NWONA - Northwest Olympia Neighborhood Association

10/06/2026

Join us this weekend!

10/03/2026

Get your costumes and car decorations ready for Trunk or Treat!! This is an annual event that is loved by Garfield families.

Please let us know if you can provide a trunk or volunteer your time!

https://volunteersignup.org/M8D4M

10/01/2026

The City of Olympia plans to advance two public art projects at Harrison Avenue and Division Street and Henderson Boulevard and ...

09/28/2026

The Olympia School District has proposed to close three elementary schools in Olympia: McKinney, Madison, and LP Brown. In this proposal, the students at LP Brown would be split between Hansen and Garfield.

According to the district’s policy analysis, this would result in an additional 170+ students at Garfield next school year and require an additional 10 classrooms.

There are no details as to where those additional 10 classrooms are and which classes will be moved to the portables. It is also unclear how pickup and drop off will be organized with these additional students and how that will affect neighborhood traffic. New bus times are calculated for students at closing schools in the analysis, but not for receiving schools. Notably, for all closing schools, bus riders will see an increase in the duration of their bus ride.

There is no mention of the return of art specialists with the closure of schools. It is noted that the savings from closure comes from a reduction in teachers, admin, and staff. While there will be an increase in the total number of teachers at Garfield, the student to teacher ratio is projected to increase from 20.5 to 23.3. The student to office/paras/behavior techs will also increase from 7.4 to 9.5.

Current staff, teachers, and admin at Garfield are not guaranteed their current positions in the closure process. Instead, this will be based on seniority district wide and the collective bargaining agreement. Which specific teachers and staff that could be changed is unclear.

More information about the proposal can be found on the district’s Policy 6883 Analysishttps://files.smartsites.parentsquare.com/10525/osd_policy_6883_report_-_september_17_2026_acc.pdf and on the pages of OSD4All.

As of this post, the district has not arranged for any public meetings with the receiving schools. There is a PTO lead meeting at LP Brown this Wednesday (details in comments). The district is required to hold public hearings at the closing schools. Those dates are listed below.

McKenny Elementary School Monday, October 12th 6:00pm

LP Brown Elementary School Thursday, October 15, 6:00 pm

Madison Elementary School Monday, October 19, 6 p.m.

We also encourage you to email school board members with your questions and concerns.

09/16/2026

09/15/2026

The PTA is excited to announce an Afterschool Art Program! This program will start in October and is open to all students. It is donation based to participate.

Please go here to sign up your child: https://olygarfieldpta.givebacks.com/shop/items/59c7b09d546c1b

09/08/2026

A student enrollment count will be conducted by ALL SCHOOLS in the Olympia School District on September 9th. The data collected is used by OSD to aid in building the district budget for school year 2027-2028, and make adjustments to this year's staffing. Doing our best to prevent absenteeism will help ensure that our district is making the most accurate projections for enrollment figures.

09/01/2026

For generations, people have come downtown to fill a bottle, grab a drink and experience Olympia’s Artesian Well. The well remains open, but the surrounding Artesian Commons has been closed since 2018.

Now, the City is looking at what could come next for this unique downtown space, and community input will help shape that conversation. Take the short survey and tell us what matters most to you. The survey closes Sept. 7.

Take the survey here: https://engage.olympiawa.gov/what-s-next-for-the-artesian-commons.

Alt text: Close-up of a person filling a large, clear water jug and smaller plastic bottles at a outdoor artesian well spigot catching warm sunlight.

06/09/2026

For more information on efforts to save the Evergreen Pool

https://fundraise.givesmart.com/e/IYQloA?vid=1qvb5a&fbclid=IwZnRzaASVE4ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeLXxmjs_7-3szOHGv0JLLcokyQev5beBNi9wmcY4SdUqeouILpxtoyoYFRrE_aem_tW9ZWV8hRn5OcQhThNM2KQ

I’m a proud supporter of PARC Foundation of Thurston County. It is doing amazing things and I encourage you to support them as well. Find out more about their event Regional Aquatics Alliance for Thurston County(RAAFT) Event : https://fundraise.givesmart.com/e/IYQloA