Seeking Solutions, Solving Problems and Moving Forward
An innovative approach and another initiative on education.
One School Takes a “Chance” on Student Services
A high school in Illinois launched an innovative dog therapy program on their campus this year.
Schools have been dealing with unprecedented problems since the return to in-person classes after COVID-19 lockdowns. Problems and issues that no one was prepared for surfaced in schools all over the country.
Students have been frustrated, with some acting out, putting teachers and other students in danger. Schools from Florida to New Jersey to Wisconsin experienced violence in the classroom.
With the isolation and other consequences of lost school time, some students struggle to socialize and interact with teachers and fellow students.
Hersey High School, in Arlington Heights, Illinois, has taken a creative approach to address these issues by including a dog on their security team.
The program is the brainchild of Hersey security staff member, Debbie Kubitz. Kubitz realized that exposing children to the unconditional love of a dog while at school might make a huge difference in their day.
Hersey’s security lead, Gabe Corey told The PNW Post that, although he immediately liked the idea, there were several policies and approvals that would need to be met prior to introducing a dog to the security program.
“When we first interviewed Debbie she mentioned her past experience with therapy dogs and we talked about the possibility of having a dog on the security team.”
Corey said they saw the potential and began working through the process to get approval.
Although there was no commitment yet, Kubitz decided to take a chance and began looking for the right dog. Kubitz soon found her perfect therapy dog. A mix of golden retriever and black lab, this dog would be gentle, loving, attentive, and smart. The whole program was a gamble, so she named him “Chance.”
“Initially we went on hope and faith that we would eventually get the ok,” Corey said.
After discussions and extensive review by the school’s leadership, a small scope pilot project began in the fall of 2024. Chance came to school for brief periods to see how he would do and how the kids would respond.
“The kids got to see Chance and they fell in love with him,” Corey said. “He’s a beautiful dog with the perfect temperament.”
Chance successfully passed his evaluations and testing to become a registered therapy dog. He has all the paperwork that the district requires.
Over the summer, the school received the approval they needed to have Chance officially working in the school. When school started in August, Chance began his official duties at Hersey High School.
“Kids are really responding to Chance,” Kubitz told The PNW Post. “Kids may feel the need to talk but have no idea how to approach an adult. Now, they can come up to see the dog and I can engage them in conversation.”
Chance interacts well with the students. He likes school and enjoys having a job.
“He was tired at first,” Kubitz said. “The first day I found him napping underneath a desk.”
It’s a long day for a dog, but the staff is excited to have Chance. Some staff members, as well as students, will come and ask about him when he is not there. There are plenty of opportunities to connect Chance with a student who could benefit from his attention and affection.
“It’s amazing to watch the interactions with the kids,” Corey says. “There are kids in the building that will not open up to the security team but now we have Debbie walking the halls knocking those barriers down because of Chance. Kids talk to her now and she has interactions she would not have had.”
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Solving the Same Problem Twice
Let’s Go Washington has started gathering signatures for another initiative to address parents rights, the Washington State Standard reports. This initiative, IL26-001 is for the purpose of restoring the parent’s bill of rights that was signed into law in 2024.
In 2024, Washington parents thought they had addressed the problem of parental rights by signing onto Initiative 2081. Under this initiative parents were provided with basic information about their own children.
Initiative 2081 provided that parents be allowed to review books and materials used in the classroom. It allowed parents to be informed about their student’s school records including health and disciplinary records. It required schools to notify parents if medical services are given to their children. It mandated that an opt-out option be provided if parents did not want their child to participate in sex education or in surveys with personal information.
Earlier this year, the Democrats in Olympia rewrote the parents bill of rights under House Bill 1296, The Center Square reported at the time. Democrats claimed that the bill was needed to “provide safeguards” for elementary school students. Republicans objected claiming it would undermine the recently passed parents bill of rights.
Many Washington voters felt betrayed by the move but the bill passed by the Democrats and signed into law by Governor Ferguson (D).
Now, Let’s Go Washington, will try again to solve this problem that had already been solved. The measure, IL26-001 will list rights provided to parents with children in public schools…again.
“IL-26-001 Strengthens Communication between parents and schools by re-enacting I-2081, the Let’s Go Washington website reads. “The re-enacted law would list certain rights of parents and guardians of public-school children, including rights to review materials and student records, receive certain notifications and opt students out of certain activities. It would repeal amendments to the statute, which modified school obligations and access to certain student records and added certain parental rights.”
National Test Scores Show Students Still Slipping Behind
Results from the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, shows that nearly half of high school seniors are below basic in both math and reading, Fox News reports.
Many parents are aware that the government-run schools are not educating their children. Parents are demanding school choice and legislators in many states are responding with options such as charter schools, vouchers, and educational savings accounts. The homeschool movement is also growing in response to the failing public education system.
These scores represent the lowest ever seen for American school children, USA Today reports. Students are continuing to fall further behind after decades of decline. Science scores also fell for 8th graders for the first time.
Student achievement continues to decline despite the growing cost of government-run schools. More money has been allocated to schools, yet the lagging scores remain. Some reasons offered include the learning loss during the COVID lockdowns, increased absenteeism, and technology and other distractions impacting student attention.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon released a statement addressing the concerning report.
“Despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs, the achievement gap is widening, and more high school seniors are performing below the basic benchmark in math and reading than ever before,” the statement reads. “The lesson is clear. Success isn’t about how much money we spend, but who controls the money and where that money is invested.”
The Nation’s Report Card summarized Washington state performance with little significant improvement. Both math scores and reading scores in grade 4 conclude that, “the average scores for students in Washington in 2024 was not significantly different from their average score in 2022.”
The standardized state test scores also showed that students are well below pre-pandemic levels, the Washington State Standard reports. Washington uses a system called Smarter Balanced to assess student achievement. Eleven other states use this system.
Test scores indicate that 50.9 percent of students in Washington are meeting the standard of “being on track for college-level learning without needing remedial courses” in English and 40.7 percent in math. These scores are slightly up from last year but still far behind pre-pandemic scores.
Students continue to lag behind with barely half of all students at grade level in reading, writing, and math – basic skills necessary to succeed at work and in life.
The solution that OSPI has come up with to address the low test scores is to ask the state legislators for more taxpayer dollars.
OSPI intends to request an additional $10 million to address “professional development to enhance math teaching skills in kindergarten through eighth grade,” Superintendent Chris Reykdal says.
Reykdal also says some money will go towards software and technology to, “continue developing their math education outside the classroom.”
Parents continue to look for solutions.
Real Estate Market Slows in Tri Cities
With all the new construction, in addition to resale homes, the inventory of available homes has shifted in favor of buyers, the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business reports.
Inventory has grown for the first time in many years. Sellers placing homes up for sale are finding that they stay on the market longer and may command a lower price than expected.
Home sales growth has been “anemic” in the first six months of 2025, growing under 1 percent. Sellers feel the competition.
Richland and Pasco home values are down .6 percent over the past year Zillow reports. In Kennewick, home prices are down .4 percent over last year.
For a brief synopsis of Washington state housing trends provided by Robert Garrison, please click the link below.
https://americanvisions.me/washington-state-housing-what-changed-from-november-2024-to-today/
Moving Forward From Tragedy
Editorial: Americans across the country were stunned by the heinous and senseless assassination of Charlie Kirk. The media is filled with the accounts of his amazing life, and his tragic death. How does one move on after the bold display of undeniable evil?
Conservatives do not riot and loot, do not engage in criminal activity, and do not seek revenge. We move forward with purpose thanking God for the gift that he gave us in the life of Charlie Kirk. We may resolve to be better people - better conservatives and better Christians because of his example.
“We are in exciting times and perilous times at the same time,” Dr. Alveda King said in a statement after Kirk’s death. “When I hear evil reports, I tend to immediately turn my heart to God and try to do something good for others.”
What we can also do is help continue the work of Charlie Kirk by supporting his organization. Turning Point USA is looking for volunteers and donations. They have requested support for the Kirk family. Now would be an excellent time to get engaged with the organization and/or provide financial support. To connect with TP USA, click the link below.
Books We Recommend
This week it seems appropriate to recommend Bill O’Reilly’s new book, Confronting Evil. O’Reilly covers history’s most evil people and explains the struggle between good and evil that we face.
Confronting Evil by Bill O’Reilly and Josh Hammer
The PNW Post is edited by Eileen Griffin-Ray, MBA, Ph.D.
For questions or comments or to suggest a topic, please email thepnwpost@yahoo.com