Advocacy at Skyview!
Recent and Upcoming Key Advocacy Dates
Note: All School Board Meetings can be watched live on the District's YouTube page.
School Board meetings are usually held on the second Monday of the month at 4 p.m. and the fourth Monday of the month at 7 p.m. Click here for School Board meeting schedule and info about how to attend a meeting.
Click here for Past meetings and documents.
During the recently concluded WSPTA Legislative Assembly in October, WSPTA members adopted the Top Five Legislative Priorities as a focus for our advocacy:
1) Addressing the Student Mental Health Crisis
2) Addressing critical gaps in Education Funding
3) Preventing and reducing gun violence and suicides
4) Addressing funding, inclusion, and supports in Special Education
5) Building and maintaining safer school facilities.
In order to bring these priorities to Olympia in a concerted way, WSPTA Members are able to be the voice to over a million students in Washington State on Focus Day – a day when members send a strong message by showing up in Olympia to talk to legislators about our legislative priorities. Focus Day will be held on February 20, 2023.
If you would like to be part of Focus Day, please reach out to the SMS PTSA Board or email Erika Del Villar, Advocacy Chair. Setting up appointments with legislators far in advance is key! We need to make sure that we get on their calendars as soon as possible, so please reach out to us.
If you cannot make the trip to Olympia during Focus Day, we encourage you to email our legislators (rather than send postcards) we are encouraged, since the cards are no longer kept due to a lack of storage space in the legislative offices.
Have you ever attended a school board meeting? They can be quite informative and insightful as to the happenings in our district. The below dates are held in person (NSD 3330 Monte Villa Pkwy, Bothell) or can be watched later on once the session is recorded.
Skyview Middle School, 21404 35th Ave SE, Bothell, WA 98021, USA
Meetings are usually held on the second Monday of the month at 4 p.m. and the fourth Monday of the month at 7 p.m. Click here for School Board meeting schedule and info about how to attend a meeting.
Click here for Past meetings and documents.
The Northshore Board of Directors has launched a formal process to seek the next superintendent of our school district.
The School Board is conducting a national search and is committed to a transparent and thorough process, and invites you to return to this page for updates that will include more details about how community members, families, students, and staff may engage in the process moving forward, the anticipated timeline, and other updates.
The School Board hopes to announce the next Northshore School District superintendent by mid-March 2023. Learn more about the full search timeline here.
Click here to read the updated Strategic Plan.
Letter from Mr. Michael Tolley (Interim Superintendent) and Dr. Michelle Reid (Superintendent 2016-22)
Since launching our 2017-22 strategic plan, we have wholly embraced the established building blocks, goals, and measures identified, and in doing so, we have learned so much about this wonderful community of ours. Bringing a plan like this to life in order to nurture the limitless possibilities of every student requires teamwork from our community: caring, committed teachers and staff; collaborative, visionary board; capable, empowering leadership; supportive, engaged parents and caregivers; and a responsive, generous community.
While we did experience unexpected challenges, we also stayed the course by focusing on our students. In preparation for the next phase of our strategic plan, we engaged in community conversations to learn from our collective experiences thus far and made adjustments in this updated plan, now covering 2022-27. We heard from our community that our plan is on target, so we are ultimately staying the course laid out in the original plan. However, we always have opportunities to grow and improve, and so we have made modifications to some measures in order to more effectively determine when we see successes and when we need to delve deeper.
The work continues as we advance steadily toward accomplishing our aspirational goals for ALL of our students and the hopes and dreams for our community. Thank you for joining us in this important work.
|
Dr. Michelle Reid |
Mr. Michael Tolley |
Did you know that PTA is the oldest and largest child advocacy organization in the country? Since inception in 1905, PTA has been a driving force behind the creation of kindergarten, hot lunch programs, early education, and so much more. PTA advocates on behalf of all children on the important issues impacting education, health, and safety.
PTA Advocacy can be as simple as being informed on the issues or can be expanded to include attending and speaking at school board meetings, sending letters and meeting with your legislators, attending the PTA Focus Day Rally, or testifying in front of the state legislature to put a face on important issues.
Take the first step in advocating for our children: Join or renew your Skyview Middle School PTSA membership today!
Subscribe to WSPTA’s Action Network Group!
Learn more about Washington State PTA by visiting their website at https://www.wastatepta.org/about/.
Learn more about National PTA by visiting their website at https://www.pta.org/.
Skyview Middle School: Erika Del Villar
Northshore Council: Jennifer Drury & Diana Christiansen
Region 6: Heidi Bennett
Washington State PTA Legislative Director: Lizzy Sebring
Let your state legislators know how important funding our children’s education is to you via emails and/or phone calls! Click HERE to go to the Washington State Legislative page for contacts.
Please see the following helpful advocacy links to read legislative news and keep up on WSPTA’s advocacy through their Grassroots Connection blog.
Northshore School District: School Board Contacts
https://www.nsd.org/our-district/leadership/school-board
Washington State PTA Region 6
https://www.wastatepta.org/pta-leaders/pta-regions/region-6/
Northshore Council PTSA 6.10
http://www.northshorecouncilptsa.org/
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
Chris Reykdal, Superintendent (elected position)
https://www.k12.wa.us/
Ask OSPI a question:
https://www.k12.wa.us/about-ospi/contact-us/online-forms/ask-ospi
Washington State PTA Advocacy Site
http://www.wastatepta.org/advocacy
National PTA Advocacy Site
https://www.pta.org/home/advocacy
National PTA Advocacy Toolkit
http://www.pta.org/advocacy/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1927&navItemNumber=558
Are you registered for the next election? Register to vote (or update your voter registration) with the Washington Secretary of State - https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/register.aspx
