The first day of school is here! Our schools are alive with energy and excitement as we welcome students to the 2024-25 school year.
Classrooms are buzzing with students eager to learn and grow. Joyful chatter echoes down hallways as students reconnect with friends and make new ones. Teachers and staff are ready to inspire, motivate and educate.
Watch our first-day-of-school video and read a special message from Superintendent Ivan Duran.
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Welcome Back, Highline!
I’m excited and energized to begin the school year with you. This year is particularly special for me as my oldest child is starting kindergarten at one of our elementary schools. Experiencing Highline as a parent is already giving me a new perspective. I’m more committed than ever to ensure every student is known by name, strength, and need, and graduates prepared for the future they choose.
In Highline, we are dedicated to fostering equity, innovation, and family partnership through our strategic plan. This plan is anchored by four goals: creating a culture of belonging, offering innovative learning experiences, fostering multicultural skills through bilingualism and biliteracy, and ensuring students are future-ready.
This year, we are focusing on four key areas to support our strategic plan and to build upon our promise:
- Inclusionary Practices: Ensuring students of all abilities and needs learn and participate together in the same classrooms and school activities.
- Literacy and Language Development: Strengthening reading and writing skills across grade levels to ensure all students achieve literacy success.
- Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS): Building a system that ensures every student receives academic, behavioral, and emotional support they need to meet their individual needs and build on their strengths.
- Secondary Redesign: Reimagining and redesigning the middle and high school experience to better prepare today’s learners for an evolving world.
These aren’t just initiatives—they’re about using our collective power to create a community where every student is valued and empowered. We’re working to honor each student’s voice by removing barriers and designing systems that support them.
By focusing on these areas, we aim to fulfill the Highline Promise and ensure our students are prepared for whatever future they choose. Just as I walked my kindergartener to class during the annual Jump Start program, filled with hope and anticipation, I want every parent and student in our community to feel that same sense of promise. Our goal is to use our power responsibly, to honor and respect each member of our community, and to build an inclusive environment where every student and adult can thrive.
Thank you for your partnership and trust. I look forward to seeing many of you as I visit schools and events throughout the year. Together, let’s make this a year of growth, empowerment, and fulfillment of our Highline Promise.
Building Upon the Promise,
Ivan Duran Ed.D.
Superintendent
Highline Public Schools
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For more smiling faces, see our photos on Facebook! Do you have a photo to add? Share it on social media using the hashtag #BacktoHighline.
Welcome back to Highline!