• Cultural Calendar
Honoring Rosa Parks on the Day of Her Birth

Did you know that there are two celebrations of Rosa Parks each year? This one is the first, which is celebrated in both California and Missouri, on the date of her birth, February 4. The second Rosa Parks Day is observed on December 1, the anniversary of the date of her quiet rebellion and arrest.

Parks was certainly a woman who deserved to be celebrated twice a year, as many consider her courage to have directly sparked the Civil Rights movement.

On December 1, 1955, Parks, a Black woman in Montgomery, Alabama, quietly refused to relinquish her seat on the bus to another white passenger, breaking the Alabama law of the time that required Black passengers to do so. Parks was arrested for the act, setting off a massive 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system by thousands—and directly leading to a 1956 Supreme Court decision that banned segregation on public transportation, and even more importantly, to the rise of an eloquent and passionate young preacher who joined in those boycotts and the outcry for justice—Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Rosa Parks passed away at the age of ninety-two on October 24, 2005. On October 30, she became the first woman to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. As we honor her memory and achievements, let us also use her inspiration to act and speak out whenever we encounter racism or hate.

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Clover Park March Inside Schools

CPSD is embarking on a dynamic transformation of its math curriculum to prepare all students with the skills and knowledge they need for future success. This initiative focuses on two key areas: a shift to a more engaging and relevant math experience in middle school, and a transition to a new, more effective curriculum in elementary classrooms.

Read More about 2025 March Inside Schools: Cracking the Code to Math Success at CPSD
Seattle Skyline PSESD

The Puget Sound Educational Service District Board of Directors met in an executive session on May 5 and 6 with Human Capital Enterprises consultants to interview semi-finalist candidates recommended by the PSESD Superintendent Review Committee. Upon conclusion of those interviews and Board deliberation, the Board reconvened in an open session and advanced three candidates as finalists. 

Read More about Superintendent Search Update: Finalist Candidates Advanced by Board
Teacher Appreciation Week

It’s no secret that teachers are some of the world’s most important figures in our daily lives, despite the fact that they all too often battle long hours, low salaries, and other challenges – and ultimately, are simply all too often underappreciated.

But happily, this week, May 5-9, is Teacher Appreciation Week, providing all of us with the chance to celebrate teachers as they deserve!

Read More about Honoring Our Teachers on National Teacher Appreciation Week
Kent School District Art Contest

The OneKSD Art Contest is open through May 14, 2025, and it invites students from all grade levels and staff across the Kent School District (KSD) to visually express the meaning of unity, collaboration, and shared identity within our diverse community. Through original artwork, participants will showcase how different schools, cultures, and experiences come together to form a strong and connected district.

Read More about Celebrating the Unique Perspectives of Students and Staff through Art
Chinook Middle School Literacy

Walk into the Chinook Middle School library and you’ll feel it right away — it’s a place where students find themselves on the shelves and feel seen in the stories they read. At the center is librarian Josi Hodge. She helps students find books that match their interests and sparks a lifelong love of reading. Book clubs, personal recommendations and one-on-one conversations all build trust and belonging.

This work at Chinook is a living example of Highline’s commitment to equity, inclusion and stronger literacy outcomes. Every choice, every story, helps students grow in confidence and learning.

Read More about Building Belonging & Literacy at Chinook Middle School: One Reader, One Book at a Time
Asian American/Pacific Islander/Native Hawai’ian Heritage Month

May has arrived, bringing with it the annual opportunity to celebrate the richness and history of Asian American/Pacific Islander/Native Hawai’ian Heritage Month, when we recognize the strength, contributions, and legacies of Asian Americans, Native Hawai’ians, Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) who have helped to build and unite this country in each successive generation. “AANHPI” is an umbrella term referring to a vast and diverse group of people, ranging from the indigenous people of Hawai’i, all of Pasifika, and all of Asia. By some estimates, 60 percent of the world’s population lives in Asia or the Pacific.

Read More about Celebrating AANHPI Heritage Month
Lilah Wakefield

When elementary students are asked what they would like to be when they grow up, many students answer with “Soccer player,” “Ballet dancer,” “Firefighter,” or “YouTuber.” (The last one is a recent addition in the last decade.)

For Bainbridge High School 9th grader Lilah Wakefield, when she was younger, her answer was “President.” So it is no surprise that Wakefield was among 12 students across Washington State selected to serve for two years on the Legislature’s Youth Advisory Council (LYAC).

Read More about From BHS to Olympia... Could D.C. Be Next?
Gathering of Nations

As the largest pow wow in the United States, the Gathering of Nations has grown in the past 42 years into one of the  most vibrant, cultural, and important indigenous festivals in North America, as well as one of the world’s most recognized annual cultural festivals. It was founded to offer an opportunity to provide Native people with the opportunity to come together each year to celebrate and share their culture, as well as providing an essential place where singers and dancers can feel confident that competition is fair to all.

Read More about The 2025 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow
Seattle view

This past week, and as required by RCW 28A.310.170, Human Capital Enterprises has convened a Superintendent Review Committee to review applicants against the Board-adopted Next Superintendent Criteria and recommend candidates to advance for first-round interviews with the PSESD Board of Directors on May 5 or May 6. Human Capital Enterprises will present the Superintendent Review Committee recommendation to the full Board in an executive session at the Board’s April 30 meeting.

Read More about PSESD Superintendent Search Update