For the Reporter

Families with students who are eligible for free and reduced school meals are encouraged to apply for the program.

The Washington state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) administers the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and Special Milk Program.

The application process for participation in school meal programs is simple and confidential. Application packets are sent to all households with students at the beginning of the school year. The application packet provides instructions on where the application should be sent.

Applications are reviewed and a determination is made within 10 working days of receipt of the application. Households denied eligibility can appeal the decision by contacting their school.

Applications can be submitted any time during the school year. Households that experience a change in income due to job loss or other circumstances are encouraged to apply.

Applications and income eligibility guidelines can be found online.

Students receiving help through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the Basic Food Program, as well as all other students in the same household, automatically qualify for free school meals.

The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) provides OSPI with a list of children who receive these services to facilitate automatic eligibility. Families notified of their children’s eligibility must contact the school if they choose to decline the free meal benefits.

Foster children are eligible for free meal benefits. Children placed in foster care by DSHS are also included in the list provided to OSPI. In households where foster children reside, all other students in the household may be eligible for free or reduced price meals based on household size and income. In these situations, households may submit an application.

Homeless and migrant students, households taking part in Food Distribution Program on Indian reservations and students in Head Start and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program are eligible for free meals. Contact your child’s school for more information.

Eligibility lasts from the date of approval up to the first 30 operating days of the next school year or until a family contacts the school or district.

Teacher earns grant

Douglas Ferguson, a teacher at Martin Sortun Elementary School in Kent, received a $2,000 grant through Voya Financial’s 2015 Unsung Heroes awards competition.

Voya Financial awards grants to K-12 educators nationwide to honor their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects and their ability to positively influence the children they teach. Since 1996, the Voya Unsung Heroes program has awarded more than $4.5 million in grants.

Ferguson’s innovative teaching idea, problem-based STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning, is focused on implementing a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) program, which asks students to apply real-life context through the PBL approach to solving a problem. Tapping into their natural curiosity, ability to collaborate and interest in solving problems, students will use robots, draft 3D designs, and use other STEM tools to solve real-world challenges, making learning relevant to their personal lives.

Ferguson said this approach will not only increase student achievement, but also develop a cohort of students prepared to face 21st century challenges.

Selected from a group of nearly 1,000 applicants, Ferguson is one 100 winners throughout the country, and the only one in the state, who will receive this award to help fund and bring his program to life. He will compete with other finalists for one of the top three prizes — an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 from Voya Financial.

Elsewhere

The Kent Phoenix Academy (KPA) earned continuing accreditation from the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), an accreditation division of AdvancED. The AdvancED Accreditation Commission approved KPA’s status on June 25. KPA has been accredited since 2009.

NWAC provides nationally-recognized accreditation, to ensure continuous school improvement focused on increasing student performance. To earn accreditation, schools must meet NWAC’s high standards, be evaluated by a team of professionals from outside the school and implement a continuous process of school improvement. …

Kent’s Hazen Johnson (senior, computer science) was named to the spring semester dean’s list at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas. The dean’s list recognizes students who have achieved a grade-point average between 3.50 and 3.99 for the semester.