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Students and parents press LWSD on high school schedule rollout and communication
Summary
Students and parents at the March 24 Lake Washington School District board meeting said the district's newly posted high school schedule was released with little advance notice and incomplete messaging, and asked the board to review timing and communication and consider small edits to reduce student fatigue.
Several students and parents used the board's public comment period on March 24 to object to the district's newly released high school bell schedule and to ask the board to change how schedule information is communicated.
"I would like the district to carefully consider how their messaging and how and when they communicate it is being interpreted by LWSD staff and students," said Anjay Jun, a junior at Lake Washington High School, who told the board the schedule announced the same day disrupted previously planned public comment and appeared to have been rolled out without adequate staff or student notice.
Parent Rachel King told the board she worries the new schedule will "have a tremendous impact" on students with disabilities, noting district data that about 26.5% of high school students have 504 plans or IEPs. "Blocks of classes that are inconsistent, extremely long, and will be very detrimental for those students," she said, urging the board to reconsider.
Redmond High School junior Amira Golub proposed a specific operational tweak: swap Monday's fifth-period block with Tuesday's fourth-period block so that "every class only happens once per day," which she said would reduce fatigue and prevent the "double fourth period" from becoming a "class period of doom." Golub said more than 1,200 students signed a petition seeking edits.
Board members acknowledged the concerns and referenced an ongoing implementation review. Superintendent Dr. Holman and staff told the board the schedule will be evaluated at the end of next year and that the district will track operational impacts. No policy change was ordered at the meeting; the board did not take a formal vote on the schedule at this session.
Why it matters: High school schedule changes can affect instruction, student supports and attendance patterns; several speakers said the rollout process left students, teachers and principals uncertain and asked for clearer, earlier communication.
What the district said: Staff responded during the meeting that the schedule had been under development and that the district planned a review at the end of the year; staff emphasized they would gather feedback and could make adjustments before the schedule becomes permanent.
Next steps: Board members suggested bringing schedule impacts into future study work and indicated the board's upcoming work plan could include further monitoring of the schedule rollout and its effects on ninth-grade credit attainment and student attendance.
