Good News March 14, 2017

TAF Academy receives STEM Lighthouse grant

Congratulations to TAF Academy for being awarded a STEM Lighthouse grant of $20,000 from the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction!

The Board would like to recognize the following individuals for this achievement:

• Clarence Dancer, Jr., STEM Program Supervisor, from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
• Pam Tuggle, TAF Academy
• Trish Millines Dziko, Technology Access Foundation
• Chris Alejano, Technology Access Foundation

Washington STEM Lighthouse Schools provide technical assistance and advice to other schools and communities in the initial stages of creating a learning environment focused on STEM. They serve as resources and examples of how to combine the following best practices:

• Small, highly personalized learning communities;
• An interdisciplinary curriculum with a strong focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) delivered through a project-based instructional approach; and
• Active partnerships with businesses and the local community to connect learning beyond the classroom.

To date, 41 districts and/or schools have been awarded this grant.

Thank you to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for this designation, and the grant money to support STEM education.

Trise Moore, a "Leader to Learn From" 

The Board would like to recognize Director of Equity and Family Engagement, Trise Moore, for recently being featured in Education Week as a “Leader to Learn From.” Education Week‘s annual Leaders To Learn From recognizes 14 bold and committed district leaders who are working to enact—and inspire—change in our nation’s public schools.

For over a decade, Mrs. Moore has supported family engagement efforts at Federal Way Public Schools. The family engagement position was created by former superintendent Tom Murphy, who Mrs. Moore highlights as someone who reached out to her to provide ideas to make the system welcoming for all parents, especially for parents who may have never experienced success in a public school system themselves. 

As part of her family engagement role, Mrs. Moore developed a parent and teacher handbook to help parents navigate the educational system to support their child’s school experience. 

Congratulations, Trise Moore, on this award and for supporting pillar 2 in our Strategic Plan, Safe Climate and Strong Relationships with Families and Community.

Gators win big at state

Congratulations to the following Decatur High School scholars for placing during the boys state wrestling competition! Participation in extracurricular activities is in direct support of Strategic Plan Goal Three: Active Learners: Engaged, Empowered, Critical Thinkers.

The Board would like to recognize the following athletes:  

• Quinzy Salu, 2^nd place, 285 weight class
• Jacob Cassaday, 3^rd place, 170 weight class 

We could not be more proud of you for this achievement.  Congratulations!

FWPS girls wrestling athletes place at state 

Congratulations to the following Federal Way Public Schools scholars for placing during the girls state wrestling competition! Participation in extracurricular activities is in direct support of Strategic Plan Goal Three: Active Learners: Engaged, Empowered, Critical Thinkers.

The Board would like to recognize the following athletes: 

• Raisa Pleasant, Thomas Jefferson High School, 3^rd place, 105 weight class
• Jasmine Pleasant, Thomas Jefferson High School, 1^st place, 140 weight class
• Tally Thomas, Federal Way High School, 1^st place, 170 weight class
• Mariah Stewart, Federal Way High School, 2^nd place, 235 weight class

We  would also like to recognize the Federal Way High School girls wrestling team who took 2^nd place overall in state! In addition, the team was Sub Regional Champions three times in a row, and Regional Champions two times in row. 

• Amanda Henderson
• Anabella Garcia
• Anjilia Sumandig Tally Thomas
• Talaitupu Lologo
• Mariah Stewart
• Marlin Gonzalez -  We also want to acknowledge that Marlin was selected as the Academic State Champion.

This team is also accomplished in the classroom with an overall Team GPA of 3.44.

We could not be more proud of all our wrestling scholars. Congratulations!

Raiders win WIAA Winter Academic State Championship 

At Federal Way Public Schools, our belief is every scholar athlete participating in the athletic program will be empowered with ownership of his or her education.

The Thomas Jefferson High School 4A boys varsity swim team won the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Winter Academic State Championship with a team 3.679 GPA!

There are 64 4A schools in the state of Washington and this is a very special award! This awards program recognizes the team with the highest grade point average among all Washington high schools in their respective enrollment classification.

The Board would like to recognize the following students: 

• Owen Anderson
• Orgil Batzaya
• Marcus Condotta
• Thomas Dinh
• Caleb Kim
• Nicholas Kim
• Chae Hee Lee
• Zachary Nesbitt
• Aaron Nguyen
• Michael Nguyen
• Andrew Tang
• Brandon Truong
• Mihai Tuluca

This recognition is in direct support of Strategic Plan Goal 4: Content-Area Competence with the focus on each scholar meeting or exceeding standards of performance.

Scholars, we are so proud of your persistence and dedication to academic success!

FWPS scholar wins Regional High School Art Show

The Puget Sound Educational Service District has selected Federal Way Public Schools student, Jazmine Pope, as a Regional High School Art Show winner for her piece, “Toadstool.”

This Puget Sound Educational Service District recognition means Jazmine’s art piece will advance to the 44^th Annual State High School Art Show in Olympia.

This is in support of Strategic Plan Goal Four: Content Area Competence: Mastery of All Subjects.

Congratulations, Jazmine!