Real Estate September 9, 2022

Back to School: Realtors Edition

If you aren’t a real estate broker you probably don’t know that September doesn’t just initiate back to school for our kids but as an industry, this is the beginning of conference season! This just means that Fall and Winter tend to be slower seasons and provide the best time for busy brokers to grab a block of hours or even a block of days to spend sharpening their skills. Great brokers are committed to being lifelong learners. They keep up with the ever-changing market, lending options, negotiating tactics, marketing techniques for properties, and the list goes on.

If you are a broker…

You may be looking for some great opportunities that are coming up in the next few months. We have collected a few that we think will be really worth your time. Take a peek and please let us know if we missed one of your favorites because we would love to add it to our list.

 

New Forms are coming SOON! Please take advantage of educational opportunities to study and familiarize yourself with the changes.

 

You can take one of the many virtual classes the NWMLS is offering here

 

Sept 16 noon-6pm at Swinomish Casino. NPSAR “Wow, What Just Happened” education day. 3.5 Clock hours.

 

Oct. 14, 9-3pm in Oak Harbor! Fair Housing Class, 6 clock hours

 

Ninja Installation Tacoma Dec 5-8 (Brokerage pays for 1st timers)! $1,100  Thinking about joining our team? Connect with us. 

 

Conference Opportunities:

 

Windermere Homecoming! $350 (plus accommodation and travel) Sept. 29-30

 

Inman Connect NYC Jan 24-26 $900

 

Denise Lones Prosperity Strategy California Nov 9-11, only 50 people! $3,500 w/ accommodation

 

NAR Conference Orlando Nov 11-13 $450

 

In addition to these great learning opportunities our brokerage brings in an expert speaker 2-3 times on topics from septic systems to negotiation tactics, from topics as unique as forestry management to ones that are pretty applicable on an island like shoreline processes and bluff stabilization. If you’d like to attend one of these trainings let us know! We’d love for you to be our guest in learning because the better we can serve our clients in this industry the better!

Coupeville August 29, 2022

Back to School Coupeville

It is time for your kids to go back to school! Whether you are ready for summer to be over and eager for your children to return to school or dreading that school is starting in a week and holding on to every last moment of summer, orchestrating the logistics of staying in the know, scheduling conferences, collecting schedules, pick-up and drop-off times of both schools and buses, meeting teachers, and getting school supplies can all be overwhelming especially when several things have changed this year! We are here to help take away some of those stressors and make going back to school a breeze for you!

If your children are attending the Coupeville School District this year this is the right place for you!

COUPEVILLE: KINDERGARTEN – Download list here!

COUPEVILLE: 1ST GRADE – Download list here!

 

COUPEVILLE: 2ND GRADE – Download list here!

COUPEVILLE 3RD GRADE: Download list here!

COUPEVILLE 4TH GRADE: Click here for the GoFundME!

COUPEVILLE 5TH GRADE: Download list here!

COUPEVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL

COUPEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL- The recommended supplies will be on each class syllabus that your student will receive during the first week of school.

NEW SKYWARD:

CSD now uses Qmlativ as our student management system. This platform updates and hopefully improves on Skyward. Qmlativ is now where students and parents can check grades, contact teachers, and pay fees. There will be brief training provided to help parents and students navigate the new system shortly.

LUNCH:

The USDA has discontinued free lunch for all students. Lunch for students returns to $3.45. We will also return to our two-lunch bell schedule. That means we will have 6th-8th lunch after 3rd period, and 9th-12th lunch after 4th period.

EventsOak Harbor August 29, 2022

Back to School Oak Harbor

It is time for your kids to go back to school! Whether you are ready for summer to be over and eager for your children to return to school or dreading that school is starting in a week and holding on to every last moment of summer, orchestrating the logistics of staying in the know, scheduling appointments, collecting schedules, pick-ups and drop-off times of both schools and buses, meeting teachers, and getting school supplies can be overwhelming especially when several things have changed this year! We are here to help take away some of those stressors and make going back to school a breeze for you!

If your children are attending the Oak Harbor School District this year this is the right place for you!

One of the biggest changes this year is most of the SCHOOL SUPPLIES will be provided for you!

The Oak Harbor School district received funds through local levies that contributed to the school being able to provide most, if not all school supplies for students this year.  Each school has provided comments for what your child will still need. We have put them all in one place for you to include links to each individual school if you need further information.

Crescent Harbor Elementary School – parents will only need to provide backpacks and headphones!

Hillcrest Elementary – a backpack and headphones (no earbuds, please)!

Broadview Elementary –  a backpack and headphones (no earbuds, please)!

Oak Harbor Intermediate School – Suggestions for supplies that are not provided are a regular backpack, 2″ 3-ring binder (for organization), headphones, and a water bottle.

North Whidbey Middle School  – Don’t forget a backpack and clothes for PE!

Oak Harbor High SchoolRecommended Supplies for each class will be provided the first day of school

 

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL:

Kindergarten – 7 September 2022

1 – 12 Grade – 6 September 2022

Home Connection – 12 September 2022

Hand-in-Hand – 14 September 2022

 

START AND RELEASE TIMES:

School Start Time     . Regular Release      . Wednesday Early Release
OHHS 8:00 am 2:30 pm 1:30 pm
NWMS 7:45 am 2:15 pm 1:15pm
OHI 8:55 am 3:25 pm 2:25 pm
ELEMENTARY     . 9:00 am 3:20 pm 2:20 pm

 

CHANGES TO THE FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH PROGRAM:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal programs provided funding for schools to provide free school meals for all students. Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, the funding that allowed for the free meals for all will expire. All families are encouraged to complete a 2022-23 Household Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals if your household income is within the guidelines. Learn more about how to apply!

TRANSPORTATION:

Transportation services will begin on Tuesday, September 6, the first day of school. All families needing transportation to or from school are required to fill out a transportation request form. Fill out a transportation form online!

Places September 4, 2019

Back to School – Interview with Erik Mann

Back to School 

Interview with Erik MannErik Mann, Windermere, Real Estate, Whidbey Island, Whidbey, Homes, Buy, sell, invest, listing agent, agent, trusted realtor, selling agent

 

Here at Windermere Whidbey we are blessed to work with a wonderful agent and friend, Erik Mann. Erik is a vested community member, passionate about Oak Harbor and specifically education. He has served on the Oak Harbor school board for the last 2 years and possesses a wealth of knowledge that we are lucky to have in our brokerage.

The other day we sat down with Erik to ask about a few of the changes happening in the Oak Harbor schools this coming fall. His answers should be as helpful and informative for you as they were for us!

 

Hello Erik! So, we’ve heard there is going to be a big structure shift this year at the high school. Is this true? Can you tell us about it?

Yes! In recent history, Oak Harbor High School has operated on a semester schedule with six classes per day; allowing a total of six credits per year. The total number of credits available during four years of high school was 24. The Washington State Legislature requires a minimum of 24 credits to graduate. With ever-increasing restrictions on required course content, it meant that students had little flexibility to try new disciplines, arts, and advanced course work. A student’s failure of any class meant alternative pathways to credit retrieval were required, as there was no flexibility built into the schedule.

Beginning this year, the high school transitions to a trimester school year. Individual class times have been lengthened, so only five periods per day, but instead of only earning six credits per year, a student will earn seven and one-half credits per year, for a total of 30 credits over four years.

This allows far more flexibility for students to make up credits, explore new disciplines, do advanced coursework, explore vocational and art classes, etc. Because graduation requirements are fixed once you enter ninth grade, the classes of 2020-2022 are still bound to the graduation requirements in place at the time they entered high school. They will all still be required to earn 24 credits, while classes 2023 and beyond will need 28 credits to graduate but have more flexibility than previous classes.

 

That sounds like an amazing change for our high school students! What about the rest of our students? Any improvements that we should be keeping an eye out for?

Well, continued advocacy by the superintendent, school board, administrators and staff to our elected officials in Olympia and Washington DC, has led to an amazing opportunity to replace two of our aging elementary schools. Through the Department of Defense, the Office of Economic Adjustment has been tasked with replacing old, inadequate school facilities located on military installations and other government property.

With 160 schools evaluated nationwide, two of Oak Harbor’s schools currently rank in the top 11 schools in the nation in need of replacement due to age and capacity. This means we will be eligible to receive 80% of the funding to replace Crescent Harbor Elementary School (3) AND Clover Valley Home Connection and Early Learning Campus (11). The community will only have to fund 20% of construction costs!

There is also a possibility to move or update our aging transportation facility. Due to our interlocal agreement to provide service to the Coupeville School District’s busses, the district will qualify for a state funding match of 80% of the cost to replace/relocate the facility.

This will be an amazing opportunity for us to leverage our community’s investment in our schools with state and federal funding to replace our aging infrastructure at a fraction of the typical cost!

Whoa! That is incredible and so great it’s in partnership with the DOD, as they are such a large part of our community. I know student health has been a hot topic recently, what can we expect as far as changes there?

Over the past few years, the approach to our education system has seen a marked change in direction. I am pleased to see so much movement into the entire well-being of a child, not just focusing on academic success. It is my goal to see a continued expansion of social-emotional learning, an expansion of counseling and nursing staff, and a real focus on connections between students, adults, the community and resources available to them.

Through a partnership with NAS Whidbey Island, 5 new mental health counselors are being provided by the DOD through a contractor, who will work within Oak Harbor Public Schools. This will expand our already greater than average presence of counselors within schools but is what I hope to be just the beginning.

Whole-child initiatives also mean we need to be engaged in the health and wellness of our students. Beyond PE classes and activities available to students, education about food and healthy eating can make huge improvements in their overall well-being. Schools are all embracing outdoor student learning in interactive gardens and outdoor spaces. Students are learning lessons in the garden that extend beyond growing flowers and vegetables. They are learning science and math, but more importantly are learning to work together in a hands-on environment. They are exposed to produce they would never imagine trying, but because they took part in growing it, will enthusiastically try it and find out they like it. They are learning compassion and community service as their produce is used to supplement local food bank supplies.

Environmental stewardship goes beyond our gardens, however. As a district, we have taken great steps to be as forward thinking, efficient and conservative as possible. A large-scale effort to replace aging heating system boilers with state-of-the-art high efficiency boilers, replacing nearly all lighting with highly efficient LED lights, and transitioning to propane powered busses has propelled us to be one of the front runners in the nation. We’ve earned several state and national green ribbon awards this year. Oak Harbor Public Schools has become a model of environmental stewardship. We will continue to lead the way teaching our students to be healthy and environmentally conscious and make our systems as efficient as possible to protect our taxpayers’ investment.

This is all so great Erik! Thank you for keeping on top of this and informing our community. We know you take your role as a real estate professional as seriously as you take your role on the Oak Harbor School Board, but can you tell us how you see the two connecting?

One of the reasons I chose to work as a Windermere Broker was the focus and commitment to community through the Windermere Foundation, which collects a percentage of every transaction completed, and returns it to our community. It was rewarding to be instrumental in establishing a scholarship fund that has now awarded seven scholarships totaling $12,000 to local low-income graduates who attend vocational programs, community colleges and universities. The Windermere Foundation also provides funds to the opportunity council annually for programs that support Oak Harbor’s low-income students, providing warm clothes, backpacks and other necessities. Windermere is also a supporter of the Oak Harbor Education Foundation which provides applied learning grants for classroom projects within our district, allowing teachers to pursue hands on projects that fall outside the scope of normal funding and thereby enriching our students’ experience. Learn more about the scholarships here.

Windermere Realtors are often the first local resource a family connects with, and my connection with the district allows me to update other Realtors in my office with the most up to date and useful information to incoming families. As the second largest employer on the island, many of our Windermere clients, are employed as educators, administrators and classified staff within the district, or have children who attend Oak Harbor Public Schools. What a great benefit for them to be able to work with a Realtor who understands how the school district operates, and can provide timely, relevant information.

As I look forward to another school year, I can’t help but be excited for the possibilities.

Thank you for your time Erik! Keep up the good work!

 

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