Teachers at Mill Creek Middle tell board 'No classroom means no equity' as they urge permanent spaces for multilingual students

Three Mill Creek Middle School teachers used the board’s preliminary communication portion on Oct. 8 to describe recurring travel between classrooms, lost instruction time and unequal learning conditions.

Terrell Thorson, a multilingual teacher at Mill Creek, said he travels between five classrooms each day and estimated the repeated transitions cost roughly six minutes per class (three minutes at the start, three minutes at the end). “Add this up over 180 days. It’s over 1,080 minutes and nearly 20 full days of instruction that are lost each year,” Thorson told trustees. He said Mill Creek serves about 860 students this year and that 50.2% qualify for multilingual services — far above the district average of about 28%.

Colette (spelled in the record as Colenta) Nicholas, also a Mill Creek teacher, said the instability hurts multilingual learners who rely on consistent routines and visual supports. “Traveling teachers cannot build the stability and sense of belonging that our kids need,” she told the board.

Debbie Mitchell, a sixth‑grade math teacher at Mill Creek, described how lack of a permanent classroom interferes with math instruction that depends on wall space and classroom materials. “Math at Mill Creek follows district requirements for building thinking classrooms, which need dedicated wall space and materials … Without a permanent classroom, I have no autonomy over my teaching space,” Mitchell said. She added the principal has requested funds to renovate and create permanent classrooms and said renovation is typically more cost effective than adding portables.

Context and data the speakers cited: - Mill Creek cited student achievement figures: 25% of seventh graders met ELA standards and 13% met math standards on state assessments, compared with district averages the speakers cited (46% ELA, 32% math). - Speakers said more than 60% of Mill Creek students tested at least three grade levels below in reading and math on I‑Ready assessments.

Board response and next steps: Trustees heard the comments during the preliminary communications segment; no board action was taken during the meeting. Board members thanked the speakers and acknowledged school facilities and equity as district priorities. The board’s capital and facilities planning work (including the recently approved capital and technology levy) and school‑level renovation requests will be part of broader facilities discussions; speakers asked the board to prioritize Mill Creek renovations so teachers can have dedicated classrooms.

Why it matters: The teachers framed the lack of permanent classrooms as an equity issue for multilingual and vulnerable students who, they said, lose instructional time and consistency. The district’s allocation of facilities funding and renovation timing determines which schools receive permanent space first and how quickly classroom stability can be restored.