It was another packed agenda for Vashon’s School Board at a meeting on May 13.
Goodbye Waskowitz, hello Camp Sealth
Board members voted to end a decades-long partnership with the Highline School District and Camp Waskowitz; a new outdoor learning program for fifth-graders will be held on-island, at Camp Sealth.
The decision came in response to a proposal from Chautauqua Elementary School principal Rebecca Goertzel, developed in collaboration with other administrators.
At the start of the meeting, the board listened to public comments from several district parents on the subject — some pro and some con. Those comments also included Chautauqua’s 5th-grade teaching team, who cited the importance of Vashon’s students’ exposure to racially diverse high-school-aged mentors engaged in Highline’s WELS program. They also requested that in the future, data be collected regarding students’ and families’ responses to Chautauqua’s outdoor education program, saying much of the current decision-making regarding the program had been made on anecdotal evidence.
Another commentator, Sally Adam, who is Chautauqua’s Latino Family Support and Liaison, supported the move from Waskowitz to Camp Sealth, saying it would be more inclusive of differently-abled students as well as members of the district’s Latino community.
The board voted unanimously in favor of the move. Comments by board members prior to the vote framed their support entirely around the issue of making outdoor education more accessible and equitable for all island students.
School start times
The board also heard a report on changing the start times at local schools, developed by district principals and Matt Sullivan, executive director of business and operations for the district. The report recommended that secondary students start at 9:05 a.m. and end at 3:35 p.m. and that elementary school students start at 8 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m.
VHS Principal Danny Rock, in helping to present the report, said that the permanent switch to a later start time for secondary students had long been considered due to science pointing to the importance of more sleep for teenage students — but had now been subjected to a real-world test, with later start times put in place locally for online learning during the pandemic. The change, he said, had been highly beneficial and warmly welcomed by most secondary students and parents.
Multiple implications of the change were discussed, including its impact on commuter students and student-athletes, as well as the impacts of earlier start times for Chautauqua students, which would require adjustments for many parents in terms of after-school care.
A universal start time for all students was ruled out due to its added costs of almost $300,000 for additional buses.
Multiple parents of Chautauqua students sent public comments opposing the change in start times, citing child care difficulties after school and also, the darkness of early-morning winter hours.
A 7th-grade student, Lena Puz, also sent a letter opposing the new hours on the grounds that a later start time would give student-athletes less time for sports and create pressure around getting homework done later in the evening.
In the coming weeks, the school board will further discuss and decide the issue. A survey has already gone out to district families, and parent Q and As were held earlier this week. The district is also collecting data from staff, said Superintendent Slade McSheehy. The board will vote on the measure at the June 24 meeting.
New hires address equity
A job description for a new school/family partnership coordinator position has been posted on the district’s website, said McSheehy. The 35-hour-a-week position replaces two current part-time positions — one for elementary students and the other for secondary students — serving in support roles primarily but not exclusively for VISD’s Latino students and Spanish-speaking families. Interviews of candidates will take place around May 26, said McSheehy, with community involvement in interviewing and giving input on final candidates. A hire will be announced on May 28.
McSheehy also announced Nikum Pon and Keisha Palmer will be hired as racial equity consultants for the district on a two-year contract, with these positions fully funded through a Vashon Schools Foundation grant.
Budget planning for mental health
In a discussion following a presentation on staffing considerations for VISD’s 2021-2022 budget, board member Bob Hennessey suggested that the board should have greater involvement in deciding staffing levels for school counselors and those who provide social-emotional support to students.
“Student mental health and counseling are a priority for us,” Hennessey said. “Are we accounting for that in our budget planning?”
In response, McSheehy said that his team had not identified any needs that would require more capacity in terms of staffing, and that partnerships with VYFS and VashonBePrepared’s Community Care Team would help address mental health needs. He also said that additional monies to be received from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) could be used to address unmet needs for increased mental health funds.
