Message from the Superintendent

April 21, 2025

Dear Northshore Colleagues: 

This week, April 20-26, is Volunteer Appreciation Week. In Northshore, we currently have close to 11,000 active volunteers who serve our students in many roles. We are so thankful for these outstanding individuals and their dedication to our community's children, our schools, and district. If you want to celebrate and honor a specific volunteer that has made a difference, you can by adding information to our Northshore Volunteer Celebration padlet here. The Communication team will be sharing the padlet on social media later in the week. We will also be honoring volunteers at next week’s regular School Board meeting. 

Tomorrow, April 22, is also Bus Driver Appreciation Day. To our Northshore bus drivers - I am grateful for the care and dedication you bring to your work each day. Student success begins with safe and reliable transportation to and from school each day, and your unwavering focus on safety—regardless of weather, traffic, or other challenges—is deeply appreciated. You are also often the first District employee to see students in the morning and the last to wish them well at the end of the school day. You help create a sense of belonging for each and every one of our students - thank you. 

In other news, I continue to provide the 2025 State of Our Schools presentation to our broad community. Last week I presented this information to the University of Washington, Bothell staff and the Bothell City Council. Information includes progress towards the District’s Strategic Plan Goals, updates on our construction projects, and improvements to family engagement and partnerships. For those interested, you can watch a recording of the 2025 State of Our Schools presentation. It is also archived on the State of Our Schools webpage. 

Finally, I invite you to attend the virtual Northshore Speaks event, tomorrow April 22 beginning at 6 p.m. Help me in celebrating our incredible students as they share their spoken-word poetry. Thank you to our educators, families, and Marco Garcia, the District’s Volunteer and Partnership Coordinator, who have helped make this opportunity possible.

Please review District Highlights for important information including next steps in the 2025 Superintendent search process. 

I hope everyone has a great week. 

In partnership, 

Michael Tolley
Superintendent

Have a story you would like to see shared in the "Highlights from Around the District" section of this message and on our website? Submit using this form.

The Northshore School Board will host Conversations with the Board tonight, Monday, April 21 from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Woodinville High School Library. This is an opportunity for our community to hear updates about the 2025 Superintendent Search process, provide input on priorities for the next Northshore Superintendent, discuss state legislative session progress, ask questions, and more.

The Northshore School Board invites the community to attend the Superintendent Finalists Town Hall on Tuesday, May 13 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Northshore Concert Hall at Inglemoor High School, 15500 Simonds Road NE, Kenmore. Following a months-long superintendent search process, the May 13 Town Hall will provide our community the opportunity to hear from the candidate finalists and provide feedback to the School Board as they make their final decision. The Town Hall will be live streamed and an online, translated feedback form will be available so anyone can provide input on the finalists, either in person at the event or after viewing the livestream. If you would like to attend and need interpretation or an accommodation, please submit your request using this form. The School Board plans to announce the next Northshore School District superintendent by mid-May 2025. Please visit the Superintendent Search webpage to learn more about the engagement process and timeline.

April is School Library Month, and to celebrate reading, we are featuring some of our teacher-librarians and their favorite genres or book recommendations on the District’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Take a look at what the teacher-librarians at North Creek High School and Northshore Middle School are reading and comment with your own favorite genre or book.

Earlier this month, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction informed Northshore that our requested waiver for two inclement weather days was approved. Northshore's updated last day of school for K-11th grade students is Friday, June 20, which will be a partial day. Tuesday, June 17 and Wednesday, June 18 will be full days of school. As a reminder, June 19 is a holiday (Juneteenth), and schools are closed. Dismissal times for the last day of school, June 20, are listed on Start and Dismissal Times webpage. 

Because Northshore schools were closed for weather-related issues for a number of days this winter, we have not met our state-required instructional hours. This means that instructional hours will need to be made up on two Wednesdays that were previously scheduled to be Early Release Wednesdays: April 30 and May 7. These two days – April 30 and May 7 – are now full days of school. Thank you to our labor partners for their support in finalizing these changes to our school year calendar. Revised one-page family calendars are posted to the district website in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Hindi, Chinese - simplified, and Chinese - traditional.

The expansion project at Crystal Springs is adding a two-story building to the campus to reduce the number of portables on site. New permanent educational spaces include - 7 new classrooms, instructional support and office space, a gym, a new commons, an accessible playground, and more. The project’s anticipated completion date is fall 2025. Construction of this new building at Crystal Springs Elementary is progressing, with interior drywall, electrical, HVAC, and security cameras being installed at this time, as well as exterior weather-proofing. In addition, there will be work along 9th Avenue SE in front of the school that will result in traffic revisions for vehicles and pedestrians from May 12 to June 14. Please use extra caution and be patient with one another and our construction team if driving past Crystal Springs during construction hours during this time. This project is funded by the 2022 Capital Bond, which was generously supported by Northshore voters. To learn more about the temporary traffic revisions and the construction progress at Crystal Springs, please visit our construction project website.

The following section features non-school days, Northshore School Board meetings, and religious and cultural observances, including dates listed on the Days of Highest Impact and Days of Fasting charts that are part of Northshore’s Religious and Cultural Observances Calendar. This aims to expand awareness about the multiple forms of diversity among our students and families, the days that students may not be at school due to religious observances, and the days that students may be fasting. 

*Begins at sundown of previous day/ends at sundown

April 20-26

• Volunteer Appreciation Week

April 22

• Earth Day
• School Bus Driver Appreciation Day

April 23

• Early Release Wednesday
• Administrative Professionals Day

April 28

• School Board Study Session, 5:30 p.m.
• School Board Regular Meeting, 7 p.m.

April 30

• Full day of school – April 30 was previously an Early Release Wednesday, but it was changed to a full day of school to make up instructional hours from previous inclement weather days.

May 2

• School Lunch Hero Day

May 5-9

• Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7

• Full day of school – May 7 was previously an Early Release Wednesday, but it was changed to a full day of school to make up instructional hours from previous inclement weather days.
• School Nurse Day

May 14

• Early Release Wednesday

The following section features additional important dates, including those listed on the Full Religious and Cultural Observances chart three, which is part of Northshore’s Religious and Cultural Observances Calendar.

*Begins at sundown of previous day/ends at sundown

April 1-30

• Arab American Heritage Month
• School Library Month

April 21 - May 1

• Ridvan* - Baha’i

April 30

• Dia de los Niños - Mexican Culture

May 1-31

• Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
• Jewish American Heritage Month
• Mental Health Awareness Month

May 1

• Beltane - Neo Pagan

May 5

• Buddha’s Birthday - Buddhist

May 16

• Lag BaOmer* - Jewish

Northshore School District is enriched by the many experiences and perspectives each individual member brings to our District and community. Therefore, our District prohibits discrimination based on age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, cognitive, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.

Civil Rights and ADA Coordinator for Staff: 
Jerred Kelly
3330 Monte Villa Parkway
Bothell, WA 98021-8972
425-408-7622 or 7604
TitleIXOfficer@nsd.org  

Title IX Coordinator: 
Jerred Kelly
3330 Monte Villa Parkway
Bothell, WA 98021-8972
425-408-7622 or 7604
TitleIXOfficer@nsd.org 

The Northshore School District shall provide equal educational opportunity and treatment for all students in all aspects of the District’s academic, activities, or employment programs without discrimination. In addition, the District provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups in its programs and activities.

Section 504 and ADA Coordinator for Students: 
Rick Ferrell
Director of Student Services
3330 Monte Villa Parkway
Bothell, WA 98021-8972
425-408-7632
rferrell@nsd.org 

Any Northshore School District staff and community member has the right to raise concerns or make a complaint regarding discrimination under this policy without fear of retaliation. The above-listed employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged unlawful discrimination.