Published September 1 2015
Coordinated by the Eastside Pathways organization, the city of Bellevue, Bellevue School District and several community partners are collaborating on a campaign to encourage children to attend school and discourage tardiness.
This years awareness campaign kicks off on Sept. 1, the start of a new school year, with banners that will be hung from pedestrian overpasses on 148th Avenue Southeast and Northeast 12th Street.
"Bellevue is an innovative, vibrant and caring community, and were thrilled to be participating in this critical effort to help our students succeed," said City Councilmember and an Eastside Pathways founding board member John Stokes. "The partnership between the city, the Bellevue School District and Eastside Pathways encourages parents to send their children to school and to have them arrive on time and ready to learn key ingredients for our youngest generation to live, work and play well in the future."
As part of the campaign, 22 Bellevue District schools will receive bookmarks and information cards distributed by volunteers. The schools will distribute them to students and parents and hang posters and banners in multiple languages on campuses to spread the word.
The bookmarks have the following tips for students to complete before bed: read at home, complete and pack homework, lay out school clothes, set alarm, sleep for 9-10 hours and have sweet dreams.
"Last years campaign brought an awareness of the impact of tardiness, and we will be building on those successes this year," said Glenn Hasslinger, supervisor of pupil management at the Bellevue School District. "In the past two years the Bellevue School District has seen a reduction of nearly 30 percent. Elementary schools such as Clyde Hill, Newport Heights, and Spiritridge saw a significant decrease in late attendance (54 percent, 48 percent and 44 percent, respectively) in 2014-2015."
Founded in 2011, Bellevue-based Eastside Pathways mobilizes the community to support every child, step-by-step, from cradle to career. The partnership unites around common goals, measurements and strategies to maximize each child's opportunity for a productive, fulfilling life.
More information is available online, or contact Nahyeli Mendivil, Communications and Operations Manager, at 520-977-9688 or nahyeli@eastsidepathways.org.