Family NewsletterSumner-Bonney Lake School District | May 2020

How COVID-19 affects school district budgetAlong with the state-mandated Stay Home, Stay Healthy order to slowthe spread of COVID-19 comes negative economic impact to businesses,services and programs. Some may not realize that school districts arenot immune to these budget blows.

We’re beyond grateful for the February passage of our Replacement Educational Programs &Operation levy. You, our valued voters, have made it possible for our District to remain �nanciallystable amid this pandemic. Being steadfast stewards of taxpayer dollars paired with a conservativespending approach puts us in solid �nancial standing, but not without a substantial revenue loss ofmore than $2 million.

Here are some ways COVID-19 has affected Sumner-Bonney Lake School District’s budget for 2019-20and some of the uncertainties we face when building our budget for 2020-21.

Sources of lost revenue for the 2019-20 school year:Facility rentals

Sports/activity feesTuition-based childcare/preschoolField trips (transportation-related costs)Meal salesDonations

For the 2020-21 school year we face the following economic uncertainties:Potential decrease in student enrollment, which impacts fundingPotential decrease in state and federal funding

With the anticipation of decreased funding and to help mitigate revenue loss, we’re preparing theDistrict to be more resilient when hit with COVID 19 impacts, allowing us to focus on student learning.To do this, we’re implementing two conservative spending strategies now:

Discretionary purchases for items or services not related to addressing COVID-19 or necessary tosupport core district functions will be reviewed and subject to approvalSta�ng and hiring will be carefully reviewed and possibly reallocated

Find more information about the District’s budget at www.sumnersd.org/budget.

What is Google Classroom?Google Classroom (GC) is your child’s digital link to learning. Teachersuse GC to share assignments, homework, newsletters, and much morewith students.

To access Google Classroom, log into the Student Dashboard �rst athttps://www.sumnersd.org/dashboard. After entering your child’scredentials, you will be successfully signed in with access to Googleresources like Google Classroom, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, andmore.

For more information, including a walk-through tutorial, visit the District website.

Voice Calls Enabled Through RemindSome schools, teachers and coaches in our District have been using acommunication tool, called Remind, for texting with students andfamilies.

Now, we’re using Remind to facilitate phone calls between staff andfamilies. Using your phone number on �le in Family Access, teachers may call you using this tool as away to verbally and more directly connect about your child’s education.

When a teacher calls you, please note that the phone number will not be local or likely not a numberyou will recognize. It’s a number generated from Remind that will be consistent whenever the sameteacher calls you.

We're excited to make connecting with our families more engaging! Learn more about phone callsthrough Remind here.

State Recognizes Emerald Hills and MapleLawnCongratulations to Emerald Hills and Maple Lawn elementary schoolsfor being recognized from the Washington State Board of Education fortheir outstanding effort and positive impact on students for the 2018-19school year.

They represent two out of 391 schools across the state being celebrated in their work for closingopportunity gaps for speci�c students groups, showing academic growth from one year to the next ordemonstrating high achievement.

Mental Health and WellnessSchool counselors want to make sure families have the informationand resources they need to support children's mental health as theymay experience a range of emotions during this time. If your child isshowing unusual behavioral patterns or experiencing an increase incertain behaviors, professional help may be needed.

Visit our District website for links to professional resources and tipsfor managing stress and anxiety with children during this time.

2020 Census: Make Your Family Count!Who better to remind you about the important 2020 Census count than Sesame Street's The Count?There are three ways to make your whole family count. Watch this video and learn more atwww.2020Census.gov.

Three Ways to Count | 2020 Census | Sesame Street

Emerald Hills Elementary is being recognized for high achievement in English language arts and math.Maple Lawn Elementary is being recognized for demonstrating growth and supporting students whoqualify for the free and reduced price lunch program, students identifying with two or more races, andstudents identifying as white.

A strategy both schools used to achieve academic growth is to incorporate tiered instructionalstrategies, in which teachers offer different levels of di�culty based on different student instructionalneeds.

To learn more about why schools were recognized, and to see the data behind the recognition, visitsbe.wa.gov/schoolrecognition.

BLHS, SHS Make U.S. News & World Report2020 Best High Schools

Congrats to Bonney Lake High School and Sumner High School formaking U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of Best High Schools.Nearly 18,000 schools across the country were ranked on six factorsbased on their performance on state assessments and how well theyprepare students for college, including participation and performance onAP and IB exams.

Bonney Lake High School is ranked 106th within Washington. Students have the opportunity to takeAdvanced Placement® coursework and exams. The AP® participation rate at Bonney Lake HighSchool is 41 percent (2017-18 school year). This is BLHS’s �fth year being ranked among the nationsbest high schools!

#106 in Washington Rankings#5,770 in National Rankings

Sumner High School is ranked 89th within Washington. Students have the opportunity to takeInternational Baccalaureate coursework and exams. The IB participation rate at Sumner High Schoolis 16 percent (2017-18 school year).

#89 in Washington Rankings#4,935 in National Rankings

Learn more about U.S. News & World Report’s Best High Schools in Washington and how the newsagency calculated the 2020 Best High Schools rankings.