Dear Federal Way Public Schools Families and Community,

Our scholars, staff, families, and community are incredible. Every day, despite the pandemic and personal challenges they may be facing, they continue to achieve in and out of the classroom, support each other and invest in creating positive school communities, where every scholar feels they belong.

Over the last few months so many incredible stories highlighting the contributions and accomplishments of scholars, staff, families, and community in Federal Way Public Schools have emerged, and the list continues to grow. Here are a few highlights of what is happening across the district:

• 4 more FWPS educators earned the distinction of National Board Certified Teacher in the 2021–22 school year.
• Decatur High School Jazz Band 1 scholars were selected as the feature performing ensemble at the 2022 Washington Music Educators Association Conference, where they premiered a piece commissioned specifically for the conference.
• Our AFJROTC instructors and cadets earned the highest rating possible during an evaluation by the Air Force. Instructors were acknowledged for creating a dynamic and supportive learning environment, excellent community outreach, and providing outstanding leadership in the program. Scholar-cadets were recognized for exceptional performance, leadership, and accomplishing unit goals.
• Approximately 500 high school seniors received acceptance letters from Pacific Lutheran University in this first year of our participation in their Guaranteed Admissions Program, where scholars who meet outlined qualifications in high school are automatically accepted to PLU for college.
• Our community continued their support of our schools by approving the renewal of the EP&O and Tech levies on the February 8, 2022 ballot.
• Teams from each of our comprehensive high schools are participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition season, where they are honing their skills and demonstrating their learning in STEM and robotics.
• Over 200 scholars signed up for our brand-new Saturday Scholar Community, which will serve scholars over 5 weeks in April and May.
• 15 educators across the district have been nominated by scholars for the Because of You Award, which highlights the impact the staff member has had on the scholar or their school. Some of our highly skilled and talented teachers were nominated for the Federal Way Mirror’s Best of Federal Way awards, too!
• Over 300 scholars representing each of our middle schools participated in Intramural Soccer. These middle school scholars showed excellent sportsmanship and took this opportunity to connect with their peers and learn the importance of working together as a team.
• We acquired COVID-19 tests for all staff and scholars to take home prior to spring break as an optional mitigation measure, and our wonderful Employment and Transition Program scholars helped package these tests for distribution to scholars across the district.
• Community partners continue to support our scholars, including BECU–Federal Way Crossings and Federal Way Pavilion, who donated toward student computers, Puget Sound Energy, who provided a grant to improve energy efficiency in our school buildings, BNBuilders and Molina Healthcare, who provided gift cards to support scholars during the holiday season, and so many more.

These highlights are only a fraction of what has taken place over the past few months. With the current momentum, I’m excited to see more positivity and accomplishments surface, including celebrating our graduates in June.

As we enter the last few months of the school year, I’m proud to see the collective determination of our community to stay focused on teaching and learning. Let’s finish the school year strong together.

In Partnership,

Dr. Dani Pfeiffer