As you may know, the class of 2019, this year’s eleventh graders, have a twenty-four credit requirement to graduate. This decision was made at the state level several years ago. With the district’s current schedule of a 6-period day, students only have twenty-four opportunities. The district and Lake Washington High School have an interest in providing more opportunities for students to either extend their learning or make-up any loss of credit. In an effort to meet this need, a task force consisting of parents, teachers, administrators and district personnel met for two years exploring options. The end result was a recommendation to offer a 7-period day. Currently, Bellevue and Mercer Island also have a seven-period day model.

In moving to seven periods there are several tasks that need to be completed. Lake Washington High School currently has fewer elective offerings than the other three comprehensive high schools. To that end, we have proposed several new course offerings to enhance student experiences. Offerings are designed to bring more choice aligned to student interest. We will have offerings in all of the subject areas. These will be advertised to students in January and be placed in our course catalog.

In addition to providing more opportunities to students, we are currently looking at creating a new bell schedule. We have solicited interests from parents, students and staff. We have some commonalities that we will strive to incorporate into a new bell schedule. A committee is currently working on proposals.

When students register in February, each student will be selecting seven courses. These courses will then create our master schedule as it has done in the past. More information will be coming in the following months as things are finalized.

Christina Thomas
Principal, Lake Washington High School