In this episode, professional educator and managing editor Natalie Argerious tolerates my raving parent commentary about the 2021-2022 public school year. The kids have a lot of catching up to do. The teachers are trying their best and providing them with social and emotional education that we never got. But is the District actually being helpful? That may not be a passing grade.
Beyond just one school year, there are broader trends in education that Seattle schools will be wrestling with. Declining pandemic enrollment is about to meet a crater in the population. The city has many new neighborhoods, but few new schools to go along with them. And does a 10-week summer break actually make sense?
Of course, we want to know your thoughts, opinions, and experiences about the school year. Do you want to see year round schools in Seattle, or are the long summers just fine? Reach out to us at podcast [at] theurbanist.org. As always, you can find The Urbanist podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and other major platforms.
And if you are enjoying the podcast, be sure to offer a “like” or “thumbs up” on your favorite platform. It’s a great way to spread the word to new listeners.
Ray Dubicki is a stay-at-home dad and parent-on-call for taking care of general school and neighborhood tasks around Ballard. This lets him see how urbanism works (or doesn’t) during the hours most people are locked in their office. He is an attorney and urbanist by training, with soup-to-nuts planning experience from code enforcement to university development to writing zoning ordinances. He enjoys using PowerPoint, but only because it’s no longer a weekly obligation.