2017-2018 Bell Times
From SPS Communications:
SEATTLE – Seattle Public Schools today expressed their appreciation for $2.3 million in one-time funding that allows the district to implement a two-tier school schedule for the 2017-18 school year:
“The City Council voted yesterday to approve one-time funds to move us to this new two-tier bus schedule. We are grateful to Mayor Murray for bringing this issue forward as a city priority and the City Council for finding a thoughtful funding solution. Changing to a two-tier bell schedule will eliminate the latest or third tier of school start and end times, which has been a hardship on many of our families.
We also want to thank and recognize the many families who shared their perspectives and concerns about the bell time schedule with us. The final schedule reflects the varied needs and perspectives of our families, students, staff and partners.”
The final bell schedule for Seattle Public Schools is posted online here. The 2017-18 school calendar is also posted online.
End of communication
I'm a bit baffled. There are about 8 elementaries that will start at 8:55 am rather than 7:55 am. I get Loyal Heights because they are at John Marshall interim but I'm not clear on the rest.
Most of the K-8s will start at 8:55 except Broadview-Thomson and South Shore.
All the middle schools will start at 8:55 except for Denny (presumably because they are next to Sealth and have to start at a different time).
The high schools start at either 8:45 or 8:55 am (presumably depending on access to an athletic field).
Comments
NE mom of 3
- Bob
Wha?
Value added?
Option K-8 middle school students will have 75 minutes LESS class time in 2017-18 than 2016-17. Going from 5x6.5 to 4x6.5 + 1x5.75. Option K-8 elementary will now be in line with the rest of elementary schools.
Option K-8 middle school will now have 20x5 = 100 minutes/week less class time than standard middle schools. That's a lot of class time, will be impressed if they can come up with a solution that keeps K-8 middle on track with standard middle schools.
K-8 Parent
Yes, I am still angry about the extra 20 minutes a day. I think if it was well thought out it could have helped the high schoolers get the extra credits they need for graduation.
But the fact that they added it to elementary schools too and insisted that it had to be instructional time (not added to lunch), and then keeping it despite the financial difficulties the state legislature has put us in this year, it is obvious that it is yet another meaningless SPS horse and pony show.
-NW mom
West
early riser
EdVoter
From Garfield's PTSA: Advisory is official for next year. We have heard from Mr. Lovre the following: it will be four times per week, 40 minutes each session. Each advisory will have a teacher and contain all four grades of students. Two days will be designated for travel (that is, students getting a pass from a teacher to come to that teacher’s advisory for extra help/etc.), one day for team-building/bonding, and one for curriculum. More details will be delivered from the school.
20 added minutes per day less a 75 minute early release less 160 minutes of advisory is 2.25 fewer hours in class every week. Over the 36 week school year this is 13.5 days less instruction than students receive this year. Tell me again how this improves academic outcomes.
ugh
gimme outahere
Flummoxed
ugh
This is accomplished by hiring enough educators to cover classes when other educators are not teaching.
We don't do that.
Maybe we could advocate for that model instead of making long days longer for educators.
The info I am finding contradicts that.
"Cathy Hughes, 45, is a law tutor at the University of Bristol. Her twins, William and Archie, 12, attend Monkton Coombe School near Bath, and have to be in school by 8.15 am and finish at 6pm. “After school they have prep or activities every day, so always finish at six. They also have Saturday morning school,” she explains."
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe.
SPS working with Metro to ensure sufficient buses at this rush hour time for high schoolers?
Any clue on this?
Concerned parent
Also, they are subjected to the whims of downtown traffic (which has gotten noticeably worse in the past two years). Somedays my kid doesn't get home until after 4 pm and that's with a 3:15 release this year (last year was 3 pm, which was great!--home by 3:30 also everyday).
I'm guessing he'll be lucky to make it home by 5 near year.
So much for after school activities and homework. Grrr.
MadValley
I get that you're passionate about this and all but quoting that nursery rhyme is hilariously over-the-top. Following this, I suppose it's provided a solution for MadValley and Center School: the next line "Thursday's child has far to go," just like the students of the Center School. So clearly they should have Thursdays off for extra physical education. :D
Now, let's discuss the privilege of those children born on Sunday, who have the audacity to be healthy AND wealthy AND gay...
-Pollyanna
40 minutes 4 times a week is a lot of time. Hoping they can at least get some homework done.
-GHS parent
Confused
Especially with the new 24-credit requirement, we don't have time to wasted on this, but my impression is that there's no point in trying to fight Howard on anything. Thoughts?
-Seattle parent
We are paid for 30 minutes after the bell rings. It takes 15 minutes for all of my students to be picked up on most days. That leaves 15 minutes for quality PD and that is a joke. I work many extra hours, we all do, but you can't schedule PD during times teachers are not being paid to work. When I first began teaching (20 years ago) they used to pay for PD on non-student days (before school, during the school year, and at the end of the year). We don't get those days anymore, but the need to engage in quality PD has not gone away because the funding did. This system is a direct result of the state not adequately funding education. Teachers don't want these early release days any more than you. We have young children, too.
TS
Seconding the comments about loss of time for K-8 middle schhol students. I was wondering if that is a mistake, although it would be a pretty big one.
Mom of 4
FNH
As far as whether this is a district mandate, I don't think it is. I haven't seen it at my other child's SPS high school, and haven't heard about it from others on this blog or elsewhere.
Why would they add this time-intensive and worthless advisory at Garfield at a time when A) the new 24-credit requirement is being added so time is at a premium, B)the new bell times/early dismissal Wednesdays are being added so time is at a premium, and C)Garfield is the HCC pathway school for the district where many AP classes are taught and time is at a premium.
Is this another effort to drive HCC kids away from the only HCC pathway high school the district currently offers? Really unfair and frustrating, especially after open enrollment. is there anything that can be done to change this at Garfield for next year?
-Seattle parent
-?
-?
Also, teachers are all over the map on what advisory is about. Some think it's really serious, and they confiscate homework if a student is using advisory as a study hall. Other teachers are lax about it and let kids do what they want- homework, chat, whatever.
The whole thing is crazy, and such an insane waste of time in high school. We thought it would be over at the end of middle school, but apparently not...
-Seattle parent
K-8 School Day. Beginning in 2017-18, all K-8s will follow the elementary school schedule with equivalent student instructional minutes and equivalent staff work hours for elementary and middle school staff working at K-8 sites.
news2me
- thumbs up
The quote you cite is from a private school parent in a school in the UK. As a Brit who went to a mix of private and public school in Britain, I can tell you that it's standard practice in private day schools there to stay at school to do homework (called "prep") - they will also invariably get two longer recesses (morning and afternoon) plus an hour for lunch, and a break after regular lessons, before prep - probably with tea (my school served traditional jam sandwiches and sweet milky tea). Kids in state schools in the UK for the middle/high school years are in school ~8:45-3:45, but for more weeks of the year, and with significantly longer lunch periods.
We are coming from a private international school with similar scheduling to the UK school described. Our school day is 7:45-3:35 with a one hour lunch break (BUT, kids only have a half hour to eat, the other half is a break or optional 3rd language class). Kids are assigned an advisor for the duration of Middle and Upper school and advisory is once per week, Monday morning. Truth be told, kids think it is a waste of time there also.
Last year our school instituted a Friday morning period for teacher planning. Students can sleep in at home or, if they arrive on campus at the usual time, attend study hall in the lunchroom. This change was made unilaterally by admin with zero input from parents, and announced last minute too. There were initial grumblings from parents but as it didn't necessarily disrupt PARENTS' schedules, it died down quickly.
Our Monday and Fridays have a different bell schedule to accommodate the extra periods. On those days the advisory/study hall period is created by shaving 5 minutes off each of the remaining eight periods (45 v. 50 mins). I'm curious how the advisory schedule at Garfield will work.
Also, when my younger child and I visited Washington MS this week, the counselor (a substitute since the official counselor is out on maternity leave) mentioned they are thinking of moving to a 4 advisory/wk schedule as well. Sigh.
My excitement about the kids living and attending school in Seattle is abating a bit, I confess. We are committed to this adventure for at least one year, and if it doesn't work out we will return to our current school.
FNH
-Anonymous
-SPS Staff member
M,T,Th,F
8:45-9:40 1st
9:45-10:40 2nd
10:50-11:45 3rd
11:50-12:20 1st Lunch
12:25-1:20 4th Period
11:50-12:45 4th Period
12:50-1:20 2nd Lunch
1:25-2:20 5th
2:25-3:20 6th
3:20-3:35 DAM Time (Daily Academic Minutes - includes short announcements)
N by NW
goldenslot
gclub online
Flummoxed
-not clear
http://www.k12.wa.us/Workgroups/SELB-Meetings/SELBWorkgroup2016Report.pdf
Flummoxed
Here is a link to an article about the issue:
Wall Street Journal - Number of the Week: U.S. Teachers’ Hours Among World’s Longest
Have you written your legislator about the issue?
I don't know if the disruption of next year's plan is worthwhile or not. Maybe it would have been better to increase guaranteed recess time by 15 minutes per day and pay someone other than teachers to cover recess duty. That seems like a good trade off to me.
Only the legislature can provide the funding we need for more teachers.
-not clear
HS soon
I''m sure the teachers are just as annoyed. I don't blame them at all. But it's just not been made clear to parents why it has to be SO very much time, and HOW exactly they will carve it out of an already over-full school day? I do wish they'd explained it better. Or at all.
Still have my fingers crossed they can do something useful with at least some of that time, like homework. Or knitting. Or .... even staring out a window and dreaming of better things.
-Garfield parent
crazy-making
WMS 2
It is not a requirement of any SPS PTSA to be consulted or involved decision making for building schedules. However, buildings do have BLTs (Building Leadership Teams) whose body includes parents who should have an equal voice. Are you sure that did not happen and if so what is your proof with regards to Garfield?
Are there official communications from all the other Middle and High schools that made an effort "to engage parents in the discussion on the matter (even after-the-fact)" available for others to see? If so, would others please tell everyone where they might see or get a copy of them versus someone writing about what they've heard? Do the new "advisory" included schedules for all the Middle and High schools for the 2017-18 school year appear somewhere official? Is please tell where.
And here again is another complaint about a "slight by Garfield." Does standing on that soapbox never cease?
-SPS Staff
Sub
If the PTSA only heard about this after the fact and then relayed the info to parents (FYI, it's also posted online), I would expect the PTSA to ask questions before just posting the info as a "here's the new schedule!" type of item. Maybe ask for information about how the new schedule was developed, why they think it's necessary, what will be included in that new curriculum, etc. Then maybe ask for parent and student feedback on the proposed schedule, so they can relay that info to school admin and potentially address any concerns ahead of time.
I don't know why you see this as some sort of Garfield witch hunt. Information posted by the PTSA indicates a big change, a change that many see to be a change for the worse. Are you saying people shouldn't be allowed to talk about that known change if they don't have knowledge of whether or not similar changes are made elsewhere? We already know GHS has no problem making its own big changes over the summer, so I don't see any reason not to discuss whatever comes up. If another school had posted this instead, people would be discussing that school instead. It's the issue, not the school--but once again, the school happens to be Garfield. But you can pretend this is all anti-Garfield if it makes you feel better.
crazy-making
SPS working with Metro to ensure sufficient buses at this rush hour time for high schoolers?
Any clue on this? School board members reading this? SPS communications or staff reading this? Any other informed parent/community member?
Concerned parent
I agree that it would be great if SPS is having a conversation with the city about this, but I don't feel that HS sports trump everything else...
field squeeze