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Mount Vernon Schools, home of the Bulldogs, is a growing school district with
over 100 years of rich history. We are the largest school district in Skagit
County serving over 5,700 students in nine schools. Mount Vernon is famous
for its beautiful tulip fields, wildlife, and as the gateway to exploring the
North Cascades mountains.
Mount Vernon Schools
124 East Lawrence St
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
(360) 428-6110
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School Board adopts bell schedule for 2011-2012 school year
The Mount Vernon School Board adopted the 2011-12 bell schedule at its regular meeting on June 22. The Board recommended delaying implementation of a plan to limit transportation to students who live within one safe walking mile from their school of attendance to the 2012-13 school year to allow additional time to review walking routes and pilot strategies to encourage walking.
2011-2012 BELL SCHEDULE
LaVenture Middle School
Mount Baker Middle School
7:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Mount Vernon High School
8:05 a.m. - 2:35 p.m.
Centennial Elementary School
Jefferson Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School
8:55 a.m. - 3:10 p.m.
Madison Elementary School
Little Mountain Elementary School
9:20 a.m. - 3:35 p.m.
Washington Elementary School
9:25 a.m. - 3:40 p.m.
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No-cost summer meals to be available for children 18 years and younger
The Mount Vernon School District is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the Simplified Summer Feeding Program for Children.
Meals will be made available at no charge to children 18 years of age and younger. You do not need to be enrolled in summer school to eat. Just walk into the school at breakfast and or lunch time and eat.
All meals are available without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call toll-free (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TTY). The Mount Vernon School District and the USDA are an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Meals will be served at the following locations:
LaVenture Middle School
1200 LaVenture Road
July 11 through August 12, no service on July 4th
Breakfast & Lunch Served Daily Monday through Friday
8:00 to 8:30 AM and 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Little Mountain Elementary School
1514 South LaVenture Road
June 28 through July 22, no service on July 4th
Breakfast & Lunch Served Daily Monday through Thursday
7:45 to 8:15 AM and 11:15 AM to 12:00 PM
For more information please contact Food Service Supervisor David Connors at 360-428-6149.
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 School Board recognizes 450+ years of retiree service
The Mount Vernon School Board honored this school year's retirees at a reception in the Mount Vernon High School library on June 8. Pictured (L-R) are Deborah Johnson, Jan Rizzo-LaMay and Linda Renne (Madison); Debbie Prante (Centennial); Gary Olinger (Little Mountain/Transportation); Tom Rivas and Randy Brown (Mount Vernon High School); Teri Sawyer (Washington); Ken Gray (LaVenture); Teresa Van Haalen (District Office); Janet Boge (Jefferson); and Michael Guelker-Cone and Jana Svendsen (Lincoln). Several retirees were unable to attend the reception.
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 District efforts achieve $26,000 savings in insurance premiums
Superintendent Carl Bruner is pictured with Ray Roberts from the Washington Schools Risk Management Pool. Roberts presented the district an award at the June 8 School Board meeting for achieving over 100 points on a risk management survey relating to staff/student boundaries. The award results in about a $26,000 savings to the district for insurance premiums.
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 School Board Director Laura Cailloux resigns position effective September 15
Laura Cailloux has served on the Board of Directors since December 2006 representing Director District 1, which essentially encompasses west Mount Vernon. Read more here.
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 Lincoln School students earn medals at Math Olympiad competition
Fifth and sixth grade teams from Lincoln Elementary School recently participated in the Washington State Middle School Math Olympiad. Students from throughout the state competed in a long session problem and five short session problems in the content areas of number sense, probability and statistics, measurement, geometric sense, and algebraic sense.
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 The Lincoln teams prepared for about a month for the competition. The 5th grade team received two medals and the 6th grade team received one, while several Lincoln students earned ribbons for effort and participation.
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Two Mount Vernon students "voyaging" to Space Camp
Rosa Paz and Luis Flores are among nine other migrant students from Washington who will visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Read more here.
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 Nurse Appreciation
District nurses Ann Marie Eakins, Lauri Miller, Renee Bowzer and Cheryl Hughes were recognized at the May 11 School Board meeting for providing professional health services that promote optimal learning and academic success for all students. (Not pictured is Ann McCune, R.N.)
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 Decades of coaching experience recognized
Athletic Director David Riddle recognized five long-time coaches for enriching the lives of student athletes. The coaches received certificates of appreciation from the Board of Directors on May 11. Pictured are Dave Cleave (swimming - 42 years), Doug Nelson (football, wrestling and track - 27 years), Vince Hughes (tennis - 18 years) and David Riddle. Not pictured are coaches Jess del Bosque (cross-country and track - 30+ years) and Gary Warman (girls soccer - 25+ years).
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 Mount Vernon Public Schools Foundation receives community leadership award
Officers from the Mount Vernon Public Schools Foundation were in a rare position of receiving rather than giving when they were handed a Community Leadership Award at the Washington Association of School Administrators Region 108 recognition ceremony on May 5. Shown in the photo, from left to right, are Maryl Skjei, Brad Furlong, Mary June Curtis, Larry Otos, Erv Lindall, Betsy Stevenson, Ken Bergsma, Tracey Levine, and Superintendent Carl Bruner. The Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of education in the Mount Vernon School District by raising funds for projects that have a broad-based, substantial, and lasting impact on the students, faculty and entire school community.
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 Rod Merrell selected as new principal for Mount Vernon High School
Rodrick (Rod) Merrell has been selected by the Mount Vernon School District's Board of Directors to serve as principal at Mount Vernon High School, effective July 1, 2011. He replaces David Anderson, who will continue to serve the district as executive director of human resources.
Merrell said he is excited for the opportunity to work in a district that makes such a positive difference in the lives of students and families.
Merrell attended the University of Washington, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1992 and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction in 1999. In 2006, he completed the Principal Certification Program at Western Washington University. Merrell began his educational leadership career as an assistant principal in the Edmonds School District. Since 2006, he has served as principal of Langley Middle School and South Whidbey High School. From 1995 to 2004, Merrell taught high school English in the Coupeville and Issaquah School Districts.
Merrell and his wife, Laura Fox, have three children. The family will live in Mount Vernon.
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School lunch menus available online
Beginning in March 2011, breakfast and lunch menus will be available only on the school Web sites. Printed copies of the menu will not be sent home. We regret any inconvenience this may cause but find it necessary in order to reduce costs.
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 MVHS Service Projects Class raises funds for
Skagit Valley Hospital Regional Cancer Care Center
The Skagit Valley Hospital Foundation is grateful to the students of the Mount Vernon High School Bulldog Service Projects Class for their efforts to raise funds for the Regional Cancer Care Center at Skagit Valley Hospital. Senior Haley Williams selected the "Coaches vs. Cancer" initiative to raise monies for local cancer care as her senior
culminating project. Fundraising efforts were supported by high school basketball fans during January home games and Mount Vernon businesses. Twenty-seven students from the leadership class presented a check for $2,326.72 to Skagit Regional Health CEO Gregg Davidson, Regional Cancer Care Center Director Barbara Jensen and Skagit Valley Hospital Foundation Director Linda Frizzell during a tour of the facility in early April.
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 Little Mountain artist submits winning fire safety poster: Smoke Alarms: A sound you can live with!
Jesus Martinez, a 5th grade student at Little Mountain Elementary School, submitted a winning poster in Mount Vernon's fire safety contest. Fifth grade students in Shawn Capper's class appear in front of a truck displaying the poster.
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60-year mark for Mount Vernon High School gym
Mount Vernon High School’s gymnasium turns 60 years old this month. The first basketball games in the facility (Mount Vernon boys vs. Nooksack Valley and Skagit Valley College vs. the University of Washington freshman team) took place on Friday, January 26, 1951.
Athletic Director Dave Riddle has planned a recognition on Friday, January 28, when the Mount Vernon’s boys host Ferndale. "We will be commemorating the first 60 years of the facility by inviting back the players who competed that night. We will also be looking forward to the next 60 years, as we highlight plans for a renovated facility."
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Mount Vernon High School Class of 1970 donates $5,000 to assist students in need
The MVHS Class of 70 has donated $5,000 to InvestED to benefit needy students currently enrolled in Mount Vernon High School.
InvestED is a private foundation that provides funding to high schools in Washington State to assist students with need-based funding for items such as shoes, coats, glasses, sports equipment, and academic fees.
Class of 70 steering committee members Brian Clark, Dr. Morrie Johnson, Jeff Scott, and Mark Albertine worked with a group of approximately 20 of their former MVHS classmates to raise the funds. “Our alumni group favored the concept of a fund that could be used for students at Mount Vernon High School to enable them to participate in extracurricular activities over donating to a traditional college scholarship fund. Our alumni committee also intends to use the 70 Fund for memorial gifts honoring classmates and to publicize our partnership with InvestEd so as to encourage other MVHS class alumni groups to contribute to use the 70 Fund or to establish their own giving program through InvestED in connection with their class reunions and alumni gatherings,” said Clark.
For more information, contact Brian Clark at brian@skagitlaw.com.
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 Congratulations to the Lego Robotic Team!
The Washington Elementary School Wise Wolves Lego Robotic Team has placed first in the research project section at the regional qualifier competition in Marysville this past weekend! The team competed against 14 other schools at the regional qualifier with eight Washington students participating. This important victory makes them eligible to compete in the Western Washington Championship this coming weekend in Spanaway, Washington. For more information, check out www.firstwa.org. Congratulations to the Wise Wolves Lego Robotic Team!
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Principals for a Day visit Mount Vernon Schools
Guest principals at Mount Vernon Schools on October 20 represented private businesses, medical and accounting professions, law enforcement, higher education, and government. Participants included Terry Belcoe, Chris Deasy, Pat Woods, Sharon Schell, Mark Hagen, Kim Ray, Barbara Martinez-Griego, Gary Molenaar, Lt. Chris Cammock, Dr. Janet Hansom, Dr. Silverio Arenas, and State Representative Jeff Morris.
The guest principals unanimously described the day's experience as "very valuable." They also commented on aspects of the day that surprised them, including the district's dexterity with limited resources, the positive and energetic atmosphere in our schools, the complexity of teaching, advanced technology that is available to students, the dedication and involvement of teachers and staff, and the enthusiasm and interaction of students in the learning process.
2010 marked the sixth year of the Principal for a Day program in Mount Vernon Schools. To date, 93 community members have participated in the program.
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Mount Vernon Schools awarded 21st Century Community Learning Center grant
The Mount Vernon School District has received a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant for Mount Baker and LaVenture Middle Schools. The $150,000 grant is intended to support three critical needs for 75 at-risk students at each building: (1) improve student achievement in reading and mathematics, (2) improve the health and safety of children, and (3) increase parent and community involvement.
Mount Vernon 21st Century Community Learning Centers (MV21CCLC) will offer students daily homework assistance, extended library hours and opportunities for self-selected reading, reading and mathematics intervention programs, enrichment programs based on students' interests, nutrition service and education, drug education, character education, and recreation programs which promote lifelong fitness. For parents and community members, MV21CCLC will provide opportunities for career awareness, community service projects, parental information sessions, and classes in English literacy, GED preparation, Mexican high school completion, and Strengthening Families.
Positions at each middle school have been posted and include a coordinator and two tutors/enrichment facilitators for each site. Certificated staff will provide reading and mathematics intervention.
Partners in the grant include the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce, Skagit Family Housing Authority, and Boys and Girls Clubs of Skagit County. The program will begin October 18, 2010.
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 Math and reading changes slated for elementary school students
Some important and exciting changes in elementary reading and math are planned for the 2010-11 school year. Read more here.
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 Guarantee college savings
Did you know that you can guarantee your child's college tuition with Washington's Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) Program? GET is a 529 prepaid tuition plan, backed by state law and a secure place for college savings. The state guarantees your GET units will keep pace with rising tuition costs, no matter how much they increase in the future. Along with flexible payment plans, GET also offers tax-free growth and withdrawal. GET units can be used nationwide at nearly any college, university or vocational school. Enrollment is open September 15 through March 31. For details and to enroll online, visit www.get.wa.gov. Questions? Please call 1-800-955-2318.
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 Nixle: A new way to get urgent info
Government and law enforcement agencies are adding a new networking component to their communication arsenal, and it's not Facebook or Twitter, but quite similar. It's called Nixle, a community information service that enables public entities to blast information—including Amber Alerts, advisories and community and traffic information—directly to residents by email and text. Unlike its counterparts, though, Nixle provides only one-way communications and no advertising.
The platform for police, crime watch groups and other organizations disseminates information based on the user's geographical location. Law enforcement officials say they like the service because it has a secure server. Only users who have been authorized by Nixle can post information on the network, which ensures that residents get information from a reliable source. Many cities that previously used social networking platforms are switching over to Nixle because of its secure communications platform.
There are four types of messages you may receive: Alerts (emergency type information); Advisories (less urgent information); Community Information (day-to-day neighborhood information), and Traffic (very localized traffic information).
To learn more about Nixle or to register for its services, please visit the Nixle website by clicking here.
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 School District news on TV-10
Join us for the Mount Vernon School District TV show, Focus on Learning, as we explore school-related issues, instructional programs and important community partnerships. Focus on Learning airs at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on channel TV-10.
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