uncertainty would likely be minimum and a non-issue to most people in a school. These select individuals would also need special training and a background check to ensure complete safety while serving as concealed weapons bearers of a school. It might also be smart to require frequent mental health evaluations to completely confirm that a weapon on that person is making the school safer, rather than dangerous.
If weapons are out of the picture, it seems appropriate that specially-trained dogs got a job in schools to sniff out bad things that could pose an imminent threat to the building.
Wenatchee High School is already supplied with two great security officers, who work tirelessly to ensure a safe campus. As pointed out by the editorial board of The Apple Leaf, it might be smart for the Wenatchee School District to be proactive and re-evaluate the safeness of our schools and what’s being done to make them safer.
Story originally published in The Apple Leaf Oct. 31, 2012.
This year, when I walked into English, I was excited to have another class full of reading and writing. But, there was a problem. It was graded on standards, a technique devoted to giving students formative control over their own progress.
With standards, the grading scale seems to be off compared to the old way. Generally, a 3 (in standards) is meeting standard. But getting a 3 doesn’t mean you get an A. Where else in the world do you fail to succeed when you follow the given directions? That’s right, nowhere. When you buy a new desk from the local furniture store, do you go home, read the directions, and guess how to put it together?
Why do we have to make inferences just to get an A? Well, that’s a good question. Isn’t school meant for learning, not inferring? This “way of the world” seems to cater to those who are barely paying attention in class. For those of you that choose to sit in the back of the room and pop your gum: shame. And those of you sitting in the “middle class” hoping that you could raise your hand first and answer the question, but Brainiac next to you beats you to it: good for you. And Brainiac next to you: don’t try so hard. There’s a lot of other students sitting in the back, trying to come up with the answer or refer back to their notes. Some learners need more time to process the task at hand, and come up with their best educated guess.
All along, we’ve learned the traditional way of grading. That’s how we understand it. But now, since the the world is changing, the person in the back of the room doesn’t have to do anything, and the person who participates the most is stuck teaching the concept and assisting in group work. That way, we all look equally smart and equally improving. Maybe that’s the way of the United States; to cover the tracks and hide the flaws.
How is that preparing us for the future? In the real world, with real bosses, and real tasks, you’re on your own, my friend. Your buddy isn’t going to be able to sit at your desk and lead the way. You have to take it into your own hands. You have to be in charge. In the real world, you are your own leader!
Granted, standards-based grading lets the learner do what they want, but just because the teacher has a set opinion about a certain student, doesn’t mean that student should have a different level of standard to get a 4. Once the teacher forms their opinion, the level of a 4 isn’t consistent throughout the class. That in itself is unfair to the overachievers and the underachievers. The underachievers should be held more accountable, while the overachievers should back off and lessen the workload. In the end, it’s quite possible that both groups of students will come out with the same grade while each did far from similar tasks.
Overall, it’s bringing those who don’t want to learn to a level where they can at least pass the class, and it’s taxing those who are used to the traditional way of grading that they’ve learned to appreciate and work hard for since kindergarten.
When you follow the directions given, and then you do the work, you will not come out with an A in the class (even though you’re doing exactly what’s expected); instead, maybe an A- or a B. What does that mean? Yes, that’s right. B’s will drop your cumulative GPA. And what’s the first thing that college’s look at? Yes, your GPA.
My fellow peers and classmates who want to graduate from Wenatchee High School with a 4.0: good luck. I hope you can find a way to make your best guess through the given directions (or lack thereof) and wander your way through all the new obstacles. To my college: I’m sorry that my GPA reflects my high school thinking the world was changing all at once.
The Apple Leaf opened a poll to users and by the end of its run, it generated approximately 250 responses from students, faculty and parents when the school board voted to move the location of the graduation ceremony. The poll served as an excellent tool for engagement and gave another opportunity for readers to read the story.
The photo used was a file photo, which was helpful to have on hand and bring back the feeling of graduation to readers.
The use of mugshots and pull quotes proved powerful online, especially when stories were lengthy. When a story is visually appealing, it’s easier to read, which also increases the amount of time users spend looking at web pages. As of Jan. 25, 2015, this story was the second-most-read on The Apple Leaf’s website for the school year, with users averaging nearly six minutes of viewing time. Bryce believes this is a direct result of the page’s design.
The use of mugshots and pull quotes in a story that averaged six minutes of view time by users.
As Online Editor, it was Bryce’s responsibility to choose designs, fonts, colors, photos, and more for the homepage, with the goal of keeping it fresh and updated on a weekly basis.
The website’s homepage for summer 2014.
A key aspect of any design includes superb photos. The homepage design is clean and easy to navigate. Bryce contributed a solid effort to always ensuring balance of the homepage widgets to reduce as much white space as possible.
In an effort to create a streamlined approach to breaking news online, Bryce created this graphic to use in place of putting “BREAKING:” or “UPDATE:” in the headlines of online stories. This helped keep URLs clean and undistorted.
In an effort to create new branding for The Apple Leaf website in 2014-15, Bryce created similar advertisements for the print edition. The news and sports ads run every issue. They feature Wenatchee High School’s colors in an attempt to connect with the audience.
During Summer 2014, Bryce met with the local West Coast Baseball League’s team, the Wenatchee Applesox, to discuss broadening their reach on social media. His first project was to create this flyer, which was distributed to all fans at a game.
Bryce Newberry 