On October 10, WFIS officially welcomed Eric Thuau, Head of School at the French American School of Puget Sound and Sherry Gibelyou, Administrator for Concordia Lutheran Schools / Mount Rainier Lutheran High School to the WFIS board this 2016-2017 school year.
Transition in the role of board chair passed from Craig Mattson, Principal at Northwest Christian School to Duane Schafer, Superintendent for the Spokane Diocese. The board unanimously elected Al Falkner, President of Gonzaga Preparatory School to Chair of the Finance Committee.
Following round-table introductions the board jumped into discussing the WFIS advocacy agenda and leadership succession planning for upcoming state-level advisory board positions. The group was provided committee updates on this summer’s accreditation research and recent policy meetings on the shifts with Federal Title Funds due to the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). They then heard reports from Judy Jennings, the Private School Representative on the State Board of Education and Don Johnson, the chair of the Private School Advisory Council.