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Elementary and middle school families can again choose to pay a low, one-time fee for school supplies this coming school year. The district implemented the program as a way to reduce cost for families and make the school supply process more streamlined and economical. School supplies will be provided right in class on the first day of school and continuously provided throughout the school year as needed: all for one low cost per student.

• The district will purchase school supplies for elementary and middle school students, and provide replacements throughout the school year.
  • Families will continue to provide students with backpacks and lunchboxes, along with school planners at middle schools.
  • High school students continue to provide their own school supplies.
• The program is voluntary: families can choose to continue to purchase their own school supplies.
• Families will pay a low, one-time fee of $30 ($10 for families on free/reduced lunch) for a school years' worth of school supplies.

Families can pay here online anytime or by check/cash at their school at the start of the school year, September 1, 2021.

In 2016, Renton School District committed to a bold, new approach to improving outcomes for students in a historically underserved area of the district. It began as West Hill NOW! and quickly expanded to become the Renton Innovation Zone. It focused on improvement strategies to support educators in increasing student engagement, designing instruction that is based on conceptual understanding, and building classroom and school communities that support all learners in meeting standard. In addition, the district increased resources to the schools in the Renton Innovation Zone to support them in their intentional strategies to increase family partnerships.

Yet, we know we can’t do it alone, so in 2018 we further expanded this effort by engaging more deeply and explicitly with our community partners. The Renton Local Improvement Network (LIN) has been established to promote partnership between schools, families, community leaders, and community-based organizations. The groups work together with the goal of increasing math proficiency, strengthening the social and emotional learning, and serving the whole child.

Read the recent Local Improvement Network report which highlights lessons learned from year one of the first LIN pilot in Renton and tells the story of how this work began.

Bryn Mawr Elementary School teachers spent a recent teacher training day continuing their evaluation of individual and systemic practices that are inequitable to students of color. 

Staff continued their learning journey about issues of equity in education, anchoring their work in Zaretta Hammond’s book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. Bryn Mawr teacher-leaders led colleagues through a data carousel where they analyzed current student behavior data broken down by ethnicity and behavior, diving deeply into what data says about how student behavior is being addressed and how to dismantle the inequities within practices at school.

The work is part of Renton School District's mission to remove barriers and pursue outcomes that enable all students to realize their potential and maximize their future.