We have been advised recently that Everett School District is planning to redraw Henry M, Jackson High school's (JHS) boundary. We currently live in the community which is within the boundary of JHS, and will be reassigned to Cascade High School if the proposed plan gets approved.
WE DO NOT SUPPORT CHANGING THE BOUNDARIES FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO ATTEND CASCADE HIGH SCHOOL (CHS). Our reasons for not supporting a change in the boundary are as follows:
Continuous boundary changes: The boundaries for elementary schools changed recently. While we can appreciate that the enrollment numbers in the schools are balancing, the Board needs to have more insight as to how to deal with the population changes instead of a Band-Aid approach which seems very reactionary instead of proactive. Snohomish County was the fastest growing large county in Washington in 2016. School District needs to work with county and cities to address infrastructure issue including overcrowded schools.
Safety: We are extremely concerned about safety of young drivers who have to drive farther from the outermost part of the school district, all the way to CHS through busy roads and highway early in the morning.
Disruption: We are very happy with our children's experience at our current schools; the administrators, the programs and the teachers. Moving our children from where they have settled will be very disruptive, as all of a sudden they have to leave their social network (where they not only learn together but play sports together and socialize together). Removing them from the current classroom will create a huge disruption in their lives as well as the lives of the parents. Moving kids as they enter High School, a time where they learn a lot about life and develop from children to adults, can result in a great uproar as kids already have trouble making friends but with the stress of going to a new school it makes things much harder for students socially.
Impact to After-school program: Most of children have signed up for after-school programs or sports that start during after-school hours. Moving to a school farther than their current school, can disrupt family plans for after-school programs. This therefore limits a student's opportunity to participate in after-school programs. It also gives them an unequal disadvantage to the students who live closer to Cascade High School.
We, the undersigned call on the Everett School District to stop the proposed plan for re-drawing high school zones without considering community/stakeholder concerns. By signing we are supporting the current boundaries of Henry M. Jackson High School which is in the closest proximity to where our children reside, and we don't want our children or future students transferred to the Cascade High School. Please shift your resources and attention to the longer term solutions that address growing population, and lack of enough infrastructure issues.
