Many Faces of Entrepreneurship

On Friday, November 16 both West Valley Junior High and West Valley High School sent students to the Many Faces of Entrepreneurship.

Central Washington University hosted the 5th annual event.  Students from across the ESD 105 in Yakima gathered at the Yakima Fair Grounds to compete in building and entrepreneurship plan.  Students are divided into teams with students from other schools where the had to come up with a business pitch.

Groups received coaching from entrepreneurs from the across the Yakima Valley to help students think as an entrepreneur.

Two West Valley Junior High students ended up meeting in the event finals.  At the end the entire event was a success.

WVJH WINS Innovation Challenge at WSSDA

West Valley Junior High sent a team from our Core Plus manufacturing program to the WSSDA Conference Innovation Challenge.  This is the third year of the Innovation Challenge sponsored by the DLR Group.

Three school district junior highs were chosen two present, West Valley, Bethel, and Kittitas.  Students were given thirty-six hours to build a presentation and provide a solution to an issue facing public education.

This year, students needed to develop or improve a technology which could revolutionize public education by the year 2030 and level the playing field for students from disadvantaged communities.

The West Valley team presented new virtual reality software which will put students into immersive environments.  The goal is to open access to students without the ability to take technical stem classes with advanced technology needs.

The team won $1000 from the DLR Group.

Huge thanks to Core Plus for the curriculum which provided our students with Project Based Learning opportunities aligned to real world skills.

Microsoft Certification Starting Strong at West Valley Junior High

Five years ago West Valley Junior High made the commitment to start connecting our seventh and eighth graders to high level vocational skills.  In this process we have made a lot of changes in our academic offerings so students can start making connections in the classroom to the rest of their lives.

Currently every Seventh Grader at West Valley Junior High earns a Microsoft Office Certification in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with advanced certifications available for students wishing to pursue further achievement.  Certiport, the company administering Microsoft Certification has identified 91% of hiring managers look for certifications in resumes.  Graduation Rates are also incredibly improved with Certified Students graduating at 97.2% compared to the national average of 83.9%.

Most of all, with the world of technology changing standardized industry skills will not only help our students meet those increasing technology demands while in West Valley but also while students pursue higher education and enter the workforce.

The Data is In

Microsoft in partnership with CCI Learning has just released the Fall 2018 data and West Valley Junior High sits at the top.  At only halfway through the semester students have earned a combined 99 Certifications.  Last June we finished the year at 511 Certifications with 56% of the entire Junior High Certified.  We feel we are off to our strongest start yet with hopes to set a new record in total certifications and passing rate.

Not Just Good, We Want Great

Last year West Valley learned all students who earn a perfect score are entered into the Certiport International Certification Contest.  Students across the world are compared on test scores and testing times.  In order to be qualified students must earn a perfect score while rankings are improved by testing times.  Competition was not originally available for West Valley students as formerly students had to be minimum age of 13 to compete.  With the success of the West Valley program, competition ages were opened to accommodate our students. 

Additionally students interested in earning more advanced certifications now have the ability.  Andrew Cabbage just recently earned both the Microsoft Word Expert and Word Master certifications.  He is now preparing for the Excel Expert and Microsoft Office Master certifications.  These are adult level certifications not normally available to Junior High students due to the difficulty of the exam.