By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

As the 2010 portion of the 2010-2011 school year closes out on this day before winter break, it is time for many to reflect on how the year’s gone so far.

Among those whose roles in local schools doubtless will send them into the break with much to think about: Kristen Okabayashi, the new principal at West Seattle’s Hope Lutheran School, the first school she is leading as principal.

Though she is new to that job, and role, she is not new to West Seattle – she is a 10-year resident. She had been working at Concordia Lutheran in North Seattle while studying for her masters’ degree – and the Hope job opened up just as she had completed those studies. Now she is the school’s principal, as well as one of its parents, with four sons attending hope – a seventh-grader, fifth-grader, and twin second-graders.

That gives her extra insight into one focus this fall has been to help build relationships between the school and its students’ families. And she has been closely reviewing the Hope Lutheran curriculum: ” … making sure we meet all the state standards, reviewing whether we have the right curriculum, do we need to switch something we offer?”

Language arts, for example, is one area that will be changed schoolwide.

“It’s nice because I feel we can really pick a curriculum that meets the needs of our kids.” And working at an independent school provides flexibility – “we can pick out (curriculum materials) in the spring and implement them in the fall.” Curriculum review also is enabling Hope Lutheran to be sure that the whole school is “tied together” along with flowing into the neighboring Seattle Lutheran High School, for a “hopefully fairly seamless” curriculum, preschool through 12th.

That level of review and decisionmaking is where she sees herself being particularly useful, since Hope has what she describes as a “veteran staff” who “need someone more to steer the boat versus telling them how to teach. … They need somebody to steer, rather than to row. And it’s a good fit, for me to be that person.”

However, that doesn’t rule out coaching – at a variety of levels. This fall, Okabayashi says, she’s implemented a system of regular observations; “I observe the teachers twice a year and they observe (other) teachers once a year as well. It’s a new thing for our school — we have a really experienced staff here, but they don’t often get into each other’s classrooms to watch each other to learn other teachers’ tricks and tools.”

The Hope teaching staff also gets assistance from the SLHS staff, particularly for the middle-schoolers, who get Spanish and French lessons from high-school teachers, as do eighth-grade advanced-math students. Hope offers advanced math from fourth grade up, says the principal, so that students can work a grade ahead if they’re ready for it.

Readily listing the school’s strong points is something else that’s somewhat new, it seems – Okabayashi mentions, for example, that Hope students tend to do very well in standardized tests, usually averaging schoolwide in the top 25 percentile, and that they need to be better about “blowing (their) horn” about that. She is quick to rattle off other achievements, including a lot of sports opportunities for students from fifth grade on up: “We have really high turnout in our sports, and (the students) get a chance to play.” Sports is also part of the Hope participation in the annual LEST (Lutheran Elementary Schools Tournament), a big event held in Portland, with competition in dozens of events, also including non-athletic areas such as “knowledge bowl,” spelling, drama: “It’s a blast,” smiles the principal. (The next LEST is coming up in February.)

So what’s new, besides the principal? Next year, they’re looking at a preschool expansion, though the details were still being worked out when we talked with Okabayashi: “The community’s been asking for it.” They’re working to “try to minister to the whole family” with extras such as the Love and Logic parenting classes that will start next month. And this year marks “stage two” of the joint operating agreement with SLHS next door – the “seamless” curriculum goal is part of what they’re working on to be more closely aligned, though they continue to operate as separate schools.

And Okabayashi says she loves her new job – which is part of her “second career” in education, following a long career in retail management.

Enrollment is down a bit this year, so Hope Lutheran has room, particular in the elementary: “We’re actively looking for families in kindergarten through fifth grade.” (Students don’t have to be church members.) A formal information night/open house is coming up at 6:30 pm January 13th.

Before then – two weeks of winter break lie ahead, with school dismissing at noon today, and then a breather ahead for many – including a new principal with much accomplished, and much ahead, in her first year.