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Lake Washington School District Parent E-Newsletter
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Superintendent to step down at end of this school year
Dr. Chip Kimball, superintendent of Lake Washington School District, announced that the 2011-12 school year will be his last in that position. Beginning in the summer of 2012, Dr. Kimball will serve as superintendent of the Singapore American School in Singapore. Read more. |
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LWSD meets targets in 51 of 57 areas
Only large district in the state not in "improvement" status
With high average state test scores, LWSD met the standard for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 51 of 57 areas under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), according to information released by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. District students continue to score significantly above state averages on the state tests, the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) and High School Proficiency Exams (HSPE) as well as the new End of Course exams for math in secondary schools. Read more. |
LWSD students continue to outperform state on standardized tests
Test data is mostly higher for state, LWSD
Last year, the watchword for state testing results was "new," with brand new tests at all grade levels. This year, the End of Course (EOC) exams in math for secondary students were new but other tests were comparable to the year before. The results, for Lake Washington, at least, reflected increases in most grades and most subjects. District averages continue to score significantly higher than state averages, from 15 to 20 percent higher in most grades and subjects. Read more. |
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SAT Test Scores Up
Lake Washington School District (LWSD) seniors scored higher overall on the SAT last spring than previous years. District students continue to score well above state and national averages. Scores in the district increased incrementally, up two points each in reading and writing while decreasing one point in math. At the same time, Washington state and national scores were lower in reading and math. State scores gained an average of one point in writing while national averages fell two points.
"More students are taking the test and scores on average are up," noted Dr. Chip Kimball, superintendent. "We are making progress on our goal to ensure that students are ready for college."
For more information, go to the district website. |
Changes to Elementary Quest Program
Lake Washington School District will change the grades in which gifted education is offered through its Quest program from first through ninth grade to second through eighth grade. This change will coincide with the fall 2012 change in the district's grade configuration to a kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school, six through eight middle school and grades nine through 12 high school system.
The district will no longer test kindergarten students. It will serve advanced students in regular first grade classrooms. Cognitive measures of ability are not well developed for students in kindergarten. It is difficult to determine which students are "highly capable" students and which students are simply more knowledgeable about subjects measured by the test. This change brings Lake Washington in line with many other districts in the area that also begin their gifted education program in second grade.
Sixth grade students will be served in the middle school Quest program along with seventh and eighth graders. Ninth grade students will be in the high school beginning in the fall of 2012. They will be able to accelerate their learning through advanced courses, including Advanced Placement courses if appropriate.
More information on the Quest program, applications and admissions is available on the district website. |
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School Board Highlights
Student Count - At the September 12 meeting, Dr. Kimball noted that the initial count of students is 24,647, which is 430 more than the September count last year. He reminded the board that the district's prediction for the capital levy was for an increase of 425 students - just five students different from this count.
King County Planning Policies Issue - The board passed a resolution expressing support for the existing King County Countywide Planning Policies regarding building schools in the rural area. The current Countywide Planning Policies and the King County Comprehensive Plan authorize building schools in the Rural Area without restrictions to who can attend and allowing them to connect to a tightline sewer.
The Growth Management Planning Council currently is considering changing those policies in ways that:
- Would cost school districts and taxpayers millions of dollars
- Asks school districts to provide Rural Area students with a separate and unequal education
- Would not prevent Rural Area growth, the reason given for these policy changes
Proposed policy changes would restrict the use of property in the Rural Area, as defined by the Growth Management Act, to build schools for use by Rural Area students only. That and other restrictions would mean that in practice, school districts would not be able to build schools in rural areas.
The proposed changes effectively would mean Lake Washington School District may have to replace property it already owns in the Rural Area with similar properties in the Urban Area costing millions of dollars more, if they are even available. Specifically, should the growth in the Redmond Ridge area, an Urban Area, create the need for a fifth high school, land near Evergreen Junior High that is reserved for that purpose would not be able to be used. There are no sites in Redmond large enough to build a comprehensive high school.
The King County Growth Management Planning Council will hold its next meeting at 4:00 p.m. on September 21, at the Puget Sound Regional Council, 5th floor Board Room, 1011 Western Avenue in Seattle. Community members who wish to join the board in expressing their opinion on this matter may attend this meeting or contact the Council's members directly. More background information is available on the Lake Washington School District website. |
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Awards & Achievements
September Staff Star: Anne Sandbo, librarian, Einstein Elementary
Anne Sandbo grew up knowing that she wanted to be a librarian. That dream came later in life than the young Anne had thought it would, but it did come true when she became a librarian in the Lake Washington School District. Read more.
New playground equipment installed at Einstein Elementary
New playground equipment was installed the week of September 5 at Einstein Elementary and a ribbon-cutting was held September 8. The new equipment features climbing walls, hanging bars and a balance beam. The students held a walkathon in June and the PTSA matched the funds along with foundation money to raise the $27,000 for the equipment. The idea for the equipment came from the PTSA and the student council.
"It really was a group effort and I'm impressed by everyone's generosity," said Einstein principal, Melissa Pointer.
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Einstein students participate in ribbon-cutting ceremony. |
Rush students decorate panels at bus stop near Microsoft campus
Panels decorated by students in the Pull-Out Quest program at Ben Rush Elementary were installed over the summer at a bus stop near the Microsoft campus. The panels feature drawings of alternative forms of energy including wind power, biodiesel, geothermal, nuclear, hydroelectricity and solar power. The goal of the panels is to help educate people on various forms of alternative energy.
Amy Holliday, Pull-Out Quest Teacher at Rush, contacted Metro to see about adopting a bus stop and decorating it. The students were learning about alternative energy in their class last April and the panels were installed in July. The first and second graders in the program came up with the design idea and the older classes help to paint some of the panels.
The bus stop is located at the corner of 156th Ave NE and NE 31st street by the Microsoft campus.
Have an award or achievement to share?
Send all of the information to Shannon Parthemer, or contact her at (425) 936-1300.
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9/26 - School Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Resource Center
9/27 - PTSA Special Needs Meeting, 7 p.m., Resource Center
10/7 - NO SCHOOL - LEAP Day
A full list of events is available on the Tandem Online Calendar. This calendar can be filtered by school and is searchable. More details about the Tandem Online Calendar are available here. |
Last year's Lake Washington School District seniors averaged 572 on the SAT math test, 43 points higher than the state average. |
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Visit the Parent Education section of the Lake Washington PTSA Council website for information about this year's classes, as they become available. |
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Lake Washington School District | (425) 936-1200 | www.lwsd.org
The Lake Washington School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, gender, marital status, creed, religion, honorably discharged veteran, military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability, or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability, in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. |
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