Calendar

Join LWPTSA Council’s Special Education Group (SEG) for our March meeting in person! We will kick off at 6:30 pm with extended family networking and small group conversations. At 7:15 pm, we will shift to a conversation with the LWSD Special Services Team. We will explore a variety of questions relevant to families and supporters of students with special needs including:

• How do I know if my student should be evaluated for special education services?
• What do I do if I decide my student should be evaluated?
• What can I expect from the evaluation process?
• What is a 504? IEP? IHP?
• My student has a special education plan: Now what?
• How can I support my special education student’s teachers?
• What should I do if things aren’t going well?

The evening will wrap up with Q&A. We are looking forward to this great opportunity to hear from LWSD! Please send questions to the SEG Chairs Huma Zarif and Kaity Mason at specialeducation@lwptsa.net.

Childcare is available! Contact specialservices@lwsd.org with your student’s name and age ASAP.

Topic: Navigating Big Transitions

Speaker: Brandi Comstock, LWSD and LWPTSA Council

Join us at our April Lunch & Learn as we discuss some of the big changes parents can expect as our children move between elementary, middle and high school. The emphasis will be on 5th and 8th grade students, but suitable for any parent who wants to learn more about the various levels of school and what to expect. This session may also be of interest to parents who didn’t attend school in the United States, or those who transferred here from another school system or state. Bring your lunch and learn with us!

Lake Washington PTSA Council is excited to co-sponsor a special event, along with Lake Washington School District: Come hear from Erin Jones, local and national award-winning educator and author of the book Bridges to Heal US: Stories and Strategies for Racial Healing.

At this free, interactive speaking session, families and educators can expect to learn about strategies to help you move your community toward racial justice. Child care is available on-site. Can’t attend in person? Request the Teams link when you register. You won’t want to miss this incredible opportunity.

Register for the event here

Download a PDF flyer to share

Erin Jones is a biracial, transracial adoptee who was born in Saint Paul, Minn., where she was adopted by parents who had been raised in Northern Minnesota. Her father took a teaching job at the American School of The Hague in the Netherlands, where Erin was raised and where her parents taught for over 30 years. By the time Erin was 17, she could speak four languages and had played soccer, basketball and softball in 10 countries. Upon graduation from high school, Erin returned to the United States for college. She attended Bryn Mawr College in suburban Philadelphia, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Literatures of the African Diaspora in English, French and Spanish. She later earned her teaching certificate from Pacific Lutheran University and another certificate in Language Immersion instruction from Concordia College.

Erin has worked as an athletic coach, a substitute teacher, a classroom teacher, an instructional coach, a state assistant superintendent and a school district executive. Erin has earned awards as Most Innovative World Language Teacher, the Washington State Milken Educator of the Year, a White House Champion of Change, and the Inaugural Hanford Education Leader. Erin ran to lead the Office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2016 and lost that race by 1%. Her loss propelled her into full-time consulting on issues related to equity and public speaking at conferences, in schools and at churches. Since 2017, Erin has spoken to 500,000+ students and provided training and keynotes to a similar number of adults. She has three TEDx Talks and recently published a book, “Bridges to Heal US: Stories and Strategies for Racial Healing.”

Erin has been married for almost 30 years to her husband, James, a high school teacher and head football coach. They have three adult children: one who is a para-educator and football coach, one who serves as the communications and project manager for an education foundation, and one who works for an independent video game design company.

LWPTSA Council is partnering with Lake Washington School District to host a free education event for parents and caregivers in the LWSD community. Come experience a potentially life-saving training from the University of Washington’s Forefront Suicide Prevention program. The information presented in this session will help you recognize when someone might be at risk for suicide and how to connect them with immediate help.

RSVP here to reserve your spot

Speaker Peter Loft is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. He is a volunteer with the University of Washington’s Forefront Suicide Prevention. Forefront’s mission is to help people take action to prevent suicide in their communities. For more information about the LEARN toolkit, visit Forefront’s website.

Hosted by LWPTSA Council and the Lake Washington School District, “Hidden in Plain Sight” is a webinar to educate and empower parents and caregivers to communicate with their children about risky behaviors that lead to substance use.

Marnie Maraldo, Executive Director of Influence the Choice, will present this hourlong webinar using a virtual re-creation of a teenager’s bedroom to show parents the potential signs of substance misuse. Parents will leave armed with tools to help them talk to their children.

Register to attend this free virtual event

National PTA is seeking a theme for the 2025-2026 Reflections Program Year. 

Washington students at schools with an active PTA/PTSA may submit their theme ideas (with parent/guardian authorization) via this form. The Washington State PTA Programs Committee will select a top 5 to submit to National PTA. The top 5 will be announced in November after the submission deadline.

The student who submits the ultimate winning entry will receive $100 and have their theme presented at the National PTA Convention in 2024.

Please review the past themes listed here, as repeat themes will not be considered. Please direct any questions to ptaprogdir@wastatepta.org.

The submission form itself should take about 5 minutes to complete. Here’s a brief summary of what you will find on the application form, to assist with your preparation:

• Student Name
• Student’s Theme Idea
• Student Address
• Student’s School
• Parent/Guardian Contact Info
• Local PTA Name

Need help navigating the application? Here’s a 5-minute video that walks through the process.

Town Hall With District Leadership

Join our November SEG meeting, where LWSD Deputy Superintendents and Board Members will share about the inclusion rollout and the school year priorities. Discussion and Q&A will follow.

Special Education Group (SEG) meetings in 2023-2024 will be held in person at the LWSD Resource Center (16250 NE 74th St., Redmond WA 98052). An unstructured networking time will be held from 6:30 to 7 pm, offering an opportunity for members to connect with one another. The formal portion of the meeting will begin at 7 pm.

On-Site Child Care Is Available!

If you require child care during our meetings, please contact specialservices@LWSD.org by Nov. 9, 2023, with your student’s name and age.