This and That

 Hey, will you look at that? The Times actually has a real story on Seattle Schools, this one about the transportation issues. Sadly, some things get missed like the fact that while there are large numbers of eligible riders, not all ride the bus. Those numbers should be taken off the stats and then the district would get a clearer picture of who DOES ride the bus.

“We are bringing this forward because we have a problem with our ability to be able to offer consistent and predictable transportation to our families,” Ashley Davies, executive director of operations, said during an April 21 committee meeting.

Now, that's funny because you can change to three-tiers or stay with two but SPS will STILL have problems with "consistent and predictable" transportation.

Changing start times will allow Seattle Schools to cut 70 of its 364 buses and will save the district at least $5 million, Davies said. Currently, the district spends $3,306 per student on transportation, higher than any other district in the state and more than three times the national average. 

That's quite the paragraph. We have heard - over and over - for forever that "this change will save us money" and no one ever sees this savings or where it goes. (Maybe for the new "Project Manager Continuous Improvement, Operational Equity" position.) 

The petition to stop this switch at Change.org now has over 900 signatures. 

Despite the fact that enrollment in SPS is dropping like a rock, here's an article from My Northwest about Alki Elementary's new building. The Seattle Landmark Commission voted not to landmark its current building. Again, I'm all for renovating old buildings but they are also still continuing on projects to expand buildings.  Alki's current enrollment is 314.

Interesting findings from a new NPR poll; most parents are happy with what their school teaches.

By wide margins – and regardless of their political affiliation – parents express satisfaction with their children's schools and what is being taught in them.

The nationally representative poll of 1,007 parents of school-aged children follows up on a similar survey NPR and Ipsos conducted about a year ago. In both polls, parents answered questions about the impact of the pandemic on their children, academically and socially, and about their schools' performance during this time. 

88% of respondents agree "my child's teacher(s) have done the best they could, given the circumstances around the pandemic." And 82% agree "my child's school has handled the pandemic well."

A SCOTUS case of interest.

This case comes out of Washington State so you may have heard about it.

The case before the justices on Monday involves Joseph Kennedy, a Christian and former football coach at Bremerton High School in Bremerton, Washington. Kennedy started coaching at the school in 2008 and initially prayed alone on the 50-yard line at the end of games. But students started joining him, and over time he began to deliver a short, inspirational talk with religious references. Kennedy did that for years and also led students in locker room prayers. The school district learned what he was doing in 2015 and asked him to stop. 

Kennedy stopped leading students in prayer in the locker room and on the field but wanted to continue praying on the field himself, with students free to join if they wished. Concerned about being sued for violating students' religious freedom rights, the school asked him to stop his practice of kneeling and praying while still “on duty” as a coach after the game. The school tried to work out a solution so Kennedy could pray privately before or after the game. When he continued to kneel and pray on the field, the school put him on paid leave.

Kennedy's lawyer, Paul Clement, told the justices that the Constitution’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion guarantees protect his “private religious expression.”

If the school/district offered him another place to pray after a game, then I'd say it was performative for him and coercive for players.

And this is an interesting point:

Justice Elena Kagan said the court has in past cases cared about "coercion on students and having students feel that they have to join religious activities that they do not wish to join, that their parents do not wish them to join.” 

Kagan is one of three justices on the court to have attended a public high school while the rest attended Catholic schools.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned why Kennedy had to pray on the 50-yard-line immediately after the game rather than other options the school offered: “Why there?” she asked at one point.

So six Justices went to Catholic high schools?

A decision is expected before the court begins its summer recess.
The case is Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 21-418.