Connections - December 4, 2025

Season of Giving

'Tis the Season of Giving in Lake Washington School District (LWSD). Each year schools and district buildings across LWSD think of ways to benefit those most in need during the holiday season. They do so by holding food or clothing drives or collecting items to donate to others in the community. The items collected are distributed to families and non-profit organizations throughout the area.

Visit the LWSD Facebook page to see the regularly updated list of what some of the schools are doing this year to make the season a little brighter.

How do the February 2026 renewal levies support students here in Lake Washington School District?

If approved, the Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) levy renewal and School Technology and Capital Projects levy renewal continue funding that directly supports every school and student across our district. Here is how:

• Support for programs beyond what the state funds. The EP&O levy renewal helps fund student programs like Special Education, multilingual learning, and early learning programs.
• Health, safety and student support staff. Funding from the EP&O levy helps keep counselors, nurses, and mental health services in our schools.
• Technology that enables learning. The School Technology and Capital Projects levy continues funding for classroom devices, infrastructure and training, so students have access to up-to-date learning tools.
• Facilities and building upgrades. The School Technology and Capital Projects levy also funds building improvements to HVAC and electrical systems, which create safe, comfortable learning environments for our students.
• Every school and every student benefits. The February 2026 levies are not just for one school or program; they support services, technology, staffing and programs across the district, so all students have the same opportunity to succeed.

If you have any questions, please visit our website https://www.lwsd.org/2026-levies.

Excellence in Action

From Superintendent Dr. Jon Holmen:

Congratulations to November's Excellence in Action recipient Maria Yarrow. Maria is an Instructional Assistant at Rush Elementary. In the Excellence in Action video, Maria shared her commitment to ensuring all students feel seen and valued. Furthermore, she saw a gap in support for the Spanish speaking community at Rush and works to collaborate with and support students and families in very unique and meaningful ways. Maria demonstrates excellence in her work, and we are pleased to recognize her as an Excellence in Action award recipient. Enjoy the video highlighting Maria and her work.

Click here or the image below to watch the November edition of our Excellence in Action video series. 

Inclusive Schools Week: December 8-12

Inclusive Schools Week is December 8-12. The theme this year is “Children First.” Inclusive Schools Week is celebrated annually by families, schools and organizations around the world. The week highlights and celebrates the progress that schools have made in implementing inclusive practices to ensure a quality education for an increasingly diverse student population.

The week provides an important opportunity for educators, students and parents to discuss what else needs to be done to ensure that their schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children. It is an occasion to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of teachers, administrators, students and parents in making their schools more inclusive, and, thereby, significantly contributing to the development of a more inclusive society.

Learn more about inclusive schools in LWSD here.

Reminder: Elementary ELA curriculum pilot family/caregiver information night

The Reading Advisory Committee has selected two K–5 ELA curricula to pilot from mid-September 2025 through late March 2026, following a rigorous review process grounded in research-based practices and Common Core standards. The selected programs are:

• Benchmark Advance/Adelante
• McGraw Hill Emerge!/Dual Literacy

Teachers will communicate with families before implementation. Throughout the pilot, the committee will assess curriculum effectiveness, alignment to standards and inclusivity, while gathering feedback from students, caregivers and the community.

Curriculum materials were available for public review at the Resource Center September-October.

We invite families/caregivers to an Information Night on December 18, from 5:30–6:30 p.m. at the Resource Center, where we’ll share details about the selection process and provide curriculum samples to explore.

For questions, please contact Kelly Moses Pease, Director of K–5 Teaching and Learning, or Whitney Blackstone, Elementary Literacy Specialist.

Reminder: Computer Science Education Week: December 8-14

Computer Science Education Week is here! This is an annual call to action that occurs every December for students, teachers and families of all ages to dive into computer science, highlighting the importance of computational thinking, creativity and problem-solving in preparing the tech-driven world ahead. This year, the focus shifts to AI Literacy for all K–12 students, transitioning from Hour of Code to Hour of AI. It’s a launch point for learning about the safe, responsible and effective use of AI in education. Students and staff can begin with learning more about AI and available AI tools as well as engage in simple activities to demystify AI and explore its potential for good, using domains like engaging, creating, managing and designing with AI.

Important update: Streamlining notifications for posts

ParentSquare is excited to announce an improvement to how you receive notifications for posts from our schools. Soon, if you use the ParentSquare app and have both app and text notifications turned on, you'll receive post notifications through the app, with text notifications sent only as a backup when needed. This smart delivery system will simplify and streamline how you receive your school communications. 

What's changing? 

Currently, you might receive duplicate notifications for posts via both the app and text message. 

With this update: 

• App-first delivery, with text as fallback: When a post is shared, you'll receive a notification through the app first, with a backup text notification only if needed. This applies to posts, post digests and updates to posts.
• No change for time-sensitive messages: Direct Messages and alerts will continue to be delivered via your preferred methods. 

Why it’s changing 

This change streamlines how you receive post notifications. By reducing the number of notifications sent to your device for each post, it will be easier for you to keep track of school updates in one place. 

What do you need to do? 

No action is required from your side! If you already use the app and have both app and text notifications turned on, you'll automatically benefit from this smart notification delivery. 

If you haven’t downloaded the ParentSquare app or turned on app notifications, now is a great time to do so. This gives you the best way to access and customize classroom communications on your mobile device. 

To learn more about this change, see ParentSquare's help article.

Reminder: Coming soon for students: Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the most powerful tools available to enhance user account security. It adds an extra layer of protection by requiring a second form of verification when logging in, like a mobile app or a code, along with your username or password. 

This simple step can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access by as much as 99%.

MFA provides: 

• Stronger Security, reducing the risk of unauthorized access 
• Additional protection in the event of a password compromise 
• Flexible options, such as text messaging, phone apps, hardware tokens or biometrics to verify
• Enhanced protection of sensitive user data 

For more information on MFA and how it protects your account, visit our LWSD Multi-factor authentication infographic and the National Cybersecurity Alliance page.

Reminder: Student MFA for international login is coming first

Over the last few years, attackers have expanded their focus from staff accounts to student accounts in their persistent attempts to gain a foothold in our LWSD environment. To help protect student accounts, we are implementing multi-factor authentication prompts for student accounts attempting to sign in from outside the United States. This change for students will go live on December 15.  

Students will need to register for their MFA method prior to their travel outside of the country to access district resources from a personal device. If they are using their assigned district device when they are outside the US, they will bypass the MFA requirement. More details will be sent out soon, including instructions on how students can register for MFA.

Visit the technology service public web page for more information - Technology Services - Lake Washington School District.

Reminder: Are you ready for inclement weather?

When emergency conditions such as snow and ice or windstorms result in school schedule changes, the district will notify families directly through ParentSquare.

• Here are some other ways to find out about school schedule changes: Pop-up alert on https://www.lwsd.org/ and school webpages.
• Flashalert.net – this website allows you to sign up for text messages as well.
• Local TV/radio stations – they get a feed from Flashalert.net of all school schedule change decisions.

Curious how school schedule change decisions are made? You can learn how to be updated when school is delayed or canceled on the School Closures and Late Starts page of the district website.  

Layered approach to school safety

Keeping students and staff safe is one of Lake Washington School District's top priorities. One of our strategic goals is to "provide safe and innovative learning environments." We do this through a layered safety approach.

What is layered school safety?

A layered safety approach recognizes that no single barrier or intervention is sufficient by itself to maintain a safe campus. Rather, using multiple layers acts like a filter to be able to identify, resolve and mitigate threats.

At LWSD we think about the following layers: Wellbeing, classroom safety, school safety, internal safety, external safety, cyber safety and safety management. Each of these layers has multiple components and taken together are designed to help keep our students, staff and visitors safe.

Learn more about LWSD’s layered approach to school safety here: School Safety - Lake Washington School District.

Thank you for stepping up for students

LWSF is truly blown away by the generosity of our community during our All in for Kids campaign. Together, you helped raise over $100,000 to support students who rely on weekend food from the Pantry Packs program. 

As many families continue to recover from the effects of the recent government shutdown and reductions in government assistance, your contributions help keep Pantry Packs going strong throughout the school year. If you'd like to continue making a difference, you can donate here.

There’s still time to give to the annual Pantry Packs Thanks"Giving" Food Drive. Donate through the Amazon Wish List or drop off kid-friendly, nonperishable items on select dates. Learn more here.

LWSF 2024-25 Fall Impact Report is now available

Because of community members like you, incredible things are happening in our schools. Your commitment ensures students continue to have the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.

The LWSF Fall Impact Report highlights just some of the impact made possible by your support during the 2024-25 school year. Read the report here.

The new Rockwell Elementary building has leveled up!

Second story takes shape on project to rebuild & enlarge Rockwell Elementary

The new Rockwell Elementary building has leveled up! The second story is taking shape with the wall panels being installed in the south classroom pods and progressing towards the north side of the building and gymnasium. The gym has the largest steel beams in the whole school. These beams were installed right before Thanksgiving.

To commemorate the completion of wood framing, Lydig Construction and Rockwell Elementary will celebrate the last beam getting installed with a special ceremony during the school day later this month. Students and staff are encouraged to sign the beam to become a part of the history of their new elementary school building.

Check out the latest project update here.

The rebuild and enlarge project at Rockwell Elementary is funded by the 2022 Building Excellence Capital Construction Levy. You can view additional information about this project at: Rebuild and Enlarge Rockwell Elementary - Lake Washington School District.

Honoring Native Youth at the Eastside Native American Education Program Powwow

For the past 27 years, the Eastside Native American Education Program (ENAEP) has hosted an annual Powwow, a vibrant celebration of Native culture featuring singing, dancing, drumming and community gathering. This year’s Powwow, held on Saturday, October 25, at Juanita High School, embraced the theme “Honoring Our Youth,” lifting up the excellence and leadership of Native students.

Learn more about this on the LWSD website. 

Lake Washington School District Board of Directors named “Board of Distinction”

49 school boards across the state recognized

For the fifth consecutive year, the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) Board of Directors has been named a “Board of Distinction” by the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA). Only 49 of Washington’s 295 school boards received recognition as Boards of Distinction. LWSD is one of 17 recognized in the “Large School Districts (9,001+ students FTE)” category.

The annual Boards of Distinction program honors school boards that demonstrate effective use of the Washington School Board Standards. These standards promote research-based governance practices that lead to high levels of student and district achievement and help close gaps that impact student success.

Learn more about this on the LWSD website.

Remember...

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