Highlights from the May 16, 2023, special meeting of the NTPS School Board and Lacey City Council:
NTPS Assistant Superintendent for Operations Troy Oliver and Lacey Assistant City Manager Shannon Kelley-Fong updated members on a proposed Young Child & Family Center. The proposed center would include 600 preschool slots and would be built near Nisqually Middle School on Marvin Road. Future phases could include indoor aquatic facilities, library space, and more.
Additional partners in this project include the South Sound YMCA, Thurston County Chamber, Thurston Economic Development Council, and Timberland Regional Library. The partners recently secured $1 million in the state budget for architectural design.
NTPS Director of Equity and Languages, Dr. Antonio Sandifer, provided an update on the district’s success in delivering equity instruction that focuses on diversity, justice, identity, and action.
Key work underway includes:
- Social justice standards mini-lessons throughout the year
- A One School/One Book project in which NTPS elementary school students read and discuss a book each month on an issue of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Conversational Spanish courses for district employees to better communicate with and welcome families.
- Expanding our dual language program currently at Lydia Hawk Elementary to include Mountain View Elementary in the 2023-24 school year.
- Launching a credited Nisqually Lushootseed language class at River Ridge High School in 2023-24.
- Supporting a cohort of 32 NTPS classroom teachers to learn how to become ethnic studies teachers. This approach teaches students to examine, listen, and use critical thinking to authentically understand diverse lived experiences and issues of race.
Read more about our past and ongoing equity efforts >>
