WEST SEATTLE SCHOOLS: District’s ‘staffing balance’ shuffles students into new classrooms after a month

When the Seattle School Board meets later today, they’ll hear from numerous people signed up to speak about a districtwide controversy: One month into the new school year, some elementary students at 40 schools around the district are suddenly being shuffled to different classrooms with different teachers. Some are being moved to split-grade classrooms. We’ve heard from parents at two of the West Seattle schools that are affected. The district explains the situation in this post from last Friday, saying it has to “balance” class sizes in order to get millions of dollars in state funding:

Every fall, all Washington school districts review class size and staffing ratios. To focus on early learning, Washington state law encourages school districts to staff kindergarten through third grade at a smaller class size.

Seattle Public Schools values smaller class sizes for our youngest learners. Our review showed a staffing imbalance that needs to be corrected to meet state requirements at several schools.

What this means for Students and Families

To balance our educator staffing, some students may be moved to new classrooms or have a new teacher by the end of October.

If this adjustment means a change for your elementary or K-8 school, you will receive a separate message from your principal.

Why is this year different?

In previous years, SPS was able to provide extra funding to schools to minimize classroom staffing assignment changes. However, due to the current budget shortfall, SPS is unable to cover that cost for the 2023-24 school year.

The focus is on maintaining the 17:1 staffing ratio for K-3 general education classrooms to secure full state funding. This is a districtwide ratio that includes the classroom teacher and additional educators such interventionists and specialists.

To ensure SPS is eligible to receive $3.6 million in Washington state funding, we must have appropriate staff-student ratios for our elementary grade classrooms.

One of the local schools affected is Alki Elementary; a parent there forwarded us the newsletter in which principal Mason Skeffington explained how it would play out for Alki (which is holding classes at the former Schmitz Park Elementary because of the future rebuild). He explained that the staff-planning process starts with enrollment projections in spring, and continues with “actual student numbers” in August. Alki, the principal wrote, is currently “over … target” in kindergarten class size “but otherwise at or below classrooms caps in all other grade levels.” He wrote that he spent a week of meetings with district officials “pleading our case for why our current staffing makes the most sense for students and learning,” but “received a directive to adjust my class sizes” to what the district wanted to see. The results include two split-grade classes. The principal indicated that families would receive information on “shifts and changes to class placements” yesterday, and tomorrow will be “‘moving day’ where students will join new homeroom classes and have a chance to get settled into their new classroom spaces and routines.” There are no classes district-wide on Friday – in-service day for staff – but the principal also promised that a support staffer “will be on site next week and available to meet with students and classes to help process feelings connected to this adjustment.”

We’ve also heard from a Roxhill Elementary parent who told us that at their child’s school, “A 3rd/4th split class has to be created, which will affect 3rd-5th grade students who have to be moved around and potentially switch teachers. Luckily, we are not losing any staff, but it’s obvious that this will cause a huge disruption for students and teachers.” This parent says, “We want to encourage people to write to the board, watch (tonight’s) meeting and advocate for stability.” Board contact info is online here; tonight’s meeting starts with public comment at 4:30 pm – the agenda is here – you can watch the meeting livestream here. As for other local schools affected – we’ve asked the district for a list of schools but so far have not received it.

Plf October 11, 2023 (4:15 pm)

This is a honest question in a effort to educate myself is their data on the efficacy of split grade classroom for kiddos does it keep some kids motivated to excel at a level with students that are higher in their classor does it overwhelm kids from a performance perspective

WS Res October 11, 2023 (10:47 pm)

I was moved into a split 2nd/3rd classroom a few weeks into second grade. Best year of school in my life. Worst was 3rd grade, which my cohort was forced to essentially repeat, when admin said they didn’t want to move us to 4th grade with our 3rd grade friends for “social reasons.” We all felt like we had to repeat a grade.

T October 11, 2023 (6:53 pm)

Fairmount Park is also forced to convert a 4th grade class to a 3rd/4th split, moving some 4th graders out of that class and into two others, and moving some 3rd graders in from two classes. Super disruptive to all the kids in those five classrooms.

ZSJ October 11, 2023 (7:29 pm)

Very frustrating.SPS had nearly 3 months to plan, it is disappointing.And it was actually rather stressful on my student and I know the same for other kids, really not ideal for them to have to worry about….these kids have already had to deal with the 2.5 years of COVID BS craziness in school and now this just keeps it going.SPS should learn how to manage a school from Mason, a great principal and leader, rather than them providing him directive!

Adam October 11, 2023 (7:45 pm)

SPS swallows up funds left and right, spend poorly, get terrible performance, and come back with hat in hand begging for more to fix it. Let’s just keep this wheel spinnin’

Ms. Myrtle October 11, 2023 (8:22 pm)

This is SO messed up. Last year, due to the same issue my 2nd grade daughter was moved into a new class several weeks into the year. The transition and disruption caused her to go fro a child the LOVED school to one that was reclusive and struggling at school. Much more this this and I’m going to have to send to my child to private school for our family sanity and health of our child. I can’t afford that, nor choose that path but SPS gives me little choice. Figure it out already.

flimflam October 11, 2023 (8:25 pm)

Forgive my ignorance but are the combined classes receiving the same lessons?

Sarah October 11, 2023 (10:55 pm)

That is not an ignorant question, and the short answer is no.
- flimflam October 12, 2023 (9:30 am)
  
  Thank you for the reply – so there are two separate lessons going on in the same classroom at the same time? Wouldn’t that make it hard to pay attention?
Frog October 12, 2023 (10:45 am)

The long answer is, it’s a mixed picture. A lot is left up to the discretion of the teacher (the college-educated professional running the show, whose discretion is not always a bad thing.) Elementary school education is a lot fuzzier and less precise than people seem to think. Even in a class containing only one chronological grade, there will always be students spanning 3-4 grade levels in current ability. Throwing in a second chronological grade level makes less difference than you might think. In the old days, many schools had walk-to math, where students were shuffled and grouped according to current diagnostic grade level. Being in a split class made no difference at all. Now, walk-to math has been banned by the district, and all students are held down to grade level as a matter of policy, so the split class will be more complicated. Not sure how they handle it. For language, social studies and SEL content, I think, split classes tended in the past to mostly cover the material of the older grade, but with slightly lower expectations for students in the younger grade. Most of these lessons are fairly open-ended, and you will always have some students doing them big while others do less. (That’s all the “differentiation” there ever is in SPS.) Having two chronological grades doing them makes surprisingly little difference. For subjects state-mandated in particular grades, such as Washington state history or Time Immemorial Native American, students in split classes might get either light or double treatment of some content, but their college and career prospects will not be derailed as a result.
- Plf October 12, 2023 (6:03 pm)
  
  Frog thank you so much for your analysis clearly thoughtfully articulated thought of running for school board?

Marianne October 11, 2023 (9:15 pm)

Personally, I would prefer to teach 25 of one grade level over 20 at two grade levels.

Frog October 11, 2023 (9:19 pm)

My oldest was shifted twice from one class to another during October adjustments in elementary school, and it was never a big deal. In fact, it was great luck both times, because the our student ended up with the best teachers he had in elementary. Once he was placed in a split class where he was in the lower grade, and made more progress that year than any other. Honestly, there are probably 26 reasons why teenagers have an unprecedented level of mental health problems now days, and one of them is hysterical over-parenting based on the assumption that children are tender glass flowers who can’t survive any stress. The worst thing you can do for your child in this situation is over-react and carry on like it’s some great trauma, because the poor child doesn’t know any better, and will panic based on your reaction. The best thing you can do for your child offer reassurance and act like it’s no big deal, because believe it or not, that’s the truth. Part of growing up is dealing with changes, and learning that changes don’t actually hurt you. Having sane, confident adults in your life really helps with that. Regarding split classes in particular, the main actual trauma comes if the split crosses a recess boundary, so students risk being separated from their grade-mates in other classes at recess. But usually the school manages to deal with that.

Hg October 12, 2023 (8:25 am)

This is a really helpful perspective. While I hope there’s a less disruptive way for this to be handled in the future, this is a positive and character-building way to respond. Thanks for sharing.

WSDUDEMAN October 11, 2023 (9:52 pm)

This is insane.

Chris October 12, 2023 (6:47 am)

SPS is simply reflecting what happens in the community. If parents or guardians don’t inform the district of their plans in the fall whether it’s public school or private school, the district has no idea. Then after school starts they see the actual numbers and have to adjust. I’m not saying the district is perfect, but in this case they are simply working with what they were given by our community.

pjk October 12, 2023 (7:57 am)

Thank you Frog! My entire grade school experience at Alki Grade School, we had 2 classrooms of each grade level plus at least 3-4 split classrooms. I learned cursive handwriting a year early because of being in a split 3/4 grade classroom!! Loved it and still get compliments on my handwriting, so I don’t think I suffered. I grew up in the middle of the baby boom generation and we had HUGE classroom size! Parents need to be supportive! You’ll teach your children to complain about every change if that’s what you model.

Jay October 12, 2023 (9:08 am)

How are we one of the richest cities in the richest country in the world but we’ve got an impoverished education system? Split grade classes are absolutely unacceptable. I can’t even comprehend the rationality behind that. The lower grade will have fun being taught the higher grade lessons, but you’re making the older kids repeat a year. This is just sad and I feel bad for all the kids who have to suffer for the adults who couldn’t grow the hell up and do what needs to be done.

WS Res October 12, 2023 (11:00 am)

“How are we one of the richest cities in the richest country in the world but we’ve got an impoverished education system?” – because we don’t have a state income tax. Because people want world-class education but don’t want to fund a world-class system, thanks to decades of degrading talk about public education, public school teachers, teacher’s unions, etc. Because teaching is a pink-collar profession and women’s work is seen as less skilled and less valuable. Because the Libertarian Right has pushed the “why should I pay for schools if I don’t have kids/if my kids are grown/if I send my kid to private school” agenda to sour people on funding schools. Because the goal of the extreme Christian Dominionists since desegregation has been to undermine public education and move funds and energy into private schools so they can teach their religious viewpoint, exclude diverse viewpoints, and have mostly-white schools. It is a true scandal and as the child of school teachers, it infuriates me, even though I don’t have kids of my own. (Oh, and split-grade classes usually teach to the higher grade level while scaffolding lessons for the lower grade. I was in a split-grade class as a kid and other than math, where we younger kids needed some foundation skills before we could do the work the older kids were doing, we mostly got the benefit of learning ahead of our grade level.)
- KinesthesiaAmnesia October 12, 2023 (12:20 pm)
  
  I went to Fairmount as a kid, also went to non-Seattle public schools up north for a spell! Up north I was a second grader in a 2nd/3rd split. The teacher taught the 2nd graders in one half of our portable, then when it seemed like we 2nd graders had retained it and could work on our lessons independently, she’d turn around on one foot and teach the other grade. There was blue painters tape dividing the class spaces. It reminded me of the Brady Bunch episode where they put tape down the middle of their bedroom floor – 2nd grade gets their side, and so does 3rd and don’t cross the masking tape line on the carpet! All the 2nd graders excelled and many (including myself) were placed in advanced learning programs the following year. I don’t remember the 3rd graders faring so well. I remember them asking school staff why they had to be stuck with the younger kids, like I think they felt punished or held back. Over the years I saw many of them actually held back a grade or not reach graduation. But that’s just my old memories and experience as a Seattle kid in a split level class. I hope the kinks have been ironed out for today’s students.
Jeff October 12, 2023 (11:57 am)

Because you don’t have the people getting rich paying taxes. Tax Amazon. Tax the wealthy. Not the small homeowner or renters. Get Rid Of Sales Tax And Get Income Tax!!!

BJG October 12, 2023 (9:43 am)

I was in a split 2nd and 3rd grade class in the 50’s at Jefferson Elementary. That’s all I recall of the year other than that I had Mrs. Elliott twice so I must have been a 3rd grader. I was an excellent student throughout my public school years. In other words, it did not hold me back. My parents would not have been opposed then. That helped with the situation I’m sure. In the 70’s it happened again to my 7 year old daughter who started in West Seattle, then was moved across town. She was moved 5 times in the first 6 weeks of class. That was disruptive and she was “chosen” because she was “resilient” until she wasn’t. She refused to go to back to school. Unfortunately this is not new public school behavior.

5thgradesqueeze October 13, 2023 (8:26 am)

17:1 ratio for K-3 yet now both 5th grade classes at Lafayette have 33 kids in them. Great solution 🙄 Its so unfair not only to the kids but to their teachers. My daughter’s teacher is awesome though and maintains a positive attitude throughout. Amazing stamina and patience these teachers have. I am so thankful to them.

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