Could you tell me more about CHOICE schools?
Yes. See more details about ours and others schools like ours.
Does our neighborhood/home school need to be Emily Dickinson?
No. Explorer Community School is open to any family that lives in the Lake Washington School District.
If our child is accepted to Explorer, can the child go to Emily Dickinson for Kindergarten?
Yes. Families enrolled at Explorer Community School have (Home School) status at Emily Dickinson elementary. This allows any Explorer family wishing to enroll a sibling in Kindergarten at Emily Dickinson the ability to do so without applying for a variance.
If we have one child in Explorer, are subsequent siblings automatically accepted.
Sibling preference is initiated only during the lottery into first grade. If a student entering the 1st grade has a sibling in grades 2, 3, 4, or 5, the student will be admitted under the sibling preference policy. If the number of 1st graders with older siblings in the school exceeds the number of slots available to 1st graders, a waiting list will be established.
If I have a child already in another elementary school, can we still apply?
Yes. Applications are always accepted for children of elementary age.
Does Explorer operate on the same time schedule as Emily Dickinson?
No. See Quick Facts.
Is there bus service to Explorer?
If you are a family that has Dickinson as your home school you may use the bus service. Parents need to talk with their neighbors to find out about the schedule. Dickinson parents receive a postcard, but Explorer parents do not. The Dickinson office may be contacted for further details.
Is there any extra cost to parents?
Explorer Community School is a Lake Washington School District school, run with District funds. The Explorer Parent Association is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) group which exists to provide further resources for Explorer Community School.
The Explorer Parent Association's primary source of income is voluntary dues. An annual donation of $150.00 per student is requested. The Association also relies on corporate matching and fundraising. This money is used to fund things such as field trips, family camp, school events, speakers, and classroom materials.
What commitment does each family make to the school?
Parent participation is required in three areas:
-Three hours in direct classroom support each week (families with more than one child in the school are asked to contribute more so that the teacher still has the necessary adult
support).
-Monthy parent association meetings
-Committee work
What kind of volunteer work is there to do?
Parent participation includes the following:
• Work as a personal tutor.
• Serve on the school Steering Committee.
• Work with small groups of students.
• Offer your special talents or skills, such as music, art or foreign language.
• Plan and teach a Friday Choice/Exploration activity.
• Serve as field trip chaperones.
• Replenish classroom supplies, i.e. cut and paste.
• Assist in the classroom as needed.
• Assist the teacher as necessary with copying, filing, correcting papers, etc.
• Passport Club (geography) testing.
• Committee work. See Committees under our For Parents menu option.