Lake Washington School District (LWSD) offers two different Quest programs for students in grades two through five. The full-time program places students in a Quest classroom full-time, five days a week, while the enrichment pull-out program enables students to attend a Quest pull-out classroom one day a week. LWSD also offers school-based Kindergarten - 3rd Grade Highly Capable (K-3HC) services for students in those grades.

Elementary Quest Parent Information Night Presentation

Full-time Quest Highly Capable Services

The Full-time Quest program provides our most highly capable students the opportunity to engage in rigorous, challenging, integrated, and enriched curriculum with their academic peers. The program is designed to meet the needs of students who have been identified as having exceptional cognitive and academic ability by accelerating and enriching the district curriculum. Students are enrolled in a self-contained classroom all day, five days a week. Full-time Quest classes are multi-aged with a 2nd/3rd grade or 4th/5th grade grouping of students. The learning pace is faster than in the regular education program; students are expected to perform work that exceeds grade level standards by at least one grade level. In addition to the accelerated district curriculum, the Full-time Quest program emphasizes advanced academic thinking skills and strategies, strong communication and collaboration skills, and an increased awareness of local and global citizenship.

2018-19 Full-time Quest programs are located at:

• Alcott Elementary, Redmond
• Bell Elementary, Kirkland
• Blackwell Elementary, Sammamish
• Clara Barton Elementary, Redmond
• Einstein Elementary, Redmond
• Ella Baker Elementary, Redmond
• McAuliffe Elementary, Sammamish
• Redmond Elementary, Redmond
• Rosa Parks Elementary, Redmond
• Smith Elementary, Sammamish
• Thoreau Elementary, Kirkland

The district assigns a student to attend a Full-time Quest school based on his/her home address. School assignment is subject to change. For more information about Full-time Quest placement, view the 2018-19 Elementary Quest School Assignment Chart.

District transportation is available for elementary students from the neighborhood home school to and from the Quest school site. Parents/guardians are responsible for arranging transportation to and from the neighborhood home school. For more information, view the Full-time Quest bus schedules.

Pull-out Quest Highly Capable Services

The Pull-out Quest program provides highly capable students the opportunity to engage in challenging, integrated, and enriched project-based learning with their academic peers. The program is designed to meet the needs of students who have been identified as having exceptional cognitive and academic ability by enriching their elementary curriculum. Students attend their home school four days a week and the Pull-out classroom one day a week.

The Pull-out program focuses on project-based learning with an emphasis on integrated social studies and science themes. Projects focus on literacy and math, using higher level thinking skills, in-depth learning, collaboration and cooperation, and presentation skills.

2018-19 Pull-out Quest programs are located at:

• McAuliffe Elementary, Sammamish
• Thoreau Elementary, Kirkland
• Wilder Elementary, Woodinville

The district assigns a student to attend a Pull-out Quest school based on his/her home school. School assignment is subject to change. For more information on Quest school placement, view the 2018-19 Elementary Quest School Assignment Chart.

Fee-based transportation is available for Pull-out Quest students from the neighborhood home school to and from the Quest school site. Parents/guardians are responsible for arranging transportation to and from the neighborhood home school. View the Pull-out Quest Bus Schedules.

For additional information on the Pull-out Quest program, visit

• What Parents Need to Know about the Quest Pull-out Program
• Quest Pull-out Program Feeder School Schedule
• Pull-out Program Calendar

Kindergarten – 3rd Grade Highly Capable (K-3HC) Services

K-3HC Services provide highly capable students in kindergarten to third grade school based enrichment in reading and/or math. K-3HC Facilitator/Teachers meet with students in small groups for 30 minutes on a weekly basis in the student’s neighborhood school. K-3HC services focus on critical thinking and reasoning, creativity, interpersonal relationships and leadership skills. K-3HC Teacher/Facilitators also provide resources and strategies to the student’s classroom teacher to assist the teacher with accelerating and differentiating instruction.

Important Dates

Application process during 2017-18 for services beginning in September 2018. All dates are subject to change.

• September 25, 2017: Online Applications Open.
• September 25, 2017: Parent Information Night for parents of current students in grades 1 through 4. Note: Both sessions are the same. Attendance is not required in order to apply.
  4:30-6 p.m. or 7-8:30 p.m.
  Lake Washington High School Performing Arts Center
  12033 N.E. 80th St.
  Kirkland, WA 98033
• October 27, 2017: Online Applications Close at 4 p.m. (Late applications are not accepted.)
• November 6-16, 2017: Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Screening Form for LWSD students in first grade
• November 18, 2017: Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Screening Form for private/home-schooled students in first grade
• Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Full CogAT
  • 1st grade: January 13, 2018
  • 2nd grade: November 18, 2017
  • 3rd-4th grade: December 2, 2017
• Iowa Assessments
  • 1st grade: February 3, 2018
  • 2nd-3rd grade: January 20, 2018
  • 4th grade: December 9, 2017
• Spring 2018: Notification of Placement
• Fall 2018: Services Begin

Visit Washington Administrative Code Chapter 392-170 and Revised Code of Washington Chapter 28A.185 for information on Washington state regulations for highly capable services.

Nomination Process

Students are nominated for Highly Capable services by parents, staff or community members by filling out the application form. To nominate your child, parents of students in grades two through four, and parents of first grade students who attend private school or who are home-schooled, must apply for their student to be considered for highly capable services for the following school year. To apply, fill out the online application form. Please contact the Accelerated Programs Office at 425-936-1238 if you need a paper copy of the application or if you need an application in a language other than English. Please note: Students must reside in the LWSD boundaries to apply for and participate in Highly Capable programs.

Parents of first grade students who attend Lake Washington School District schools do not need to apply for second grade Highly Capable programs in October. All LWSD first grade students take the CogAT Screening Form at their home school. Students who meet the screening criteria will be invited in December to complete the online application.

Scroll to the top of this page to find the Highly Capable Programs application form.

If your student currently attends private school or home school, submit the Application Supplement in addition to completing the online application form. The Application Supplement will require parents to submit proof of residency and additional documentation as needed. All supplemental documents must be submitted to the Accelerated Programs Office by October 27.

If your student currently attends LWSD in grades 2 to 4 and did not attend LWSD for the 2016-17 school year, submit the Application Supplement in addition to completing the online application form. The Application Supplement will require parents to provide additional documentation as needed. All supplemental documents must be submitted to the Accelerated Programs Office by October 27.

Screening Process

The district uses multiple objective criteria to identify students who are among the most highly capable. Private testing results are not accepted.

Assessment Process

Applicants who meet screening criteria will be assessed using multiple objective criteria:

Evidence of need for highly capable services is determined by a Multidisciplinary Selection Committee. Members of the committee include, at a minimum, a school psychologist, a teacher and the Director of Accelerated Programs. All decisions are based on the body of evidence to provide a clear picture of each student’s ability and to determine whether the data indicate a need for services beyond the scope of the general education classroom. No weights are assigned to data points. Private testing results are not accepted.

Students who are identified for highly capable services will be offered placement in one of the following services:

• K-3HC Math and/or K-3HC Reading
• Pull-out Quest
• Full-time Quest

Appeals Process

Highly Capable assessment criteria are applied equitably to all applicants. Appeals for reconsideration of students who have not met the assessment criteria are reviewed by the Multidisciplinary Selection Committee after notification of screening results and after notification of the Multidisciplinary Selection Committee placement decision. Appeals must be submitted to the Accelerated Programs Office in writing within 10 calendar days of notification of results. Appeals must be based upon a specific criteria related to the screening/testing conditions, or to a misapplication or miscalculation of the scores. The decision of the appeal review team is final.

Students who were enrolled in a highly capable or gifted program in their previous school may apply to Quest when they transfer into LWSD. Transfer students are not automatically enrolled in the Highly Capable programs. Highly capable services are not an entitlement in Washington, as they are in some states.

Transfer application process for students in grades 1 through 5

• Complete and submit a transfer form.
• Submit report card (for most recent end of semester)
• Submit proof of participation in a highly capable or gifted program (from school last attended) or submit proof of acceptance into a highly capable or gifted program within the last six months
• Submit standardized achievement test results with national or international norms
• Submit standardized ability test results with national or international norms
• Submit proof of residency within LWSD boundaries
• Submit state assessment results, if applicable
• Meet the Quest screening and assessment eligibility criteria for admittance into the program

Notes:

• Private testing outside of the student’s school district sanctioned testing cannot be used to substitute for district testing
• Letters of recommendation are not considered in the review
  
• Transfer applications must be complete with all documentation submitted

Notification/placement process for grades 1 through 5 transfer students

The Accelerated Programs Office will notify the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the student’s eligibility status after reviewing the applicant’s file. If the student is not eligible, he/she can apply and go through the district identification process in the fall.

LWSD Highly Capable Programs Change of Service Request

Parents of students participating in LWSD highly capable services may opt to withdraw from highly capable services at any time by submitting the Change of Service Request to the Accelerated Programs Office. Students will remain identified as highly capable. Students attending a LWSD school may receive differentiated instruction in their LWSD classroom. Students opting out of Full-time Quest may request participation in either Pull-out Quest or K-5HC services. Students opting out of Pull-out Quest may request participation in K-5HC services.

If parents wish to have their student return to highly capable services, they may submit a Change of Service Request. Students who have been away from highly capable services for less than 12 calendar months may resume the same level of highly capable services. For an absence of longer than 12 calendar months, parents may submit a written request to resume highly capable services and attach report card grades and evidence that the student has participated in accelerated learning; the Multidisciplinary Selection Committee will consider the request.

Parents of newly identified highly capable students may opt to decline services. Students will remain identified as highly capable. Students attending a LWSD school may receive differentiated instruction in their LWSD classroom. After declining highly capable services, parents who wish to begin previously offered services may complete a Change of Service Request. Students wishing to begin services within 12 calendar months of the original start date will be scheduled for the same level of service. Requests for highly capable services starting more than 12 calendar months after the original start date must be reviewed by the Multidisciplinary Selection Committee; submit a Change of Service Request along with report card data and documentation showing accelerated learning for review.

NOTES:

1. Students must reside in LWSD boundaries to participate in LWSD highly capable services.
2. School assignment and classroom placement are subject to change.
3. Change of Service Requests (with any supplemental documentation) should be emailed to quest@lwsd.org.

Please contact the Accelerated Programs Office by email at quest@lwsd.org or by phone at 425-936-1238 for more information.