I am writing with respect to the recent school closures that
have taken place in Northshore School District (NSD) in the weeks of 04Feb2019
and 11Feb2019 due to the weather events.
As a parent of an elementary school student in a household with two working
parents, the closure of schools presents an obvious burden on households such
as mine. I am sure that this is also
extended to single parent households.
Numerous businesses were open during this time period and there is an
expectation from our employers and clients that we will be available. I have the expectation that NSD will focus on performing the actions needed to get the schools open
and to develop creative solutions for those students unable to make it to
school or for parents unwilling to send their kids to school during this time.
To help me better understand why the schools needed to be
closed for such a lengthy duration, I am requesting that the following
questions be answered. This will help
myself and other clients of the Northshore School District better understand
the situation in a more comprehensive manner, better understand if you are
refining your plans for the future by developing creative solutions, and to
better understand what steps we can take to ensure that the goal of
re-opening the schools is being worked toward.
Topic #1: Communication with Cities and Counties within
NSD
Background: An example that would be relevant to the
questions about this topic include the plowing of schools and the maintenance
of snow routes and main access to the snow routes.
Questions: Can you please explain the relationship and
communication that occurs between the counties and cities within the Northshore
School District? Is there someone communicating
the needs of the school district to the proper entities? If there are issues with the snow route or
access to the snow route, is that being communicated?
Topic #2: Creation of Alternatives to Match the Non-Uniformity
within the Boundaries of NSD
Background: There does not seem to be a plan for meeting
the needs in what appears to be a non-homogeneous school district. For example, I felt as though that my child
would have been able to make it to school beginning on 13Feb2019 and definitely
on 14Feb2019 and 15Feb2019. I could
understand a late opening, but I found a full school closure to be
unnecessary. Other areas of the school
district may disagree. There appears to be the opportunity to
develop solutions for the variety that exists in the district. For example, NSD posted numerous updates and
photos. The use of technology could also
be extended to provide the lesson plans and accompanying assignments to parents
of kids unable to make it to school. For
kids without the technology, the required work could be sent home prior to the
event. NSD provides online learning
resources so this approach would seem to be a natural extension of what is
currently occurring. This would preserve
the safety of students and allow parents to make the determination on whether
their children are taught at home during these periods due to their safety
concerns or whether the kids are being taught in school. It is an approach that serves a greater
number of clients in NSD and recognizes the varying needs within the
district. The current approach does not
accomplish that goal and lacks the creativity that I would expect from the
leadership of NSD.
Questions: Has there been any consideration to
alternative methods of instruction for those areas that feel as though they are
unable to make it to school?
Topic #3: Personnel Leading Coordination Effort
Background: During the event, I saw the NSD updates along
with comments pertaining to those updates regarding staff members shoveling
snow at the schools. As a parent in the
NSD, I sincerely appreciate the effort.
However, this effort seems in vain if the coordination is not occurring
to get the kids to school. This goes
back to Topic #1 regarding the coordination that is taking place to accomplish
this effort. It seems as there is not a
fully developed plan to accomplish the goal of getting the schools open.
Questions: Do you have the correct individuals
coordinating the efforts to get the schools open?
Topic #4: Consistency in Determining Safe Travel within
the District
Background: In
your updates, you state that NSD has individuals driving around the district
delivering meals. This effort seems
incongruent with your concern of safety.
In other words, we receive notification that it is too dangerous to
travel in areas of the district, but then NSD sanctions an activity that
requires travel within the district. I
suspect that the individuals driving within the district are given the
discretion needed to make their own determinations regarding safety. The reason that I mention this is that it is
an acknowledgement that you have a non-uniform district. The criteria that you apply regarding travel
within the district can also apply to parents’ decisions on whether or not they
feel safe in bringing their kids to school.
Question: Can you please comment on this?
Topic #5: Nature of Communication with Parents within
NSD
Background: In your announcements regarding school
closures, you consistently state that this is a difficult decision to
make. I was looking for more detail in
these statements. For example, I am
looking for specific action items that are being implemented to get the schools
open. These announcements should detail
the plan that is occurring along with the problem areas. The announcements can also be used to detail
the assistance that is needed at individual schools or locations around the
schools. These announcements provided me
with no confidence that a specific plan was being implemented or that any
lessons were being learned for future events.
Question: Can you please comment on what lessons you
have learned from this event and how the plan has changed (if at all) going
forward?
Topic #6: Gathering Data to Determine Alternative Plans
Background: This
question ties into the coordination with cities and counties and creativity in
your planning process. I feel that an
opportunity was missed to gather data about number of students able to make it
to school and problem areas that need attention and coordination by keeping the
students out of school on Thursday and Friday (14 and 15 Feb 2019). At this point, there is no data on the
percentage of students who would have been able to attend school on those days
and what refinement of the plan and coordination needs to occur to increase the
number of students able to make it to school.
The YMCA program was proactive in their leadership and opened on Friday
for parents who are enrolled in their before and after school programs. That filled up very quickly. Although only qualitative (since I don’t know
total number of students participating and total number of students turned down
due to space limitations), it still provides an indication that numerous
parents did not feel the need to keep their kids home that day.
Questions: Can you please comment on whether or not
there will be a data driven plan developed for future events with the
understanding that refinements to the plan will occur as safe alternatives are
developed for these events to further increase attendance?
Topic #7: Waiver Request
Background: My
final question is also a comment. I have
to insist that you not request a waiver for any days that NSD falls below the
minimum requirement. Since the decisions
made during this event were driven based on conditions in the entire district,
the same standard should apply to waivers.
I am sure that you will agree that there are some students who would
benefit and definitely need extra school days.
To shorten the school year below these minimums is unfair to those
students. Accordingly, the entire school
district should remain in session until the minimums are met. I recognize that this may not be popular, but
the notices of the NSD indicated that tough decisions need to be made. I ask this for two reasons. First, there are many students who will
benefit from the instruction. Second, by
having to answer to the parents who are against such a decision, you will
hopefully understand the position of working households having to answer to
their employers and clients during an extended school shutdown.
Questions: Can I get your commitment that you will not
apply for a waiver?
Since I suspect these issues are of interest to many members
of NSD, I have posted these questions at the following site:
nsd-questions.blogspot.com
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