All About Key Peninsula Middle School

JUMP TO

Student Opportunities
Key Peninsula Middle School Stats
Neighborhoods Within School Boundary

We have finally arrived at our last stop in our tour of all 17 schools in the Peninsula School District. Key Peninsula Middle School is in Lakebay, Washington, and serves students on the Key Peninsula. Join me as we go inside to hear from the principals, teachers, and students on why they love their school. 

A Welcoming Community

Jeri Goebel, Principal

I’m principal at Key Peninsula Middle School. This is my 15th year here. Students from KPMS, grades six through eight, come from Evergreen Elementary, Minter Creek Elementary, or Vaughn Elementary. We are 10 miles off the Purdy Spit, off the Purdy Bridge, down the Key Peninsula, and our campus is like a state park—beautiful, lots of trees, a very rural community, and a very warm and welcoming community.

Luke Grunberg, Assistant Principal

I’m the assistant principal at KPMS. We are the home of the Cougars. Students, after they spend three years with us, they go on to Peninsula High School and Henderson Bay High School. 

We have three specific values that we teach and re-teach to students: that’s being safe, respectful, and responsible. We teach kids at the tier one level, that’s all kids, what those values are. We don’t want students just looking at them like they’re a set of rules, but they’re actually things that we want to build innately within our kids in helping them understand that when you have a community of people within a school, 450 of us, we have to figure out ways we’re going to treat each other, ways we’re going to be responsible and professional, and ways we’re going be safe so that we all can come and have a comfortable learning experience.

We’re in this together. When you watch teachers and students interact, there’s a positivity. There’s definitely a sense of pride and a sense of family within our building, for sure.

Mason L., Student

I’m an eighth grader. I’ve been here three years. If someone came up to me and said they were new here and they’re coming to the school, the first thing I’d say is don’t be afraid, because a lot of the teachers are including, and this is a very including school.

Richard Miller, Teacher

I teach art, multimedia—which includes photography, that type of thing—and I coach volleyball. The values of the school are to be inclusive. I think that’s our number one thing that stands us apart from a lot of other schools. This school has had over the years a really good culture in terms of kids feeling like they belong and feeling like it’s a place where they can be themselves without a lot of judgments or criticisms.

Abigayel H., Student

I’m an eighth grader at KPMS. I’ve been here since sixth grade, so three years now. I feel very supported by my teachers. All of them are very friendly and they’re always there to help when we have questions.

I love the energy here. It’s very exciting, happy, and welcoming. Very welcoming.

Joanna Babbitt, Teacher

I am a teacher and a parent here. My husband and I, we lived in Gig Harbor before we moved out here and it’s really this wonderful community feel where everyone is very welcoming. 

I feel like every new student we’ve brought in, they feel very welcomed, they feel very included, almost immediately, like their first day of school, they feel loved and welcomed here.

Student Opportunities

Luke Grunberg, Assistant Principal

So there’s a few things that make us unique. Some of those are our programs. We have AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, a program that’s designed at serving a small group of students related to college and career exploration very intentionally. We have what we call a multi-tiered system of support. We teach all students specifics around academics, behavior, social-emotional learning. Because we serve such a range of students, we really lean on that system, to help us serve kids and meet them where they are.

Joanna Babbitt, Teacher

I feel like we have a great [Highly Capable] program that really speaks to our kids who are above and beyond.

Jeri Goebel, Principal

We have a wide variety of clubs and it’s based on student interests, so whatever club a student might want to start, they can go through the ASB process and start their own club. Our most famous club right now is the online cooking club. Students go home and sometimes we provide some of the ingredients and, just like Martha Stewart, they make dishes and share them with their family. TSA, which is a state club, it’s a technology club. We also are starting a drama club, in the past we’ve had a guitar club, so we have a nice variety of clubs here.

Mason L., Student

I’m involved in Tech Club. Right now we’re working on projects for state. They’re forensic technology and stuff about tech, and then you go and compete. And also sometimes we play board games and just have a fun time.

Abigayel H., Student

My favorite is volleyball and track because I really like doing sports. For volleyball, I just love the group, it feels like we’re sisters basically.

Richard Miller, Teacher

There’s been so many times when a child who is just kind of quiet and shy and who you’re not really sure if you’re connecting with, all of a sudden they’ll come to you and just say, “Your class has changed my life.” A kid who sent me an email recently said, “I’m now in medical school and you inspired me to do that when you taught us science.” And I thought, yeah, that’s just a really touching thing to hear.

Jeri Goebel, Principal

Every day students surprise me. They’re always surprising me with some accomplishment and they share it with me and I’m incredibly proud and incredibly proud of my staff, too. Every day is a great day.

Neighborhoods Within School Boundary

While much of the Key Peninsula is a more rural area, some neighborhoods include:

  • Crescent Beach

  • Creviston Ridge

  • Danforth Heights

  • Filucy Bay

  • Fir Acres

  • Lake Holiday

  • Lake Minterwood

  • Lake Minterwood Estates

  • Lake of the Woods

  • Long Branch Estates

  • Longbranch

  • Longbranch Shores

  • Minter

  • Minter Beach Estates

  • Minter Run

  • Palmer Lake

  • Peninsula Meadows

  • Rocky Bay

  • Taylor Bay Estates

  • Wauna

  • Wauna Shores

  • Whiteman’s Cove

  • Herron Island

And there you have it! Thanks for joining me in this look at all the schools in the Peninsula School District. If you want to learn more about our wonderful community here be sure to check out my blog, or for more information on buying and selling with Gig Harbor’s top real estate agent go to askpaigeschulte.com.

Gig Harbor SchoolsBecca Fitzpatrick