Sustainability

The history of the Pacific Northwest is one of great resource abundance, majestic physical beauty and of people caring for the environment. Lake Washington School District is on the Indigenous Land of the Coast Salish Peoples, who have reserved treaty rights on this land, including the Duwamish (dxʷdəwʔabš) and the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe (sdukʷalbixʷ). We recognize and thank the caretakers of this land, who have lived here since time immemorial. Lake Washington School District commits to continued collaboration with Native communities.

LWSD also recognize that current global conditions require every community to do its utmost to address local and global ecological threats. In that spirit, LWSD has developed a Sustainability and Resource Conservation Action Plan. This Plan builds on the District’s longstanding efforts to conserve resources, and on the strong support and commitment of the students, staff and communities the District serves.

The sustainability plan defines what the District seeks to accomplish and why. The Roadmap provides a practical structure for how the work can advance over time. It brings the plan’s recommendations together in one place and identifies the next actions and anticipated timelines needed to move the work forward. It is designed to evolve as conditions change, including updates to greenhouse gas data, lessons from pilot efforts, and changes in technology, policy and funding.

Sustainability Action Plan

Sustainability Roadmap

Sustainability stories around the district

Sustainability teams & partners

District sustainability efforts rely on the participation of every person in the district, in addition to community partners and volunteers. Learn how LWSD is teaching today’s students about sustainability, while using green building practices to construct the schools of tomorrow.

LWSD Green Team

Because sustainability touches all departments, LWSD established a district Green Team in 2019. This internal group is comprised of several district department heads and key support staff. The LWSD Director of College and Career Readiness chairs the group and participants include representatives from Curriculum & Instruction, Support Services, Maintenance and Operations, Custodial, Nutrition Services and more.

Green Team leader resources

LWSD Green Team Advisory Committee

Comprised of district staff and representatives from community partners, the Green Team Advisory Committee helps to coordinate sustainability efforts around the district. Responsibilities include:

Advise and support school-level green teams, including preliminary approval of major projects
Recommend goals and focus areas for district-level initiatives
Coordinate stakeholders in the implementation of specific initiatives touching multiple sites
Assist in sustainability-related communications & King County Green Schools recruitment
Provide recommendations on relevant technology, team members, and educational programs

LWSD partners in sustainability

PTSA Sustainability Committee

Sustainability recognition

Earth Day is every day at Lake Washington School District. We are a recognized leader in sustainability practices and education in the region. This recognition has come from various organizations:

2019 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School District Sustainability Awardee
McKinstry’s 2015 Champions of Sustainability award.
Eight-time winner of the King County Best Workplace for Waste Prevention and Recycling. Nearly 75 percent of schools in the district collect organic food waste for composting. The district is committed to proactively right-sizing service, including smaller garbage containers and less frequent pickups.
LWSD is one of 12 districts in the nation to receive Excellence in Integrated Pest Management star certification. This certification ensures the use of alternate, non-chemical pest control methods. The district passed a rigorous 37-point evaluation conducted by the independent nonprofit IPM Institute of North America.
2017 Green Cleaning Award from American School and University Magazine. Cleaning to protect the health of students and staff without harm to the environment.
Grants approved thus far from Puget Sound Energy for high-efficiency features for new schools: $144,100.