LETTER: Many of these Choice schools require that students pass difficult entrance exams and provide teacher referrals before students are even allowed to apply to the schools. The schools then hold lotteries because the number of students who qualify ALWAYS exceeds the number of spaces available. The wait lists for these schools can be very long, and students are not allowed to put their names on more than one wait list.
Once a student is admitted, the requirement that "parents must arrange their own transportation" can become an immense burden if the student lives far from the school or bus drop-off point and especially if a family has an additional child or children who attend their home school. My family had a child in a choice school for several years and even with carpooling, I still drove 100+ miles every week just getting our kids to and from school.
There are only enough spaces in the choice schools for 15-20% of the students in any given grade. So for every 15-20 students who get a coveted admission to one of these schools, there are 80-85 who don't. But because the school district offers enrichment in the choice schools that supposedly any child could apply to, they don't bother to offer much enrichment in the home schools, especially at the elementary level. There are also higher administrative costs in the choice schools since the school enrollments are much lower while each school still has its own principal, support staff and facility.
When our children were just entering elementary school, we read about the choice schools such as ICS and Environmental and Adventure School and they sounded like they would be great learning opportunities, but the reality has been that between limited enrollment and excessive travel distance, they were not a choice for our children and may not be for many of the children in the district.
by Anonymous on 1/23/2010
If your family is "green-oriented" would you reconsider applying for the Environmental Adventure School (or any other Choice school) owing to the larger carbon footprint from commuting? BY
The transportation issue was indeed a factor in which "choice" schools we considered. We were lucky that our first choice in Choice schools was only a 15 minute drive and we have carpooling options. We methodically eliminated certain Choice schools BECAUSE of their location and the transportation issue.
ReplyDeleteThe District needs to re-look at providing more bus transportation around the district OR establishing the Choice teaching methods and curriculum at the neighborhood schools...the same way they are currently handling the Quest program.
If the District wishes to increase the overall success of students in the district and subsequently improve the overall "ranking" of the district, then these known methods of teaching need to be accessed by MORE STUDENTS.
I am not a LWSD parent (we are in Redmond, but are in NSD), but I do have children in a choice program in NSD (I believe it's roughly equivalent to the elementary "community schools" program in LWSD from the info I've seen).
ReplyDeleteTransportation IS often a very important factor that I believe the majority of folks looking into a choice program (in either district) don't think about. I commute 40 minutes a day every day during the school year. There is only one other family from my "home school" attending the choice program at this time, but it's not convenient to carpool. It's unlikely, because of boundary changes of program, that I'll ever have another family to carpool with. Is it worth it to our family? You bet! However, we have had to give up ALL non-school afterschool activities because of the timing issue, and curtailed our spending habits in order to be able to afford the gas and maintenance on our van. I don't think that would be every family's choice (especially those really into non-district sports or things that couldn't be crammed into a weekend).
I agree that school districts should look into making the same teaching methods available to all students across the district to make things truly equal opportunity. In my perfect world, EVERY child would get the kind of individual attention and support and enrichment that my kids do. However, at least in our program that only happens because of *required* parental classroom and school involvement and extra fundraising, and families committed to a high level of school support. The state is cutting education funds, not every family can afford (quite frankly) to do extra fundraising, not all schools have access to a "pool" of parents who can collectively fundraise a lot, and not all families have a situation where one or both parents can commit to being in their children's classroom a couple of hours every week.
The teaching methods that I see talked about by other choice programs and employed in ours are wonderful, but method alone won't do it--the programs work best because of heightened parental involvement. That's the key, in my observation. In a way it's too bad when choice programs are in stand-alone buildings because that means that the highly involved parents are concentrated in one school and taken out of others. That's great for the kids in the choice schools who benefit greatly from the collective pool of involved parents; not so great for the schools left behind. Which can lead to a lot of friction between choice programs and "general education".
Also, are you *sure* that there are "higher administrative costs" involved? Where is that information coming from? In NSD, all choice programs must now be cost-neutral because of budget cuts. Those that can't become cost neutral have pretty much been put on notice that they'll be dumped. I don't know if LWSD operates on this principle, but in NSD, administrative and specialist staff are directly tied to enrollment at that school. There has to be x number of students to support an asst. principal. X number to support a nurse, librarian assistant. Even the choice programs are not allowed to run below minimum classroom numbers--if a situation arises where that happens "accomodated" students will be placed in those classrooms and may be anyway if there is a grade level that is overcrowded at that school. If it's a stand-alone school (not a school within a school), would the surrounding schools be able to absorb those students without overcrowding the other schools? Probably not--or if it did that would trigger hiring extra staff.
ReplyDeleteSo I'd be careful about oversimplifying that. If you were to shut down choice programs, you have to look at the same sort of things that you look at when shutting down any school--the ripple effect is often a lot bigger than you'd think.
But, if LWSD doesn't operate that way, if it allows special consideration to choice programs and doesn't require them to be cost-neutral or they don't have the same required minimum ratios as everyone else, then I stand corrected. :)
The Lake Washington School District must have collected data on how much each school costs to operate and how much they spend per pupil. It would be helpful if the district posted a link to that data.
ReplyDeleteLet me straighten out a couple of items here.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, there is a formula for allocating staff to Lake Washington School District schools. As a result, all Choice Schools get a part-time principal, who also oversees at least one other school. Office staffs are proportional, so Choice schools usually have just one staff member who may work fewer hours. Facilities are proportional as well, and in fact most Choice schools use the cafeteria, gym and library of a comprehensive school.
Second, there are no difficult entrance exams. The writer may be confusing the Quest program, which is a gifted education program that students must qualify for, with the Choice program. There are applications that students must complete. These applications ensure that students really do want to attend the school and provides the school with information about the student if they do end up going there. Entrance is by lottery alone.
Transportation is indeed an issue but the district simply cannot afford the cost it would take to bus students from all over the district to a Choice school. It has instituted a Choice school shuttle that parents can pay for to help students on the Sammamish plateau get to Choice schools on the west side of the district.
The District is aware of the demand for spaces in Choice schools. The bond measure currently on the ballot includes a provision for expanding the Environmental and Adventure School both by adding grades and classes at each grade level. That expansion will help provide added classroom space needed to accommodate projected enrollment growth. It would also move the school from Finn Hill on the east side of the district to a more central location.
I would also challenge the assertion that the district doesn't offer much enrichment at neighborhood schools because of the existence of Choice schools. Most Choice schools do have added enrichment because of very involved parent groups; the same is true at many of our neighborhood schools. The District's goal is to provide a quality education at all of our schools, whether a neighborhood school or a Choice school.
Kathryn Reith
Communications Director, Lake Washington School District
Do choice schools fall within the guidelines of our state constitution to provide a "basic" education?
ReplyDelete