As the 2012-13 school year comes to a close, it provides an opportunity to reflect on the past year and all that has been accomplished.
As superintendent I very much enjoyed attending high school graduation ceremonies and watching proud families cheer their seniors as they crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. The core of our district mission is to help all of our students graduate, and we are proud of our 94% on-time graduation rate, though we continue to strive to achieve a 100% graduation rate. Our district vision also speaks to preparing students for college and career. Given the importance of post-secondary education to long-term employment prospects, we monitor post-graduation data to help us determine how we are progressing toward accomplishing our vision for students. Currently, approximately 79% of Lake Washington students immediately enroll in some form of post-secondary education immediately following graduation. That number compares favorably to other districts in the state, and, of course, we continue to work toward raising that percentage. Read More >>
While today is the last day of school, it seems as if September, when every school was settling in to its new grade configuration, was just yesterday. It’s easy to forget that our schools were K-6, 7-9 and 10-12 just a year ago. We now are settled into our new K-5, 6-8, 9-12 configuration, and we continue to seek ways to best serve each and every one of our elementary, middle and high school students.
We have accomplished a lot this year. In addition to changing our grade configuration, we opened the new STEM High School, as well as new additions at Eastlake and Redmond High School, The second phase of the district's school modernization program is also now nearing completion. Three new elementary school buildings opened last fall (Keller, Muir, Sandburg/Discovery) and part of the new Rush Elementary opened mid-year. Next fall, Bell Elementary, Rose Hill Middle School and International Community School/Community School will reopen in new buildings and the rest of Rush Elementary will be completed. Those projects will complete Phase 2 of the modernization program, funded by bonds passed by voters in 2006.
In addition to opening new and newly modernized buildings this year, we implemented 1:1 netbook/laptops for all of our students in grades 6 - 12. Introducing 12,500 more devices onto our network helped us to identify where our computer infrastructure needs improvement, and a particularly nasty computer virus attack caused more complications. Despite these challenges, teachers around the district worked to engage students in new learning using these powerful tools. In conjunction with the new laptop program, teachers and students began to use a new learning management system, Haiku, which allows teachers and classes online access to information and communication in a safe environment. This system also gives students access to assignments, calendars, information and help electronically from home. We are developing concrete plans for parent access to Haiku as we look ahead to next year.
While the year is ending, we are well into our planning for next year. We will implement new literacy curriculum materials for preschool through grade 6 next year. This new literacy adoption comes at a particularly good time, given that Washington state, along with 44 other states across the country, has adopted a new set of standards that students will be expected to learn at each grade in reading, writing and math. These Common Core State Standards are more rigorous than the current state standards. The new literacy materials are aligned with these new standards. While teachers will begin teaching based on the new standards next year, students will not be tested on those standards in the statewide standardized tests until 2014-15.
Also new next year will be a state-mandated professional growth and evaluation system for teachers and principals. Our district has had a four-tier teacher professional growth and evaluation system in place for the past 13 years that is very similar to the new state system. The new principal evaluation system, which is similar to the teacher evaluation system, will be a change for our district, and we have spent this year planning for implementation by piloting the new system.
All of the efforts I've written about here are part of our overall strategic plan to work toward accomplishing our mission and vision as a school district. Our efforts focus on establishing high standards for students, teachers, staff and administrators, and developing systems and strategies to help us achieve those standards.
Overall, all of our work as a district is focused on student learning, and ensuring academic success for every student. Our ultimate goal is for all of our students to graduate from our district ready to take the next step toward a bright and promising future.
I wish you all a fun, safe, and enjoyable summer. Thank you for all that you do to support the Lake Washington School District.
Warm Regards,
Dr. Traci Pierce, Superintendent
Lake Washington School District
As superintendent I very much enjoyed attending high school graduation ceremonies and watching proud families cheer their seniors as they crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. The core of our district mission is to help all of our students graduate, and we are proud of our 94% on-time graduation rate, though we continue to strive to achieve a 100% graduation rate. Our district vision also speaks to preparing students for college and career. Given the importance of post-secondary education to long-term employment prospects, we monitor post-graduation data to help us determine how we are progressing toward accomplishing our vision for students. Currently, approximately 79% of Lake Washington students immediately enroll in some form of post-secondary education immediately following graduation. That number compares favorably to other districts in the state, and, of course, we continue to work toward raising that percentage. Read More >>
While today is the last day of school, it seems as if September, when every school was settling in to its new grade configuration, was just yesterday. It’s easy to forget that our schools were K-6, 7-9 and 10-12 just a year ago. We now are settled into our new K-5, 6-8, 9-12 configuration, and we continue to seek ways to best serve each and every one of our elementary, middle and high school students.
We have accomplished a lot this year. In addition to changing our grade configuration, we opened the new STEM High School, as well as new additions at Eastlake and Redmond High School, The second phase of the district's school modernization program is also now nearing completion. Three new elementary school buildings opened last fall (Keller, Muir, Sandburg/Discovery) and part of the new Rush Elementary opened mid-year. Next fall, Bell Elementary, Rose Hill Middle School and International Community School/Community School will reopen in new buildings and the rest of Rush Elementary will be completed. Those projects will complete Phase 2 of the modernization program, funded by bonds passed by voters in 2006.
In addition to opening new and newly modernized buildings this year, we implemented 1:1 netbook/laptops for all of our students in grades 6 - 12. Introducing 12,500 more devices onto our network helped us to identify where our computer infrastructure needs improvement, and a particularly nasty computer virus attack caused more complications. Despite these challenges, teachers around the district worked to engage students in new learning using these powerful tools. In conjunction with the new laptop program, teachers and students began to use a new learning management system, Haiku, which allows teachers and classes online access to information and communication in a safe environment. This system also gives students access to assignments, calendars, information and help electronically from home. We are developing concrete plans for parent access to Haiku as we look ahead to next year.
While the year is ending, we are well into our planning for next year. We will implement new literacy curriculum materials for preschool through grade 6 next year. This new literacy adoption comes at a particularly good time, given that Washington state, along with 44 other states across the country, has adopted a new set of standards that students will be expected to learn at each grade in reading, writing and math. These Common Core State Standards are more rigorous than the current state standards. The new literacy materials are aligned with these new standards. While teachers will begin teaching based on the new standards next year, students will not be tested on those standards in the statewide standardized tests until 2014-15.
Also new next year will be a state-mandated professional growth and evaluation system for teachers and principals. Our district has had a four-tier teacher professional growth and evaluation system in place for the past 13 years that is very similar to the new state system. The new principal evaluation system, which is similar to the teacher evaluation system, will be a change for our district, and we have spent this year planning for implementation by piloting the new system.
All of the efforts I've written about here are part of our overall strategic plan to work toward accomplishing our mission and vision as a school district. Our efforts focus on establishing high standards for students, teachers, staff and administrators, and developing systems and strategies to help us achieve those standards.
Overall, all of our work as a district is focused on student learning, and ensuring academic success for every student. Our ultimate goal is for all of our students to graduate from our district ready to take the next step toward a bright and promising future.
I wish you all a fun, safe, and enjoyable summer. Thank you for all that you do to support the Lake Washington School District.
Warm Regards,
Dr. Traci Pierce, Superintendent
Lake Washington School District
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