Mission

Our mission is to prepare students for living, thinking and working in the 21st century. We are committed to having high expectations for all students by maintaining a safe and nurturing environment that promotes individual responsibility and academic success.

What Makes Us Special

Our school is student-centered. Every decision must have the name and face of a child at the end of it. We are focused on keeping the main thing the main thing. Our main thing is student achievement. Other things that make us special are:

• Award-winning scholars, student artists, musicians and athletes
• A diverse population that enriches us by appreciating and celebrating differences
• A dress code that has facilitated a safer environment

Raising expectations and standards

Cedarcrest teachers and support staff deserve credit for their constant effort to help students learn. We believe that all students can be successful, and when they walk through our front door, we expect them to achieve their best at the 'Crest.

CJH teachers work closely together to make sure class instruction relates directly to state standards and learning requirements.

Here are other ways we raise expectations and standards:

• As a learning community, we incorporate math across the curriculum
• A newspaper and video production class
• Using technology throughout the curriculum with the purchase of a mobile computer lab

Community connections

Cedarcrest is used six days a week by district personnel, community groups, county and private sports teams, the YMCA and churches. Principal Cheryl Barnett attends homeowner association meetings to inform the local community about school events and answer community concerns and is an active member in the Cedarcrest PTSA.

Parent and community involvement in learning

The Cedarcrest Jr. High PTSA has steadily increased the number of parents and community members in our building. The PTSA arranges for volunteers to work throughout the building in the classroom, office, at extra-curricular events, and as hallway monitors. CJH loves its volunteers!

Top-notch staff

Cedarcrest has 48 classroom teachers. They average 13 years of teaching experience and 60 percent have master's degrees. They are joined by a wonderful support staff who have students' best interest in mind in all that they do.

WASL success

Our WASL scores continue to show strong improvement in all subject areas.

Adequate Yearly Progress

Cedarcrest Jr. High did not make adequate yearly progress - AYP - as defined under the "No Child Left Behind‚" Act. Of the 36 areas measured, the school met all but 12 of the required benchmarks. CJH missed several proficiency goals in reading and math.

Each year individual schools and the school district must "raise the bar" in gradual increments so that by 2014, 100 percent of students achieve proficiency in each subject area.

Bethel School District

Bethel School District serves about 17,500 students in 17 elementary schools, five junior highs (with another opening its doors in 2010), three comprehensive high schools, one alternative junior high/high school, and an online academy. The district has won national awards in technology and communications, as well as state awards in professional development, energy conservation, and the arts. In addition, five district teachers have earned "Washington State teacher of the Year" in the last 25 years - more than any district in the state.

The Bethel School District covers 202-square miles in south Pierce County. The area is one of the fastest growing in the Puget Sound region. In 2006, district voters passed both a four-year levy for operations and a $175 million bond to build new schools. As part of the first phase of the bond, two elementary schools and one junior high (temporarily housing Spanaway Lake High School) were opened in September 2009.

In 2007-2008, the district's budget was $158 million, about 80 percent of which went to salaries and benefits. About 1,050 certificated staff and about 1,000 classified (support) staff work for the district. Tom Seigel joined the district in 2001 as superintendent. He previously worked in Boulder, CO as a superintendent. Prior to his work in public education, Seigel served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years, completing his military career as a Commander.