Tri-Cities schools split $184K from Gesa

Gesa Credit Union awarded more than $266,000 to Washington school districts through its affinity debit card program.

Tri-City schools received $184,000 of the total, which is earmarked to support academics, technology, extracurricular programs and athletics. Card users support their schools when they use the branded card for purchases.

The Pasco School District received $57,700. The Richland School District received $57,500. The Kennewick School District received $56,800.

Go to gesa.com for more information.

Richland teacher earns state career and technical education award

Cheyenne LaViolette had only two years under her belt as Hanford High’s computer science and broadcast media teacher when her work in the classroom with students began getting noticed.

She recently received the Outstanding New Career & Technical Teacher award during the annual conference of the Washington Association for Skilled & Technical Sciences.

Fellow teachers, students and administrators nominated her for the award, noting her commitment to providing powerful learning experiences in the classroom that prepare students for their futures.

LaViolette began working in the district’s high schools as a paraeducator before joining the office staff at Hanford High in the 2015-16 school year. She earned her teaching degree in 2019 and then took on the computer science and broadcast programs at the school.

Along with teaching the class that produces the daily Falcon Report broadcast for the school and various computer science classes, she advises the Hanford CyberPatriot cybersecurity club and podcasting club. She frequently works to ensure her courses mirror industry standards and meet the needs of students and their potential future employers, even if that means creating experiences from scratch.

The Covid-19 pandemic has taken place during much of LaViolette’s teaching career. She and her students worked to plan, create, record and broadcast the 2020 virtual graduation. During the 2020-21 school year, she started a sports and events course that led to increased broadcast of student sports events when in-person attendance was limited due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Register now for Ready! for Kindergarten workshops

Help prepare your child for success in school and register now for the Ready! for Kindergarten fall session.

The e-learning parent workshops for families with children ages birth to 5 years old will be available starting Oct. 1.

They’re free to families within the Kennewick School District, and participants may take part via their smartphones, tablets or PCs. If you are a non-resident, the program fee is $110 for the first workshop, and $75 per additional workshop.

Families will learn simple activities that make learning at home fun and engaging, and they’ll receive free learning tools to play with purpose with their child, as well as free books to read with their child.

First-timers will complete an online introductory orientation before the workshop.

Sign up now at readyforkindergarten.org/kennewick or call 509-222-5035.

Fran Rish Stadium moves closer to renovation

New turf, expanded restroom facilities, improved locker rooms and increased accessibility are one step closer at Richland High School’s Fran Rish Stadium.

The Richland School Board recently approved the schematic design for the renovation of the home side and main entrance for the stadium.

District leaders will now work with Chervenell Construction of Kennewick, the district’s general contractor and construction manager, so construction can begin in early 2022. The new facilities are scheduled to open in fall 2022.

The renovation is one of the projects paid for by the voter-approved bond in 2017. The project will cost roughly $10 million and includes new artificial turf; resurfaced track; improved home side grandstand bleachers with wheelchair access; renovated locker rooms and training spaces; and a new 3,500-square-foot ticketing and restroom building.