Dear Families,

Welcome you to the 2020-21 school year. This will be my fourth year as Principal of Twin Lakes Elementary and I am proud to say that in my 23 years in education, I have never worked in a school community of such caring and committed educators. During this season of many unknowns and navigating the new world of remote learning, we are prepared to dig deep and do whatever it takes to ensure each family and scholar have what they need for a successful learning year.

As a parent of two school aged children, I understand the trust you place in us to ensure your child is safe, supported in their strengths and needs, and learning every day. Our school mission guides what we do and why we do it – “Collaborate with staff, students, families and the community to maintain a learning focused culture where each scholar feels connected, safe, and empowered to contribute and achieve at their highest level”. We are deeply committed to this mission and stretching to learn, understand, and challenge practices as we continue to build anti-racist school community.

My Assistant Principal, Kimberly Graham, and I are dedicated to further developing and leading our learning community in support of the goals outlined in the Federal Way Public Schools Strategic Plan. At Twin Lakes, our priorities are Goal 2, Whole Child, and Goal 4, Mastery of All Subjects. Specifically, our focus in alignment with Goal 2, Whole Child, will be Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) to foster a safe, kind, and responsible learning-focused school climate. Our focus in alignment with Goal 4, Mastery of All Subjects, will be building on the progress we have made toward supporting each scholar in meeting or exceeding grade level standard.

I am proud to say that our school-wide commitment to high academic and behavior expectations is reflected in our data. We have reduced exclusionary discipline (out of school/in-school suspensions/expulsions) by 80% over a 3-year period, and were noted in Spring of 19-20 to be an exemplary PBIS model school. For two years in a row, Twin Lakes has been recognized by the FWPS School Board and Superintendent for our steady gains (“Setting the Pace”) in both Reading and Math and were acknowledgement by Washington State last year for our academic growth.

Thank you for your trust and partnership in your scholars learning journey, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or feedback. We are learning from our students and families every day.

With gratitude,

Anne Plenkovich, Principal
Kimberly Graham, Assistant principal