LONG BEACH After eight days on the job, Ocean Beach Schools Superintendent Mark Hottowe has a clear idea of four areas of concern he wants to address and he is working to meet those challenges. 

In the last several years the district has lost enrollment from about 1,500 students to a projected 870 students next year and at about $5,000 per student, that means a huge drop (over $3 million) in funding, he stated.

Another challenge the school board, principals and Hottowe are working on is equalizing the discrepancy between Long Beach Elementary Schools over-crowding and Ocean Park Elementarys under usage. A third problem is what to do with an aging and in some cases deficient Black Lake (old high school) Campus in Ilwaco. Finally, Hottowe wants to improve student learning by matching educational opportunities with state standards.

On top of all this, teachers have taken a 1.9 percent pay cut and administrators have lost 3 percent in pay as the Legislature worked to balance the states budget. 

This is an opportunity for educators to see how serious they are about making a difference in the lives of kids. I think this will bring out the best in our teachers and administrators and that they will show great pride in what they do. They will be able to sustain their efforts and come out better in the end, Hottowe predicted. 

These shortfalls in Washington are projected to take from five to seven years to overcome and losing federal dollars after next year will also be a challenge, he said.

We are working on solutions to take care of overcrowding in Long Beach without having children riding busses for long periods of time to go to Ocean Park, Hottowe said. 

The old high school building is over 40 years old and has some problems, including electrical issues. Unfortunately the building project for Hilltop came just as enrollment began to fall and now we are considering what we can do with the Black Lake campus.

One thing Hottowe is passionate about is state testing strategies. 

Washington was a leader in setting testing standards even before No Child Left Behind came along. I believed in challenging standards when my kids were in school and I believe in them for the kids in our state now so that they can be successful in the 21st century. I will work with all of our staff to meet those challenges, he said. Unfortunately, some states havent had as high of standards as Washington and it can appear we are not doing as good a job of teaching our kids, but that is not the case. I will work to make sure our students are prepared.

Educated Back East

Hottowe is used to meeting challenges. He is one of seven children and his two brothers and one sister formed a band. 

I learned to play three string chords on my dads 1950 Gibson guitar. Hottowe was a middle of the road athlete in football, wrestling, and track at Bothel High School, graduating in 1971. Dartmouth University was started in 1769 with the idea of educating Native Americans and since Im a member of the Makah Tribe I was interested in attending during their 200-year celebration, Hottowe explained.

I flew across the country to New Hampshire and found that many people talked with the New England accent and there were students from every state and many foreign countries at Dartmouth. It was different from where I grew up, but I liked the idea of diversity. Upon graduating in 1975 he again made a big change, going from the Ivy League to teaching three years in Neah Bay at the northwestern tip of Washington. 

The Makahs gave me some scholarship help so I decided to give back to their community by teaching three years on the reservation. When I was 12 I caught a 36-pound Chinook close by and Ive always loved the smell of the ocean.

At Dartmouth Hottowe majored in psychology and added education because his junior year he had an internship in Jersey City, N.J. I taught second grade in a poverty-stricken area. I realized I could change lives of young people for the better. The kids wrote me a little book of thanks and 20 years later my mom gave me that book.

Hottowe made a career choice to become a principal and moved to Central Kitsap to be nearer to classes. My mentors were two principals there and they believed that helping teachers to do their best was the way to lead a school and that left a lasting impression on me. I was setting up my classroom and after I mentioned I might need a four-drawer file cabinet the one principal went out and personally purchased one and delivered it by hand truck himself a few minutes later. He said to always hire the best.

A long history in Kelso

After teaching for seven years Hottowe was a grade or middle school principal for 21 years in Kelso. His position then evolved over the past seven years to become Director of Human Resources and Student Services. 

I worked with counselors, drug and alcohol intervention, and ESD services and wrote many grants. I was head of emergency preparedness and was in charge of making sure we were in compliance for disability, Title IX sex discrimination, and civil rights matters. I worked with the principals and made sure we were following legal and union procedures. I worked in human resources with hiring and personnel decisions and I oversaw the Cowlitz Juvenile Detention Center, he said.

When I heard of the opening at Ocean Beach I thought this would be a great place to be superintendent. The board shares a common goal of providing the best education possible and they are down-to-earth people I can relate to. Boyd Keyser left the district in good shape as far as the budget, priorities, curriculum improvements, and anticipating changes is concerned.

Hottowes wife of 14 years, Marcie, will continue to manage a credit union in Longview and he is looking to settle in here and return to Longview weekends. Daughter Patricia Pfahl is a mechanical engineer in California and son David Hottowe works in wholesaling in Massachusetts.

Hottowe said, Ocean Beach schools should be responsive to all students. We have an obligation to look at each students career needs whether that is to attend two and four year colleges or technical and trade schools. We need to work with all students to assess their vocational strengths and interests, help them understand future career opportunities, and engage with students to chart a purposeful path as we fulfill the mission of our district.

Im at the age where I could retire, but my mentors taught me to always make a difference in students lives. I have as a target to improve test scores and offer opportunities for success for every student and I consider this job as a blessing in that I can lead our district in achieving those goals, Hottowe concluded.