Your Ellensburg Schools

Ellensburg officially welcomed Troy Tornow as the new interim superintendent of Ellensburg School District on July 1. At the Board meeting of July 17 Tornow took his official Oath of Office, which was administered by Board President Mike Rowley.

Tornow served most recently as the assistant superintendent of Instructional Services at Educational Service District 123 in Pasco, WA, a position he held for the past seven years. Prior to joining ESD 123, Tornow served as the assistant superintendent of Student Learning for the Selah School District. He has also been a principal, assistant principal and dean of students. Tornow began his academic career as a Social Studies teacher.

He has been busy in his first weeks getting acquainted with the District and the many partner organizations that support Ellensburg students. Tornow and his family are settling in and happy to join our community.

Dear Ellensburg Families, Colleagues and Students,

I am excited to begin working with all of you as we enter the 2023-2024 school year. It is a great honor to have been chosen to work with the ESD team this year. I hope all of you had a chance to relax this summer and spend some time with family and friends. My family’s move to Ellensburg has kept me very busy this summer. I appreciate that everyone in the district and community I have met so far has been so supportive and committed to Ellensburg. I look forward to getting to know more about the district and working with everyone to provide the best education for the students in our community.

I firmly believe that the core purpose of a school district is to provide high levels of learning for all students. We will continue to work on our learning and support systems to meet that standard. We have started a number of important initiatives recently to meet that core purpose. This year I hope to help everyone clarify our “why,” communicate our path forward, and coach any gaps we find in our systems to help us reach our goals and be efficient in our work to improve student learning.

We have had a number of significant adjustments to administrative roles in our system since the start of July, highlighted below, along with our new organizational chart. We are very excited about the Teaching and Learning team that will be supporting the work to achieve high levels of learning for all students. Our teacher will be back on Aug. 28 for training and to make preparations for our students. School begins Sept. 6, with kindergarteners beginning on Sept. 11.

I cannot wait to see everyone and get to know you throughout the year. Ellensburg is a great place and I am looking forward to an outstanding 23-24 school year.

All members of Team ESD are invited to the All-Staff Welcome Back at Morgan Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, Sept. 5.

The morning will begin at 7 a.m. with a Continental breakfast, including muffins, fruit, juice and coffee. Come early because no food is allowed in the theatre!

The program will begin at 8 a.m. Come meet our new superintendent!

After the program, teachers will return to their buildings for the first LID day of the year, while staff put the final touches in place to welcome our students back on Wednesday, Sept. 6!!

In addition to a new leader at the helm, ESD welcomes some new administrators, as well as some familiar faces in new roles.

• Jen Kuntz is the new Executive Director of Teaching and Learning. She will perform many of the duties of the previous executive director, with teaching and learning as her emphasis. She began her career as an English teacher and has also worked in the non-profit sector. Most recently she served as the Director of Teaching and Learning.
• Rhonda Schmidt is the new Director of Student Services, and will oversee grants, Federal programs and other opportunities for staff, students and our community. Schmidt was most recently the principal of Excel/Big Picture High School.
• ESD welcomes Lori Gylling as the new Special Education Director for Ellensburg School District.. She is a tenured Special Education Director who brings more than 20 years of special education leadership experience to her new post. Prior to joining team ESD, Gylling was an administrator in the Naches School District She also is a certificated School Psychologist with a variety of tools and skills to support our students and staff.

In other big staff changes, Haley Naboychik has been named as the new principal of Ellensburg Choice Schools, which include Big Picture (formerly Excel) High School, and Ellensburg's Home Connection and Virtual Academy.

Please join us in welcoming these dedicated educators to our community and to their new positions! Please see the ESD Organizational Chart below for a full rundown of the new administrative structure.

Free and Reduced-Price Meal Applications are now open for the 2023-2024 SY!

For students at Valley View Elementary, Morgan Middle School, and Ellensburg High School. Apply online here.

A few reminders:

1. A new application is required each school year.

2. Only one application is needed per household.

3. Parents/guardians do not have to be U.S. citizens to qualify.

4. An application is not needed for Lincoln, Mt. Stuart, Ida Nason Aronica, or Early Learning Center students.

Paper applications will be mailed out next week and will also be available at your child's school.

The Ellensburg School District Education Foundation (ESDEF) is dedicated to providing resources and recognition for all students in an equitable way so they can reach their full potential.

Launched in the fall of 2001, the ESDEF began when a group of community leaders recognized that not all of the growing challenges in the public school system could be met through traditional funding sources. The Foundation’s goal is to enhance programs, equipment, and services available to the Ellensburg public school students and staff.

Last year, ESDEF funded programs and enhancements at every Ellensburg School, including the Early Learning Center. Funds provided field trips, assemblies, books and classroom enhancements, among other funded projects.

ESDEF also helps individual students through The Caring Cupboard. With a simple request from a building counselor, a drop can be made same day or as soon as possible. Requests can be for anything a student needs to be successful in school. While most common requests are for school supplies, clothing, and shoes, The Caring Cupboard has also delivered items such as hearing aid batteries, hotel vouchers for high school students living in their cars, interview clothing for a student looking for a job, and a bike so a student had transportation to his early morning zero period. If the family can't provide an item when it's needed, The Caring Cupboard is there to help! For more information, visit the ESDEF website www.esdef.net

Ellensburg Agricultural Education was awarded the Washington Association of Agricultural Educators (WAAE) WAAE District IV Program of the Year award! Teachers Sammi Jo Sims and Steve Russell accepted the award at the Washington WAAE summer conference. Congratulations to these incredible teachers and their students.

You make us proud to be Bulldogs!

For a second consecutive year, the Technology Student Association (TSA) Club at Ellensburg High School won the prestigious first place trophy in Video Game Design at the National TSA Convention held in Louisville, KY June 28 - July 2, 2023. This year’s award went to Glo (Steven) Lauderdale, Emmajoon Ellis and Alan Ruelas. “Their exceptional creativity, stunning graphics, and teamwork helped them win their placement,” says TSA Advisor and Computer Science instructor Tiffany Price.

Josephine Shoda and Andrew Stinson, who earned first-place honors in the category last year, secured the tenth-place position. “Their ability to deliver an engaging, and fun experience while demonstrating technical expertise earned them a top ten placement at the National level,” says Price. “These two EHS teams may make it look easy to win, but it is quite the opposite. The video game design event is one of the most competitive and prestigious events held in TSA, and our EHS teams competed against teams from larger, top STEM-focused schools around the country.”

Tessa Ward, Nova Thomas, Andrew Stinson, Josephine Shoda, and Hannah Phanitchob achieved an impressive sixth place in the On Demand Video category. Josephine Shoda and Andrew Stinson, our EHS Forensic Science Team, took a commendable ninth place.

Some big congratulations go out to the following students who competed at Nationals in their events and for representing the amazing talent that exists at EHS and our TSA chapter: Fashion Design and Technology, Izebell Bautista and Debating Technological Issues, Luca Woods-Vallejo.

“The Ellensburg High School TSA Club would like to thank all of the local businesses and community members for their generous donations. Without their financial support, our students could not have been able to compete at Nationals,” says Price.

Later in the summer, TSA students held the popular Coding Camp, which serves as one of the main fundraisers for the club.

For more Information about Ellensburg High School's Technology Student Association Club, please contact Tiffany Price (tiffany.price@esd401.org), TSA Advisor and Computer Science instructor at EHS.

Arnold Cleveland moved to Ellensburg in high school when he came here to live with his guardian Ida Nason Aronica. Yes, that Ida Nason Aronica, the namesake of Ellensburg's newest elementary school.

At graduation time, Arnold was told that his credits hadn't transferred and that he was not eligible to receive his diploma. After serving as a Marine in the Vietnam War and obtaining his GED, Cleveland tried again to get an EHS diploma, and was again denied. After trying so many times, he had given up on that dream.

Luckily, his wife Gail was not ready to take no for an answer. The couple was able to connect with ESD Administrative Secretary of Student Records Matt Cziske, who immediately began a research mission. It took about four months for Cziske to track down the records that would finally prove that Arnold Cleveland had completed the all of the courses that were required of a high school gradate in 1958.

On Aug. 8 members of the Class of 1958 met at Ida Nason Aronica Elementary where Cleveland was presented with a Certificate of Completion by Superintendent Troy Tornow. The certificate is a place holder until the special -order diploma, complete with the Class of 1958 printed on it, arrives. Cleveland thanked Cziske with the gift of a blanket. Following the ceremony, class members were treated to a tour of the school by Principal JoAnne Duncan.

As Superintendent Tornow noted, "He passed Latin. If you can pass Latin, you deserve a high school diploma."

Please join us in congratulating the newest member of the Class of 1958!

The traditions of the Valley remind us the school year is almost here! Fair, Rodeo and of course the ever-popular Camp Morgan. Thank you to the teachers who came back early to ensure that our new 6th graders are ready for middle school. From icebreakers and games, to opening a locker for the first time, students participated in a number of activities to help them feel at home on day one. Here are a few photos of the fun.

Email: leslee.caul@esd401.org
Website: https://www.esd401.org/
Location: 300 East 3rd Avenue, Ellensburg, WA, USA
Phone: (509) 925-8000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellensburgschools