Engagement

All 5th grade students were invited to sign up for a leadership position. Students are on patrol, are ambassadors who give school tours to new families, do morning announcements, are responsible for organizing lost and found, review Cougar Pride expectations for all students, and much more.

Contact: Kristen Dickert

Let's Talk started as a pilot in Spring 2020 with five district departments. Let's Talk is a way, on our website, students, staff and families can have an easy way to connect with the department they are looking for or get their questions answered quickly. After the person has their question answered, they have an opportunity to rate their service. This is a way we can measure and improve our customer service and responses to the community. Let's Talk will eventually roll out districtwide in phases.

Contact: Kathy Reeves, Brian Beckley

Let's Connect began in the Spring of 2020 as a way to virtually connect with families to hear their thoughts and get feedback on specific issues. It has evolved to a monthly engagement either held at the district or school level. It has been a great way to engage our families and really hear their feedback. The summary comments and follow-up action steps from Let's Connect sessions are posted on our Family Engagement webpage so families know we are following up on the information they share with us. 

Contact: Kathy Reeves

After quickly pivoting to 100% remote learning in Spring 2020, we assessed things we could have done better. One lesson was that our parents, who quickly became partner educators at home, needed to have resources and support to fill this new role. Over the summer, we created a webpage full of video tutorials to support parents called Parent University. Launched in fall 2020, Parent University is full of resources and continues to evolve and change as needs arise. It also contains a series of videos from our counselors and a set of videos called "What every parent needs to know" focused on first generation families who need to understand the American public school system. 

Contact: Kathy Reeves

Each secondary school will have a chapter of LANA, which includes and represents affinity groups that serve the following demographics: Latinx, African-American/African/Caribbean, Native and Asian-American/Pacific Islander students to be WELCOMED into our schools. We do not focus on students having a sense of belonging as it means that is temporary - we want our students to belong.

Contact: Monica Haule

Everett Public Schools is proud to announce an expansion of its dental screening and sealant program by introducing a new partner, Big Smiles. Big Smiles will help the district reach its goal of providing this service at every one of our schools, along with its current partner, Best Dental Help, and a third new partner, Community Health Centers. Through this program, many students who lack the means for regular dental care and/or treatment, can be served right at their school.  The service is provided to families at no cost!

Contact: Chris Fulford 

Students are using Bee Bot robots in the STEM classroom to practice coding skills while extending math skills that are being taught by their classroom teachers.  

Contact: Kimberly Sandstrom

Project I Heart Reading:  The Freshmen Edition /  Students in 9th grade created a book buying team and went on a field trip to Barnes and Noble to buy books for their grade level peers.  Each month, students in 9th grade participate in intentional book activities to increase reading interest and engagement.  Activities included Speed Book Dating, Haiku Book Reviews, Book Passes, Name that Book, and Reading Interest Surveys. We have seen results!  Each month, our ninth graders have consistently checked out more books than any other grade level. 

 Contact: Deb Payne (Deanna Brown and Ty Franklin)

Over the past few years there have been fewer opportunities to support multiplication fact fluency.  One strategy for increasing fact fluency is skip counting. Students begin skip counting in kindergarten with multiples of 10. It continues through 2nd grade and in 3rd grade formal multiplication strategies begin. 
I want to paint a Kraken on the playground where each tentacle will have a different list of multiples so students can skip count on the Kraken. At recess, stress levels are often lower, and we know that children learn through play. We also know that stress impacts memory and retrieval of information, so if skip counting is repeated during play, students are more apt to recall the multiples in the classroom setting. With this fun, hopscotch-like Kraken I am hopeful that students will internalize the multiples and our multiplication fact fluency will increase.

Contact: Monica Wagenhoffer 

 The funding requested from the EPS Foundation has been used to engage students in a series of science, tech, engineering, art, and mathematics projects. Monthly engineering design tasks have involved working with everything from cardboard boxes to electrical circuits to simple machines, and once the sun gets here we'll be exploring solar energy. Students have also learned to knit and sew this year. You won't find any plastic fidgets in our classroom; students are keeping their hands busy knitting while planning how to tackle the latest design challenge. Visit our wing of the building to check out our rotating art displays, and pop into the classroom to see what projects we're working on this month.

Contact: Hillary Shearer - Whittier Elementary 

NFC Tag technology has been added to our marketing posters to make accessing the CTE website and emailing our Team easier.

Contact: Susan McCoard

The Developmental Kindergarten Classes at Madison Elementary will be going on a field trip to the bowling alley (Evergreen Lanes) to have a real world experience with balls and ramps. We recently completed our science unit on ball and ramps and now will engage in a real world connection. The EPS Foundation is providing this amazing opportunity through their annual grant! Thank you EPS Foundation! 

Contact: Nicole Manuel-Johnson 

 Students, staff, and visitors of Gateway Middle School will be able to view art displays which would not typically be available due to time and space restraints. The rolling display will allow materials that cannot be mounted on a typical hallway space to be arranged for creative viewing and exposure. 

Flexible learning environments are crucial for fostering innovation in the classroom. With the help of a grant, we've introduced sensory supports and flexible seating options like bean bag chairs and tents, empowering students with control over their learning environment. As a self-contained behavior program, this flexibility is essential for our students' success. Thank you for making it possible!

Contact: Breanne Elegan

Teaching calligraphy offers a unique and enriching experience for students in the Chinese program, offering a deep dive into culture. Through hands-on practice, students develop a profound appreciation for Chinese characters and cultural nuances. Integrating calligraphy into language learning enhances linguistic skills and cultural understanding, bridging the gap between words and Chinese culture. 

Contact: Chu-Hsin Lin