Seriously and Just Like That? No School on Friday

Update via The Seattle Times, both SPS and Bellevue SD are closed on Friday.

Bellevue said it was canceling school Friday because of staffing shortages, “anticipated inclement weather, and COVID-19 restrictions,” according to its website. After-school programs will also be canceled, but athletics will continue as scheduled. 

And, across the nation:

School districts across the country have also canceled school Friday, and some have also cited shortages in staffing and substitutes. Others said it was a day for students and staff to recharge during what has already been an exhausting year of school thanks to the pandemic. And some schools are closing for the day to vaccinate students. 

San Diego Unified School District students have the option of taking Friday off as a mental health day, The San Diego Union-Tribune reportedThe Associated Press reported a school district in Virginia closed the first week of November over concerns about mental health and burnout. 

From Seattle Education Association:

“Educators are stretching themselves to the limit to provide COVID-safe, quality services and learning for all of our students but we cannot succeed without adequate support,” the teachers union statement continued. “The state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) needs to hear how the staffing shortages and systemic underfunding of public education is directly impacting our abilities to meet the needs of children in this pandemic.“

From the Board president:

Seattle students and staff have repeatedly expressed how overwhelmed they are this year and that feeling has been exacerbated by the extra COVID-19 safety protocols, Seattle School Board President Chandra Hampson said. She called it a “well-deserved” break and she said she stands by the decision, which was made by interim superintendent Brent Jones.

One Seattle Times' comment said this:

It is irresponsible journalism to leave out the fact that the Seattle Public schools calendar originally had Friday as a no school day for teachers and students. Teachers made plans and then the calendar changed.

Anyone?

OSPI:

To address staffing shortages, school districts can expedite two emergency certificates for educators, according to a letter OSPI sent superintendents in late September.


End of update

 From FOX 13 News:

Seattle Public Schools says that classes are canceled for this Friday due to a shortage of teachers.

The district told Fox News that, as of last week, more than 600 educators had requested a substitute and additional requests came in this week. It said teachers and staff have historically requested off the day after Veterans Day but because of current circumstances, the district does not have the capacity to "ensure student safety and high-quality learning."

Really? In all my time in SPS, I never heard of this.  I can say that in the personnel report at the last Board meeting, there was a large number of subs hired. 

"This is a change from the 2021-2022 calendar of school year dates approved last spring, and we recognize the late notice creates challenging circumstances for many families," SPS said.

SPS said the number of leave requests after a federal holiday is "indicative" of the fatigue that staff and students have experienced since returning to the classroom and a four-day weekend "may offer physical, mental, and emotional restoration."

The district said the lost time will be added to the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

I can only say that this is not the kind of thing that inspires confidence nor the belief that SPS cares about parents.  


Comments

Patrick said…
Gee, when I was working, when Veteran's Day fell midweek, I often wished it was a longer holiday.

Of course my union didn't make it a negotiating priority and I was too honest to call in sick when I wasn't.
Anonymous said…
Yes, I actually found the self-congratulatory tone of SPS's comments in the Times more upsetting than the closure itself. Restoration? Really?! Tell that to parents and childcare providers who are once again scrambling to accommodate their failures, this time with very little notice. The very least they could do is apologize.

-HS Mom
From the Washington for a Safe Return to Campus Facebook page:

"Why are schools unexpectedly closing in the Seattle area on Friday? School employees are exhausted. Fewer and fewer people want to do our jobs. Why?

We haven't had enough new teacher candidates for several years. We haven't had enough subs for as long as I can remember. Special ed jobs remain unfilled for years on end.

Wake up America, the laws of supply and demand also apply to education. Short-term answer, pay us MORE!
Long-term answer, pay us MORE. In addition, stop voting for Republicans and tax cuts. Stop cutting our budgets (see Republicans and tax cuts). Stop reducing our pensions and healthcare (see Republicans and tax cuts). Stop increasing our class sizes and caseload (see Republicans and tax cuts). Stop voting for school board candidates who hate educators' unions (consequently they hate educators) and say our schools are failing (see Republicans and right-wing media).
Stop asking one person to be a teacher, special ed specialist, enrichment expert, mental health provider, classroom management guru, ethnic studies leader, and subject specific curriculum content genius all in one hour. Stop sending emails claiming your child's grade is due to something we are doing wrong.

Start assuming we are highly trained talented education professionals trying to help your child be happy, feel empowered, and reach their academic potential all while wearing masks, in a room with A LOT of students, while hoping no-one catches a deadly disease.

Now you know why we are exhausted and school is closed on Friday!"
Wondering said…
Is there a single business (public or private) that is not short staffed? I don’t think so. I also think this is no longer a blip. The boomers are leaving the stage.

Those businesses and systems that figure out how to do more (or the same) with fewer people (increase productivity) will be fine.

Is there anyone at the John Stanford Center thinking about paradigmatic charges?

I have no solution or ideas myself. But something tells me this shortage of “qualified” teachers is going to be the future. How will we deal with that.
Anonymous said…
Wow, it's easy to see how republicans in Virginia were able to use education to pick up voters! There are millions of parents in WA state and the state's failure to consider the needs of students and parents is pissing a lot of them off.
Anonymous said…
Sometimes less is more, SPS. If you have a staffing shortage, say that. Don’t go into why teachers need a break Chandra, you’re only pinning this on them. Apologize for the insanely short notice. No qualifying closing schools as part of any “high quality” education. A little humility would go a long ways.

Over It
Robyn said…
How incredibly irresponsible this was to pull on such short notice. I realize that staffing is a problem, but it's a problem SPS could have and should have anticipated and communicated about. As it is, canceling school with 2.5 days notice will disproportionately harm the students and families they claim to be most concerned about, particularly working families who don't have the flexibility to find alternative childcare or take a day off from work at the drop of a hat.

And the sanctimonious, gaslighting tone the district is now taking about this being a chance for mental and emotional recovery... sure, maybe if I'd had some warning and could have taken Friday off to spend time with my kids! As it is, they'll stay home and play Minecraft, and I'll go to my frontline job.

You know, our hospital lab has been critically short staffed for weeks now. I had no idea that just shutting down with no notice was an option! I'll suggest it to the manager.

For all that the school board and SPS love talking about equity and justice and educational excellence, when it comes to actually keeping schools open and educating children, there's a yawning disconnect. Shame on them. Not the teachers, but the district. Shame.
Patrick said…
I'd like to pay teachers more too. Should Seattle secede from Washington so that we could tax ourselves what is necessary to pay our teachers appropiately? Because Seattle voters have almost* always voted for whatever levies the District has put in front of us. Could we afford more of those specialists without some kind of additional money?

* there was that one time which must be about a quarter of a century ago now when one failed and was passed as a slightly smaller measure later the same year.

I don't really see transferring a school day from November to June as a solution, though. Like nobody's going to be exhausted and ready for a vacation in June?
Anonymous said…
🙄 Really SEA? You’re overplaying your hand again. We were all here when you endlessly dragged your feet throughout the pandemic and sat home, not teaching and while receiving full benefits. All of you went into grocery stores filled with people and out to restaurants, filled with maskless people. Work with children? Noooo, not that! Even as your colleagues in other Washington districts and nationwide, went to work. And now. Still crying over salaries? Teachers are making more than $100k with bachelors after the recent raises. But no amount will ever be enough.

— Really SEA?
Patrick said…
Really SEA, I congratulate you on tracking every single Seattle teacher to discover every last one of them in restaurants and discovering the all the people in those restaurants were maskless! That must have taken months! How many people worked with you in this stalking effort?
Anonymous said…
Let’s not pretend this is somehow the fault of the evil-empire-ish district. No. This is a consequence of 600 individuals calling in “sick”…. all at once. Obtw. Taking one of 2 “personal” days that that butts up to a holiday is not allowed per contract. Did any of these people care about their contract or our kids when they called in sick at the last minute? Nope. Those individuals are all teachers. Don’t forget that.

Reader
Anonymous said…
Today's email states:

Following up on yesterday’s announcement that Friday, November 12, will be a non-instructional day in Seattle Public Schools, we acknowledge that the high volume of leave requests on a Friday following a federal holiday is indicative of the fatigue that educators and students are experiencing, locally and nationwide, 11 weeks into the return to in-class learning.

First of all, its my understanding that the volume of leave is really not higher than other years when a holiday falls on a Thursday. Teachers just like to make a 4-day weekend out of it. This year, there is not an adequate number of substitute teachers to pick up the slack. Why this charade that 11 weeks in teachers are so fatigued? We're two years into the pandemic now - I think people can handle teaching for 11 weeks in a city that has not been beleaguered by COVID.

I get the staff shortage. Every business is feeling it. Don't belittle our intelligence. And admit that you messed up (SPS) - this was predictable - you should have given parents more heads up.

I am in no way adversely affected by this - kids are in high school and self-sufficient. My son is thrilled to get an extra day for pulling together his college apps and my daughter can keep herself busy nicely. But this is quite the challenge for parents of younger kids, particularly those of more modest means and those who cannot just not show up for work last minute.

Kind of pathetic.

BLUE SKY
Green Lake Parent said…
I just want to respond to the commenter claiming teachers make six figures. OpenPayrolls.com says that in 2020 the average SPS teacher salary was 69k. That's average, meaning a mid-career salary that takes some time to work up to & past, (and subs make even less). While there likely are a few senior teachers making above 100k the vast majority of SPS teachers do not make enough money to buy a house in Seattle. Starting salaries in non-technical positions for tech companies are generally higher than the median SPS salary. My husband works with a person who left teaching middle school to work for a tech company for a MUCH higher salary after taking a 6 week training course. Although teacher salaries have gone up they are not enough to allow teachers to comfortably live here in Seattle. That is a problem, and it's hard to believe that it's not part of the issue when we have teacher shortages.
Patrick said…
I'm still puzzled by the "with bachelor's" phrase in Really SEA's comment. I thought teachers in SPS were typically recruited with a bachelor's PLUS a master's in teaching. The starting salary is pretty low for someone with a master's.
Anonymous said…
O.K I was also puzzled, but it's not just SPS. From the NYT education briefing today districts nationwide as canceling school because of staffing shortages. ​

" In other staffing news: As full-time classroom teachers quit or retire, substitute teachers are filling the gaps. Some districts have been forced to cancel classes; others have lowered hiring standards, just to keep an adult in a classroom. In one especially dire shortage, Denver is closing schools this Friday to give adults time for their “health and self-care.”

Observer

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