FROM THE DESK OF...

Tom Seigel Superintendent

Happy New Year!

This is a great time to celebrate the many accomplishments of our staff, while also looking towards new aspirations and goals.

We capped off 2022 with the exciting news that Camas Prairie Elementary had been named a National ESEA Distinguished School. This is a rare honor, as Camas is one of just two schools in Washington state to receive the award this year for their exceptional student achievement.

We rang in 2023 with another exciting announcement. Spanaway Middle School Principal Shannon Leatherwood has been named Washington State's Secondary Principal of the Year. Shannon has been an amazing leader in our district for many years, and we are thrilled that her dedication to students is being recognized so publicly.

We continue to be engaged in a number of ongoing special projects at the federal, state, county or local charitable organizational levels aimed at helping students and families. Some of our priorities in 2023 will be working with Pierce Transit on expanding bus service in our district, which is woefully inadequate at its current levels. We are also exploring several avenues for funding more sidewalks in the district. The Bethel School District spans 202 square miles, yet only 9 percent of our roads have sidewalks. That is unacceptable.

Finally, you might be surprised to know that our district has approximately 600 homeless families. While many of these families find shelter with other family members or friends, there are 12 to 18 Bethel families that live out of their cars (and an equal number living in RV's of questionable habitability). Providing them safe transitional housing in a permanent building is a recognized important first step to allow them to get services and then focus on making the necessary changes to get out of this vicious cycle. You can read more about our efforts to help these families find stable housing on page 13. We are also working with governmental and non-profit groups dedicated to improving this decades-long problem.

Yours,

Tom Seigel

Marcus Young, Sr. Vice President 253.439.7174 myoung@bethelsd.org

Terrance Mayers, Sr. 206.832.6203 tmayers@bethelsd.org

Brenda Rogers President 360.893.5425 brogers@bethelsd.org

Roseanna Camacho 253.210.1783 rcamacho@bethelsd.org

John Manning 253.222.2938 jmanning@bethelsd.org