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Front of Challenger Elementary School
Welcome to Challenger Elementary!

Located in Issaquah, WA, Challenger Elementary serves approximately 415 students in Kindergarten through 5th Grade. Read more about Our School.

Student raises arm up as other students smile
Kindergarten Registration for 2025-2026 School Year!

It’s Kindergarten Registration season! Do you live in the Issaquah School District and have a student who will be 5 years old by Aug. 31, 2025? It’s time to register your student for kindergarten for the fall of 2025!

Kindergarten Registration

Mrs. Cho's kindergarten class. Ready for the 1st day!
Kindergarten is here!
students sitting near a big %222%22
First day of school!

Our 2nd Grade students are ready to have a fantastic school year!

Students stand with snack donations
Snack Drive

This fall, second graders at Challenger School focused on Community Citizenship and Government in Social Studies. They learned about civic roles and organized a Snack Drive to support the PTA Angel Program, helping community members facing food insecurities. Students created a promotional video and posters for the drive, resulting in numerous healthy snack donations. This initiative emphasizes the importance of nutrition for better focus and learning in school.

Upcoming Events

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Last Day of School for Students: Half Day High and Middle Schools, Full Day Elementary

*Note: On April 24, the district announced that it had just received the waiver from the state. Here is that announcement:

 

The state has approved Issaquah School District’s request to waive the school day on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. This waiver was requested due to weather-related closures earlier in the school year. As a result, the last day of school for all students will be Tuesday, June 24, 2025. The schedule for June 24 remains the same — elementary schools will attend a full day, and secondary schools will follow a half-day schedule. Students will not attend school on June 25.

The district applied for this waiver under the state’s Emergency School Closure Waiver program, which allows missed days to be waived if certain conditions are met. These include making up at least three missed days, demonstrating reasonable efforts to recover all lost instructional time, and ensuring the district meets the state’s required annual instructional hours.

The web-based calendar will be updated today; the PDF version of the calendar will be updated as soon as possible.

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Hybrid - Board Room and Zoom

The School Board will hold a special meeting on June 26, 2025 from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM. The meeting will be called to order at 5:00 PM and the Board will immediately go into Executive Session, expected to last 1 hour. The Board will then call the meeting back to order to adjourn at 6:00 PM.

The Issaquah School Board, Superintendent Tow-Yick, members of the ISD Administration, and legal counsel will be present to discuss litigation or potential litigation pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1)(i). This session will be held in person at the Administration Center (5150 220th Ave. SE, Issaquah, WA 98029) and a Zoom option will be provided. This session is expected to last 1 hour and end at 6:00 PM.

Executive Sessions are not open to the public and no action will be taken.

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Administration Building, 5150 220th Ave SE, Issaquah, WA

The agenda and meeting details will be posted at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Please note the agenda and materials may be modified up to 24 hours prior to the meeting; after that time, any agenda modifications will be addressed at the meeting.

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Zoom

The agenda and meeting details will be posted at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Please note the agenda and materials may be modified up to 24 hours prior to the meeting; after that time, any agenda modifications will be addressed at the meeting.

 

NOTE-

This meeting was originally scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM, but was moved to 9:00 AM and will take place over Zoom to accommodate School Board Directors' schedules. This change was approved by the Board at the April 10, 2025 regular board meeting.

Happening Now at Challenger Elementary

News Panel

Miss Seattle sits with students
Miss Seattle Shares a SMILE with Challenger Students

Reagan Rebstock, Miss Seattle, came to visit Challenger students today! She read the classes a book and discussed "Reagan's Challenge" about inclusion, belonging, and welcoming those with differences. She shared the acronym SMILE:

  • S - Smile and wave
  • M - Make a path or open door for someone
  • I - Include a new friend at lunch, recess, or library time
  • L - Lead by example
  • E - Encourage and give a high 5 to cheer each other on
  • Featured Story
Read More about Miss Seattle Shares a SMILE with Challenger Students

Social Panel

Announcements Panel

By the Numbers

424

Students enrolled for the 2022-23 school year.

The Challenger community will create a positive, friendly, and respectful learning environment where staff and students feel safe, are willing and encouraged to take risks, and individual learning styles are recognized and nurtured.

37

Classroom teachers in the 2021-2022 school year.

In the 2021-22 school year, our teachers had an average of 8.5 years of experience.

62.2%

Of our teachers have a master's degree or higher.

To find the contact information for one of our teachers or staff, visit the directory (use the menu option at the top right to access the directory).

82.3%

Of our students regularly attend.

This data is from the 2021-2022 school year, the most recent year available from OSPI.

Front of Challenger Elementary School - black and white

School Highlights & Programs

Our students will be prepared for and eager to accept the academic, occupational, personal and practical challenges of life in a dynamic global environment.

Image shows Challenger Principal Jennifer Kessler

Meet Principal Jennifer Kessler

Hello, Comet families! One of the best things about being a principal is being around kids every day – they say the funniest things! A few fun facts about me: I’m a lefty! My favorite children’s book is “Go Dog, Go!”by P.D. Eastman. When I listen to music I’m likely to pick almost anything that came out in the 1980s. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would be PIZZA! My travel bucket list includes a vacation to London and Paris.  

Elementary Science Classroom

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

MTSS is shaping the student experience at our school and throughout our district. Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, or MTSS, is a nationally recognized, evidence-based framework guiding our approach to academics, social emotional learning, behavior and attendance.

Read More

 
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