Marble recognized for WIAA Hall of Fame

On a night when La Conner School Board members were recognized for their service to the district, the panel first deflected attention to retiring faculty member and coach Suzanne Marble. At its two-and-one-half hour Jan. 23 hybrid meeting, the championship volleyball mentor was lauded for her upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the state’s governing body for schools athletics and extracurricular programs.

Marble joins the 2023 WIAA Hall of Fame class in a May ceremony. She guided the high school volleyball program to seven state title over a 30-year career.

“It’s really a huge honor,” said board president Susie Gardner Deyo. “It’s a very big deal.”

Marble last fall surpassed the 550- career win mark and earned her fifth state coach of the year award last fall her team won the 2022 Washington 2B crown ,.

Deyo spent several minutes citing the long list of Marble’s career highlights. Still, she didn’t get to every detail.

Board meeting summary

Teachers Jan Auman and Liz Baun reported math performance has improved using the new math curricula. “Student comprehension of math concepts is improving,” Auman said. High school senior Hadley Shears made a statistics class assignment presentation, saying, “I had felt some anxiety about math, but she (Baun) has helped me increase my confidence and has made math fun.”

The playing surface at Landy James Gym will sport a new look: The board approved a bid of $141,165 by the Edmonds-based Gifford firm to repaint the gym floor. The work will include placement of the new Braves logo at midcourt. It is paid out of $852,000 in state funds to remove images deemed offensive to Native American culture.

The board accepted and thanked the Town of La Conner for its $10,000 donation to the Braves Club.

The district administration and staff offered gifts and kudos in recognition of School Board Appreciation Month. Several administrative staff read aloud the proclamation issued by Gov. Jay Inslee saluting the work of school board members.

The public support of arts education was reported in the Feb. 1 Weekly News.