Ask SPS

Hi Jeannette! If you hover over "Students" in the green bar at the top of Madison's homepage, you should see "Supply List" toward the bottom of the list.

Generally, yes -- students should check in at the office and get a pass to class, but please double check the policy at your particular school.

Hi Lilli, Salk 8th graders will be able to access their schedule via PowerSchool on Aug. 26. On the first day of school, students will report to their 1st period class to receive their schedule, which will have their locker number and combination on it. If a student can’t access PowerSchool on Aug. 26, there will be 1st period classes posted in the cafeteria. You will be receiving a call that shares this information soon. Happy back to school!

Hi and thanks for your question. Just last night, the school board approved the budget, which includes early release every Friday at 1:45 p.m. for elementary students. The published school calendar currently includes 12 early release Fridays for professional learning time just like last year -- those will not change. The board's approval last night added 20 additional early-release Fridays for elementary students beginning on Aug. 30. On those 20 Fridays, after-school activities will be available for students who desire to stay until 3 p.m. Bus riders on the 20 extra Fridays will have the option of catching the bus home at 1:45 p.m. or at 3 p.m. We will have more details on the website soon.

Hi Kelsey, It is OK! As long as you have registered your son to ride the bus, he can ride it when he needs to. Thanks for your question.

Hi and thanks for your question. Just last night, the school board approved the budget, which includes early release every Friday at 1:45 p.m. for elementary students. The published school calendar currently includes 12 early release Fridays for professional learning time just like last year -- those will not change. The board's approval last night added 20 additional early-release Fridays for elementary students beginning on Aug. 30. On those 20 Fridays, after-school activities will be available for students who desire to stay until 3 p.m. Bus riders on the 20 extra Fridays will have the option of catching the bus home at 1:45 p.m. or at 3 p.m. We will have more details on the website soon.

Hi Bailey, You should check with your school, as each may be handling the first day a little differently.

Hi Tracy, Thanks for your question. Garry students will receive the supplies they need on the first day: a 3-inch 3-ring binder, paper, pencil pouch, pencils, pens and dividers. Families can purchase their own supplies if they want something specific or individualized, as the ones supplied by Garry are pretty generic. Happy back to school!

Hi Shannon, You can email the records to Trish Gray: TrishG@spokaneschools.org, and she will forward them on to the school. Just be sure to let her know which school your daughter attends. Thanks!

Hi student, Thanks for asking! Middle school schedules should be available Aug. 28 or 29; high school schedules should be available now. Hope this helps!

Hi Kacie, This is a good question to ask your school counselor. They may be different options for you depending on what grade you are in.

Hi Emma, You don't need an app to access Blackboard -- you can find it here: spokaneschools.org/digitaltools. But if you do want an app, maybe you are thinking of the new SPS app, which does include access to BB and Powerschool. You should be able to find it if you search for Spokane Public Schools.

Hi Alix, Chase schedules will be available to view on PowerSchool Wednesday, Aug. 28.

Hi Heather, If you go to the Glover homepage, look in the Headlines sections. There are arrows that scroll the area left to right. You'll find the school supply list there. Thanks for asking.

Hi Bethanie, There still will be 12 early release Fridays this year for middle and high schoolers. We expect a decision next week about the elementary school day and whether there will be early release every Friday.

Hi Natasha, How exciting to have a kindergartener! There are plenty of people around an elementary school in the morning -- especially overseeing kindergarteners -- to make sure everyone stays on task and gets to where they need to be. Once the schools open after Aug. 15, I urge you to call your son's new school and share your concerns with them.

Hi Trina, Thanks for your question. The answer depends on what school you'll be attending and what classes you are taking. You should be able to find summer assignment information on your school's website, but if you can't, feel free to give their office a call.

Hi Sophia, Yes, school supply lists are available. You should be able to find it on your school's homepage.

Hi Olivia, You can easily find access to PowerSchool, Clever and others by clicking the Digital Tools button from the SPS or any school homepage.

Hi Carson, For Spokane Public Schools students in grades 1-12, school starts Aug. 29.

Hi Katie, You can find information about applying to attend a school that is not your neighborhood school here.

Hi Patti, You can find the 2019-20 school year calendar here. We hope to have a final decision about changes to the elementary school day next week.

Hi Jessica, I seems that your address does not fall within the boundaries of Spokane Public Schools, but please confirm by calling the Transportation department at either 354.7388 or 354.7362. You can choice into different elementary schools in our district, and also choice in from outside the district. Find more information about that process here.

Hi Larisa, You can request a copy of your son's report card here.

Hi Uriah, You should be able to get the help you need here.

Hi Carson, Many, many factors go into the creation of the school year calendar, including contract obligations, as well as state testing and requirements set forth by state law. It is a lengthy process involving many parties. Also, just a point of clarification: kindergarteners start on Sept. 4. Thanks for your question!

Hi Nicole, How exciting to be starting kindergarten! Thanks for your question. Our schools are not nut-free, but some schools do have nut-free tables set aside in the cafeteria for students with severe allergies. We also urge students not to share food with their friends.

Hi Kathy, You can find information about our English Language Arts curriculums here. Our director of K-12 Curriculum is Heather Bybee: heatherb@spokaneschools.org or 509.354.7361. Hope this helps!

Hi June, Thanks for your offer! Depending on the year and the covers of the books, we may be able to use them for art projects. Print encyclopedias are pretty obsolete as information is rapidly changing and online encyclopedias are used more often. Please contact Telia Sherwood Jacobs at TeliaS@spokaneschools.org to share information about your encyclopedias.

Goal three of our strategic plan is to "Build and Maintain a Talented, Effective Workforce." This would not include "horrible teachers," so it is certainly not our intent to employ that type of person. SPS staff are expected to abide by school board policies that prohibit uncivil conduct, discrimination, harassment, intimidation and bullying. If you have experienced any of these behaviors, I urge you to talk with your school principal, or file a harassment form or complaint. Learn more about the policies and procedures here.

Hi Kenny, SPS has 34 elementary schools, plus several other specialized schools and programs that also serve elementary-aged students. There are roughly 17,400 students in grades K-6.

Hi Shannon, Offers from neighborhood schools (as opposed to an option school like Montessori) should start June 1.

Please note that the waiting lists for each school will remain in effect through the school year. If a school administrator determines that their school can enroll more students, you may receive a call that space is available for your student. Each school has the right to accept or deny applications for students outside of their school boundary based on their current enrollment situation.

In the meantime, please register at your neighborhood school. More questions? Please contact Jeannie Brown at 509.354.7393 or jeannieb@spokaneschools.org.

Thank you for your interest. Additional conversation is planned with the Superintendent’s Work Group, a community advisory group that meets monthly. We are still planning for additional community discussion beyond the groups that are regularly engaged in the discussion. Check our website for details. We will also email you with information about how to get involved.

Hi Carter, Your best bet will be to connect with school principals. Find a contact list here.

On the last day of school, elementary schools will dismiss students at 11:30 a.m.

Hi Jay, Thanks for your question. No final decisions about program cuts have yet been made. The budget conversation will continue over the next four months. Every attempt was made to make reductions away from the classroom first. Student interest and impact of the revisions were among the criteria used to evaluate potential reductions.

The school board is required to pass the 2019-2020 budget by the end of August. Please check back to the SPS budget conversation page where more information will be posted as it becomes available. I’d also encourage you to attend one of the upcoming community open houses on the budget: *Tuesday, May 14, at Shadle Park High School *Wednesday, May 15, at Rogers High School *Thursday, May 16, at Ferris High School. Drop in at your convenience between 5 and 7 p.m.

Hi Isaac, Thanks for your question. Our science coordinators respond: Our standards require K-6 students to explore how humans interact with the environment. Specifically, we ask them to consider the cause and effect relationships which exist in our natural and built worlds. Additionally, we ask students to design and evaluate solutions to human and nature-made problems.

The Life Sciences in middle and high school cover human impacts on the environment including climate change and environmental problems. The high school Environmental Sciences go into more detail about local and global issues.

Not illegal, but probably disrespectful and inappropriate.

Thank you for your question. Yes, the middle schools projects are moving forward. The middle schools – three replacement and three new – are part of the plan to reduce class sizes at the elementary level as required by the state. SPS has prioritized K-3 class size based on state funding for reductions. Moving sixth grade classes out of elementary schools district-wide and into the new middle schools will create classroom space at the elementary schools to accommodate smaller class sizes. It will also relieve overcrowding at the district’s 34 middle schools. That movement will occur on the northside of the district first for the 2022-23 school year and be completed on the southside for the 2023-24 school year.

The budget conversation will continue over the next four months. The school board is required to pass the 2019-2020 budget by the end of August. Please check back to the SPS budget conversation page where more information will be posted as it becomes available.

Hi Lori, Salk will have an orientation for incoming 7th graders. The date hasn’t been set yet, but it is typically held at the end of August prior to school starting. Invitations will be mailed, and a robocall will be sent. Students will receive their schedule, a locker assignment and be able to get any assistance they need.

Also, incoming 6th and 7th graders will visit and participate in tours Thursday, June 6, from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.

If your student would like to change an elective selection, please call Mrs. Dotson at 354-5621 and she will be able to help with options.

Hi Becky, Thanks for reaching out with your concerns. I'd like to suggest that you contact Michael Warnecke, Transportation specialist, at MichaelW@spokaneschools.org or 354-7388. He will best be able to provide an answer after asking some clarifying questions about your particular situation.

Thank you for your question. Changes last summer to how the state funds basic education has created a complex discussion. The shift, directed by the state legislature to comply with a court order, increased state funding to local districts, significantly decreased local levy revenue, and created a seismic movement among the state’s 295 districts.

Local districts received conflicting and late guidance about the funding shift from the State Office of Public Instruction, which said on July 26 that the legislature approved “wide open collective bargaining” only to reverse its direction a month later on August 22.

SPS, like each district around the state, made the decision to invest in its employees to remain competitive regionally and statewide.

The budget conversation will continue over the next four months. The school board is required to pass the 2019-2020 budget by the end of August. Please check back to the SPS budget conversation page where more information will be posted as it becomes available.

Hi Becky, Many factors go into the creation of the school year calendar, including contract obligations, state testing, and requirements set forth by state law. It is a lengthy process involving many parties, and as such, it is not always possible to align holidays with other area organizations.

Thank you for your question. You are correct that ideally starting and ending the school day the same time every day provides the greatest consistency. Unfortunately, meeting educational, contractual, and budgetary demands required SPS to look creatively at the elementary school day. Taking parent feedback from the previous Thursday late-start model and the current schedule that incorporates an early release every other Friday, the reimagined school day does several things:

• Gives students more time to eat lunch and experience social emotional learning time with teachers, which studies have shown is important to development at elementary ages

• Reduces the number of transitions during the school day to recapture instructional time that is lost lining up students and moving them through the hallways

*Creates common prep and peer learning time for teachers

*Gives parents the weekly predictability they have told us they desire

Science, music, and health and fitness time remains in the schedule for all elementary students.

Understandably, shortening the elementary school day by 1 hour and 15 minutes every Friday will create after-school challenges for some. The budget discussion that will occur over the next four months will include finding creative new after-school programming options through grants and our community partners.

The budget conversation will continue over the next four months. The school board is required to pass the 2019-2020 budget by the end of August. Please check back to the SPS budget conversation page where more information will be posted as it becomes available.

Hi Chris, When students enter a traditional high school at the beginning of their 9th grade year, they typically do not have to pass any tests or show proof of completing 8th grade when enrolling. Some homeschooling parents may have documents to show testing results for their students that may be shared with the school. The school may, at some point, give assessments to determine placement of the student. If a student is entering at the 2nd semester of their 9th grade year or later, a test called the Iowa Test of Educational Development (ITED) is needed for placement of the student in a high school.

Thank you for your question. School libraries will continue to be an important place for learning. We announced that we are suspending the existing library model as one measure to revise our programming.

The libraries, books, and other materials are going to be available to students with the assistance of classroom teachers. Library clerks will support maintaining the collections as well as spaces and various library materials.

Librarians will move to classrooms and continue working with students. They are experienced, certificated teachers and will receive support from their building colleagues to ensure a smooth transition – the same as any teacher who is moving grade levels or buildings. Subjects they teach will be determined based on building need. The budget conversation will continue over the next four months. The school board is required to pass the 2019-2020 budget by the end of August. Please check back to the SPS budget conversation page where more information will be posted as it becomes available.

Thank you for reaching out. It is true 4-12 class sizes will be impacted. Class sizes are projected to increase to contract limits with limited cases above those limits. SPS will continue to offer a supportive learning environment to meet the high expectations students have set for themselves. Teachers and administrators will continue pushing students to achieve at a high level and will connect them with the individualized supports needed.

The budget conversation will continue over the next four months. The school board is required to pass the 2019-2020 budget by the end of August. Please check back to the SPS budget conversation page where more information will be posted as it becomes available.