BRIDGING THE BRIDGE PROGRAM AT NKHS

North Kitsap High School’s Bridge Program lifts special needs students in our district to new heights of self-reliance and community engagement.

Alongside external community partners and businesses, NKSF has always been a strong supporter of the NKHS Bridge program. While the majority of NKHS students consider their lives beyond high school, including college and Pathways opportunities to enter the workforce, some disabled students struggle to grasp essential life skills. When district resources are strained by fulfilling the many mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), NKSF steps in to provide additional classroom resources.

In recent years, NKSF has awarded grants to the NKHS Bridge program, enabling specialized learning in life skills such as cooking and food preparation through the purchase of kitchen furnishings. Other NKSF funding has gone toward providing Bridge educators with crucial speech and language equipment and software (LSVT Loud) that enable educators to evaluate students who are struggling with communication. 

This year, NKSF also provided the Bridge program with additional supplies, including metal employee lockers, bulletin boards, laundry baskets, mops and buckets, and more; necessities that can easily be overlooked as essential components of pursuing a quality, independent life beyond high school. All of these classroom necessities support the next significant component: providing a bridge for these students to lead fulfilling lives in our community. 

Several local businesses have provided job sites where Bridge Program students can practice and hone their education in real-world environments. Long-time NKSF business partners and community champions, Town and Country Markets and the Suquamish Tribe, have not only provided funding for classroom supplies but also offer some of the longest-running job sites for Bridge Program students. More of the incredible support from our local community can be found in this recent Kitsap Daily News article, as well!

It’s not always easy to build equity into large systems that tend to focus more on the middle 68% of students who are generally considered to be progressing normally. All in for All Students means that teachers must carefully monitor students who fall below the 16th percentile or exceed the 84th percentile and provide for their educational needs so that they may flourish in life.  

The NKHS Bridge Program is a wonderful example of how the North Kitsap community rallies behind our schools to support students and help them succeed in life. Thanks to your gifts, NKSF is proud to be a part of that effort.