Someone You Should Know: Stacy Zhong and Lulu Bath

The moms behind the new Washington Preparatory School in Bothell
Because of competition for too few spots and long waiting lists, Stacy Zhong failed to find an Eastside private school for her son. Lulu Bath’s friends kept asking her for boarding school recommendations in western Washington, but she found that the options were limited. While others may have been daunted by this lack of options, Zhong and Bath saw it as an opportunity.
The longtime friends (20 years) and long-term business partners decided to create Washington Preparatory School (WPS). They envisioned a college preparatory school for sixth- through 12th-graders that included a boarding option for international students.
Now, three years later, WPS will welcome its first 60 students in the fall. Those sixth- through ninth-graders will enter the school’s temporary front doors while its permanent campus of 11 buildings on 13.5 acres of land is being built across the street on State Route 527 in Bothell.
On the roster: Zhong’s own children, a 12-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son, who are most excited about the school’s robotics program and afterschool option to learn how to build video games. (Bath is also a mom; her children are now adults.)
Zhong and Bath — who co-own the popular Asian Food Center chain of food stores — met with ParentMap to discuss their vision for the future. (WPS’s interim head of school and International Baccalaureate (IB) coordinator, Joe Kennedy, also joined the interview to give further insight into the school’s programming.) Here are their aspirations for WPS, the community and their students.