Calendar

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.

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.

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.

We ask each of our local PTA presidents and their school principal to attend this yearly workshop, designed to help lay a foundation for the ’24-’25 academic year. We will cover the purposes and limitations of PTAs and school administrators, conflict resolution, and other topics to help PTAs and schools build strong partnerships.

We have revamped the event this year to be shorter, less repetitive, and with more time for networking.

One principal from each school is required to attend this event. PTA presidents should prioritize attendance. 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 8^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!

Community partners will be set up in the lobby from 4-7 pm, and LWSD and PTSA speakers will be in the board room from 5-6:30 pm.

LWPTSA Council would like to support this event by once again providing free child care for participants from 4:45-6:45 pm. If you are interested in volunteering to help, please contact our FACE VP, Danish Majeed, at FACE@LWPTSA.net.

An agenda and more details will be available soon. For general information about past welcome events, visit this page.

LWPTSA Council presents a webinar: Learn About LWSD’s Active Assailant Protocols, on Thursday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 7:30 pm, via Zoom.

REGISTER HERE

Topics include:

• Various active assailant protocols with specific focus on the multi-option response protocol ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) used by LWSD
• How multi-option preparedness is useful and consistent with other emergency preparedness responses
• What ALICE is and is not
• Why the term “drill” is problematic
• 2024-2025 emergency procedure terminology changes and drill schedule
• How parents can facilitate discussions on the topic
• How to manage our fears of active threat situations

Featuring Dr. Brooke Miller Gialopsos (Seattle University), Sheila Kembel (LWSD School Safety & Crisis Manager) and Dr. Cheryl Lero Jonson (Xavier University)

Join us as we discuss the upcoming change from a 7-period day to a 6-period schedule in LWSD high schools. How will it affect our students, their graduation pathways and class choices? What steps are the district taking to prepare for this big change? Hear from our guest, LWSD Deputy Superintendent Scott Beebe, and bring your questions and concerns.

REGISTER HERE FOR THE ZOOM LINK*

*Update (1/9): Due to an unprecedented response, we have reached the maximum number of participants for this Zoom session.

LWPTSA Council’s Lunch & Learn series consists of short presentations and Q&A on topics of interest to our school community, 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.