SCHOOLS: Vashon Island district invites non-islanders to apply

Midway through the 2023-2024 school year, families are finalizing their plans for 2024-2025. So we’ve been showcasing open houses and tours for various West Seattle schools of all types. A nearby district is raising its hand for your consideration, too. Vashon Island School District superintendent Dr. Slade McSheehy asked us to share this announcement with you:

Vashon Island School District Still Accepting Non-Resident Applications

(Photo courtesy Vashon Island SD)

Did you know that the Vashon Island School District is currently accepting non-resident applications for students in grades K-12? This is a wonderful opportunity for families in our neighboring communities to become part of an exceptional school district.

At Vashon Island School District, we take pride in small school environments where every student is not just a name on a roster, but welcomed, known, and treasured.

Join over 200+ students, K-12, who commute daily to be a part of our close-knit island community.

Apply for admission using the VISD Non-Resident Student application, Non-Resident Application

Questions, forms, and other information can be received for each school from the following people:

Chautauqua Elementary: Caleb Johns, CES Registrar- cjohns@vashonsd.org 206-463-8540
McMurray Middle School: Kelly Murphy, McM Registrar – kmurphy@vashonsd.org 206-463-9168
Vashon High School: Deb Franson, VHS Registrar – dfranson@vashonsd.org 206-463-8684
Choice Transfers, District Contact: Kareem Greenidge – kgreenidge@vashonsd.org 206-463-8530

We asked the superintendent for a few more specifics about their current “commuter” student population: “We have 257 off-island students who commute. Approximately 25-30 are from Southworth and the remainder from Fauntleroy. Approximately 25 are K-5 with the remainder grades 6-12.” The total district enrollment is just over 1,500, so that means one in six students is from off-island.

Brian January 21, 2024 (12:54 pm)

I’m trying to clarify something someone told me that I could not independently verify: does the Vashon Island School District require off-island students to have an on-island relative they can go to if for any reason they are unable to get home? I’m not seeing it in this story and I’d presume it’d be noted here if that were the case.

Westwood January 21, 2024 (1:44 pm)

They do not.
GHill January 21, 2024 (7:28 pm)

Agreed. They do not require it. They recommend it given the ferry schedule in scenarios where the child, for any reason, needs to leave school. It’s not so easy to run pick them up based on the ferry schedule, but plenty of families commute and most navigate these issues.

Parent January 21, 2024 (1:28 pm)

What about the inconsistencies with the ferries?

Lily davenport January 21, 2024 (2:57 pm)

To clarify, the problem with the ferry has a far stronger consequence for Car commuters. As far as I know, students walk on the ferry, and then get on a public bus that is right there next to the dock. They move as a group. I am not sure about the elementary kids.
Slade McSheehy January 21, 2024 (3:24 pm)

Hi,Thanks for the question, ferry travel has been increasingly consistent for our commuters. They walk on and we have busses waiting for them. I have a close relationship with WSF leadership. Our commuters also participate in our sports and extra curriculars to similar on island numbers. We also just had 18 Costa Rican exchange students for 3 weeks and 6 of them stayed with West Seattle families. Don’t hesitate to call our middle or high schools for a tour.Thank you,Dr. McSheehy, Superintendent
- Joe January 22, 2024 (6:32 pm)
  
  The facts don’t support your fairytale opinions about the ferry system. The ferry service is, hands down, the worst that it’s been in the 50 years I’ve been using it. The main issue I have with commuter students, is we the Vashon tax payers, have to cover all the costs to build schools, fields and infrastructure to accommodate the additional students from out of the district.
  - Ferry January 23, 2024 (6:22 am)
    
    I have to agree with Joe here regarding ferries. The triangle route is an absolute mess, the worst in my 20 years of commuting from West Seattle. It is normally a three-boat route but went down to two boats during Covid, and WSF just announced that there is no timeline to bring it back up to full service. Regarding money, my understanding is that the Vashon school district gets money for every student it brings over from West Seattle, so the West Seattle students are actually a financial benefit to Vashon. That’s why they try to get kids to come over.
  - Sarah January 23, 2024 (9:45 am)
    
    Joe, that is not the case. Vashon gets funding for each student that enters from out of the district.
    - Joe January 23, 2024 (1:21 pm)
      
      Sarah, you should try actually educating yourself before hitting the keyboard and proving your complete lack of knowledge on the subject. VSD gets zero extra money from the state for capital projects such as new buildings and fields. They can apply for grants but there is no compensation from the state for the added commuter students. They get a set dollar amount for each out of district student that goes entirely towards operations, not infrastructure.

Rhonda January 21, 2024 (5:13 pm)

What a great opportunity for West Seattle parents and students who are disgusted with the Seattle Public School system.

Mr J January 21, 2024 (7:26 pm)

When you trash the Seattle School System you spit on all the hard working union members trying to make a difference in children’s lives. Shame on you. Stop commenting every intrusive thought you have.
- Rhonda January 21, 2024 (8:38 pm)
  
  As the daughter of a retired Seattle Public Schools teacher I can honestly say you have no idea how wrong you are. SPS is a shell of what it used to be. Eliminating the Honors and advanced-placement programs was the last straw for a great many of us Asian parents.
  - WSMom January 22, 2024 (6:41 am)
    
    Rhonda, then why are you not fighting for our local public schools? Instead you flee to Vashon.
    - Rhonda January 22, 2024 (1:46 pm)
      
      WSMom, our kids are adults now and didn’t attend school on Vashon. It’s up to current K-12 parents to wrestle with Seattle Public Schools, and many are choosing to avoid SPS altogether. Their childrens’ education is more important than activism.
  - whoanellie January 22, 2024 (4:08 pm)
    
    Oh no you didn’t just say ‘Asian parents’ like there is a race difference when it comes to Honors and AP. Wow. I can’t even believe that comment was approved.
- Falcon January 21, 2024 (8:53 pm)
  
  In fairness… The district does suck. The teachers I’ve experienced have been soooo great! And I love them! They have my support 1000%. The Superintendent has used parents against teachers during contract negotiations, during COVID, and other crap. They mismanaged funds left and right. The district is crap. The teachers are the best!
- WS Guy January 21, 2024 (11:34 pm)
  
  SPS is absolutely terrible. I say this no matter who I’m spitting on.
- Mel January 22, 2024 (8:37 pm)
  
  Sorry but have to agree with Rhonda. I did everything I could to keep my elementary age kids out of SPS. The district and administration doesn’t have the kids best interest in mind. And I won’t let my kids be a pawn. I want them to have a good education.
WSparent January 21, 2024 (7:47 pm)

Disgusted is the understatement of the century!

Don Brubeck January 21, 2024 (9:08 pm)

What a great opportunity for white flight from Seattle and Highline schools. Long commutes, limited choices in high school classes, free tuition, free ferry and bus transportation, a student population that is 73 percent white, 14 percent Hispanic, 10 percent mixed-race, and 81 of the 87 teachers in the district are white .

Rhonda January 21, 2024 (11:07 pm)

Or, it’s a great opportunity for the Vashon Schools student body to become more diverse with minority students from West Seattle, Don.
- Don Brubeck January 22, 2024 (7:27 am)
  
  Rhonda, is a great opportunity for Vashon schools to become more diverse if minority students from West Seattle attended. But that is not what is happening. It is obvious if you ride the ferry with the students. Last year, Vashon HS had 540 students. 11 were Asian, 2 Native American, 1 Black student.
Darren January 21, 2024 (11:16 pm)

So children of color can’t apply and attend?Any family can evaluate if they think it’s a better choice for their kid. Your comment sounds a bit bias, might check your assumptions
- wares January 22, 2024 (11:34 am)
  
  But that is not the story the statistics tell Darren. It is white flight.
D Martin January 22, 2024 (3:06 am)

Not just white flight. My Latino family members with children have moved to the Eastside, and their children are either enrolled in the Lake Washington or Northshore school districts, and the schools there are very diverse. The main reason they moved was because of Seattle Schools and quality of life issues.
Al King January 22, 2024 (8:41 am)

Don Brubeck.I take it you believe schools should have quota’s? Wanting to go to a particular school shouldn’t play a part on what school a kid goes to? What’s the societal benefit to doing so? Do you believe colleges and universities should not let anybody that wants to attend get admission?
- Don Brubeck January 22, 2024 (1:17 pm)
  
  Al King, I am not saying anything about quotas or admission restrictions. What this looks like is white parents choosing to send their children from Seattle and Highline districts to an overwhelmingly white school district for no apparent reason other than just that.
  - Need options January 22, 2024 (3:03 pm)
    
    Don – Are you not familiar with the mess that SPS is? Parents are desperate for other options. Many have the mindset that any other choice can’t possibly be worse but might be better and worth a shot.
  - Al King January 22, 2024 (4:20 pm)
    
    Don Brubeck. Oh, ok. Educate me on the apparent education similarities that would negate any educational reason for sending kids to Vashon vs SPS/Highline. And please articulate the “apparent reasons” that “whiteness” would be the only reason for going to Vashon.
for us January 22, 2024 (1:23 pm)

It’s disheartening to read a post like this, just a negative comment with no useful input. We thought about Vashon a few years back for our kids, but it wasn’t because of the whiteness. It was because of all we had read about SPS and teacher strikes and so much other negative news. What is the point of your comment? I assume kids of all colors would be welcome on Vashon. Should white West seattle kids be discouraged from attending? I don’t understand.

JT January 22, 2024 (7:43 am)

How does the commute work for elementary school kids? Is there someone on the ferry that helps and is responsible for them getting to and from school?

Westwood January 22, 2024 (12:13 pm)

Yes, there is.

Joe Z January 22, 2024 (12:35 pm)

As a parent of a 3 year old, I honestly am shocked that WS that people actually send their WS kids to Vashon schools. The only advantage I see is that the ferry could be thought of as free childcare? There’s no way that the Vashon schools are producing a difference in educational outcomes that would justify forcing your kid to spend that much time commuting, as well as making it nearly impossible for working parents to actually visit the school on a regular basis.

Sarah January 22, 2024 (1:47 pm)

Joe, that is identical to saying public transportation and school busses are considered free childcare. What a weird conclusion. And as far as visiting the school on a regular basis? Once your kids are out of elementary school, parent involvement becomes less and less, as students are encouraged to take responsibility for and advocate for themselves.
- Be more involved January 23, 2024 (4:23 pm)
  
  I strongly recommend that you be more involved in their older ages. This is exactly where Vashon schools fail. They have very little expected of younger kids (with a lot of handholding ). And then suddenly, in middle school they let them decide everything on their own. What happens is that they don’t inform the parents of different opportunities and then the kids find out too late that they needed to do XYZ to have those opportunities. Many times our kids have felt they missed out on an opportunity bcz they were not given the info they needed to take advantage of the chance. It’s totally possible that they missed an emai. But when they are 12 year olds, they don’t always catch these things or aren’t thinking ahead or don’t really understand what the opportunity is until it’s too late. In addition to that, one of the weakest points in the Vashon school district are the school counselors. I can confidently say that they do not do their jobs. From academic counseling to social counseling.Aside from that, don’t you want to attend your older kids’ games etc? It is pretty much impossible to attend them if you have a full-time job. We typically can attend maybe one game in the season that is not in Vashon or Tacoma.
Adam January 22, 2024 (2:47 pm)

As a parent of a 3 year old, you’re shocked because you’re not a parent of a 5-17 year old. How could you know about “the only advantage” if you’re not part of that particular community? Are you constantly shocked when you get details of things you have little to no other knowledge about? It sounds like you had an opinion about this, others that ARE in the situation gave their opinions, and since it doesn’t track with your ideas you cast them aside.
- Joe Z January 22, 2024 (3:54 pm)
  
  I honestly don’t know what the advantages are, that’s what I’m asking. All I’m saying is that at face value it defies logic, so I was speculating that it may be an advantage to be able to drop the kids off earlier than you can at SPS.
  - Mel January 22, 2024 (8:40 pm)
    
    People are just that fed up with SPS.

N January 22, 2024 (1:22 pm)

Wow, really surprised by the hate towards an excellent schooling option, sad that our community has this reaction. As a parent my child has found their community and really flourished on Vashon and gets more social time on the ferry ride. It’s not for everyone but not every kids thrives in a large urban district and having options for families that cannot swing private is really helpful. Vashon just hosted students from Costa Rica as well.

WS Res January 22, 2024 (4:06 pm)

You need to learn to distinguish “criticism” and “disagreement” from “hate.”

Sarah January 22, 2024 (1:54 pm)

As having two children who have attended VSD for 3 years, I can say it’s been a great experience for them. For those who say parents “force” their children to ride the ferry, that couldn’t be further from the truth. My kids were there by choice, their suggestion, their decision to continue for the past three years. Their commuter friends are there by choice. I left it up to them to decide for themselves. As far as a long commute? The ferry ride is 15 minutes, the school bus ride another 15-20. Sure, there are some days with a ferry hiccup, but the kids have always rolled with it, they hang out with friends. With the early ferry ride 4 days a week (Friday’s are a later start time), I’m home by 7:30 every morning. Cross city bussing in the early 80’s meant I was on a bus from Lake City to Beacon Hill, which was an hour each way. If you haven’t experienced it, why trash it?

Christine January 22, 2024 (2:19 pm)

It is an extremely white and upper class district. As a mixed race person, I feel uncomfortable there. If our kids were not required to go there, I wouldn’t send them there. Teaching, counselors and staff is mediocre to poor with a few star players. The ferry is a huge hassle, esp if you want to attend your child’s events on the island (you need to cross your car, which means get in the ferry line 2ferries prior to the one you want on a weekday and esp Fri afternoon). And bcz of the commute, it is difficult to take advantage of extracurriculars on the Seattle side, so you are restricted to Vashon activities. Even then, the kids are pulled out of class 2 periods early to attend games bcz all their away games require a commute off island (often Tacoma side). Needless to say, I don’t recommend. I know a lot of students who attended for a year or so and then leave bcz of either the hassle of it all or bcz of lack of welcoming attitudes on the island and bullying.

West Seattle is very white January 22, 2024 (4:15 pm)

Christine, as a minority individual myself it’s always been very apparent to me how overwhelmingly white West Seattle is, too. Vashon may be a little more white, but West Seattle is not a big multicultural/multiracial area.
- Surrounding areas January 23, 2024 (4:02 pm)
  
  The areas surrounding West Seattle (White Center, South Park, Burien) are more diverse. Some Vashon commuters are from these areas.
Westwood January 22, 2024 (5:34 pm)

Wait…why are your kids required to go there? For the rest of us, it is a choice.

Al King January 22, 2024 (4:32 pm)

Christine. Here in the real world “welcoming attitudes and bullying” happen EVERYWHERE. Please name a school where there are NO documented issues of bullying or cliques or students feeling that they don’t fit in. And please educate us on your discomfort on being around every white person. Calling us guilty until proven innocent strikes me as quite offensive.