KIRKLAND, Wash. — Thousands of students in the Seattle area return to school this week, including 30,000 in the Lake Washington School District. Due to growing enrollment, the district has completed several new building projects ahead of the 2024-25 school year.
There are new additions at some LWSD middle and high schools. Three middle schools in the district have undergone expansion projects, adding more classrooms and providing capacity for 600 more students. Those schools are Kirkland, Finn Hill and Redmond Middle Schools.
Kirkland Middle is now outfitted with eight new classrooms in a new building on the school's campus. Among them, there are several science classes and a food classroom equipped with ovens, stoves, and refrigerators. Principal Niki Cassaro says the new extension means the school can offer new electives it wasn't able to in the past.
"We have seen a huge growth at Kirkland Middle School, about 200 students over the past few years," Cassaro said. "With our new foods classroom, we have a full day of opportunities for kids to learn about the intersection of foods, nutrition, health as well as the roles foods play in cultures."
Cassaro says the new extension will add to the school's robust electives program, and the school can now offer electives it wasn't able to in the past.
Heath Robinson, a social studies teacher whose classroom is now in the new addition, says the new facilities will aid student success.
"When the amenities and services we can provide are leveled up, that can maybe help [students] feel a little bit more included or feel a little bit more proud to be in this space," Robinson said.
The district says it went from being the sixth-largest in the state to the second in less than a decade. While enrollment is up for secondary schools in Lake Washington, elementary enrollment is still down, especially for kindergarten.
These building additions are part of LWSD's Building Excellence Plan. With increasing secondary school enrollment, there's a $677 million building levy on the November ballot for rebuilding several schools in the district. Phase One of the plan was passed in February of 2022, and the district is asking for voters to approve Phase Two this fall.
The second phase includes adding new student space and replacing aging facilities:
- Rebuild and enlarge Alcott Elementary
- Rebuild and enlarge Smith Elementary
- Rebuild and enlarge Kamiakin Middle School
- Rebuild and enlarge Evergreen Middle School
- Upgrade and modernize the fieldhouse and community pool at Juanita High School
The plan details construction needs for the district through 2034.