We love the Puyallup School District! I have 4 "children" (the oldest are now adults) who have all gone through the Puyallup school system. In addition, my 3 siblings and I are also products of the district. My family has been in this district for many years and I could not imagine having my children educated in another district.
I myself work in education and have seen many neighboring districts as an employee and am very proud to call Puyallup home to my own children. The students in the Puyallup School District are pushed to the highest achievement. The graduation rate is very high (over 90% in their "traditional" high schools) and many of those students go on to college following high school.
I do feel that my voice is heard in Puyallup. As they try to figure out how to fit all their growing population into their existing schools while in the process of building new ones, like many school districts, they are forced to look at boundary lines and grade level shifts and things like that. A few years back. They had to make the decision to move many of the districts 6th graders to the Jr. High Schools (Puyallup had traditionally had a Jr. high model holding 7th - 9th graders. The High Schools held 10th - 12th). Though many of the surrounding districts have a Middle School model that holds 6th - 8th graders, many parents in Puyallup really liked the idea of keeping their 6th graders in the Elementary Schools one more year instead of moving them forward to the Jr. High where they would be exposed to the older teenage influences a year earlier. I suppose we may have been hoping to hold on to their youth and "innocence". The Puyallup School District worked with the parents and came up with a system which is currently in place where some of the schools were allowed to keep their 6th graders in the Elementary.
The employees are incredible! Sure there are some that are still learning the ropes or possibly overwhelmed with responsibilities, but you would find that anywhere! To me, that is a sign of a healthy environment. There is not a high turnover rate. Most of the teachers in the district stick around providing continuity and consistency for their students. And those veteran teachers (of which there are many), take the new ones who are learning the ropes under their wings and you see a large amount of collaboration among the staff. The reason they may seem overwhelmed at times is because people are aware of how amazing the district is and there is a huge amount of growth because so many people want their children to be in a school system that will nurture them and help them learn to be successful!
Another amazing thing about the Puyallup District is the connection between staff and family! Many schools in Puyallup hold a large number of ways for the families to get involved. Now, for us working parents it is not always easy. However, there are so many different opportunities with even the fun spirit activities - the Barbecues, Bingo Nights, Skate Nights, Dinners, as well as the amazing performances put on by the students. The schools are very good about keeping the families involved in their children's education and, at times, I have found that we have so many families involved that we run out of seats for them all. You find a space to sit on the floor along the wall or you stand. There are so many opportunities to be involved and everybody enjoys being there! AND, at our home school, the most amazing thing is that after each of these events the families all help to clean up their spaces and put their chairs away before leaving. It seams like such a silly little thing, but it is huge when you are trying to teach your child about community, responsibility, and everyone working together. It is such a wonderful community for our children!
I can not say enough amazing things about this district. It may not be perfect. It may have it's faults. But they are doing some amazing things! I am proud to be part of the Puyallup School District and could not think of anywhere else I would want my children to be educated. read more
