October 7, 2024: Staff Celebrations and District Events

Message from the Superintendent

October 7, 2024

Dear Northshore Colleagues: 

I hope each of you had a great weekend and found time to do something that brings you joy. As a reminder, my staff message will be shared on the first and third Monday of each month - not including holidays. My objective is to celebrate the good work happening across Northshore, keep you up to date on important operational activities, and continue to build connection. If you have a celebration or good news to share with our Northshore colleagues, please let me know by emailing superintendent@nsd.org.

First off, I want to again congratulate Kim Broomer, kindergarten teacher at Ruby Bridges Elementary School for being named the 2025 Washington State Teacher of the Year! Last week, I had the opportunity to pop in and surprise Kim and her students during class. Kim is unwavering in her commitment to inclusion and making sure that each and every student is supported, knows they belong, and thrives academically and socially. This commitment was clear during my visit. It was also clear just how much her students love her. Congratulations to Kim on this well deserved recognition! I am excited to see how she uses this new platform to accelerate the use of inclusionary practices across our state. 

On September 24, I had an opportunity to participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony at Frank Love Elementary. Two years ago, when I was meeting with Frank Love students, I asked them what could make school better. One student quickly spoke up and mentioned the playground and her desire for it to be redesigned so that all students could use it. Because of our generous voters and committed community, her wish became a reality, and Frank Love now has a state-of-the-art inclusive playground. The best part of the ribbon cutting was watching all of our students play together.

Over these last two weeks we also held groundbreaking ceremonies at Fernwood, Westhill, Sorenson Early Childhood Center, and Crystal Springs. These four campuses are part of the 2022 voter approved bond projects and once complete will increase the number of permanent classrooms, decrease portables, and improve site circulation (flow of traffic around the schools). This week we will be officially breaking ground at Kenmore, Woodin, and Maywood Hills elementaries. I hope to see many of you there as we celebrate future improvements for our staff, students, and families. 

As I have shared with you before, my favorite part of the job is being in classrooms with educators and students. Thank you to Arul Saravanan, a freshman at North Creek High school, for inviting me to his 9th grade English class to share about my professional journey. I offered our NCHS students advice that has served me well throughout my career: 

• Take advantage of the opportunities available to you. Be open to change. 
• Be prepared for those opportunities. This means making sure you are taking the right classes, engaged in ongoing education, and preparation. 
• And finally, say yes to opportunities that move you in the direction you want to go. Don’t compromise your values or vision for your future. Ask questions and be selective. 

I am so glad that Arul reached out to invite me.

I also launched my Fall Listen and Learn Sessions on Saturday, September 28 with our Spanish-speaking families. We had over 100 families in attendance and numerous community organizations present to provide resources and answer questions. The entire event was conducted in Spanish. I want to thank and acknowledge the work of our Family Engagement Specialists, our parent leadership group, and Family Engagement and Resource Center staff. With their support, Northshore continues to evolve and improve our family engagement practices in direct response to parent requests and needs. During my part of the program, I asked them for feedback on cell phones and other mobile devices in schools. This data will be shared back with the new Mobile Device Task Force. The task force will be developing recommendations for my review by late December. You can review the full list of Listen and Learn Sessions on the Superintendent webpage. 

I want to again thank School Board President Cast for her ongoing advocacy for you, our students, and all of Northshore. Recently, she provided an interview with KIRO news about state underfunding of K12 and what this means for Northshore and other neighboring districts. You can watch a portion of her interview here along with perspectives from other district leaders. This year’s legislative session is critically important in helping to address the systemic budget challenges we face. We will begin our 2025-26 budget development process on October 14 at a public Board Study Session. You can view the conversation live streamed by visiting the Board’s webpage. 

Finally, my annual school visits begin this week with Arrowhead Elementary. I hope to see many of you at the optional staff meeting. I will be sharing our district’s Key Performance Indicators, progress we are making, and gathering your thoughts and ideas. Your school’s principal will share your school visit date and related information. 

Thank you for all that you do for our students and families every day. I appreciate each of you and hope you have a great 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.

This week, we will continue to celebrate the start of construction on school growth projects funded by the 2022 Capital Bond, which was generously approved by Northshore voters. Events will take place: 

• Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. at Kenmore Elementary
• Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 5 p.m. at Woodin Elementary
• Thursday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m. at Maywood Hills Elementary

It has taken approximately two years to work through the stages of project development, schematic design, design development, and construction documents and permitting, but we are officially under construction and eager to gather in celebration of this milestone. Our students, families, staff, and neighbors are invited to join us at the events, which will feature remarks from representatives of the school and district. Learn more about the groundbreaking ceremonies and about each of the 2022 Capital Bond projects.

The start of a school year is a great time to confirm that the District has your correct personal phone number on file in case of an emergency, including weather-related school schedule changes.

Log in to eo.nsd.org and double check that your information is accurate by Friday, October 25. 

We recommend including your cell phone as the primary contact number, because in the event of a districtwide or school-based emergency, the District utilizes ParentSquare to send updates to both families and staff. During an event, having access to these messages will provide timely information. 

Your personal phone will not be shared with families. Do you feel like you are receiving too many notifications from ParentSquare? Learn how to customize your notification settings.

As of late September 2024, residential households in the U.S. are eligible for another order of 4 free at-home tests from USPS.com.

Here's what you need to know about your order:

• Each order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests (COVIDTests.gov has more details about at-home tests, including extended shelf life and updated expiration dates)
• Orders will ship free, starting September 30, 2024

Learn more or order tests.

The Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) often hears about email and phone schemes targeting public employees. Scammers disguise themselves as DRS representatives and request personally identifiable information from unsuspecting recipients. These days, we’re all on high alert for this type of fraudulent behavior. But the scams change because more and more people are savvy to them. It’s important to keep up-to-date and refresh your knowledge about how to avoid identity theft and recognize fraudulent calls, emails, texts and video calls (such as Zoom).

What to do

DRS will never contact you to offer retirement planning assistance. If you would like to talk to someone at DRS about your retirement, you can schedule an appointment through your online account or call DRS. If you are contacted by someone claiming to be a retirement planner or advisor working for DRS, hang up the phone or don’t open the email. You can report the incident by contacting DRS. Learn more on the DRS website.

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. 12*

• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) - Jewish

Oct. 16-23*

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

Nov. 1

• Diwali - Hindu

Nov. 3*

• Birth of Baháʼu'lláh - Baha’i

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

Sept. 15-Oct. 15

• Hispanic and Latino/a/x Heritage Month

October 1-31

• Hindu Heritage Month
• Disability History and Awareness Month

Oct. 3-12

• Dashain Festival - Nepalese Culture
• Navratri/Dussehra - Hindu

Oct. 10

• Birth of the Guru Granth - Sikh

Oct. 11

• National Coming Out Day - U.S. Culture

Oct. 12

• Dia de la Raza - Latin American Culture

Oct. 14

• Indigenous Peoples’ Day - U.S. Culture

Oct. 17-23*

• Sukkot - Jewish

Oct. 31

• Halloween - U.S. Culture

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.