Lake Washington Schools Foundation Names Doug Seto as New Executive Director

REDMOND,WA.  June 14, 2010—The Lake Washington Schools Foundation, established five years ago to support academic excellence and success for all students in the Lake Washington School District, announced today the appointment of its new executive director, Doug Seto.

Seto has extensive leadership and fundraising experience, with more than 25 years in the private sector in marketing and sales, starting his own company, as well as a key manager and director in national companies.  Throughout, Seto is known for a strong commitment to serving the community through active leadership and involvement on the boards of major academic, health care and youth organizations.  He has led several non-profit organizations, serving as President for the Northwest Kidney Centers Foundation and in other Board positions for over 8 years, on the Board of Trustees of Puget Sound Blood Center for 9 years, and on the Executive Board of Boy Scouts of America.  Seto brings a mix of executive business development and non-profit operations experience to Lake Washington Schools Foundation as it continues to grow and significantly support public education in the school district.

Doug Seto said, “I now have been given an opportunity to help make our community a better place by promoting academic excellence in the Lake Washington School District.  I am excited by the many opportunities to help provide the students with enhanced learning opportunities, the staff with increased professional development –in sum, to provide the community with youth that are motivated and inspired to be successful in college and the global workplace.”, said Seto.

"The Foundation is doing exciting, new work to support the District's thinking to make sure that “Every Student is Future Ready.”  Doug will be terrific at leading the district-wide programs funded through the Foundation, helping the District ensure students are prepared for college, the global market place, and the personal challenges they will face.  I look forward to working with Doug." said Lake Washington Superintendent Chip Kimball.

“We are delighted and eager to have Doug join us.  As Executive Director, Doug will position the Foundation to better serve our generous community’s direct and efficient investment in student learning, and to better involve the broader community in the outstanding successes the District delivers back to us all”, say the 2009-10 Board Co-Presidents Byron Shutz and Sherry Wartelle.

Please join us in welcoming Doug Seto to our Lake Washington Schools Foundation community.

Contact For More Information
Peg Hunt, VP Board Development
Lake Washington Schools Foundation
425-765-2644

Lake Washington Schools Foundation Funds Summer School for Academically At-Risk Students

At-risk students get to attend summer school thanks to your generosity.

Kids that fall behind all too often stay behind. Some fail to graduate at all. Summer school gives these kids a critical opportunity to stay with their peers, learn essential materials and skills, and graduate on time, prepared for college, career, and life.

Lake Washington School District offers a summer school program for elementary students but parents have to pay tuition for their students to attend. A grant of $63,000 from the Lake Washington Schools Foundation will enable 115 elementary students who are academically at risk and in financial need to attend Core Academic Summer School at no charge. This grant is the largest the Lake Washington Schools Foundation has given to a single program in Lake Washington School District.

“Because of our generous community, the Foundation is able to provide funding to allow the District to expand the opportunity for at risk students to participate in academic summer school,” noted Sherry Wartelle, LWSF Co-President, "at a time when school districts around the country are cutting summer school due to budget issues.”

To read more click here.

Related Information

Redmond Reporter: Luncheon highlights enrichment programs in the Lake Washington School District

Redmond Reporter: Support the upcoming luncheon to benefit the Lake Washington School District

Rose Hill Jr. High Teacher Bruce Bishop, Awarded Science Grant

On February 9, 2010 Redmond Junior High teachers Meg Town, Trish Thomassen, and Arnie Leslie were present to honor Rose Hill Junior High teacher Bruce Bishop as he received a science grant from the Lake Washington Schools Foundation. 

Bruce Bishop’s grant will pay for Vernier probeware and LabQuest to allow students to better measure, record, and see visual representations of their lab work.  Redmond Jr. High teacher Arnie Leslie said that with these tools, “kids see graphical representation in real time of what they are observing.”  Vernier LabQuest and Probeware allow students to complete more labs and shift their time to more complex analysis such as mathematical modeling .  Without this equipment, much of the time-consuming lab work was spent on manual calculations and graphing,  leaving less time for critical thinking and analysis. 

Byron Shutz, Co-President of the Lake Washington Schools foundation presented the grant in honor of the Heather Haworth Science and Math Enrichment Grant. 

Heather Haworth was a long-time math and science teacher at Redmond Junior High and her memory is honored by this enrichment fund set up by Heather’s family through the LWSF. 

HSBC Makes a Grand Opening in Redmond with a Generous Donation to the Lake Washington Schools foundation

HSBC Bank USA, N.A, part of one of the world's largest financial services organizations, has officially opened the doors to its latest full-service retail branch, situated in the heart of Redmond.

To mark the occasion of its Redmond launch HSBC made a generous donation of $7,500 to the Lake Washington Schools Foundation at a grand opening ceremony on January 28, 2010.

Byron Shutz and Sherry Wartelle, Co-Presidents of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation, said, "The Foundation appreciates the commitment and collaboration of leading businesses such as HSBC in the support  of an engaged school partnership with the community."

Dominic O'Hagan, West Coast Regional President, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., said, "The city of Redmond, with its strong cross-border connections, made it the obvious place in which to enhance our Seattle area branch network. As 'The world's local bank', we fully understand the importance of serving the Redmond community locally while helping them to make the most of opportunities globally."

Gracious Support from Ginny Johnson and the Lee Johnson Family

Lake Washington Schools Foundation is proud to have the support of community member Ginny Johnson and the Lee Johnson Family. Ginny has regularly supported the Foundation.

Each year, the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce presents the Lee Johnson Student Community Service Award to a deserving high school student in the Kirkland area. Ginny matches the award with a donation to the Lake Washington Schools Foundation in honor of the award recipient.

As Ginny Johnson described her donation, “This award is very meaningful to me personally, as Lee and I were both raised in Kirkland and graduated from Lake Washington High School. Our family is genuinely interested in encouraging youth in the Kirkland community, and we extend our best wishes to the Lake Washington Schools Foundation in its endeavor to expand educational opportunities to young people.”

Lake Washington High School senior Kaitlyn Clements is the 2009 recipient of the Lee Johnson Student Community Service Award. A student with a 3.5 GPA, she plans to major in Spanish and nursing in college.

Click here to read more about the 2009 Lee Johnson Student Community Service Award recipient

2009 Annual Report

Read about the activities and successes of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation in 2009.
Click Here to access the report.

Click Here for an interactive version!

Classroom and School Enrichment Grants
for 2009-2010

Lake Washington Schools Foundation Announces 2009-2010 Classroom and School Enrichment Grant Recipients. Click here to see the recipients.