LAKE WASHINGTON GIRLS MIDDLE SCHOOL Seattle, Washington HEAD of SCHOOL Start Date: July 2021 Lwgms.Org

LAKE WASHINGTON GIRLS MIDDLE SCHOOL Seattle, Washington HEAD OF SCHOOL Start Date: July 2021 lwgms.org Mission Lake Washington Girls Middle School prepares girls to be confident young women, strong in mind, body, and voice. Our school values diversity and promotes personal and social responsibility. Students, teachers, and families are active partners in creating a challenging academic environment, fostering independent thinking, and instilling a lifelong love of learning. Vision LWGMS holds up the opportunity of a world in which girls are nurtured and empowered to reach their academic, social, and emotional potential. To that end, the school provides a supportive single-gender learning environment where students, teachers, staff, families, and our surrounding community are active partners in inspiring leadership, social responsibility, and self-confidence in girls. OVERVIEW The mission at Lake Washington Girls Middle School (LWGMS or L-Dub) is to prepare a diverse group of girls to be confident young women, equipped with a strong mind, body, and voice, and committed to social action. Founded in 1995 by a group of parents who believe that middle school should be a time for girls to thrive, L-Dub serves 117 girls in grades 6-8. To that end, the school environment is designed to help students cultivate a sense of self, community, and intellectual curiosity so they can realize their potential and power. Also central to the school’s mission is providing educational opportunity for economically diverse students. It does so by keeping tuition at a moderate level and by providing tuition assistance to students in need. To date, Lake Washington Girls Middle School has produced several hundred highly successful alums. Graduates also report being very well prepared for high school—both academically and socially. LWGMS seeks a dynamic leader as its Head of School starting July 2021. The successful candidate will be an experienced educational leader devoted to the school’s mission and programs. The Head will provide stability to the faculty, staff, students, parents, and community. With support from the board of trustees, the Head will focus on high-quality academic and operations leadership in all its facets. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 2 Fast Facts Established: 1995 Enrollment: 117 Average class size: 19 Student/teacher ratio: 9:1 Number of faculty and staff: 29 Faculty with advanced degrees: 83% Faculty or color: 34% Students of color: 56% Motto: “Strong in Mind, Body, and Voice.” THE SCHOOL LWGMS opened its doors in 1998 as the first secular girls middle school in Seattle. The school has grown steadily over the years, and in 2019 it moved to a brand-new campus southeast of Downtown Seattle. Located in North Beacon Hill, LWGMS encourages students to explore, experiment, discover, create, and learn about themselves and the world around them. Since its founding, LWGMS has challenged its students with talented faculty and high standards. Here, students are empowered to think critically, develop leadership skills, and enjoy learning through an integrated curriculum proven to prepare middle schoolers for success in competitive high schools and beyond. The faculty are committed to teaching with culturally responsive principles, providing students with multiple perspectives, and encouraging them to form and articulate their own opinions. Mindfulness programming and other approaches to social-emotional learning round out the program. LWGMS’s guiding principles include inclusiveness, affordability, individual accomplishment, family engagement, community responsibility, and single-gender education. The cooperative, experiential, holistic education supports all facets of learning. In all, the school prepares its students to be confident, adventurous, and socially responsible young women. The school is a member of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools, the National Coalition of Girls Schools, the Washington Federation of Independent Schools, the Independent Curriculum Group, and the National Association of Independent Schools. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 3 Secondary School Placement Students from the LWGMS Class of 2019 are enrolled in the following public and private secondary schools: Ballard High School Bishop Blanchet High School The Bush School Cleveland High School Daegu International School The Downtown School Franklin High School Garfield High School Holy Name Academy Ingraham High School Lakeside School The Northwest School Roosevelt High School Seattle Academy University Preparatory School West Seattle High School ACADEMICS The LWGMS curriculum is designed to cultivate intellectual curiosity and a drive to social action. Every year, every student takes yearlong courses in STEAM, math, science, humanities, Spanish, and art. In addition, each student performs in one theater production, completes a term of martial arts, embarks on at least one outdoor trip with her entire class, and sets personal, academic, and social goals for herself, tracking her progress along the way. There are also many mixed-grade learning opportunities, including numerous electives, physical education, and ThinkTank Week projects. The signature STEAM curriculum is designed to get students excited about engineering, technology, science, and math while expanding their creative confidence. Projects are regularly integrated with learning in other classes, so that the skills and knowledge are easily applicable and relevant across disciplines. LWGMS also offers robust public speaking, performance, and presentation strands throughout the curriculum, translating into seamless teaching of the 6C’s of 21st Century Skills: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, confidence, and compassion. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 4 THE ARTS LWGMS believes that artistic expression is as important as academic rigor. The Visual Arts program uses art in various mediums to communicate emotions and ideas and to reflect on cultural and historic events. The integrated program combines many elements to create an enriching experience that emphasizes process over product. Recognizing that art cannot be separated from the study of history, language, culture, and other academic disciplines, the schools uses a DBAE (Discipline-Based Art Education) approach throughout all art classes. The yearlong STEAM class also integrates the arts with science, technology, engineering, and math. Through the Performing Arts program, students build strong voices, minds, and bodies. The program also provides opportunities for students to practice teamwork and leadership. The Performing Arts program includes a fall play, a winter play, and the eighth grade one-act plays festival. In addition to performing, students take on roles in stage management, lighting, sound, and set design, assisting the director, and choreographing musical numbers. Each year’s productions rely on teamwork and peer support. As students become more confident in their performance skills from sixth grade to eighth grade, the roles and responsibility increases. ATHLETICS LWGMS offers six no-cut sports—soccer, volleyball, cross-country, basketball, track and field, and Ultimate Frisbee. Students also have the option of joining the bouldering team. The participation rate is more than 85%. In addition to engaging in sports, each student takes three terms of physical education each year: one term of martial arts, one of health and fitness, and one of yoga and dance movement. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 5 STUDENT LIFE Outside of the classroom and sports, students at LWGMS are deeply involved the school’s community life. Every student is a member of a small, multi-grade Respect and Responsibility (R&R) Advisory Group. Led by faculty and staff advisors, R&R groups comprise “big sisters” and “little sisters” who meet on a weekly basis. Off-campus, students are also involved in numerous social-justice and community- service initiatives. Students also take part in clubs and after-school classes, which include Coding Club, Yearbook, Parks & Rec Club, GirlUp, Tinker Team, Baking Club, Drawing/Art Club, Bike Club, Creative Dance, Glee Club, and more. Leadership opportunities also abound at LWGMS, including Student Government, Community Board, and Judicial Committee. Every student has the opportunity and responsibility to lead in some way during their three years. Summer programs serve elementary-age girls, current LWGMS students, and LWGMS alum. In recent years, LWGMS has had over 80 participants in three weeklong STEAM camps and four LWGMS community backpacking and kayaking trips. CAMPUS LWGMS moved to its new campus on Walker Street in 2019. The new space is thoughtfully designed to enhance programming and promote better learning for this and coming generations. Highlights of the new school building include a true science lab, art classroom, and STEAM studio; performance space with a stage and tech booth; a school commons that serves as a lunchroom and community hub; a large green space for outdoor classrooms, community gatherings, and general play; and a full gymnasium for physical education, sports practices, and games. CARNEYSANDOE.COM 6 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON Seattle is a world-class, thriving West Coast city surround by mountains, lakes and the Puget Sound. A progressive city, Seattle offers a welcoming environment for all with a strong commitment to education. Its many neighborhoods each have a unique characteristic and identity, and among them are some of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country, particularly in Central, South, and Southeast Seattle. Over

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