Community:
Summer 2018

Superintendent Reid posing for a photo with students from Woodmoor Elementary

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Dear Northshore Community,

Together, we have just completed an epic year in the Northshore School District with changes that will continue to support our priorities as a district community.

I invite you to take a look at the work we’ve accomplished this year, as aligned with select goals set forth by the 2017-22 Strategic Plan. To every family, student, educator, staff member, advocate, volunteer and community partner, I say thank you for contributing to this successful year!

As we enjoy our summer, there are always opportunities to continue bringing our Strategic Plan alive. I am excited to announce a new, simple and fun initiative. Research shows the summer break away from school can cause students, especially struggling learners, to experience “summer slide” or some loss of what they’ve learned over the school year. Visit our new summer reading web page where many of our librarians have created a list of books for all ages and interests.

Let us celebrate your child! Share what your child is reading, no matter the grade level. Take a photo of your child reading, a mini-book review from your child, or just kudos from you to your child for completing a book! Post on your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and use #NSDsummerreading.

I’m also excited to share that we will have a “common book” for our staff who are new to the district. Many of our current staff are already reading it, and I invite you to do the same. The book is Seedfolks, the story of a community coming together around one shared purpose.

This sounds a lot like our community that works toward one goal, excellence in education for all of our students. Thanks to a Northshore Schools Foundation grant, we are able to supply books to all of our new staff as we all begin the coming new year on the same page.

Until we see you in the September, I encourage you to take time for relaxation and reconnecting... and reading with your students.

Warmest Regards,
Dr. Michelle Reid, Superintendent

Building for the future

Thank you, Northshore voters, for your support in the 2018 bond and levy election. We are proud to announce that thanks to your generosity, we expect to begin construction this summer on the following two projects.

Skyview Middle/Canyon Creek Elementary School expansion

The Skyview Middle/Canyon Creek Elementary multi-use “Skycreek” building will add 30 classrooms to the campus. The new building will be situated between the two schools and is designed for elementary school children on one floor and middle school students on the other.

The Maltby and “Skycreek” projects will be completed in approximately 24 months and will help us accommodate the tremendous growth in our student population. In addition, both campuses will undergo improvements and modernization as will many other schools across the District.

New elementary school near Maltby

The new, K-5 elementary school will be located on Maltby Road close to Little Bear Creek Road near Maltby. The school will be built on a 31-acre parcel that the District already owns, and it will serve approximately 500 students. An inclusive process for naming the school will begin in the coming months.

Keeping the community informed about these developments is a District priority. Please visit our dedicated Bond & Levies page to see updates.

Inglemoor High School Performing Arts Hall and Instruction Building

Preliminary planning on the performing arts and instruction building that will be built at Inglemoor High School began in April. A committee, formed to craft a vision for this project, includes Inglemoor students, staff and teachers, District administration and School Board members, and architects from the firm Hutteball & Oremus. The building, which will be located to the north of the existing campus, is expected to accommodate about 700 seats. Stay tuned for a community open house later this year to learn more about this exciting new addition.

Tech Levy

Our community also approved a renewal of the Technology Levy, which will enable the District to provide access to a computer or tablet for every student, assistive technology for students with special needs and improved communications to District families.

Promises made, promises kept

Our school year began with the opening of North Creek High School near the District’s northern boundary. The $130 million, 61-acre campus opened in fall 2017 with a capacity of 1,600 students. This year, the school housed freshmen, sophomores and juniors, with the latter set to become the school’s first graduating class in 2019. North Creek features a modern, innovative design that includes a green roof, movable glass walls and collaborative rooms. Open spaces in the wide hallways with comfortable seating allow students to work independently and in small groups. Students at the school say it has the feel of a modern community college.

We also completed the final phase of the Woodinville High School modernization project, which included a remodeled gym and redesigned special education, arts and technology spaces and classrooms.

Did you know?

Our community is growing at a rate equivalent to half of one elementary school per year! Over the past six years, the number of elementary school children has grown by about 300 students per year. (Our projections show that the district will add between 1,500 and 1,700 students in the next six years).

Strategic Plan Update

Last summer, Northshore School District adopted a strategic plan designed to set the District’s course from 2017–2022.

For 2017-18, each of our 33 schools focused on Goal 3, and schools selected a second goal of their choice. Most elementary and middle schools chose Goal 2, and all high schools selected Goal 5. Goals 1 and 4 continue to be important and will help guide planning for the future. You can see a full description of the building blocks, goals and success measures online on our Strategic Plan page.

Goal 2: Responsible, resilient, empathetic learners

Each student will feel safe as a responsible and persistent learner, open to and accepting of diverse cultures and perspectives, and empowered to advocate for and pursue own educational passions.

Building school communities where students thrive

Elementary students working together in the outdoor school garden

To succeed, students need an opportunity to participate and share, and to feel cared for and understood. Northshore is creating thriving school environments by meeting students’ social-emotional and behavioral needs through a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) framework. There is evidence of success, including a 50 percent decrease in discipline over the past four years.

“We know learning is more than academics,” said Johnny Phu, Northshore’s Multi-Tiered System of Support/PBIS Coordinator. “We need to recognize and respond to students’ social-emotional needs within our schools.”

Using PBIS, District schools have developed systems that focus on relationships, school-wide expectations and social-emotional learning. This work focuses on Northshore’s belief that all students have the potential to positively contribute to their community when given the right opportunities and supports.

Simple, clear expectations at each school teach students “this is how we act in school.” By modeling the behaviors, teachers, staff and other students reinforce expectations, and students are recognized for meeting them. Teachers work on building relationships and helping students feel that they belong.

“Relationships are the key to success,” said Phu. “Students need trusting relationships with their teachers in order to excel.”

Goal 3: Growth for every student, elimination of outcome and opportunity gaps

Each student will experience continuous growth in all subjects, progress toward graduation at a pace that eliminates opportunity and outcome gaps, and receive fair and equitable treatment with regards to discipline.

Highly Capable Program screening for all

Like highly capable programs in many school districts, Northshore has traditionally seen a lack of diversity in the students enrolled. Of the current 1,734 students in HiCap across Northshore schools, fewer than 10 are African American and 63 are Hispanic/Latino.

Teacher speaking with students during classroom work time.

In addition, just 11 are ELL, only 28 are low income, and only 106 receive Special Education services.With the Strategic Plan focus on equity in education for all students, immediate changes were made in identifying eligible students.

Previously, Northshore relied on referrals to determine who underwent assessment, and testing was done on a Saturday in a large-group setting.

Now, access and opportunity are increased using a two-step screening and assessment process, which begins by screening students at their home school during the school day.

In phase 1, every student in grades K-8, approximately 16,000 in all, was screened for potential success in HiCap using a culturally and linguistically accessible test. This screening measures cognitive ability and has never been done before in Northshore. Students who achieved in the 85th percentile or higher on the screening were moved to phase 2 for assessment.

While the new assessment process continues to use a test of academic achievement, Northshore has added a test of creative thinking, providing students with the opportunity to showcase potential in a variety of ways.

Families are being notified of results as scores are received and processed. At the same time, District leadership is planning for an increase in HiCap services enrollment.

Goal 5: Ready for lifelong success after graduation

Each student will graduate from high school with the habits for post-secondary success, productive citizenship, and lifelong learning.

Preparing students for high school success

Leota student highly focussed as she builds a LEGO robot

Determining how to identify those students who need extra help to be successful in high school has been a major focus of Scott Leick, the District’s first assistant director for on-time graduation. The District has a lot of data on students including attendance, classes taken, state test scores and academic performance, and has been working on the best way to track and share the information among administrators to see who is and isn’t set up for on-time graduation.

“We’re working on developing a system that can identify students who need support earlier,” said Leick. “By looking for early warning indicators, we can intervene even before students enter high school.”

Interventions vary and can include tutoring, mentoring and matching class schedules to meet student needs.

As this was the first year of four-year high schools in Northshore, it has been important to recognize that ninth graders in junior high school look different from ninth graders in high school. They are in a different structure and a different environment, which can make a difference in tracking data on students in grade nine over time. In addition, these students fall under the state’s new requirement for 24 credits to graduate.

Most of the 2017-18 school year’s work has involved diving into how to use the information available, how to differentiate needs and developing a comprehensive plan to better support students.

Highlighting a Phenomenal Year

In this amazing district, there are far too many highlights to list, but here’s a taste from each school.

Upcoming Summer Events

To learn more about any of these events, contact Natalie Campbell, Community Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator, at 425-408-7673 or ncampbell@nsd.org.

Summer Meals

Northshore School District is sponsoring a free summer meals program at Northshore Middle School through August 17, 2018.

Back to School Fair

August 15, 2018
4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Canyon Park Middle

This is a free community event for children of all ages and includes children’s ID cards, haircuts, activities, school and community resource information, entertainment and food.

Wall of Honor Ceremony

August 16, 2018
6 p.m.
Pop Keeney Stadium

Nine Northshore alumni or former employees will be honored for their significant contributions to our community, state, nation or world.

Community SERVE Day

August 26, 2018

Volunteers are needed to help teachers set up their classrooms and to improve the campus through painting, weeding, and other grounds projects.

Students

District Careers

District Community

Connect to District

Community:
Summer 2018

Welcome to Our New Website!

Spotlight on Northshore Grads

The Class of 2018

Building for the future