Hello Federal Way Public Schools Families and Community,

The 2022-23 school year is underway, and I’ve enjoyed seeing our scholars’ smiling faces back in our classrooms. Each new school year is filled with new possibilities, and I can’t wait to see how we grow together over the coming months.

In Federal Way Public Schools, we’re dedicated to every scholar’s academic success, and we’re committed to making each classroom an environment where scholars are engaged, supported, and challenged academically. We know that you, our parents, families and caregivers, are your child’s first teacher and are also critical partners in your child’s success. Here are three areas we’re focused on this school year:

Accelerating Learning

We believe every scholar can learn and achieve at the highest level, and we remain committed to setting up each of our scholars for academic success. This year, across the district, we’re focusing on increasing rigor and engagement for our students, focusing on specific instructional strategies to help scholars feel more engaged, connected to their schoolwork, and supported.

Building Safe and Inclusive School Communities

Every school year we support safe and inclusive communities at all our schools, bus stops, playgrounds, and cafeterias by setting expectations with scholars and sharing how we can all help one another to achieve success. For the first full 30 days of school, we focused on setting expectations with scholars and building safe communities, where everyone feels welcome and ready to learn. We will continue to reteach these expectations throughout the year and look forward to your partnership in helping to reinforce these expectations at home.

We also know staff can benefit from additional support, and we have made investments in the well-being of our staff, including hiring a staff wellness coordinator, and making Talkspace available to all staff and their dependents.

Strengthening Community and Family Partnerships

We’ve heard from many families, scholars, and community members who missed having in-person opportunities to engage when public health requirements limited these options, and from families who felt less connection to their child’s school as a result. We missed this connection too, and we are excited to refresh and recommit to our partnerships with families and community this fall by welcoming more families into our school buildings for family events and family advisory committees. We will also be seeking school volunteers, and we are eager to have you on our campuses helping out in our schools. To learn more about volunteering in our schools, visit www.fwps.org/Volunteer or check out the back page of this Scholar Chronicle.

Strengthening the connections between schools, homes, and the greater Federal Way community means greater support for our scholars and families, and greater success for all as a result. Together, we can make a difference in our community.

In Partnership,

Dr. Dani Pfeiffer

Superintendent

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