Parkland, WA

James Sales Elementary School, a part of the Franklin Pierce School District, in Parkland, Washington, has approximately 400 students in grades K-5. The school has 24 teachers.

James Sales Elementary School was dedicated on Oct. 25, 1953. It was named after James Edward Sales, the first white child to be born in Tacoma. The school was built on part of the original Sales property.

The school was in the news recently, since they received a $100,000 award from the Ellen DeGeneres Show. It is conjunction with the school’s 12 Days of Hope program they have each December. James Sales' 12 Days of Hope is a program developed by Principal Schroeder, with the help of staff at the school, aimed to express unconditional love and unconditional giving to students in a way that supports positive reinforcement and compels the 400+ kindergarten through 5th graders to develop a greater understanding and appreciation for the practice of giving and receiving of themselves.

To view a video about this event, you may want to go to here.

DiscoverParkland.com has arrived. This is the virtual gathering place for all things pertaining to Parkland (a southern suburb of Tacoma, WA.)

Parkland is the home of Pacific Lutheran University, (PLU) a liberal arts college with over 3,000 students enrolled.

Garfield Street, which lead directly into PLU, is lined with businesses, most of whom belong to the Garfield Street Business Association.

In addition, there is another organization, the Parkland Community Association, which is a grass-roots organization of Parkland residents and businesses who recognize that informed, involved citizens can improve a community’s livability and quality of life.

All of these groups are involved in the new DiscoverParkland.com blog/web/news site. There will be an official kickoff party for participants in the near future, but the site is already up and ready for you to check it out!

Parkland Lutheran School, in Parkland Washington, a suburb of Tacoma, has been in operation since 1894, just 5 years after Washington became a state.

It was organized by the Rev. Bjug
Harstad, who also founded Pacific
Lutheran University. The two facilities are less than 8 blocks apart.

Recently, Parkland Lutheran School began using the Classical method of education. This means they are developing their students in: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. They are one of about a dozen schools that feed into Evergreen Lutheran High School.

Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland, (suburb of Tacoma) Washington was founded in 1890. It is consistently ranked well in the US News College ratings among Western Regional Universities. It is a private university with approximately 3500 students.

Picture is of Harstad Hall - Original Building on Campus - now a women's dorm.

It occupies over 150 acres on its woodland campus, near major freeway access points. The most popular majors at Pacific Lutheran University include: Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services; Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs; EDUCATION; Health Professions and Related Programs; and Social Sciences. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 83.0 percent.

PLU is one of more than ten institutions of higher education in Pierce County.

Franklin Pierce School District – Parkland, WA http://www.fp.k12.wa.us

Franklin Pierce School District is located south and a bit east of Tacoma. It covers approximately 42 square miles, and serves about 7,500 students. These students attend: 7 elementary schools; 2 middle schools; 3 high schools; and alternative high school, and on online facility.

To see a list of schools use this link: http://www.fp.k12.wa.us/Section.aspx?SectionID=19&ContentID=0

Their school year calendar is here: http://www.fp.k12.wa.us/files/2011-12%20Calendar.pdf