Kudos to Healy Landis, Lake Washington School District's "Staff Star" for May 2013
In the past nine years, Emerson K-12 has undergone many changes: for example, a name change (from Family Learning Center to Emerson K-12 at the start of this school year) and three new principals. Through these changes, one person has remained consistent: Office Manager Healy Landis.
“Healy has provided our school, families and community consistency, flexibility and hope through the changes,” said one co-worker, when nominating Healy as a Staff Star. “Healy is resilient, cheerful and dedicated to her profession.”
Healy loves helping the students, teachers, parents and principal. She loves the variety that working for a K-12 school provides her. “I get to work with students at every grade level and their parents,” Healy remarked. “I like being the steady person that everyone knows that they will talk to and see every day, and helping everyone to work together.”
As the office manager at Emerson K-12, Healy serves as the first person that students and families see when they walk in the door. Emerson K-12 encompasses all grades so Healy is in charge of payroll, accounts payable, ordering supplies, transcripts for older students, grading, attendance, coordination of all testing (PSAT, Quest, HSPE, EOC, MSP), budgets, working with Running Start students, registration and scheduling of classes / students. There is no “typical” work day for her.
Healy’s journey with Lake Washington School District started with her own two sons attending school in the district. Healy worked as a parent PTA volunteer and even as a PTA president before coming to work for the district in 2003. Healy started out as a substitute instructional assistant (IA) and secretary. She then accepted jobs working in the transportation office and in the computer center before moving to Emerson K-12 in January 2001.
Emerson K-12 is the only Parent Partnership Program in LWSD. Emerson K-12 teachers partner with and support parents who also provide instruction at home. Parents work with certificated teachers to develop a Learning Plan to guide instruction at home and school. Students attend one to five classes a week and attend one to three days onsite. Emerson K-12 is the only school with all 13 grades working together.
Outside of the office, Healy is an avid participant in organized walks and runs. In fact, she has participated in the Breast Cancer 3-day 60 mile walk four times. She keeps all of her bibs from the different events hanging in the school’s office.
Emerson K-12 was started in 1995 by a group of parents and district staff. Over time, Emerson K-12 has grown from operating out of one room in an elementary school to their current location at the Emerson Campus in the Houghton area of Kirkland. Emerson K-12 is a fully accredited school that works in partnership with families to teach and support our shared students. Emerson K-12 currently serves 105 families and more than 150 students. The staff includes certificated and contract teachers, support staff and principal. For more information about Emerson K-12, visit the school’s website.