Get Involved

Woman kneeling down to talk with a girl.

We believe that public education is a community effort.

Parent and community partnerships help our students and schools succeed. We depend on our engaged and supportive community, and our community deserves transparency and accountability.

To best serve our communities, Lake Washington School District must be closely connected with the community. Community engagement takes many forms at both the building and district level. We regularly communicate with the community to be both accountable and transparent. We regularly engage parents and the community in decision-making and advisory processes. We regularly collect input and feedback on our work, and we partner with community agencies, business, and local government to best serve our students, parent, and the community.

Committees & Workgroups

These groups provide input on major issues or decisions facing the district. They often include a mix of parents, community members and staff. For example, the Instructional Materials Committee (IMC), is a standing committee that includes principals and teachers as well as community representatives.

Volunteer Programs

Our district has very involved parent and community volunteers who provide tremendous support to the district’s schools every day. Our volunteer office is involved in recruiting and placing volunteers for specific school needs, such as health screenings and the AVID program. AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) is a national program designed to better prepare students for college. The facilitators work with a small group of students one or two days a week for one hour. 

In addition, the LINKS Lunch Buddy Program pairs caring adults with elementary students to provide additional support. Lunch Buddy mentors come during school hours once a week and spend the lunch hour in a pre-assigned area to eat, play games, make crafts, talk and do other agreed-upon activities. Mentors provide social-emotional support to students who need a little extra one-on-one attention. 

Parent/Community Partnerships

As a school district serving families in Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, and King County, it’s important to coordinate with our parents, local community agencies, and cities.

Parents are critical partners, not only in the education of their own children, but in developing a strong school community. The PTSA is an important partner in LWSD in many ways. School PTSAs provide enrichment programs and advocate on behalf of schools with local and state government. The PTSA Council is a key district partner and supporter, and they work with the district to provide parent education programs.

Lake Washington Schools Foundation funds important district and school programs that would not be possible without their generous support. They provide classroom level grants and provide support for innovation throughout the district.

The district partners with community agencies such as Youth Eastside Services (YES), Evergreen Health, Assistance League of the Eastside, and Hopelink. These community agencies help provide critical services for students in need, and partner with our schools to provide social-emotional support for students.

City and district partnerships help serve community needs. We look for ways to share resources to benefit our schools and communities. Field and gym partnerships, for example, enable the district and cities to share space and costs. City recreation programs also make use of school buildings to offer programs outside of school hours. By sharing our resources, together with our city partners, we can serve families and our greater community better and more cost effectively.