Updated Jan. 24, 2025
Lake Washington School District Deputy Superintendent Scott Beebe joined LWPTSA Council and local families on Jan. 16, 2025, to share information about next year’s switch to a six-period high school day.
Mr. Beebe shared background information about how LWSD previously switched from six to seven periods, why the district is switching back to six periods, and how LWSD made this decision. He also addressed some common myths about the switch, and shared some examples to demonstrate how students might fit desired electives into their schedules.
Due to the 1-hour time format of LWPTSA Council Lunch & Learns, and a 100-person Zoom limit, we unfortunately did not have enough time to directly address most questions. LWPTSA Council invited questions in advance of the session via a Microsoft Form; participants also submitted questions in the event Zoom chat.
It is our understanding that LWSD is committed to providing additional opportunities for families to ask questions about the switch. Many of the questions were requests for specific details about options that will be provided to students, and how those options will work. Mr. Beebe said that LWSD will share specific details and information as it is available (i.e., they will not wait until every last thing is final before sharing anything). LWSD also has an FAQ on their website that may address many families’ questions.
Questions/Comments & Answers
- Concern that counselors are telling 8th-grade families that PE/health are “required” in 9th grade and not providing alternatives that make it easier for students to register for electives
- Mr. Beebe: One of the comprehensive high schools has traditionally recommended health / PE for incoming freshmen and did so again this year. If individual students or their families believe their student will qualify for or use a PE exclusion, that request can be made directly to the school counselor to apply for the exclusion as part of the individual student’s high school and beyond planning. District policy 2410 includes the request form necessary for a PE exclusion, in accordance with district policy and state law. The written fitness assessment is still required to demonstrate the knowledge portion of the State PE requirement, which is offered at least once a year at each comprehensive high school.
- Requests for examples that show how students can prioritize fine and performing arts, while still meeting graduation requirements and having competitive transcripts for college (which would likely include three years of foreign language and four years of math)
- Mr. Beebe: One such example was highlighted in the slide presentation for the Lunch and Learn session. School counselors can answer questions about specific student requests for coursework or pathways and will be aware of the options available for students. Those different options will also be published to the district website.
- How will students fit in CTE credits?
- Mr. Beebe: Various options were presented to demonstrate different ways to meet the Occupational Education requirement including using 4th year music, AVID, individual dual credited courses, as well as CTE coursework. Questions about individual students’ paths are best directed to the school counseling teams, so they can help explore different options for specific students.
- Requests for more specifics about how the decision to switch was made, including questions about projected enrollments, budget, potential impacts of the switch, etc. (including requests for transparency with this data)
- Mr. Beebe: All of the budget information as well as enrollment projections are available on the district website as well as shared publicly in school board meetings. The decision to move to the 6-period day is also documented, as is all the associated data, also on the district website.
- How do our students’ self-efficacy ratings compare to those in neighboring districts?
- Mr. Beebe: Self-efficacy ratings from the Panorama survey are not compared to neighboring districts. We do not have this data. They are compared to national norms to provide a percentile rank. LWSD’s most recent scores from Fall 2024 in grades 6-12 with over 12,346 respondents place us in the 40th – 59th percentile nationally.
- Are any other districts cutting to six-period days? Do we think this will drive down enrollment?
- Mr. Beebe: It is important to note that most districts in the state of WA did not move to a 7-period day at all and have continued to operate on 6-periods. We are by no means the only district operating on a 6-period day moving into 2025-2026. Several districts immediately around LWSD are continuing to operate on 7-periods yet have made or are making additional cuts to programs and services and increasing class sizes to do so. We do not know if these other districts will follow LWSD’s lead in shifting back to a 6-period day. LWSD is in a comparatively better place financially than these other districts, because we are making decisions now to bring revenues in line with expenditures, avoiding many of the more draconian cuts occurring in other districts. Budget was a factor in the decision, but it was not the sole factor nor the one that drove much of the discussion. The work of the committee that studied the impact of the 7-period day is available on the district website and provides more information on the work that led to the decision.
- How can students obtain PE/health credits and music/arts credits for activities or classes outside of the school day?
- Mr. Beebe: Policies 2410 and 2409, which will go to the board on January 27th for a first reading, outline the various ways students can obtain PE exclusions as well as performance-based credits. LWSD schools have offered school music courses for many years in zero period classes and will continue to do so after we shift to the 6-period day. Running Start is another option for outside coursework that is also potentially no cost to families as are some online courses including health. Health is also offered during a summer session for LWSD students through WANIC.
- Requests for more information about how Running Start will be expanded
- Mr. Beebe: The state of Washington expanded access to Running Start by allowing students to count 1.6 FTE instead of 1.0. This effectively means a student could be a full-time high school student while also taking up to .6 of full-time coursework through Running Start. We are in active discussions with Cascadia and Bellevue College to expand access through easier registration, on-campus information presentations, potentially transportation to Cascadia and expansion of coursework on our campuses for high interest courses.
- What are the desired outcomes of built-in intervention periods?
- Mr. Beebe: Built-in intervention periods were a concept explored in the sample schedules shared publicly during the community engagement in October. The intent of these times was to build in academic support within the school day with a different approach. Whether or not separate intervention periods will be included in a final common high school schedule is yet to be announced. Academic support within the school day was one of the parameters given to the technical workgroup for consideration in developing an alternative to the 7-period day, and intervention periods were one concept examined to provide this type of support.
- Questions about availability of period 0 and 7 classes (i.e., which classes will be offered, how do students sign up, is it consistent between schools, will there be transportation)
- Mr. Beebe: 0 and 7 period classes will be determined by the individual schools based on student interest as well as staff availability for offerings, which includes staffing allocations based on enrollment and other factors. Schools will begin communicating more about opportunities at each site as we move into student registration and as decisions are made at the district level pertaining to staffing. Transportation is still being considered along with other reinvestments and will be communicated as decisions are made throughout the spring.
- What is the best way to provide suggestions/feedback to the district?
- Mr. Beebe: For questions about individual students, please contact your child’s school counselor. Continued participation in events like Lunch and Learn, district survey efforts, community forums and town halls is a great way to continue to make your perspective heard as is tuning into board meetings or viewing the board recordings.
- How long will the school day be? (start & end times, block schedule, daily bell schedule)
- Mr. Beebe: Yet to be determined but not substantially different than they are now. Districts in WA must comply with instructional hour requirements determined by the state. LWSD cannot substantially change the length of the school day without negatively impacting those requirements. Coincidentally the instructional hour requirement increased in 2015, and those rule changes took effect the same time as the district moved to the 7-period day, increasing the length of the high school day by 20 minutes. The final schedule for the four comprehensive high schools as well as the individual choice schools will be announced following continued conversations with the Lake Washington Education Association about working conditions associated with the 6-period day.
- How will IEP students who have a period reserved for a study skills class still have room for electives and foreign language?
- Mr. Beebe: Services provided to individual students are determined by IEP teams while schedules are completed in consultation with school counselors. There are many variables teams must consider to answer this question with any specificity for individual students at a district level. However, most districts in the state operate on 6-period days and must provide similar services defined in student IEP’s, and we will learn from those districts. Additionally, LWSD operated a 6-period day prior to the 2018-2019 school year, so there is also a relatively recent history of providing service within the context of a 6-period day. LWSD teams will be working through these issues this spring and into next year.
- Concerns that counselors don’t have enough information yet about options that will be available/details
- Mr. Beebe: Information is being provided as decisions are made, and counseling and administrative staff at the schools will be among the first to know decisions and impacts followed shortly by families. The nature of this change is such that this work will continue throughout the Spring as we lead into next school year.
- Equity concerns regarding the cost of enrolling in outside programs, the additional knowledge/effort it requires to sign up for programs outside the school day, potential transportation issues for options outside the school day
- Mr. Beebe: Not all opportunities outside the school day will require offsite location or cost, but in general, LWSD shares concerns around creating more equitable opportunities and will continue to work to remove barriers to access in partnership with parents and community organizations. One outside no cost opportunities is Running Start, which provides access to college level coursework that is not offered in high schools. Students can now be full-time high school students and up to .6 Running Start or a combination thereof. Transportation is being explored, as is bringing some opportunities to our campuses and/or online coursework.
- Concerns for rising juniors and seniors who planned their four years assuming seven-period days
- Mr. Beebe: These are the conversations that are occurring now as we enter into the registration process with our grade 9-11 students and involve conversations with counselors to adjust the high school and beyond plan. LWSD will continue to work with individual students and families to mitigate the impact of the midstream change in number of periods on existing high school and beyond plans, while at the same time recognizing we will have one less period within the school day, which may necessitate some adjustments to plans.