The search for the next Superintendent of Bellevue School District is underway, and the School Board Directors want to hear from you. Committed to providing a transparent process, the Board seeks to engage with students, families, staff and the community to inform what to look for in the next district leader. Join the Board on May 5 for their first listening session, an open community forum, to share your feedback (learn more below). All students, staff, families and community members are encouraged to attend and use their collective voices to help shape district direction in the years to come.
Read on to learn more about how our BSD community has centered their collective voices and actions to enhance literacy, invest in our environment, provide feedback to district leadership, share experiences with instruction and grading, and more.
Inside BSD Schools
Enhancing Literacy Through Systems of Support
BSD’s Teaching and Learning team works actively to provide an engaging, culturally responsive and sustaining literacy experience for all students. Learn about multitiered systems of support, the early learning literacy screening process, professional learning centered on dyslexia, LETRS cohorts, and other ways the district is working to provide supports and resources to students and staff to enhance the way we approach literacy.
We Are Bellevue – EnAct Club Plants 300 Trees to Increase Canopy Coverage at SHS
In celebration of Earth Month and Earth Day in April, we look back on some of the ways BSD students and community members have invested in our planet and supported cleaner air in our learning community. In this edition of We Are Bellevue, Sammamish High School graduate, Kenneth Tran, talks about how the EnAct club worked over several years with community partners 300 Trees, YMCA Earth Service Corps, and over 100 community volunteers to plant 300 trees on the high school grounds to increase canopy coverage and mitigate air pollution.
Support performing arts and artists in BSD schools by attending upcoming productions hosted by each school. Coming soon to performing arts centers near you:
Celebrating Every Eagle, Every Day, Every Way at Highland Middle School
Two Highland Middle School students participated in the April 21 School Board Meeting by sharing a day in the life of Highland Eagle and why they are proud to be part of their learning community. According to eighth grader, Arnav Chopra, Highland allows students to celebrate their talents every day as they pursue their passions and learning. Elen Babayan, a sixth grader, shares that there's something for everyone at Highland and that everyone matters. Thank you, Highland staff, students and families for fostering joy, providing a welcoming and positive environment, and allowing everyone to thrive.
The Directors of the Bellevue School Board welcome the community to join in a series of engagement opportunities that seek to center community voice, help shape district direction, and inform the leadership profile for the next district superintendent.
Registration is required for all sessions, and attendance links will be sent to participants prior to each session date. Session dates and times are listed on the Spring BSD Board Listening Sessions webpage. Registration is available through the district website. Sessions will be offered both in person and in virtual format. Please contact communityforums@bsd405.org with questions.
Community members are invited to address the Board at its regular business meetings, on issues or topics of relevance to the school district, by signing up for public comment in person — and beginning May 5, 2022, virtually. The approximate time for public comment will be posted in the published agenda for each regular business meeting, but as a general matter, public comment is likely to be taken around 5:00 p.m. Public comment will be taken for up to twenty minutes, with the Board hearing from up to ten speakers, each having up to two minutes to speak.
Those who wish to provide public comment in person or virtually may submit their request to make public comment by 12:00 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to a Thursday school board meeting. For example, for the May 5, 2022, meeting, requests would need to be received by 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.
A middle and high school student survey on grades and grading launched yesterday, Tuesday, April 26, and will remain open until Friday, May 6. The survey asks students about their beliefs and their experiences with grades and grading. The survey was designed by the BSD Grading Design Team (GDT), and is offered in English, Simplified Chinese and Spanish.
BSD Families may recall that you were provided the opportunity to participate in an anonymous survey to share your feedback on grades and grading in BSD in mid-January. A similar survey was launched with middle and high school staff last week, and it closes this Friday, April 29.
We are hoping for a strong response from our BSD students. We have asked our teachers to encourage their students to take the survey, and we are asking families to do the same. Student voice is critical as we consider possible changes to grading in grades 6-12 districtwide. Please encourage your students to take the survey!
Changes were made to Running Start at Bellevue College starting in winter quarter 2022. Information around the changes was sent to the Bellevue College email addresses of current Running Start students at the end of March. These changes were communicated only to current Running Start students, but BSD wants to make sure that all students considering Running Start and their families are aware. The district sent a message to all students and families in grades 10, 11 and 12 the week of April 18 notifying them of the change.
Now that the weather is getting warmer and the days are getting longer, many students are out walking, biking and playing in our community. Families are encouraged to talk to their students about being aware of their surroundings to increase knowledge and safety in a variety of situations. Some topics to consider include: car and bike etiquette, interactions with strangers, animals and wildlife, and possible weather conditions. A few resources can be found below, but please reach out to your school or counselor for more information.
BSD continues to work with our community vaccine partners to schedule more vaccination clinics. Clinics will be added to the Vaccinations webpage on the district website as they become available. Details and signup information for each clinic will also be shared BSD families and staff via email one week prior to the event. The next clinic is:
Wednesday, April 27
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Odle Middle School
Walk up appointments only after 5:00 p.m. Limited amount only.
Location Changed: Drive-Thru Diagnostic PCR Testing for Students
BSD offers drive-thru diagnostic PCR testing for students who show symptoms of COVID-19. Testing is available Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Starting Wednesday, April 27, testing will take place at ESC West, outside of Room 100. All other aspects of drive-thru testing will remain the same. Tests are available by appointment only, as there are limited slots each day.
The Bellevue School District partners with local organizations and non-profits to support our students and families. Visit our Community Partner webpage to learn more about these organizations, find out about their services and how you can engage with them. Upcoming events include:
City of Bellevue – Comprehensive Plan Open House
The city is updating the Comprehensive Plan to make sure that people who live, work and play in Bellevue can find housing, enjoy parks and green space, have access to jobs, can access transportation and more. Join the City of Bellevue for their open house on Saturday, May 7, to learn more about the Comprehensive plan, talk to the planning team, play games, and share ideas through a variety of hands-on activities.
Spring for Schools is Next Month – Join BSF on May 13
Join the Bellevue Schools Foundation in person at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue, on May 13, 2022, or from the comfort of your home for a premiere event that’s unlike any of the 31 events of years past! BSF is keeping your experience and health top of mind as we prepare to celebrate our stars — students and educators in all 29 public schools in Bellevue. Throughout this school year, over $800,000 in distributions from the Foundation directly support the academic, artistic, social and emotional development of almost 20,000 students.
Spring for Schools is a fundraiser to ensure critical programming provided by BSF continues. Donations will be leveraged to transform public education in our community. While registration for Spring for Schools is free, it is BSF's hope that attendees celebrate our students, educators and mission by making a donation at this time here.
BSD utilizes Let's Talk! to exchange messages with families. Find messaging options on our website.
Please contact staff at your student's school about schedules, attendance and any other school-specific questions or concerns. Visit https://bsd405.org and select Schools in the top menu to find your school.
