CONNECTIONS
Fall 2025
Dear Cascade Community,
I hope this message finds you well and enjoying the first semester of the school year! At Cascade School District (CSD), we are proud to offer enriching opportunities for students both inside and outside the classroom whether we have rain, snow, sunshine, or smoke!
As we reflect on the past school year, I’m excited to share a few standout moments from our 2024–2025 Year in Review:
- Academic Excellence: Our students continued to thrive in core subjects, with strong performances in math and literacy across grade levels.
- Washington 45: Cascade High School students can transfer up to 45 college credits earned at CHS towards general education requirements at public universities in Washington.
- Arts & Athletics: From stellar performances in music and drama to championship runs in cross country and soccer, our students showcased talent and teamwork.
- Community Partnerships: We deepened our collaboration with local organizations, including the Wenatchee River Institute and Communities in Schools, to support student wellness and engagement.
- Student Leadership: Our schools saw increased participation in student councils, clubs, and service projects, empowering students to lead with purpose.
These highlights are just a glimpse of the incredible work happening across our district. I invite you to explore the full 2024–2025 Year in Review to learn more. Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our schools. We look forward to seeing you at upcoming events and celebrating our students’ successes together.
Best wishes,
Dr. Tracey L. Edou
Cascade School District Superintendent
Cruz Martinez Nieto really cares. The 2025 Cascade High School (CHS) graduate ran for student body president his senior year, despite a packed schedule of sports and academics that included college-credit classes. He ran for the position because he noticed a need for more diversity in the student body leadership—yes, certainly for him, but also for other Latinos.
Cruz also mentored freshmen as a senior, encouraging them toward whatever path felt right to them. He knew that just because he aimed for college didn’t mean that was the right choice for everyone. He encouraged his freshmen mentees to look into trade schools or jobs, suggesting they find something that they liked and follow that path to wherever it took them.
Thanks to his caring and proactive nature, Cruz was nominated by three different people for the Student Leadership Award from the Washington Association of School Administrators, which he won his senior year. He also made it into the semi-finalist round for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.
This fall, Cruz is a freshman at the University of Washington (UW). He’s studying community health, on a pre-med track. His goal is to become a dermatologist, because he noticed how much some of his friends’ confidence grew after they got help with their acne. He says it created “a night and day difference” in how they felt about themselves.
“I really want to help someone’s mental health by doing that. I don’t think I could be a therapist—it’s not the right fit for me—but if I could help someone’s mental health through skin care, that would be amazing.”
At this point Cruz plans to return to the Wenatchee Valley after college and is aware his career of choice is in high demand.
“There’s a dire need for dermatologists in the Wenatchee area,” he says. “I want to be able to alleviate that need.”
The diversity he helped foster at Cascade High School is already well-established at UW. Cruz learned about the Chicanos for Community Medicine Club on a trip to visit UW before graduating high school.
“I saw that club and I’ve been eyeing it ever since,” he said.
He’s also looking at joining MEChA—a student organization that promotes Chicano culture, history, empowerment and unity—that he was also a part of in high school.
So far, Cruz is enjoying the college experience. He’s sharing a dorm room with two friends, and liked decorating a new space as his own. He loves the architecture on the UW campus, including the lecture halls where he has classes that are built to hold 300-500 students.
He loves the campus library, too. “I went and studied there, and I actually worked for once,” he said.
Some of the aspects of his new life have taken some adjusting. Cruz misses his car, although he’s found public transit easier to navigate than he thought. The cost of living in the city—and the cost of books for his classes—is more than he anticipated. Since he helped found the culinary club at CHS, he already has the skills he needs to cook for himself in the dorm’s communal kitchen to help him save money.
“I do like it over here and there’s a lot more to do in within a shorter distance,” Cruz says, “But I like the peaceful nature of the Wenatchee area.”
Ultimately, Cruz is enjoying his college experience. The college credits he took in high school mean that he has sophomore standing, and is taking nutrition to fulfill his final prerequisite for his public health major. Without sports and student government, he actually feels less busy than he did in high school. He applied for a job as a caretaker—a move he considers a helpful step in learning to take care of people for his career—and admits that may change how busy he feels. But so far, UW feels like the place he wants to be.
“I like school, obviously—I’m going for an 11-year degree,” he says. “I’m thriving. It’s fun.”
Jen Stablein, Alpine Lakes Elementary’s newest fifth grade teacher, moved to Leavenworth with her family—herself, her husband, and two kids—after eight months of traveling around in a camper. The family left Sultan, WA during the pandemic, but even when they lived in Sultan they came to Leavenworth as much as they could. When they decided to leave camper life behind and buy a house, Leavenworth felt like the logical place to land.
“We came to visit as often as we could, just like tourists,” she said. “The mountains, the rivers—it was cliché magical.”
Jen taught Title I, fifth grade, and finally first grade in Sultan before the family decided to leave. When they got to Leavenworth, she immediately began substitute teaching for Cascade School District, hoping a permanent job would open up. In the meantime, she did long-term subbing for two elementary school teachers.
Three years after Jen started subbing, Mrs. Nilles decided to move from fifth grade to second grade, and Jen became a fifth-grade teacher at Alpine Lakes.
Jen is enjoying her job. A lot of that she attributes to the people she works with, especially the other fifth grade teachers.
“A huge part of why I am having such success is my team: Dina (Anderson), Terry (Muscutt), and Wendi (Merriman). They made me feel like I belonged when I was full-time subbing, and that’s just continued.”
She’s also appreciating how much her students can take on.
“If I show them how to be independent, they rise to the occasion and reach the expectations. They’re really capable.”
However, that doesn’t mean the job is without its challenges.
“Really digging into the curriculum is one challenge, and then figuring out how to teach it in engaging ways is another,” she says.
This is especially true because there are so many ways to teach a lesson, she says, especially now that technology is a factor. She has to consider what technologies to use, or choose a “tried-and-true” approach, with pen and paper. Jen also wants to make sure she takes advantage of all the programs the district has, i.e Canvas, Lexia, Zearn, etc.
One recent unit that highlights the many ways available to Jen to teach her students is the Wellington Avalanche. A nearby disaster that took place in 1910, it was the deadliest avalanche in U.S. history, taking out two trains in the Cascade Mountains and killing nearly 100 people. Jen and the other fifth grade teachers tied multiple subjects into the lessons: history, science, reading the book I Survived the Wellington Avalanche, 1910 and having the students write about what they learned.
“I’m broadening my horizons of how I teach, but that’s the biggest challenge: offering a variety of ways for the kids to learn and then display what they learned.”
Outside of teaching, Jen and her family enjoy a lot of the activities that draw many people to the Upper Valley: mountain biking, paddleboarding, downhill skiing, and traveling when they can. They enjoy the warmer, drier climate and some of the other factors that make living here different from Sultan.
“We went from one small town to another, but there’s newness for us here,” she said. “Every other day I think, ‘I can’t believe I live in Leavenworth.’ We just love it!”
Head Coach Eric Wulfman is training his cross-country team to be runners for life. His slow and steady approach to training is designed to prevent injury while allowing the team to improve a
little bit at a time.
“If you improve over the season, the chance of injuries is much less, versus if you come in all hot,” he says. “I don’t care if we’re 200th (at the beginning of the season). I want to be in the top
four at state.”
The routes at cross-country meets are about 5 kilometers long (3.1 miles) and can be a mix of
surfaces and elevations: through rolling hills, on flat land, in forests, and over gravel, dirt or a
mix of several surfaces, which means practice runs have to be even more varied to prep the
team members for their meets. The number of students who run on the varsity boys and girls
teams vary depending on the meet; there are awards for the top five finishing teams and
individuals at each race.
The 2025 Cascade High School (CHS) Cross Country team is made up of one senior boy, one
senior girl, and sophomores and freshmen. Eric focuses on building the team culture, which he
sees as an important aspect of their success.
“You have to function as a unit to do well,” he says. “If they learn to do it as a team, everybody
has an important place in the unit.”
This informs both how Eric trains the team and even the logistics of the program.
“The majority need to be ready to step up before I push it,” he says, “Otherwise they just end
up getting hurt.”
The team ethos not only teaches his runners to hold each other accountable. It also helps them
build long-lasting relationships and to feel invested in each other’s’ victories.
To facilitate this, Eric assigns the students that ride in each van to the meet, making sure they
aren’t always riding with their closest friends or with the same coach driver. He holds open gym
nights multiple times a week during the off season so the kids can train, but also continue to
strengthen their bonds with each other. He even instituted a Thursday cookie day, where
practice is followed by freshly-baked cookies. Eric says it definitely builds morale.
“If you can keep them participating, they’re more likely to come back,” he said.
All these strategies pay off. The girls’ team has won a number of meets this year, including at
Kings, which was a decisive victory.
“They’re a perennial powerhouse,” Eric says. “The boys haven’t had the same level of success,
but every single one of them has improved. I think every single one of them has a chance at
league and district champions.”
The team proved Eric right. The Cascade girls’ cross-country team claimed the team title at the
Caribou Trail League Championship, led by individual champion Greta Broom. The boys’ team
claimed both team and individual honors at the same meet, led by Landon Smith. This qualified
both teams for district playoffs. Ultimately, both teams made it to state, led by Greta Broom,
who finished district in first place for the women’s meet individual standings.
This year’s team’s success builds on years of a powerful program. For the past four years, both
the boys’ and girls’ teams from Cascade have gone to state. Either teams or individuals “have
gone to state every year as long as I can remember,” says Eric.
The two assistant coaches, Zoe Mott (formerly McDevitt) and Landon Davies, were also runners
for Cascade, showing that Eric’s goal of creating lifelong runners is working.
“I’m really fortunate to have two of my former students as my assistants, so it’s nice to go full
circle.”
Eric also maintains that there are many skills that runners learn that apply in other settings.
“You need to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable,” he says. And running in wet shoes,
he points out, through any weather or on a variety of surfaces, is a great way to practice.
When the bell rings each morning at Alpine Lakes Elementary, Dora Campos is standing at the front doors, trying to greet every student who walks in. Even after the majority of the kids have made it to class, Dora stays in the foyer, waiting for the kids who show up late. When they get there, she greets them with enthusiasm.
“I’m so glad you’re here!” she says.
Then Dora tries to figure out why they’re late—especially the ones who are consistently
tardy—and see if there’s anything she can do to help.
Dora is the Site Coordinator for Communities in Schools® (CIS), a new position this year in the
Cascade School District (CSD). CIS is a non-profit organization that provides on-site support in
schools to help the kids who need it most.
“We try to go where there’s the most need,” says CIS Executive Director Emilio Vela Jr. “How do
we support those children who have adult-sized burdens?”
Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, CSD has a three-year agreement with CIS, who has
assigned Dora as the site coordinator specifically to CSD for that time period. Her position is
paid for through a combination of funding sources, including grants, CIS fundraisers, and
Department of Education funds earmarked for the specific populations that CIS is trying to help.
Every school day, Dora works the mornings at Alpine Lakes Elementary and the afternoons at
Icicle River Middle School (IRMS). Her caseload is 12 students at each school, but her role is
more than just supporting the students on her roster. During a typical day, Dora might hang out
on the playground before school, talking to kids. She might check on the kids in the cafeteria
during breakfast, making sure they’re eating. Later, she works with Angela Waggoner—Alpine
Lake’s counselor—to figure out ways to support kids that are struggling.
The struggles Dora sees are varied. Some kids are so hungry they can’t focus, so Dora has
snacks in her office. Sometimes kids get overwhelmed; her office is also a place for them to
take some time to themselves. Some students are homeless, and might not get a good night’s
sleep, which effects their ability to concentrate in class. Some have recently come to the U.S.
from other countries and don’t yet speak English well enough to interact with their classmates.
Students may suffer from social anxiety, which only intensifies when they miss class and realize
they’re falling behind. Others are acting out and have behavioral issues.
Dora thinks it’s essential to treat each student with compassion, including the ones that may be
difficult to teach.
“It’s not their fault,” she says. “They’re children. Their brains haven’t developed and often they
don’t have any control over what happens to them. This is their way of screaming for help.”
Dora has had several experiences where she’s asked a student why they’re late for school, or
more about their lives, and discovered how much they were dealing with outside of the school
day.
“We (adults) get to go home and take a nap,” Dora says. “A lot of times, our biggest problem is
what we’re going to make for dinner.”
It’s not the same for a lot of the kids Dora sees.
“Even if the parents are involved, there just have to be reasons why they’re struggling.”
In addition to spending the day with students and working to get them the resources they
need, Dora is also putting together a needs assessment for the district. She’s in charge of
keeping the clothes closet stocked at Alpine Lakes, and running the yearly clothing drive. Dora
runs the Leavenworth portion of the NCW Toy Drive, and helped start a Kindness Club at IRMS
that both Dora and students have noticed is making a positive difference in how kids treat each
other.
The role is a good fit for Dora, who previously worked in a classroom in Wenatchee but
discovered she wanted to help her students with the underlying issues that were affecting their
ability to learn—those same issues that she now gets to focus on as a Site Coordinator for CIS.
Dora is also a native Spanish speaker who moved to the U.S. as a child, and also suffered from
social anxiety. She says her own experiences are helping her better understand the students
she’s helping.
“I want to make sure they know they’re welcome and loved,” says Dora.
About the Communities in Schools® NCW Program
Communities in Schools® (CIS) helps students get the support they need, including in the following areas:
- Academic assistance
- Meeting basic needs like food and clothing
- College and career preparation
- Behavior intervention
- Community and service learning (volunteering)
- Enrichment
- Family engagement
- Life skills
- Physical and mental health support
You can read more about these services on the CIS website.
IRMS & CHS Band Concert
November 20 | 7:00 PM | CHS Auditorium
IRMS Choir Holiday Concert
December 11 | 7:00 PM | CHS Auditorium
CHS Band & Choir Holiday Concert
December 16 | 7:00 PM | CHS Auditorium
Peshastin-Dryden Elementary School Holiday Performance
December 17 | 6:00 PM | CHS Gym