Tuesday Open Thread

I have to getting going but I did want to put up two key items.

One, did you get that letter from Superintendent Nyland? What a hot mess.  Basically, please stay tuned and someday you'll find our the school schedule, bell times, transportation.  The least the district could do is provide a chart so you know at a glance what key dates there are.

I also found this sentence - around early-release dates - off-putting:

In further review of our data we found that Wednesdays are better for teacher collaboration time and maximizes educator participation.

I find this issue of why Wednesday is better for having teachers in place versus Friday (which is when many parents want an early release day) something of concern.  The teachers contract wasn't written to emphasize penalties for non-participation in professional development?

Plus, a odd sentence at the end that I don't recall him placing in other letters:

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, it is a great honor.

Second, although Director Patu filed her notice about running again, the first official filing is from Zachary DeWolf for the open seat that Director Blanford is vacating (he has said this publicly several times).

Mr. DeWolf is quite the interesting candidate. He is Native-American, gay, and a communications specialist. He was in the Peace Corps and, to my interest, a member of the 43rd Dems (and sits on their board). As they are having an event this week, I'll be delighted to go introduce myself.

I have to smile, though. For being a communications guy, it's a little odd that his website doesn't mention which region he's running from or anything about that region. It's district 5, Director Blanford's region (which I believe will be the most highly contested race).

What's on your mind?  

Letter from Superintendent Nyland:

Dear Families:

This letter is to update you on the tentative school schedule for the 2017-18 school year. There are a number of moving parts, so thank you in advance for your patience as we determine how to best serve our 54,000 students.

Key calendar dates:

We heard from many of you regarding the calendar for next year and a request for key dates. While the School Board will vote on the school calendar on June 7, we have published key dates including the first day of school, last day of school, and school breaks on the SPS website.

Longer School Day and School Schedules:

For many years, the length of the student school day in Seattle has been shorter than our neighboring districts. Starting next year, the school day will be 20 minutes longer, which will support more time for student learning and teacher collaboration. This change will result in the equivalent of two additional days of instruction for students.

Three-Tier School Schedule

With the addition of 20 minutes, school start and end times will change. Family feedback on preferred start and end times for 2017-18 was mixed. In general, families with students attending early start schools wanted 20 minutes added to the end of the day.  Families with students enrolled in schools with later start times (i.e. Tier 2 and 3) wanted the additional time added to the start of the day. Because our transportation department needs a minimum of 50 minutes between start times to serve nearly 100 schools, accommodate for traffic congestion and the limited number of buses available, the 20 minutes has to be added consistently across all schools. The School Board adopted a schedule that attempts to balance multiple needs, starting 10 minutes earlier and ending 10 minutes later.

If the district continues with three-tiers, this is the 2017-18 Arrival and Departure Schedule approved by the School Board in January.

Two-Tier School Schedule

We have heard that many families in Tier 3, schools with the latest current start time (9:35 a.m.) want the district to move to a two-tier schedule. Although our $50 million funding shortfall did not permit the district to make the requested change, the Mayor and City of Seattle heard our families’ request. The city is currently considering whether they may be able to help with the required $2.3 million in funding.

We are extremely grateful to the City of Seattle for their consideration. City support would allow us to eliminate Tier 3, which has been a significant hardship on some students and families, and better aligns school start and end times with the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Medical Association recommendations. You can view the two-tier start and end times approved by the School Board on page 2 of the 2017-18 Arrival and Departure Schedule (linked above).

Next Steps

In the next couple weeks we will be taking a number of school schedule actions to the School Board. If the city funds a two-tier school schedule, the School Board will need to accept the grant and the district may make some slight adjustments to the two-tier start and end times to help maximize high school instructional time.

We know that families and care providers need school schedule information as soon as possible in order to plan for the coming school year. We are committed to notifying families and providers about the final schedule by June 16.

Consistent Weekly Early Release:

Currently, we have a variety of early release days during the school year to support staff professional development. Next year, students will be released early on a consistent weekly schedule. This schedule change supports teacher collaboration and instructional planning. The quality of classroom instruction is the single most effective strategy to eliminate opportunity gaps and accelerate learning for all students. Teacher collaboration is one of the most important strategies we implement to ensure this happens.

The school year calendar is negotiated between our labor partner, Seattle Education Association (SEA) and the district. We have come to agreement on the 2017-18 calendar (page 5) which includes the weekly early release day.

Early release days are recommended for Wednesdays and students will be released 75 minutes early. A 75 minute schedule will eliminate the current five, two-hour early release days providing more consistency and predictability for families and community partners. The final calendar, which includes the early release days, will be introduced to the School Board on May 17 and as previously mentioned, voted on at the June 7 School Board Meeting.

Regarding our decision-making process:

In October we surveyed staff, families, and community partners about schedule change preferences, not knowing in advance what stakeholders might prefer. Overwhelmingly staff and families agreed that early release was preferred to a late start. In regards to the early release day, families preferred Fridays and educators (i.e. teachers, school staff, and principals) preferred Wednesdays. In further review of our data we found that Wednesdays are better for teacher collaboration time and maximizes educator participation.

If you have comments or questions about any of the potential schedule changes, you can always email publicaffairs@seattleschools.org or share your perspective regarding the two-tier versus three-tier school schedule by emailing arrivaltimes@seattleschools.org.

Finally, I recognize these schedule changes are challenging for families managing multiple priorities and working to arrange childcare. Thank you again for your patience as we work to improve our systems in support of students and their academic success. Your partnership in these efforts is crucial.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, it is a great honor.
Sincerely,
Larry
Dr. Larry Nyland, Superintendent