The Scoop: Strategic Plan Update

Did you know the Oak Harbor Public Schools levy helps bridge the gap in funding for critical programs that the state doesn’t fully cover—like Special Education Services for students with disabilities?

Currently, the state only funds services for up to 16% of students on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), but 23% of OHPS students require these essential supports. This gap has resulted in a $3 million shortfall for the 2023-24 school year alone and an $11 million funding gap over the last three years. The levy renewal helps fill this funding gap so we can provide the best services to all of our students, including students with special needs!

Still undecided? Take a moment to learn about our upcoming levy renewal on the February 11 special election ballot. We’ve recently updated our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) based on community feedback. 

Oak Harbor Public Schools provided a Community Report for the 2024-2025 school year through our Annual Mailer to the community in January. With the adoption of the new Strategic Plan, the community report focused on the District’s achievements and ongoing growth towards our mission to empower every student to thrive and reach their fullest potential. 

The report provided a Strategic Plan progress update on each of the four goal areas based on currently available data. With the support of our local levy, we are already seeing great progress on short and long-term goals outlined in the new Strategic Plan.

Superintendent Dr. Michelle Kuss-Cybula and principals Sara Lucero and Bill Weinsheimer welcomed CNIC School Liaison Horace Franklin to Olympic View Elementary and Crescent Harbor Elementary on Wednesday. Franklin was accompanied by NW Regional School Liaison Kelly Scheese and NAS Whidbey Island School Liaison Officer Jaime Thompson.

Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC), headquartered at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, DC, is responsible for the operations, maintenance and quality of life programs across 10 regions, 70 installations, and 123 Naval Operations Support Centers.

Franklin oversees all Navy School Liaison Programs worldwide and came to learn more about the school liaison program here at NAS Whidbey. Seeing the schools up close and connecting with administrators and teachers helps him see the challenges of our more isolated area and be able to highlight the importance of programs such as the Military and Family Life Counselors and Anchored4Life Club funding. While visiting, he met with counselors Brittney Meier and Kerstin Cornell.

Olympic View Elementary serves approximately 70% military families and Crescent Harbor Elementary serves nearly 60% military families.

Franklin was involved in the validation of the Public Schools on Military Installation grants for the new schools construction so it was an honor to be able to show him the progress in action.

Thank you to our amazing Transportation team for getting our students to and from school safely this week as well as our awesome grounds and maintenance crew for keeping our sidewalks, parking lots, and walkways safe for our students, staff, and families!

Exceptional Academy students toured the North Whidbey Help House this week, where they learned about available resources and the important role it plays within the Oak Harbor community.

Our students also intern at the Help House, which has been an incredible and impactful experience.

HomeConnection's mighty Phoenix Pirates competed in the First Lego League Robotics Competition, bringing home the Gracious Professionalism Award! Not only did they perform important jobs such as coding, crafting, building, and innovating, but they also mastered the league's core values of: Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork, and Fun.

Congratulations, Pirates, on a job well done! 

Pictured with the student team are their club advisors, Angela Dolph and Jamie Gort, along with HomeConnection Principal, Shane Evans, who congratulated them on receiving their award.

Over the month of January, Oak Harbor High School students competed in a range of regional SkillsUSA competitions including Photography, Welding, Engineering Design, Culinary, Video Game Design and more. The national SkillsUSA theme for this year is “Ignite Your Potential,” which aims to inspire students as they work on projects and develop their skills. 100 students competed in a total of 19 competitions at the regional level, and over 50 students qualified to compete at State. 

Did you have fun in the snow this week? Our students across the district did! These Hillcrest Herons had a blast playing in the snow during recess! From building snowmen to making snow angels and enjoying snowball fun, school staff loved seeing them embrace the winter wonderland while staying active and having fun with friends. What a perfect way to enjoy the season!