The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Education looks far different today than when George LaPlace was in school, and he thinks its future is likely to see more amazing changes even though funding inequities currently in place still need work.

LaPlace has served as a school board director in the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors since the 2014-15 school year. As chairman since January of this year, he answered questions from The Star over email covering topics ranging from the role of the board, education during COVID, distance learning, and more. 

LaPlace said that issues brought to his attention by parents and others include "anything and everything related to the school."

"For 2020, the main issue on everyone's mind has been COVID-19," he said. "We receive emails or phone calls either in favor of reopening the school or closing it." 

He said the district should be able to have a reasonable plan that accounts for both the need to remain a safe distance during the pandemic, as well as to provide quality educational and emotional wellbeing for the students. 

Education during the pandemic has involved a lot of online distance learning, and although Lake Roosevelt is offering hybrid options with both in-person and online learning, students and families can choose to only do distance learning. 

 "My daughter would love to be back in school with her friends," LaPlace said. "She is concerned about herself, friends,' and teachers' safety. For these reasons she has chosen to sacrifice to keep them safe."

"She finds the synchronous distance learning enjoyable," he said. "There is less distraction, no bullying, and less wasted time. Some of her friends are really seeing better results and are more comfortable doing the synchronous learning."

"For core classes, synchronous, or better yet, in person is the way to go, in my opinion," he added. 

On the future of education, LaPlace said, "classrooms have changed significantly from the book, blackboard and chalk era I experienced. We have smartboards, Chromebooks, and online classes now. Teachers are currently using YouTube, Khan Academy, Geogebra, WAMAP, Desmos, and other web sites to increase learning opportunities. I would expect more classroom integration with online curriculum to continue in the future. Other amazing things with education may happen that I couldn't even imagine. We'll see what the future holds."

Wealth disparity between school districts is one challenge in the U.S. education system, LaPlace said. 

"Equity and funding are the largest flaws I see with the current U.S. education system," he said. "Wealthy districts have Olympic sized swimming pools, tons of extracurricular activities, and (Advanced Placement) and Honors classes. They have the resources to ensure the social, emotional, and educational health of their students. Poor districts have to prioritize." 

"Education should empower all students to become successful members of our diverse society," he continued. "There are many different education systems in the world. Taking the best proven programs and incorporating them into the U.S. education system would be a start."

The lack of advanced placement and honors classes at Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School is a concern for LaPlace.

"All students need to be challenged and have opportunities provided that match their current skill levels," he said. "I've seen highly capable students lose interest in their education because they are not being challenged, get bored, and tune out. Ideally, school should enable the spark to kindle the desire for lifelong personal education."

"Some colleges require [AP and Honors classes] and so the future of our students is limited," he said. "Progress has been made with the opportunity for students to join a higher-grade class subject, but this has not been consistently offered to all parents and students who qualify. My children only found out this was available when other students moved out of their class and into a next-level class."

LR also offers a Running Start program in which juniors and seniors can take college-level classes. 

"This can be hybrid with some college and some high school, or full-time college," LaPlace said. "It is possible to graduate high school and get an associate degree in college at the same time! 

"However, the school needs to do a better job supporting these students, since they can be completely off site and cut off from the normal communication channels," he said.

LaPlace noted that "some Lake Roosevelt teachers have been giving extra work to keep a few students challenged for a while now."

He said that a strength of the local district is that "everyone involved in our school cares about our students."

LaPlace elaborated on the process for dealing with a school related issue. 

"The process to deal with issues in the school district is simple," he said. "Start at the source then work your way up. For instance, if you have an issue in a classroom then try to resolve that issue with the teacher. If the issue is still not resolved, the next step is to contact the principal. If still not resolved, contact the superintendent. Lastly, contact the school board members. Ideally, issues are resolved before they reach the board."

"I can understand the frustration a parent feels when they have followed the above process and the issue has not been resolved to their satisfaction," he continued. "The board will work diligently to find a solution, but because of personnel privacy, the board may not go into detail."