Seattle Schools Community Forum

Very nice explanation (with video) from the Superintendent in Bellingham on how they arrived at their system. Good reading. Thank you to reader, Kelly. (Readers, I LOVE when you send me info and updates. There is just no way Charlie and I can find all this data and information and I appreciate it. If you do send me info, please let me know if it is okay to use your name (first or first/last) or just "a Reader". I want to give credit where it is due but I know some of you would prefer not to be named. As well, if the info you send is about a sensitive school problem, please know I will never disclose it without it becoming public first. I am happy to let the Times scoop those stories as I know how hard it is to read about issues at your own school all over the media.)

So over at the Times' comment section on their transportation story, well it turns out a lot of you are lazy, whiny parents.  Or so many commenters think.  I would like to ask Enrollment a couple of questions.  What percentage of SPS enrollment goes to neighborhood schools? What percentage of SPS enrollment stays in their region? What percentage of SPS Special Ed has to be bused out of their region for services? What percentage of Option School students are from the region the school sits in? As the only all-city draw, where do the students at Cleveland come from?  Are they all on Metro? I'm being lazy because I suspect this is info somewhere at the district website but don't feel like looking. Are we really running that many kids all over town? Now some questions to you (I am NOT advocating these; I'm playing devil's advocate): Should busing be a core district function? Should parents at Option schools be responsible for their child's transport...

In answer to some questioning here about whether the Board is getting feedback, I can accurately say, YES.  Hundreds and hundreds of e-mails, phone calls - yes, the message is being received so keep it up.  To the Times' story which is pretty good and accurately points out the following: The one-year plan was developed without public comment.  It was announced weeks after the end of the open-enrollment period, a violation of district policy.  More than 1,500 parents have signed an online petition against the plan, citing sleep deprivation, student safety and the strain put on parents with children at schools with vastly different start times.  It was expected to save $4 million, but saved only half that, mainly because not as many buses could be taken out of service as expected. Some teachers worry that the proposal could lead to longer hours, said Olga Addae, president of the Seattle teachers union. Then we get to the excuses:   But offi...

Pick any or all but do let them hear from you. Also, Marty McLaren is having a meeting tomorrow.   If you can go, let her hear from you. 12:30-2:00 on Wednesday May 9 th at the Southwest Library, 9010 35 th Ave SW school playgrounds not sufficiently lit  issues with adults (teachers or staff) being there to supervise No Public Engagement: The District introduced the new transportation plan at the School Board meeting on Wednesday, May 2 to be voted on at the next meeting, May 16. Staff admitted there was no public engagement prior to introduction of the plan. Furthermore, the proposal acknowledges that 5-6 additional schools will need to be moved to Tier One, but staff won’t disclose which schools will be affected. That robs those who will be affected of the opportunity to evaluate the impact to their school communities and provide feedback. After Open Enrollment: The Transportation Service Standards, adopted by the School Board on February 1, 2012,...

There is a petition out there on this issue with over 500 signatures.  I have Tweeted this and there is also a link for Facebook.  Eric B. has a proposal for transportation:

Finally at this discussion at 9:15 p.m. Basically, there is one proposal plus two alternatives. I haven't seen alts but staff doesn't seem enthused. Staff says there were 21 start times and this would get it down to 8. As well, this current proposal would be "temporary" in service to later/better bell times in 1-2 years. That sounds great but what happens when we get there and whoops? Can't change those times then?   I would want a guarantee that any changes for 2012-2013 are TEMPORARY with a set endtime. Update:  Dorothy Neville says that Transportation said the EXACT same thing three years ago when the NSAP was rolled out.  Meaning, "this is temporary, we'll save money, better service, will have a taskforce."  No taskforce ever came about and they say there is one now.  There are "civil twilight" issues which I can't speak to but it is a legal issue around children being out in the dark during certain hours and at certa...

There are still some spaces available on tonight's speakers list for the Board meeting. I wanted to let you know because of the concerns, districtwide, over the introduction of changes to the Transportation Standards on the agenda. Understand - changes to Transportation Standards means changes to bus schedules AND start times.   Now is the time to pay attention.

Thank goodness for our readers.   I try to go through the Board agendas with a fine-tooth comb but I usually miss something.   The miss this time is the introduction of Revisions to Transportation Service Standards for 2012013 item. The issue is the district trying to reduce costs and this plan says it would save a little over $1M per year. The Operations Committee of the Whole approved this measure.  However, Individual Board members have requested that the district consider later bell times for secondary schools. Board members have asked staff to review the current bell times and any relevant research and propose any necessary changes to the Board. The Superintendent will review the staff’s recommendation(s) and report back to the Board prior to October 2012. Background Info: District transportation expenses have exceeded budget for each of the past three years. The trend has continued for the current (2011 – 2012) school year. On December 15, 2011,...

The Times had a story about the district's transportation issues.  As with any change, there are growing pains. Calls to the district's transportation complaint hotline increased by 16 percent — from 9,500 to 11,000 — in the first two weeks of the school year, Bishop said. The percent of district students using the bus service decreased by half a percent this year, according to an analysis of numbers recently released by the district. It's just one of those things," School Board member Peter Maier said. "If I have a choice between putting money into the classroom and putting money into transportation, I would prefer to put money into the classroom, because they're not learning on the bus." But Duggan Harman, the district's executive director of finance, said he is concerned that the projected $4 million in savings may not be reached. His office is analyzing the issue, with a report expected next month. Remember when I said the di...

I couldn't recall if we had printed the schedule with both the bus and bell times.  Here it is. Bummer for Denny students - they got the earlier start time rather than Chief Sealth High.  They start the earliest of all the middle schools (7:40 instead of 7:50 am).   Sealth gets to start at 8:30 am along with Hale, Center School and NOVA. I was looking over the list of elementary/K-8 schools that start at 9:20-9:30 am and that strikes me as pretty late for many parents.  If you are at one of these schools, what's the reaction been? Pinehurst, Laurelhurst, Van Asselt and South Shore are the "earliest" later starts at 9:10 am.  Is this a Special Ed issue?  I wonder why just 4 schools would start at 9:10 am.  I also note that the start time for earlier start elementaries ranges from 8:20 am-8:55 am (with stops at 8;35 am, 8;40 am, 8:50 am).