Seattle Schools apologizes for class reshuffle disruption

Five days after Seattle schools did a major reshuffle of classes in dozens of its schools, parents and educators say they’re frustrated and confused by the way the changes took place.

At a school board meeting Wednesday, Superintendent Brent Jones apologized for the disruption. 

“I want to make it clear that we are listening and we are apologetic for the inconveniences that [the changes caused],” Jones said at the start of the meeting. “We are collectively challenged in making sure we are following mandates and rules so that we can get the resources that we need in order to keep our schools solvent.”

Dozens of the district’s elementary and K-8 classrooms were reconfigured Monday to meet state class size requirements. Some students had a new teacher, and others had new classmates from different grades joining their class, often known as “split classrooms.”

The district has posted a frequently asked questions page on its website spelling out the changes, but has declined to make public a list of the schools impacted. That information “is best provided by the school leader who shares what direct changes are happening and the support available in their building,” a spokesperson said via email. 

Principals and educators started compiling a list of their own earlier in the week. The list includes 53 schools but has not been verified or confirmed by the district. 

The district also would not say how many schools have been impacted in years past. Last week, district officials described this year’s reshuffling as “routine.”

Seattle Education Association President Jennifer Matter said that she’s never seen so many schools impacted by a reshuffle in the fall. In the past, there have been adjustments in the spring. 

At first, just a couple of schools reached out to her about receiving an order to reshuffle classrooms. Then the numbers started to grow. “We didn’t realize it was across the district,” Matter said.

The state’s largest school district is grappling with declining enrollment and has also had to make cuts to deal with a budget shortfall. That has left SPS with minimal funds to help mitigate the adjustments, according to district officials.

During his remarks Wednesday, Jones said he recognized that changes during the school year can cause anxiety and frustration, and that the district is working hard to minimize the effects. 

The apology didn’t stop dozens of parents and teachers from speaking during the meeting, pleading with the district to halt the change. 

Jessica Jones, who has a second-grader and a fifth-grader at Orca K-8 School and is also the school’s past PTSA president, stood at the microphone in tears describing the elimination of a K-3 teaching position, which has resulted in more overcrowded split classrooms at the school. 

“I don’t understand how this particular staffing adjustment is helping us meet the state requirement of a 17-to-1 teaching ratio, let alone the reported goal of academic excellence. I just don’t see it,” Jessica Jones said. “We say enough is enough. We implore you to do the right thing and stop this cut at Orca.”

Matter said the district told her that a computer system miscalculation led to the error. 

She and many parents are still asking for a fuller accounting of when the district realized the class ratios were out of compliance. Matter said the district told her that only about 10 schools would be impacted by enrollment changes this year, suggesting the additional schools are having to reshuffle classes due to this error.

“Right now there are so many questions about ‘could this be prevented?’ Right now everybody believes it should’ve been prevented,” Matter said. “Could we have done this reshuffle the first week of school? Did it have to wait until October?”