BGPS News to Know

HELLO FAMILIES OF BATTLE GROUND PUBLIC SCHOOLS

We are looking forward to welcoming students back to school beginning Tuesday, Aug. 26. To help you have a successful start to the year, please review the back-to-school checklist in this email.

Information about school-specific events and schedules will be sent by your child’s school before classes resume. We are excited to begin another year of learning and connection.

While the loss of local levy funding for educational programs and operations has brought changes across the district, including staffing adjustments, we have worked to minimize the impact on our students, and our commitment to students and families remains strong. We will continue to work toward maintaining a safe, supportive learning environment for every child. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate these changes. 

Thank you for your partnership, and enjoy the rest of your summer break!

Battle Ground Public Schools

Over the summer, Battle Ground Public Schools completed an update of Skyward Family Access, our student information system. The new version has an easier to use interface and navigation and will allow you to see your child’s assignments, attendance, grades and more. Here are some key things to know:

• You should have received an email earlier today with the subject line “Family Access Account Information.” It will contain information about logging in and updating your password. If you did not receive this email, please use the information below to log in and verify that your email address is entered correctly. If it is correct, please check your email spam folders and update settings to allow emails from do_not_reply@battlegroundps.org.

• The new Skyward Family Access has a different URL. Please update any old bookmarks.

• The updated version also has a new mobile app (Google Play and Apple App Store). Please uninstall older versions of the Skyward app before installing and setting up the new mobile app. You will not be able to reset your password in the older version.

• If you had a username and password, the same login information will still work. Please use the “Forgot password?” link if you do not know your password. Staff are not able to reset passwords; however, they can check to see if your email address is correct.

• If you do not have a username and password for an existing student, please contact your child’s school.

• Some items may have moved or no longer be available.

• Families will receive printed report cards only upon request. Digital report cards will be available in Skyward and may be printed at home.

The new Skyward functions best on a desktop or laptop computer and full browser. Computers will be available for use by any BGPS parent or guardian at Battle Ground and Prairie high schools.

All families with enrolled students are required to complete the annual student update every year before school begins. This provides you with important options regarding your child’s education and ensures that we have correct contact information for you. We will use this information to communicate with you regularly and reach you in case of an emergency.

To complete the student update, please log into Skyward (Family Access) and click “2025-26 annual student update” (do not select new student online enrollment) in the tiles on the home screen. See instructions. 

• If your transportation needs have changed, please make sure to opt in or out of busing. 

• Due to a technical issue at the state level, the application for free and reduced-price meals is temporarily unavailable in Skyward. In the meantime, you can fill out an application available via the district website.

The 2025-26 academic calendar can be found on the website in English, Spanish and Russian.  The calendar was updated in June 2025 to include early releases for primary school students in May 2026.

• Tuesday, Aug. 26, is the first day of school for first through 12th grades. Kindergartners and Transitional Kindergartners will have a staggered start and will receive information from their school. The first full day of kindergarten and Transitional Kindergarten is Friday, Sept. 5.

• Class schedules and teacher assignments will be released next week. Primary, middle and alternative learning schedules and assignments will be available in Skyward on Aug. 20 at 4 p.m. Battle Ground and Prairie high school students’ schedules will be available in Skyward on Aug. 22 at noon.

• Watch for back-to-school event information from your child’s school.

• Wednesday is typically a one-hour late start. The first Wednesday late start of the school year will be Sept. 3.

• Families needing childcare options before and after school can find information on the district website.

School offices are now back open with limited hours that will expand over the next few weeks.

Battle Ground Public Schools partners with Chartwells to provide meals at school. Menus will continue to be available via Nutrislice, with payments processed through InTouch Receipting. You will be able to see and pay all charges in one place. Use your Skyward / FamilyID information to log in (note: parent usernames now include an extra zero). See meal prices for 2025-26. 

All students who attend schools that do not offer free meals to all students may still qualify to receive meals at no cost to their family if they meet the requirements.

The application for free and reduced-price meals is available in Skyward or the district website. Please note that even if your child has qualified for free meals in the past, you will still need to reapply.

Students wishing to take advantage of no-fee sports or other activities must submit a new meal benefit application and consent to share form (русский) (Español) before registering for fall sports, even if they have done so previously. The consent to share can also be completed as part of the annual student update through Skyward.

• FinalForms account confirmation message: Earlier this month, you may have received an email from FinalForms about confirming an account that was created for you. FinalForms is used to register for sports. Confirming your account is required only if your child is planning to play a sport at Prairie or Battle Ground high school during the 2025-26 school year. If your child will not play a sport, please disregard the message.

  • If your child is planning to play a sport but you did not receive this email, please contact Prairie or Battle Ground’s Associated Student Body office.  

• Busing/transportation: New this year – Bus route information will be available for your child(ren) in their Skyward account by the end of next week. Log in through Family Access and select the “transportation” tile on the home screen. You will be able to view the bus number, stop address and approximate pickup and drop off times. We also recommend installing the FirstView app from First Student. It allows you to set notifications, receive information about delays or route changes and track your child’s bus in near real-time. The FirstView app is available for Android and Apple devices. The five-digit district code for the 2025-26 school year is K1Q0K. Snow route information will be on the district’s transportation website after the start of the school year.

• School supplies: Get school supply lists. Due to the double levy failure, the district is unable to provide basic school supplies to all primary students by default this school year. However, free backpacks and basic supplies will be available in your school office for any student in any grade upon request. Contact your child’s school or the Family and Community Resource Center if your family needs assistance. Thank you to the Battle Ground Education Foundation for helping to fund this resource. Donations are greatly appreciated at bgef.org to help them to continue assisting families throughout the district.

• Handbook: View the 2025-26 student and family handbook. Your child’s school may have additional handbook information. 

• Multilingual parent and family engagement event:

  • When: Monday, Aug. 18 from 4-6 p.m.

  • Where: Lewisville campus (406 NW 5th Ave. Battle Ground)

  • What: Families are invited to meet our amazing multilingual support team, learn about the program and access local resources. Our Russian and Spanish language parent liaisons will be in attendance. There will also be pizza and fun activities for children. No RSVP is required and there is no cost to attend. Learn more. 

• Health and safety:

  •  Please keep your child home if they have symptoms of illness. See our health and attendance brochure.

  • Confirm that your child meets Washington state immunization requirements or has an approved exemption by the first day of school. Learn more about the state’s vaccination requirements to attend a public school. See free and low-cost immunization clinics.

  • While we will continue to work to meet student health plans and needs, school nurse availability will change due to the levy failure. A nurse may not be onsite at every school for the full duration of every day that classes are in session. Please contact your child’s school if you need to connect with a nurse. We may make staffing adjustments once the school year begins.

• Technology checkout:

• Sixth-12th graders who need a Chromebook should go to their school media center. Learn about the optional Chromebook assurance fee that lessens the financial burden on families in the event of an accident or theft.

• Middle school sports: Due to the 2025 replacement levy failure, all middle school sports have been eliminated. Middle school sports were entirely funded by local levy dollars. We understand how deeply not offering middle school sports impacts our students, families and school communities. This decision was not made lightly and is one of many difficult reductions across the district. Thank you for your understanding. 

• Increase to Associated Student Body (ASB) fees: Also due to the levy failure, the cost of participating in sports and attending games will increase. Levy dollars covered a portion of the costs associated with athletics. Please note: Students who receive free or reduced-price meals AND have a 2025-26 consent to share form on file will be eligible to have these costs waived. Prior school year consent to share form does not roll over. 

• Library materials: Parents and guardians are welcome to see what's available in libraries and which books their child has checked out. They can also choose to limit their child’s access to certain books. Get more information.

• SAT, PSAT and more standardized tests: Eighth grade and high school students will have opportunities to take standardized tests for graduation, college, the military and scholarships. Learn about the opportunities and how to sign up.

• Get involved: BGPS is seeking members for its Citizens Advisory Committee. This committee meets once per month to give parents, guardians and community members an opportunity to share their perspectives on BGPS with district leaders and learn about initiatives and programs. The first meeting is Thursday, September 11, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Battle Ground High School library. All parents, guardians and community members are welcome, no RSVP or application required. Light refreshments will be available.

• Care Solace: Care Solace is a complimentary and confidential care coordination service that can help students and/or their immediate family members quickly find mental health or substance use treatment options matched to their needs, regardless of insurance or circumstance. Care Solace also can help connect families to housing and food programs. Find out how to get started.

• Visit the Safety Study Hall website, a place for schools, students and families to learn about safety topics.

• Washington State Governor’s Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO): An independent state agency that helps to reduce educational opportunity gaps by supporting families, students, educators and other stakeholders in communities across WA in understanding the K-12 school system and resolving concerns collaboratively. OEO services are free and confidential. Anyone can contact OEO with a question or concern about school. OEO listens, shares information and referrals, and works informally with families, communities, and schools to address concerns so that every student can fully participate and thrive in our state’s public schools. OEO provides support in multiple languages and has telephone interpretation available. To get help or learn more about what OEO does, please visit their website; email OEO or call 866-297-2597.

Summer is always the busy season for building and maintenance crews with Battle Ground Public Schools. This year, the largest project is a replacement of roofing material at the Daybreak, Chief Umtuch and Tukes Valley campuses.

All three schools were built in 2008 and 2009 as part of a bond approved by voters in 2005. Kevin Jolma, the district’s executive director of facilities said, “Those roofs were warrantied for 15 years and are ready to be replaced. These renovations should give us the same lifespan or better at a substantial cost savings compared to a full tear-off and replacement.”

Those projects are being funded through the district’s capital levy, approved by voters in 2023. Additional projects planned with that funding include a new building for the construction trades program at Battle Ground High School and upgrades to the health sciences and culinary arts spaces at both Battle Ground and Prairie high schools. Several of those projects are in the planning stages. An upgrade to the main entrance at BGHS is likely to begin next summer.

Learn more on the district website.

The BGPS Bulletin is full of great stories about what’s happening in and around the Battle Ground Public Schools. If you’re not already signed up, be sure to subscribe so you can stay up to date and in the know.

• School offices back to regular hours the week of Aug. 18

• First day of school for most students: Tuesday, Aug. 26

• Friday, Aug. 29: student non-attendance day

• Monday, Sept. 1: Schools closed in observance of Labor Day

• Wednesday, Sept. 3: First one-hour late start of the school year

• Battle Ground Community Education - After school flag football and basketball

• Prairie High School wrestling camp - Friday, Aug. 14

• Journey Theater fall classes in Battle Ground (ages 8-18)

• NWAS Volleyball club for 7/8 grade boys and girls (no cost to try out)

• View more community events

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Battle Ground Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation,  gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.

Information about the district’s nondiscrimination and sex-based discrimination policies and grievance procedures are located on the District’s website at: https://www.battlegroundps.org/notice-of-nondiscrimination/.

The following employees have been designated to receive and respond to questions and complaints of alleged discrimination:

Title IX Coordinator/Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator: Lynnell Tsugawa-Murray, Assistant Superintendent, Battle Ground Public Schools, PO Box 200, Battle Ground, WA 98604, EMAIL  PHONE: 360-885-5340

Section 504/ADA Coordinator: Michelle Reinhardt, Executive Director of Human Resources, Battle Ground Public Schools, PO Box 200, Battle Ground, WA 98604, EMAIL  PHONE: 360-885-5481

Notice of nondiscrimination, accessibility and privacy