Lake Washington School District

We are committed to helping our seniors graduate on time. We will continue to monitor the guidance about options and requirements for seniors from the Governor, OSPI and the State Board of Education, as well as colleges, community colleges and universities through the spring.  Please note, guidance could change, and we will adjust accordingly if it does.

Graduation Ceremonies

We know that this has been a challenging time for our students and families. We know that the uncertainty around graduation has been difficult, so we want to provide you with the details that we currently know around how we will celebrate this important milestone with our students.

Each LWSD High School will provide a virtual graduation ceremony, which will be a multimedia production that will include a variety of options depending on school traditions and preferences. More details will come soon, but examples include pictures of seniors, speeches, and performances. These virtual graduations can be viewed online with the goal of completion by the school graduation date in June.  

Schools will communicate with their communities on the logistics of gathering senior photos, videos, speeches, and other information to include in the virtual graduation ceremony. Schools will also communicate with their communities on when and how students can pick up their caps and gowns.

Governor Inslee’s extension of the stay at home order and phased approach to re-opening will not allow for a traditional, in-person graduation ceremony. 

Our school district leadership is analyzing the Governor’s phased approach to see if any in-person activity to celebrate our seniors is possible under this extension. Our high schools’ graduating classes vary in size from 500+ graduates at a school to less than 40 graduates at a school, which makes this difficult as all schools are expected to follow written guidance in order to follow physical distancing rules for the safety of our students, staff, and community.  

District leadership is working on decisions and guidance for our schools as quickly as possible and will communicate with our seniors and families as soon as this is complete.

Please note, the last day of school for seniors may happen after our graduation date. We will keep seniors and families updated as we learn more information.

Updated: May 8, 2020

Graduation Requirements

Please review graduation requirements for the class of 2020. 

Credits

We are working on a plan to support seniors to earn credits for classes in which they are currently enrolled, as well as any others they need to meet graduation requirements. Students should check their Lake Washington School District email frequently to stay up-to-date on the most current information from their school, teachers and counselors. Also, bookmark this webpage and visit often for updates. 

High School Grading for Second Semester 2020

1. High school teachers will continue to grade and provide feedback on student work and assessments that are assigned and collected remotely.
2. Grades for high school courses will be entered into Skyward gradebooks.
3. Students must engage in the learning process and show proficiency based on the new remote learning course expectations to receive a grade.
4. At the end of second semester, students enrolled in credit-bearing high school courses who have a passing grade in the Skyward gradebook for the semester will be assigned an “A” with a COVID-19 designation on their transcript for each course completed or an “I” for incomplete.  
   1. The grade on the transcript will be reflected in students’ GPA. 
   2. Incomplete, “I” designations will not earn credit and will not be reflected in the GPA.  
   3. Information from 2019-20 gradebooks may be used to provide information to teachers, students and families about students’ progress.
5. An Incomplete will be used to communicate that a teacher was not able to determine proficiency of the essential learning standards for the course, which could be attributed to a variety of factors.  
   1. Students who do not engage in the learning process or are unable to demonstrate that they have met essential standards for courses will receive an “Incomplete.” 
   2. When assigning an “Incomplete” to a student, a teacher must identify the specific standards the student was unable to meet and the steps taken to demonstrate meeting the standard. 
   3. Examples of options for students earning an incomplete to earn a grade may include: 
      • Independent study
      • Courses taken in the following term or year  
      • Competency-based courses 
      • Summer school 
      • Online courses 
      • Backfilling the incomplete designation with a letter grade once proficiency is demonstrated in the next course taken in that subject area sequence
   4. A student must resolve an ‘Incomplete’ before they graduate from high school. By graduation, students should be given multiple opportunities to resolve the ‘Incomplete.’ Additional information about the process for working with students who have an incomplete will be provided in future updates.
6. With access to accommodations and modifications, students with IEP’s can be graded using the grading criteria above. If a student was graded Pass / Fail before closure they can receive a “pass” or “satisfactory” grading option or the grading criteria above per OSPI. Grading should be determined on an individual-student basis in partnership with the student and parent/guardian.

Graduation Pathway Requirements

One of the graduation requirements for the class of 2020 includes a graduation pathway option. School staff have identified students that haven’t met a pathway and are working through options for individual students.  Pathway options are available on the “Graduation Pathway Options” tab of the High School Guide page. Students are encouraged to connect with their counselors if they have additional questions about this requirement.

School Counselors

School counselors are available via email. Find contact information for counselors on each school’s website.

College in the High School

Your teachers will be working with the colleges to determine what is possible given the current situation. Please reach out to your College in the High School teacher if you have specific questions.

CTE Dual Credit

Staff is working to ensure standards are met during instructional time after school re-opens.  Please reach out to your CTE teachers for the most current information.

Questions? Let’s Talk:

Please use this form to submit senior-related questions.