Going to PTA meetings, serving on  committees and rallying at the state Capitol are good ways to support your child’s education, but research shows that the single best way for a parent to have a positive impact on their childrens’ education is to be directly involved with them at home.
“The valuing of your kids’ education imparts to them its value,” said Dr. Nick Brossoit, superintendent of the Edmonds School District. “Talking with them about what they’re doing at school, making sure they have a safe situation, they have food, they know they are loved, that they know as parents you expect them to invest time in their education — that’s how they determine that it’s important. That resonates with the student and makes a difference in the quality of the education they are going to get and how involved they are going to be in it.”
After seven years of state budget cuts that totaled close to $30 million, Brossoit points to the support of the community and the commitment of his staff as factors that have kept the district strong. The 10th-largest district in the state, Edmonds School District has shown improvement in core curricular areas, graduation rates, standardized support for teachers and students, and the implementation of a new literacy program in the high schools. A new high school was built for Lynnwood and a new middle school in the Meadowdale neighborhood. And the district, which serves 20,000 students in four municipalities, has been recognized nationally as one of the best for music education.
 Thanks to a lawsuit that Edmonds and a coalition of other school districts won against the state, Washington has been ordered to meet the constitutional mandate to fund public schools and there will be no budget cuts in the 2012-2013 school year.
“I think this last legislative session was the beginning of a reversal,” Brossoit said. “It added $180,000 to our budget for next year, which is small, but if the governor’s budget had passed, it would have cut another $2.5 million. I am hoping that we have survived the worst of it and, with increased state funding, we will be able to reduce class sizes again over the next five years.”
Lessening the tax burden
Though the community consistently passes bonds and levies for its schools, Edmonds School District wants to reduce the tax burden by generating income through its surplus properties.
When Lynnwood High School was relocated to a new site, 40 acres next to the Alderwood Mall were left open for development. That, and the property nearby that houses the transportation department, hold great revenue potential for the district.
Once rezoning permits are passed by the city, Costco plans to build a warehouse on the property. Brossoit is hopeful that more retailers will follow Costco’s lead and lease other sections of the property, providing capital funds for needed building improvements.
“It doesn’t eliminate the need for future bond issues, but it would lessen the need,” he said.
Building projects currently waiting to be funded include construction of a new facility for transportation, food services, maintenance and administration; renovating the property next to Edmonds Community College and moving Scriber Lake High School there; and updating Lynndale Elementary and Madrona K-8.
 “It’s all still a little fluid right now due to the economy,” Brossoit said.
A comprehensive curriculum
With accolades for its International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme at Edmonds Woodway High School, a new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) magnet program coming to Mountlake Terrace High School, and Lynnwood High School’s recent trip to the national robotics competition, Edmonds School District has a lot to boast about. But Brossoit would rather look at the big picture than focus on specific programs.
“We offer a comprehensive curriculum and we also offer the full-meal deal —whatever kids are interested in is accessible, whether it is clubs, sports, music, theater. It’s hard to say we specialize in just one thing. IB is great, but we have Advanced Placement (AP) classes in our other high schools and they are beneficial, too. We try to do things that are broad and inclusive, not narrow. The quality that we have is a function of the people we have in our system — staff, teachers, parents and the community,” he said.