Why Doesn't Seattle Schools Fight for Students? One Parent's Confusion
This is an op-ed at the MyNorthwest site from parent Travis Mayfield. Quite telling; the title is 'Public schools are good but you wouldn’t hear it from them.
Here it is in total with some comments from me:
We are in the market for a middle school. We are an eager family with a bright-eyed 10-year-old hopeful about the future. Her last parent-teacher conference (not to brag) was 30 minutes of gushing and glowing by the teacher.
I’m mostly a stay-at-home dad these days. So I volunteered in class each week, I helped with all the PTA stuff. We also donate to the fall fundraiser, the spring auction and everything in between.
In short, she is exactly the kid and we are exactly the family any school should want. Yet, it feels like I am begging our zoned public middle school to even notice we might be interested. Just this fall, we’ve been to open house tours and pep rallies for a number of private schools. UPrep and SAAS are going all out.
And we are very interested. It’s hard not to be impressed.
Our public school? Well, I just sat on a Zoom call organized not by the school but by the parents of incoming elementary school kids begging for information.
I have no doubt this is true. The district has NEVER been interested in marketing and has left that at the school level. Principals just don't have the time so most of the planning generally falls to the PTAs.
Parents of current and former students joined the call and said great things about teachers, administrators, activities, and academics, yet why isn’t the district talking, too? While on the call, I searched online for future open house tours at our public school. The calendar had none.
Again, the district leaves the tour planning to principals who, in turn, ask PTAs for help. I did tours at every school my sons were at except for Nathan Hale HS. When a district does school visits this way, then you'll have some schools that are able to work hard at marketing and others that don't. That the district doesn't even have a central page for parents to go to for a tour schedule is pretty disgraceful.
Look, let’s be frank: gone are the heady days of exponential student population growth for public schools. Since the pandemic, public schools have seen kids and families flee to private schools, charter schools, and homeschool options. In Seattle, the district superintendent is already projecting school closures and consolidations in two years.
In the meantime, there have been more cuts to staff, programs and academics. The Seattle Times just reported earlier this week that grades are up and test scores are way down, which means artificial grade inflation. That’s not great.
And if you haven’t noticed, there is a concerted political effort afoot in this country to demonize public schools. Opponents are well-funded, powerful, and growing in influence. They are loud, and in many ways, they are winning. And yet, parents on that Zoom call praise our public school option in every way.
He's right, of course. But we now have a district where the Board members are strictly hands off on "superintendent work" so they are not even going to lift their voices to tell the Superintendent to start doing better to attract parents to SPS.It heartened me to hear them all saying these amazing things. It’s what I wanted to hear. My husband and I are both public school kids, my sister and childhood best friend both teach in the public school system. We consider public schools a public good and a part of our value system. Our kid wants to go to the zoned public middle school.
Still, the school district doesn’t seem to even notice.
So here’s some free advice for the district. Do the work, start recruiting, and tell your amazing school’s stories. You are so focused in the district office on declining enrollment and falling budgets that you seem to have forgotten. You do have many amazing teachers and programs and opportunities.
If you don’t sell them, people will go elsewhere. They don’t know about the benefits, and then you’ll only see more declining enrollment and further falling budgets, and the cycle will repeat. Public school superintendents, school board members, and administrators, it only gets worse unless you start to fight to make it better.
Comments
-Seattlelifer
And Zoom calls to sell new students - ugh. I guess it’s better than nothing but may not land great post-COVID. Kids especially want to experience schools with their bodies.
Chin Up
This guy reeks of misguided privilege.
I suggest SASS or Billings, maybe Waldorf. They'll validate him and his princeling.
Bye Felicia
You out yourself on the language you are using; "abhorrent", "privilege", "princeling". This is the language of the current political class, masquerading as progressive, telling ordinary people who are in the public school system that they wrong for advocating for their kids, wrong for questioning the system, and to just shut up & go away. Right now, SPS doesn't appear to do it's job of even the basic public good, which is why parents have to concern themselves to the degree that they do. It's sad for me to see SPS collapsing in on itself. Not everyone can opt out of public schools. You are telling those people that not only do their voices or concerns NOT matter, but they are vile for even speaking up. It's a warning & a massive red flag.
Almost Homeschooling
Bye Felicia, the premise is not "abhorrent." It's asking a basic question like why is it so hard to find info on school tours? And please do NOT demean other people's child.
Meet the ‘Defund SPS’ movement which echos the aftermath of other institutions that lost public trust. Nobody officially voted on it but the energy left just the same.
Poor Kids
What's a public good when it's not that good? Perhaps call it a public meh.
It isn't uncommon for parents to the middle school years, and for good reason. T
There has been a consistent trend for families to enter into private middle schools and return for high school which means loss of dollars. It wouldn't hurt for the district to reach out to middle school parents while enrollment decreases.
I personally sent my students to public middle school- even though I checked out private. In the end, other than class size, private school didn't offer much more.
As far as international trips now, banning them is silly. The children of well-off parents will make sure they get exciting travel experiences somehow. The school trips are not as expensive as an individually family's trip would be. A group trip lets a lot of kids go who couldn't otherwise afford it,
It wouldn't surprise me if some families, with or without the organization of a teacher, still managed to make some trips happen.
"In short, she is exactly the kid and we are exactly the family any school should want."
Will someone here explain which kids public schools shouldn't want? How about parents? Who are the undesirables here?
Bye Felicia
I’m guessing this child passes her SBACs, does not require additional funding for IEP services, and has an engaged dad willing to volunteer at her school. That’s not every family’s/students story and that’s fine, but having lots of families/students like that offsets for those with more needs. These students benefit from being around people different from them and vice versa. It’s not that complicated, you are looking for a fault.
Whole System
You're right, it's horrible that these kids are considered undesirable, but here we are.
-2E
2E, I hear you. The district doesn't but I do.
2E Mom
(Also - another big casualty of the international travel ban is Nathan Hale's school exchange with Japan. This would be its 49th year.)
-Seattlelifer
Private school costs keep going up and up and up. From web sites:
SAAS: Tuition and fees for the 2023-2024 school year is $46,392 for grades 6-12.
Financial Aid grants can range from $5000 to covering the full tuition. The average grant is 71% of tuition.
Billings: 2023/2024 Tuition: $39,990. Our tuition is all-inclusive and includes all sports, club, trip fees, and technology. Based on their financial position, our families pay a broad range of tuition levels from $100 - $39,990.
Seattle Waldorf: MIDDLE SCHOOL Grade 6 through Grade 8 $30,800
U Prep: UPrep tuition for the 2023–2024 academic year is: $42,650 for Middle School
This is more than the full cost at a lot of private colleges and at many out of state schools.
But here's the frustration. Spending $120K on middle school may position a student a lot better for rigorous high school classes, or for entering Running Start. It depends on what the public option is. But here in Highline, there is no longer any Algebra at any of the middle schools. I think any parents whose kid is ready for Algebra need to find some alternative to only having their child do whatever is available in their service area school. Maybe it is a pod, maybe it is home schooling, maybe it is private, maybe it is renting a place in another district (someone with two kids could probably rent a place for less than $80K in a district that is focused on providing high standard opportunities).
The reality of college is kids who don't step in really ready are at a major disadvantage. Guaranteed, the student will take longer to graduate, be a lot more stressed and likely to drop out, and more. So in that sense, private options may pay for themselves.
School culture is really hard to assess. Sleep is very important, and longer commute means less sleep, less time for activities, less time for studying. The tradeoffs are complicated.
One of our sons was turned off by the marketing pitch at a private school. He thought it felt very pretentious.
They ended up at Ballard High Biotech and The Center School. I fear both programs might get cut or moved, due to the equity obsession at SPS. There cannot be any special programs anymore, which of course attracted families to them. Very sad and destructive.
District Watcher
Opposites
"Last year, 75% of the district's top leadership was either Hispanic or African American in a district where fewer than 30% of students are Hispanic or African American. This is relevant in light of the district's Chief Academic Officer's statement that Advanced Learning catered to the "manufactured brilliance of mostly white and privileged students."
Could you please explain?
"Last year, 75% of the district's top leadership was either Hispanic or African American in a district where fewer than 30% of the students share these backgrounds. This is particularly relevant in light of the district's Chief Academic Officer's statement that Advanced Learning catered to the 'manufactured brilliance of mostly white and privileged students.'
There's a stark contrast between the district's leadership demographics and its student population. Half of the senior leadership was African American last year, compared to only 14.6% of the students. The representation in the leadership of the District's comprehensive high schools mirrored these figures. Notably, no Asians held top leadership roles, despite making up 12.3% of the student body. This discrepancy isn't just a statistic; it directly contradicts the district's own Policy 0030, which states, 'The district shall actively work to have the teacher and administrator workforce be balanced and reflect the diversity of the student body.' This raises a fundamental question about the integrity of our leadership: How can we trust their public statements when their actions starkly contradict their policies?
Regarding the Chief Academic Officer's statement on advanced learning programs, it's essential to recognize that the topic of race was initially introduced by a senior leader, not external commentators. This statement, particularly when coupled with the decision to eliminate programs like walk-to-math, raises serious questions about the educational policy's foundations and its impact on different racial demographics. The implication that the educational needs of white and Asian students are devalued is a significant concern, particularly as the district defines what constitutes 'well-resourced' schools. The fact that this statement surfaced through a private email made public further points to a disconnect between the district's internal stance and its public image. These inconsistencies highlight the need for rigorous scrutiny of the district’s policies and their implications for students of all backgrounds.
Another critical issue is the district's method of allocating resources based on racial demographics, which markedly differs from the Federal Title 1 approach. The senior leadership, not the school board, determines how these racial counts are weighted. If the composition of the senior leadership has been influenced by race, then this fact becomes highly pertinent when discussing 'well-resourced schools' and the allocation of resources. This is especially true when resources are being pulled from some schools to subsidize other schools.
In conclusion, the issues at hand extend beyond mere policy compliance or demographic figures; they are fundamentally about the credibility and transparency of the district's leadership. The glaring disparity between the district's public relations narrative and the actuality of its policy decisions and internal communications is deeply troubling. When the district itself makes race a factor in discussions about educational policies, it becomes a relevant and critical issue. As I've stated before, while investing more in aiding disadvantaged students is vital, families must also understand the motivations behind the district's actions and statements to make informed decisions for their own children.
“The reality of college is kids who don't step in really ready are at a major disadvantage. Guaranteed, the student will take longer to graduate, be a lot more stressed and likely to drop out, and more. So in that sense, private options may pay for themselves.”
Taking away advanced math and other options puts college-bound SPS students at a real disadvantage. An extra year of paying for college (and out of the FT workforce) if their first year is spent catching up on basics that students from private schools already covered in HS is $$$.
SPS Parent
“Parents should realize that district teachers are unionized and employed by the district, not individual schools. Therefore, if a school closes or loses students, it generally does not affect the employment status of most teachers or principals. They might need to transfer but are unlikely to be laid off. This is despite the district facing significant financial challenges and losing students, where the top leadership still received raises last year.”
However, it hasn’t been. I’ve watched some other comments purged shortly after I read them. Is there anyone severely nagging Melissa about which comments needed to be taken down? If so, please share their name(s).
Orwellian
I don't think that what Realist said was inaccurate. What was inaccurate about this statement?
-Skeptical parent
I DO occasionally realize that I let an "anonymous" comment slip through. That's a violation of my own rules that everyone has to have a name/moniker.
You must have missed the insulting comment I did put up today in another thread. I just thought people ought to know the level of discourse from those who cannot make a cogent argument.
You have opened a can of worms that I have been considering writing about for quite awhile. Because you are right about who is in senior leadership versus just a few years ago. And I do appreciate you citing the board policy.
Your last paragraph is spot-on.
I will try to get to this issue soon because it is clearly influencing what is and is not happening in the district.
Realist makes a lot of sense. I see nothing wrong with Realist's comments about unionized teachers. Realist is correct. Students will get moved into different buildings, but students will still need students.
Realist is right-on about finances.
The issue of PTA funding remains a real head scratcher. King County just increased sales tax to support arts which will benefit Seattle Public Schools. What does this mean in regards to the Fiscal Policy, distribution of funds etc. Will some schools be given grants from KC while other schools will not be permitted to use PTA dollars for arts??
I will say I can see how people of color might see this thread as something of people who have choices that others dream of. That will ALWAYS be true in most public education.
I have seen how former director Hampson and current director Rankin have, at various points, said SPS doesn't need white parents.
I guess we will see how SPS and the Board level this playing field without losing players.
I also think that the district occasionally walks the tight rope of equity vs illegal discrimination. For example, all that posturing about providing bus service to SFFEJ (during the driver shortage), and then getting real racial about defining SFFEJ. I understand the intent, but denying/prioritizing legally required services based on race could get the district in some legal trouble. They should really be sticking to a standard of Title 1 schools or percentage FRL.
Visible
When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging
However, it seems to me the district is either in denial about being in a hole or it is not able to stop digging.
We continue to see policies that are detrimental to students who are capable and motivated. As a result, some parents will move their students to a different school district or find a path to private schools and SPS enrollment will continue to drop. SPS is already having money trouble and doesn't seem to care. Maybe the district is confident some level of government will save the day with bundles of money and no strings attached - which would not come as a surprise.
Visible - your thoughts about racial discrimination are perhaps too charitable. Some SPS policies seem blatantly unconstitutional. But let's imagine what it would have taken to reverse the race-based bussing policy... One or more families who was denied bussing would have to be brave enough to pursue a lawsuit and ready to spend enormous amounts of time to challenge a short-term policy. It just wouldn't be worth the effort. And if someone was crazy enough to sue and somehow won, what would the consequence be for SPS? They would have to stop the race-based policy and maybe pay a settlement. The district has endless supplies of funds so that's ok and changing a policy is easy.
I feel any race-based policies are wrong and divisive and SPS should not be so focused on race. There are plenty of poor white students in Seattle and also plenty of privileged black kids. It would be much better for our society long-term to give extra assistance equally to all poor students and not give extra special help only to those of certain races.
Roosevelt parent