October 21, 2024: 2025-26 Budget Development and October Activities

Message from the Superintendent

October 21, 2024

Dear Northshore Colleagues: 

This month is full of celebrations and observances. Throughout October, we are celebrating a really special group of leaders in our Northshore family – our school principals. Thank you to our dedicated school leaders who play such an essential role in shaping our students’ futures and the wellbeing of our entire community. Please help me in wishing all of our fantastic principals and assistant principals - a happy National Principals Month! Additionally, earlier this month was National Custodian Appreciation Day. As I have shared previously, I spent some time as a school custodian - refinishing floors - so, I have a unique perspective on this important job. Our school custodians help ensure our buildings are safe, comfortable, and welcoming. Thank you to our dedicated custodians.

This last week, the School Board made their first visit of the year to Wellington Elementary. Every year, the School Board visits ten schools across the district. It is an opportunity to support and learn from our staff, our students, and see how decisions play out in our classrooms. I want to thank Principal Schoenfeldt for hosting such an informative and student-centered morning. It was wonderful to learn how he and his team are systematizing inclusion and belonging and the positive effects on student outcomes. One 5th grade student, Ellie, commented, “My teacher shared with me how she struggled with something as a student. I was struggling with multiplication. She gave me lots of strategies and helped me find the one that works for me. She kept working with me until I got it.” This is one more example of how our staff are unwavering in their support of each and every student. Thank you. Your care and love for students is clear to them and to our entire community. 

Last week was also the first meeting of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Board. Thank you to our educators, counselors, and school administration for nominating such a thoughtful and committed group of young people. Every high school is represented and our students showed up ready to get to work on behalf of their peers and Northshore. I am looking forward to our ongoing conversations and all the ways our student leaders will help improve district decisions. 

On Thursday, Oct. 17 we held our third Listen and Learn Session with our Asian Indian, East Asian, and Muslim families. This week, I will meet with families of our African American, Black, and African students. You can review the full list of Listen and Learn Sessions on the Superintendent webpage. 

Last week was National School Lunch Week! President John F. Kennedy created National School Lunch Week in 1962 to promote the importance of a healthy school lunch in a child’s life and the impact it has inside and outside of the classroom. This week, we recognize School Bus Safety Week, which aims to increase public awareness about the safety of our students as they approach and leave a school bus. It’s important for all drivers, as well as parents and students, to understand bus safety and be aware of their surroundings. Ensuring student safety and access to nutritious foods are both foundational for student learning, and I appreciate the work done by our dedicated staff to highlight these important topics. 

Over the past two years, I have committed to transparency as we address state funding shortfalls and the impacts we must navigate. Our 2025-26 Budget Development work began last week at a public Study Session with the School Board. You can view the presentation and conversation by visiting the Board’s webpage.

This year’s legislative session is critically important in helping to address the systemic budget challenges we face. Sharing our story with our state representatives and decision-makers is important, and I will continue to advocate for you, our students, and our broader community. I hope to see many of you at the State Funding Town Hall on Oct. 23. WEA is hosting the town hall with our legislators. This is a joint effort between the educators and leaders of Edmonds, Northshore, and Shoreline school districts. You can RSVP for the event here if you haven’t already. 

That same evening, on Oct. 23, students in Ms. Baker's Civics class at Inglemoor High School are hosting an Issue Forum open to the community from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Northshore Concert Hall at Inglemoor. Students have chosen an issue important to them in this upcoming election cycle – housing. I am proud of our students’ efforts to learn about and coordinate this important event and encourage you to consider attending one of these community forums later this week.

In partnership, 

Michael Tolley
Superintendent 

Highlights from Around the District

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 North Creek High School Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Chapter hosted a Region 4 fall kickoff event on Oct. 18, which included three high schools from other districts. NCHS State Officer Smriti Tiwari and the student executive board of the NCHS Chapter led the event in an effort to get more students interested and involved in FCCLA chapters at their schools, and the event drew about 75 attendees. FCCLA represents content in a number of Career and Technical Education and Family and Consumer Science courses like culinary, interior design, business, entrepreneurship, child development, fashion, and more. Thank you to guest speaker Chelsea Coryell, the owner and design trainer for First & Main Design Market in Bothell.

Superintendent Tolley’s fall and winter Listen & Learn sessions are an opportunity to share information and hear back from families and students. School Board representatives will also be present at each session. A full list of dates are available on the Superintendent’s website, and the next sessions will take place on:

• Thursday, Oct. 24, 6-7:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the Admin Center, 3330 Monte Villa Parkway, Bothell. The focus group of attendees is families of Black/African American/African students, students, and community.
• Wednesday, Oct. 30, 6-7:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the Admin Center, 3330 Monte Villa Parkway, Bothell. The focus group of attendees is Portuguese-speaking students, families, and community.

At the middle and end of each month, the Teaching and Learning Division is emailing its newsletter, the District Dispatch, to all staff to share news about professional development opportunities, updates from Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, the Special Education Department’s monthly bulletin, and more. The current and past editions of the District Dispatch are available in the Staff Toolbox for review at any time.

Important Dates

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

Oct. 16-23*

• Feast of Tabernacles - Non-Denominational Christianity (High Days are first, last, and Sabbath)

Oct. 23

• Early Release Wednesday

Oct. 28

• School Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

Oct. 30

• Early Release Wednesday

Nov. 1

• Diwali - Hindu

Nov. 3*

• Birth of Baháʼu'lláh - Baha’i

Nov. 5

• Election Day

Nov. 6

• Early Release Wednesday

Nov. 11

• Veterans Day (Observed) - No School

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

October 1-31

• Hindu Heritage Month
• Disability History and Awareness Month

Oct. 17-23*

• Sukkot - Jewish

Oct. 31

• Halloween - U.S. Culture

Nov. 1-30

• Native American Heritage Month

Nov. 1*

• Samhain - Neo Pagan

Nov. 1

• All Saints’ Day - Christian

Nov. 1-2

• Dia de los Muertos - Mexican Culture

Nov. 2*

• Birth of Bab - Baha’i

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.