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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

We ask each of our local PTA presidents and their school principal to attend this yearly event, designed to help lay a foundation for building a strong partnership between our schools and PTAs. Principals are required to attend this event. If your PTA’s president is unable to attend, another board member should be designated to participate.

Lake Washington PTSA Council, in coordination with Lake Washington School District, is hosting our 7^th annual welcome event for our new and international families. Click for map of event location: 16250 NE 74^th Street, Redmond WA 98052

This is a great opportunity for families to learn about the school district, ask questions, and meet other LWSD families. Whether you’ve moved from a different county or from a different country, this event is for you!

For more information, visit this page.

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.

Planning to be Future-Ready: High School Course-Planning Pathways

Guest Speakers:

Nyla Fritz, LWSD Director, Secondary Teaching & Learning

Kate Atvars, LWSD College & Career Readiness Specialist

Topic: Join us to hear from two of our district leaders, who will discuss the various high school course-planning pathways available to LWSD students.

JOIN THE ZOOM SESSION HERE

The Lunch & Learn series consists of short presentations and discussions on topics of interest to all community members, from noon – 1 pm on select Thursdays online via Zoom. Grab your lunch, log on, and learn with us! Event links will be shared on our website calendar, social media and newsletters close to the event dates. Topics and featured speakers are subject to change and will be updated as they are finalized.

Joint Advocacy Session: LWSD & PTA Legislative Priorities

Guest Speaker: Barbara Posthumus, LWSD Associate Superintendent

Topic: Join us as we welcome Barbara Posthumus, LWSD Associate Superintendent of Business and Support Services, to discuss how the school district and PTA legislative priorities can work in tandem — and find out how you can get involved.

Join the Zoom session here

——————————— The Lunch & Learn series consists of short presentations and discussions on topics of interest to all community members, from noon – 1 pm on select Thursdays online via Zoom. Grab your lunch, log on, and learn with us! Event links will be shared on our website calendar, social media and newsletters close to the event dates. Topics and featured speakers are subject to change and will be updated as they are finalized.

This month, join us as we welcome LWSD Director of Student Services Johnny Phu, who will discuss how we as caregivers can support our children’s mental health.

Check back on Feb. 22 for the Zoom link.

The Lunch & Learn series consists of short presentations and discussions on topics of interest to all community members, from noon – 1 pm on select Thursdays online via Zoom. Grab your lunch, log on, and learn with us!

Event links will be shared on our website calendar, social media and newsletters close to the event dates. Topics and featured speakers are subject to change and will be updated as they are finalized.

Meeting Resources:

• Self-Efficacy Handout (PDF)
• Slides on Supporting Your Student to Find Intrinsic Motivation (PDF)