Dear Families,

I welcome you to the 2021-22 school year. This will be my fifth year as Principal of Twin Lakes Elementary and I am proud to say that in my 24 years in education, I have never worked in a school community of such caring, committed, and equity-focused educators. During the 20-21 school year, we navigated new waters of remote and hybrid learning while continuing to hold to our focus on collaboration, connection, and culturally responsive practice. We maintained an average of 90% attendance K-5, and found innovative ways to reach, engage, and empower our scholars. I am proud of our scholars, families, and staff who have proven that together, we can accomplish so much, and it gives me great confidence and joy as we continue planning for school transformation for the 21-22 school year.

As a parent of two school aged children, I understand the trust you place in us to ensure your child is safe, seen, and supported in their strengths, needs, and interests.. 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 learn and develop as an anti-racist school community.

My Assistant Principal, Marisa Gines, 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 will be on attendance, keeping a pulse on our students’ sense of belonging, and  Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) to foster a safe, kind, and responsible learning-focused school climate. Our focus in alignment with Goal 4, will be building on the progress we have made toward supporting each scholar in meeting or exceeding grade level standard through whole, group, small group, and 1:1 support.

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. In both 2018 and 2019, Twin Lakes was recognized with a “Setting the Pace” award  by the FWPS School Board and Superintendent for our steady gains in both Reading and Math. In addition,  we were acknowledged by Washington State in 2020 for Academic growth.

Fall Re-Opening: Using guidance from OSPI and the Department of Health, we are planning for a safe return that prioritizes learning.  In accordance with Gov. Inslee and OSPI direction, we will be opening the year with full face to face instruction.  Please stay tuned for more information to come in the coming weeks.

Health and Safety and Re-Opening:  Our scholars’  health and safety are priority. As we prepare for our face to face fall re-opening, our district is hard at work developing health and safety protocols which include social distancing guidelines, arranging schedules that minimize high traffic contact, considering bus transportation and engaging in deep cleaning protocols to minimize the spread of germs. As part of ensuring a safe learning environment, all scholars and staff will be required to wear face masks. Please take the time this summer to both reinforce and practice the wearing of face masks.  FWPS will continue to place health and safety as a priority as we look forward to welcoming our scholars back on September 1st. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. 

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
Marisa Gines, Assistant principal