Using false addresses on school applications?

[anony]

To the one using a false address on your Seattle Public Schools applications:

I know you used a false address. I’m considering reporting you. If you get caught, your application will be pulled. Somewhere out there, there is a child who did not get in to their school of choice because of you. Please reply to this post with one good reason why I shouldn’t report you.

To all the honest parents:

I know this is a tough decision, especially if it’s someone you thought was a friend. You need to make your own decision. The school district can’t find them all. Please consider turning in people who have behaved unethically by using addresses that are not their primary residence. Even though it may not have impacted you directly, someone out there been treated unfairly. Some child did not get to go to their school of choice because of this unethical behavior.

False addresses have been a long standing problem at John Stanford in Wallingford. Parents there are starting to have a no tolerance policy. I’m sure there will be a number of applications revoked this year once again. I know people who lived 5 blocks away and did not get in. I’d hate to see our popular West Seattle Schools become unavailable to neighborhood children

To turn in a suspected false address contact:

Tracy Libros

Manager, Customer Service

Seattle Public Schools

P: 206-252-0760

Email: trlibros@seattleschools.org

Share This

[Bernicki]

Oh my. My dear Anony, you cannot tantalize the nosy Bernicki like this! Come on, spill it: which school is this person trying to get into?

Share This

[anony]

This isn’t tantalizing gossip, and this isn’t an isolated problem. This needs to be nipped in the bud before it becomes like John Stanford.

I know there are people out there in the same situation we are in. It doesn’t just impact one school. Every time someone cuts in line, one child is bumped from each school that has more applicants than spaces.

It is north cluster and you can probably guess which one. After looking at the tight entry radius around several of the schools in the north cluster, I don’t think it’s limited to one school.

Share This

[beachdrivegirl]

Anony,

Educating everyone about this is the first step to making sure that things do get nipped in the bud. I dont have children yet, but it is eye-opening to hear about this experience now. Best of luck getting this issue resolved.

Share This

[anony]

Another thing on this issue…

I feel sorry for the Seattle Public School district. I’m sure they spend a fair amount of time and money trying to prevent this problem.

The more people do it, the less time and money they are able to spend towards educating our children.

People complain about the process and how long it takes. These kinds of actions don’t help.

Share This

[Anonymous]

Anony, I think you have a legitimate concern, but not every occurrence is by an unethical evil doer. I know of 2 situations where the child lives at one address, but the grandparents live at another and provide all the after school care while the parents work. Having the child go to school near the grandparents keeps them from being in daycare or a latch key kid. A scenario I personally prefer when you see what some of these kids come up with when left on their own.

Neither situation involves a school on or near the top of the *most desired* list so I imagine no one is that concerned. And of course it would be nice if there was a stay at home parent and everyone followed the rules. But under these circumstances, I’m all for a little bending of the rules.

Share This

[anony]

JT,

I don’t think ANY of these people are evildoers, but they need to realize that it is unfair to everyone and it does have an impact on their community.

I centainly appreciate the circumstance you outlined, but I don’t agree that it’s OK to put the grandparents as their address. The rules are very clear. The rules aren’t being bent, the are being broken. This question is specifically addressed in the enrollment guide.

From the guide…

“Can I use an after-school child care address to enroll my child?

No, you cannot enroll your child using a child care address. An address other than the home address (such as a child care address) is considered a service address and is used only for transportation or mandatory assignments. Since you can apply for any school(s) in Seattle Public

Schools, if you want your child transported to or from a child care address, you should apply for schools in the cluster where the child care address is located (or where the address is eligible for transportation). Assignment tiebreakers are always based on your residence address, not a service address.”

If that school has a waiting list, people should be concerned. If not, then there is no need to put a false address, just apply. The system works if people follow it. They may not get their 1, 2 or 3 option in the cluster. But if they do put down a false address, there is a potential to short change everyone else in the cluster.

Share This

[Anonymous]

Anony, I agree that you’re right and on principle it is not OK. And of course, where would you draw the line when you allow one. I do still feel, that in this case, a relative where I know they spend a vast majority of the time, does not exactly fit *after school* care guidelines. The parent often stays for the evening and is around on weekends as well. The child, for all intents and purposes, sleeps at one address.

And I get your frustration and it’s validity. Just feel like there is a little gray area sometimes. I would not be comfortable reporting them, is all. BTW, I used the real address for my kids during those years:)

Share This

[anony]

I wouldn’t likely report this case either, but people need to understand the impacts of their actions when they use a false address, no matter how justified. The gray area is around whether or not to report them. The rules are black and white. I wish this was the only thing going on.

Share This

[Sue]

Anony, did this personally affect one of your children not getting their choice of school? My personal philosophy is that I don’t always know what’s going on with someone and the decisions they make, and can’t judge them unless I’m in their shoes. And I often will ignore something in a gray area like this if it’s not directly affecting me.

In the NYC I saw situtions like JT described, as well as one situation where (because of how the districts were set up) a student was going to have to be sent by bus 2-1/2 miles to “their” school when there was another district’s school 5 blocks away, and in those instances people often used another’s address so they could go to the local school that happened to not be in their district.

I respect your right, anony, to feel as you do about this. However, if you really feel that strongly about it, why are you not reporting it? Frankly, if I were one of those parents who used a non-legitimate address because I felt I had a good reason to do so, a post on an internet forum wouldn’t be enough to sway me.

Share This

[anony]

Sue,

Yes, my child is directly impacted, as are most children who did not get their first choice school in West Seattle as I described above.

I never said I wasn’t going to report them. I said I likely wouldn’t report the case JT described.

Again… this isn’t a gray area. The rules are clear. It’s not an easy decision to report or not report, but there is no gray area surrounding the rules.

Share This

[Kayleigh]

Anony, I understand your point.

Do you feel this person posts here and you are warning them, or was this a blanket warning to any parents who would consider such a thing?

I have no dog in the fight, honest; I have no kids. But the tone of the thread is a little uncomfortable to me.

Share This

[anony]

I have no idea if this person reads this forum, but I hope so. I did not call out anyone specific, although this is a real life example that I am calling out.

My main goal is to raise awareness of the situation and the impacts. My hope is that if somebody did use a false address and reads it, they begin to understand the problems with what they did. I hope that if someone is considerring using a false address, they will think twice about the impact and the potential of being caught. I would like people to seriously consider turning people in when they hear about this stuff.

I think if people continue to look the other way, this will become a problem in our school community, just like it has become in Wallingford. It has taken a few years for Wallingford to understand the impacts of these actions, and it’s still an issue there. I think we can learn from their unfortunate example.

This being said, I do understand that the decision to turn someone in is a difficult one that I too am wrestling with. The more I type, the more I think it’s my duty to turn them in.

I wish the district could find a fool proof method to find the cheaters, but I don’t think that is a realistic expectation. Until there are more stories about people getting caught than stories about successfully working the system it will continue.

Share This

[Anonymous]

I also do not have a child attending school here. I am curious what happens when you turn them in? Do they revoke the child’s spot at that school?

I am thinking that if someone is doing this, reading about how it is affecting you, will not deter them. I feel that way because, someone who will give a false address (lie), really isn’t gonna care what happens to anyone else (and I do see your point JT – a good one, I think).

Anyways, I am curious what happens when it’s reported. Also, do you know the specifics about the situation regarding this particular person you are considering reporting? They may have a very good reason for doing what they are.

Share This

[anony]

If they are caught, they revoke the assignment of the school. I believe they have to reapply, essentially getting in at the back of the line.

Share This

[Bonnie]

Well, it’s unfortunate that in the Seattle School District all schools are not created equal. In a perfect world…well, they would all be great. So sorry you’re having to deal with this.

Share This

[Michell]

How are they able to pull off the fake address? I registered my son for Kindergarten this year and we had to send in two pieces of evidence (i.e. utility or mortgage bills).

We didn’t get our first choice for our son, even though it was our reference school. But we are the first on the waiting list, so I am hopeful. I juts assumed we didn’t get into Schmitz is because there were so many applicants this year – all of the school tours I attended were packed.

Share This

[Ken]

Another absurdest bureaucrat.

There are very real problems in the school district and this is what you concentrate on?

Lets look at students with children who graduate from say UW, who know where they are going to live (WS) but do not need to move from married student housing until July or August.

The system will absolutely not accommodate them for any reason and the bureaucrat implies at every turn that they are doing something nefarious when they cannot come up with nonexistent utility bills.

The truth does not fit into the correct boxes on the form so it cannot exist.

The address shuffle and trade has been a time honored tradition in West Seattle for at least a generation from the stories of many locals I know and has been used to allow kids to graduate from the High school they attended for years even when the parents (or in some cases the custodial parent) have to move or are priced out of their neighborhood by insane property tax assessments.

The relative merits or flaws in the various public schools are pretty much nonexistent.

The comments and “conventional wisdom” descriptions are really only codes used to imply perceived imbalances in minority or lower income students in each school.

Share This

[JoB]

ken,

has there always been as much competition to get into certain schools here?

and what does a person who moves into the district with children after the deadline do?

Share This

[beachdrivegirl]

So it sounds like even though I dont plan on having kids for at least 2-3 more years I should get on the list now?

Share This

[Ken]

JoB

You are then at the mercy of the person listed at the bottom of the original diary.

Good luck.

Share This

[anony]

It’s fairly clearly laid out in the enrollment guide online. That being said, the system is likely to change next year, so don’t bother reading it if you aren’t applying for 2008-09.

Also, there is nothing you can do now to get you on the list early. There are cutoffs each year, and everyone that gets their applications in by that time goes into the same pool.

Share This

[Author]

Posts