Cle Elum-Roslyn School District - Partnering with our community to create the Future

UPDATE! Normal Bus Routes Sept. 4

The South Cle Elum railroad crossing will now close Thursday, Sept. 4 at 7:00 PM, and reopen Friday, Sept. 5 at 6:00 AM.

All bus routes will run on normal schedules tomorrow—no alternate routes will be needed.

We appreciate your patience with these changes. Thank you for staying connected!

- Transportation Department

Temporary Bus Route Changes for Thursday, September 4th

Due to the temporary closure of the South Cle Elum railroad crossing for 24 hours on Thursday, September 4, the CERSD Transportation Department will be adjusting bus routes as follows:

Morning Routes:

• Bus B will pick up Bus B and Bus S students at their regular morning times. They will arrive at school around 8:10 AM.

• The Pine & Stuart View Drive stop will be picked up at 7:42 AM by Bus S.

• Bus H will pick up students from Peoh Point and Madison at their regularly scheduled time, arriving at school by 8:15 AM.

• Bus A will operate on its normal schedule, picking up students at Miller Ave, 2nd Street, and Pine Terrace.

Afternoon Routes:

• Bus B will also transport Bus S (South Cle Elum) students in the afternoon.

• It will make its regular stop at Stuart View Drive at the usual time.

• It will then proceed to Golf Course Road and be approximately 10 minutes early for stops at Golf Course Road and Westside Road.

• South Cle Elum students will be dropped off about 15 minutes later than usual.

• Bus H will:

• Drop off students at Pine Terrace, Miller Ave, and 2nd Street at normal times.

• Continue to Westside Road, 5th & Madison, and Peoh Point, where drop-offs will be approximately 15 minutes late.

We appreciate your understanding and patience as we navigate this temporary change. Please plan accordingly.

- Transportation Department

We would like to take a moment and introduce you to Gary Perless! Mr. Perless has been hired as our 7-12 Spanish Teacher.

Our new Spanish teacher, Gary “Eduardo” Perless, brings many years of experience working with young people, and a passion for learning by doing.

Eduardo (as he prefers to be called) grew up in California, studying Geography and Spanish in college. His passion for mountains and outdoor adventure brought him to the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s. School teaching was complemented by outdoor teaching with Outward Bound, as well as his own outdoor trips in the Northwest, Mexico, and in South America.

In 2001, Eduardo settled down in Port Townsend, where he and his wife raised two adventurous kids, now grown. During a sabbatical year, when the kids were young, the whole family lived in Peru for 4 months. Recently he climbed Mt. St. Helens with his bilingual 18-year-old daughter.

Eduardo is excited to share his love and knowledge of Spanish, Music, Ecology, and Geography with our students, and to reconnect with the beauty of the Cascades, on foot, mountain bike and cross country skis.

Please give a big welcome to Gary "Eduardo"!

We would like to take a moment to introduce you to Brian Avery! Mr. Avery has been hired to be our Dean of Students and CTE Director.

"I grew up in Renton and attended Lindbergh HS. I served in the military for 4 years before working a few odd jobs as a cook and working in a warehouse. I then worked in the transportation industry for several years as a salesman and manager. After helping coach a high school football team, I decided to become a teacher. While attending college I had the opportunity to coach football at the University of Puget Sound, CWU, and in Europe. After graduating from CWU, I was a math teacher for several years at Cle Elum-Roslyn High School and Middle School, as well as being the high school head football coach for four years and helping the golf team for almost ten. Last year I was the Dean of Students and AD at Kittitas Secondary School. I’m excited and thankful to be “back home”, and am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that my new position will bring me."

Please give a big welcome to Brian!

We would like to take a moment and introduce you to Daniel Nipper! Mr. Nipper has been hired as a Career Information Specialist at Cle Elum Roslyn High School.

"I am SUPER excited for the opportunity to work with the students and staff at Cle Elum-Roslyn High School as the Career Information Specialist. I was born and raised in Richland, WA, graduating from Hanford High School and was NEVER on an airplane until I went to bootcamp back in 2014! I served 8.5 years in the U.S. Navy, specializing in Operations Administration and Military Police roles while stationed in Norfolk, VA and Whidbey Island, WA. Once I got out of the Navy, I attended Central Washington University (GO WILDCATS!) and attained my Law & Justice Degree while living in beautiful Thorp, WA, USA for the past 5 years. In my free time I enjoy walks with my labradoodle Archie, watching sports, and enjoying mostly anything Star Wars related. I can't wait to join the team this upcoming fall and helping students with their endeavors of school or workforce opportunities! "

Please give a big welcome to Daniel!

Important Reminders for this Wednesday, August 27th!

• Back-to-School Night for the Elementary and Middle Schools will be from 5:00PM - 6:00PM at their campuses.

• High School Freshman and New Student Orientation will be from 6:00PM - 7:00PM in the High School Commons.

• The Free Vaccine Clinic will be going from 5:00pm - 7:00pm at Walter Strom Middle School. The clinic is free for students Pre-K to 18 years old. No health insurance needed. Parents/guardians need to be present. No sign up required. Just show up! Questions? Call 509-962-7515

Please contact your student's school office if you have any questions.

We would like to take a moment and introduce you to Alex Nelson! Ms. Nelson has been hired as a Science Teacher at Cle Elum Roslyn High School.

"I grew up in Issaquah, Washington, and attended the University of Washington studying oceanography. After college, I moved to Hawaii and worked at the University of Hawaii as an oceanographic research specialist, studying microbes in the ocean and how they cycle nutrients. I decided to get my masters of education at the University of Hawaii and then move to Kauai where I taught high school science the last eight years. I moved back to Washington recently to be closer to family and I’m excited to explore the Cle Elum Roslyn area! I enjoy reading, hiking, fishing and traveling. I have two dogs, Winston and Ferguson, who are my best friends! My passions in education include citizen science, independent science research projects, and helping students become engaged in societal issues through a science/engineering lens. I work at Mount Olympus leadership camp every summer for the last 15 years so servant leadership is important to me. Joining the community and helping students engage with science through problem-solving and application."

Please give a big welcome to Alex!

School Lunch/Breakfast Program - Letter to Households

Dear Parent/Guardian,
Completing the Child Nutrition Eligibility & Education Benefit (CNEEB) Application (aka "Free & Reduced Meal Application") may qualify you for free or reduced-price meals, Summer EBT benefits, reduced fees for other programs and activities, and helps secure funding for our school district.
The form is due the first day of school, September 3rd.

Form Link: https://5il.co/2svl6
Forms can be turned into the school office, or emailed to: stoneh@cersd.org

Back-to-School Vaccine Clinic for students Pre-K to 18 years old.

Free and no health insurance needed. Parents/guardians need to be present. No sign up required. Just show up!

Location: Walter Strom Middle School 2694 WA-93, Cle Elum, WA, 98922
When: Wednesday, August 27th, from 5:00pm - 7:00pm

ALL CHILDHOOD VACCINES:
Varicella, PCV, IPV, Menactra, HPV, Tdap, Dtap, Hep A, Hep B, MMR

Questions? Call 509-962-7515

After-School Boys & Girls Club membership registration for the 2025-2026 school year is open for grades K-5! Visit our After School Programs webpage for more information: www.cersd.org/page/after-school-programs

We would like to take a moment and introduce you to Matt Whitmire. Mr. Whitmire has been hired as a School Counselor for Cle Elum-Roslyn High School.

"Hello! My name is Matt Whitmire, and I am thrilled to be joining the Cle Elum School District as your new 9th-12th grade School Counselor. I bring thirty years of experience in education working in a variety of K-12 settings. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Iowa State University where I also played football for three years. After graduating with my undergraduate degree, I pursued my Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology and E.S.A. certificate for School Counseling from Saint Martin’s College and graduated in May of 1995.

My interest in education stems from being raised by two educators that had a passion for what they did as well as serving as an academic tutor in the athletic department while attending Iowa State University. I really enjoy watching students grow and achieve their goals while helping them through the course of four years of high school. I believe in creating and fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment where every student feels equipped to successfully navigate the challenges of their future.

Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with my wife of twenty-six years (Kari) who works as an accountant and played her college fastpitch at UCLA. When I am not spending time with her or attending school activities, I am usually fishing, watching athletic contests, hiking with my dogs or reading. I am excited to be part of this wonderful community and am looking forward to a great year during the 2025 - 2026 school year!"

Please give a big welcome to Matt!

Important Update: Location Change for Free Sports Physical Night (8/19/2025)

Due to the Incident Command Team currently housed at Cle Elum-Roslyn High School, our Free Sports Physicals event today (August 19th) has been moved to a new location.

New Location:
Swiftwater Learning Center
4244 Bullfrog Road
Cle Elum, WA 98922

Time: 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Cost: FREE

This opportunity is available to all current and incoming CERHS and WSMS students, thanks to our partners at Kittitas Valley Urgent Care.

- Cle Elum-Roslyn School District

We would like to take a moment and introduce you to Sydney Rogers! Ms. Rogers has been hired to be a 3rd Grade Teacher at Cle Elum-Roslyn Elementary.

"Hello everyone, my name is Sydney Rogers. I am very much looking forward to teaching third grade at Cle Elum-Roslyn Elementary School! I have served in several positions since I first started teaching in 2006 and third grade is my all-time favorite! I’m especially excited to be a part of this community and teach in the school that my family and friends once attended. Outside of the classroom, you will usually find me gardening, looking for good reads at the library, playing with my dog, and hanging out with my friends and family. I’m looking forward to meeting many of you throughout the school year!"

Please give a big welcome to Sydney!

Due to the current fire activity in the area, all school activities scheduled for tonight, Monday, August 18, are CANCELLED.

We will continue to carefully monitor air quality conditions for student activities tomorrow and will assess in the morning.

Thank you for your understanding as we prioritize the health and safety of our students, staff, and community.

- Cle Elum-Roslyn School District

FREE Sports Physical Night at CERHS - Tuesday, August 19th, from 3:00-6:00pm. Available to all current and incoming CERHS and WSMS students! Provided by Kittitas Valley Urgent Care.

We would like to take a moment and introduce you to Michael Moore! Mr. Moore has been hired as our 6-12 Behavioral Special Education Teacher and will be working out of Cle Elum-Roslyn High School.

Michael grew up in Mount Vernon, WA, and brings 25 years of experience in education to our team. He holds a BA in English from the Washington State University and earned master’s degrees in Reading and Special Education from Grand Canyon University. Over the years, he’s coached both boys’ and girls’ basketball—primarily at the middle school level, with a few seasons of high school coaching as well.

When he’s not in the classroom or on the court, Michael enjoys pickup basketball, golf, pickleball, tennis, target shooting, and cheering on Cougar football in Pullman. This winter, he’s setting his sights on improving his bowling game. Michael is also a proud uncle to two nephews and three nieces, always showing up to support their games and events.

He’s a big fan of March Madness, college football, and never turns down a bacon cheeseburger with a chocolate milkshake.

Please give a big welcome to Michael!

Dear Families,
Soon, many of the ParentSquare text messages you get from our school will come from regular 10-digit phone numbers. This will make it easier to see who is messaging you. For example, a message from your child’s teacher will come from a different phone number than a message from the school office.

What’s changing?
Right now, most texts come from a 5-digit number. Soon, you’ll start getting texts from different regular 10-digit phone numbers for:

• Direct messages

• Classroom and group posts

• School posts

Messages from the district, digests and alerts will still come from the 5-digit number.

What should you do?
When you receive a message from one of these new 10-digit numbers, save it to your contacts. Here are some suggestions:

• Save a teacher’s number as: Ms. Davis - 4th Grade

• Save classroom/group posts as: Lincoln Elementary Classes

• Save school posts number as: Lincoln Elementary Updates

Read more about this change and some helpful tips at this link: Changes to ParentSquare Text Messages.

We would like to take a moment and introduce you to Danielle Meadows! Ms. Meadows has been hires as an ASL teacher at Cle Elum-Roslyn High School.

"Hello! My name is Danielle Meadows, and I’m thrilled to be joining Cle Elum Roslyn School District as an American Sign Language (ASL) teacher. I bring four years of experience teaching ASL and have had the privilege of building and growing an abundant ASL program in my previous district. I'm so excited to bring my passion to Cle Elum and help build a new program! When I'm not teaching, I enjoy being with my family (and my two French bulldogs, Cooper and Georgie), going to concerts and exploring new things! I’m excited to be part of this community and look forward to a great year ahead!"

Please give a big welcome to Danielle!

We would like to take a moment and introduce you to Kendall Hickman! Ms. Hickman has been hired as a 2nd Grade Teacher at Cle Elum-Roslyn Elementary School.

"I am very excited to be joining the Cle Elum - Roslyn community! This will be my seventh-year teaching. I received my B.A in Elementary Education from the University of Portland and my Masters in Learning and Technology from Western Governors University. Outside of the classroom, you can find me hiking, reading a book at a coffee shop or traveling; my most recent trip was Disney with my fiancé. I enjoy spending time with family, especially my nieces and nephew! I am looking forward to a great school year ahead!”

Please give a big welcome to Kendall!