Principal Butler Ginolfi resigns at Washington Middle School

From: Emily Butler Ginolfi <eabutlergino@seattleschools.org>
Date: Tue, Apr 30, 2019 at 4:15 PM
Subject: Update for WMS community

Dear Washington Community,

I am writing to let you know that I am resigning as principal of Washington Middle School at the end of the school year. 

I've worked my entire career in urban schools to advance the education of students and engage families disenfranchised by the public-school system.  After reviewing the school year, I have come to the realization that my skills and passion are better suited elsewhere.

I am committed to ensuring a strong close to the school year and a smooth transition for the next WMS leader before my last day on June 30th. I wish only the best for the students, families, and staff of the WMS community.

District office staff will reach out to the WMS community in the next few weeks and provide additional information about the transition and next school year.

Sincerely,

Principal Butler Ginolfi

Washington Students Letter to their Principal

[The following group student letter  was forwarded to me to be publicly published]

WMS Students
1/30/2019   

 A Declaration of Representation  
Dear Ms. Butler Ginolfi and the Washington Middle School Administration, 
        In our 8th Grade history classes this year, we have spent a lot of time learning about the U.S. Revolution and the beginning of the country we live in today. Unfortunately, we are not able to continue those important and historical discussions with many of our same classmates, peers in other classes and programs, and even in most cases our teachers, but we have learned a lot about how much power matters in a system. This kind of situation not only happens in our history classes, but is now reflected throughout the school. If we are going to make a school where everyone learns and is cared about, we need to start having more student voice in decisions, because when different groups of people are involved, just like it should have been in the American colonies, everything works out better for the whole.
Below are different students’ voices and opinions on what needs to change in our school. We don’t expect you to do everything we say or even change the way you run our school, but we do ask you to acknowledge our voices and hopefully take our opinions into consideration when you are making changes that affect us.

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Teaching Changes
        One of the changes that have been put into play was changing what teachers teach, not just what classes the students are in. I had a history teacher that has been teaching Social Studies for a very long time and I know that she was very passionate about it. A lot of the students have been disappointed to find that a teacher they loved will not be teaching them anymore, myself included. She was an amazing teacher and I have learned so much from her this year. I understand that the school wants every student to get a chance to experience different teachers’ classes, but by completely changing the schedules, the students who were in those classes can’t enjoy them anymore. Even though we all deserve the best education possible, the worst thing to do is to interrupt any of these learning experiences. Instead of switching students and teachers around so that every student is better served, why can’t we make sure that every teacher is able to benefit every student?

Racial Biases
        Another problem is that bias against students because of the race or program they associate with. It is unfair and needs to change. If we had more students involved in decision making, we could change the way different students are treated. Just taking the time to listen and create platforms for students to speak out could change the whole school dynamic. Communication is so important, but it isn’t a one-way street.
One student says, “Students are treated differently because of their skin. As a black student, it sucks that people like me get in trouble and are being suspected of things that other people aren’t.”

Scheduling Implications
        Another issue is that new schedules impact the projects we work on in school. For example, many students were supposed to have the opportunity to work on science fair projects in class since they were started so late. Now students in science fair groups are mainly in different classes and they don’t know if they will be able to finish the project on time. Book clubs were also created in some Language Arts classes so now students will not have a way to continue discussions and meet with their groups in class, these issues were also not made clear with teachers before Tuesday,
One thing that really bothers me is not being able to have collaborative discussions with students from other programs. As an HCC 8th Grader, it had been a helpful experience to share out and have discussions with students in other programs in history, a result of great structured classes by the 2 old 8th grade US History teachers. But now, we don’t have the opportunity to do so as our classes are split among 4-5 teachers and we are unable to collaborate due to the fact we are across the school from another. Blended History used to be something I really looked forward to, and now it seems like a far reach to have any inter-program discussions at all.

Periods, Periods, and more Periods 
        This year the passing periods have also been changed. Last year we had 5 minutes and the schedule and times were easy to memorize, but now we have to remember exactly when class ends and when it starts and it is really confusing. This is in addition to us having to memorize a completely new schedule in the middle of the year.
Also, four minutes is not enough time to get to our classes especially if we need to use the bathroom. I know that as a girl, it can be very inconvenient to have your period because of the bathroom limitations. It’s stressful to have to deal with your period when there’s no time to use the restroom due to the fact that we don’t want to be tardy. Girls can’t plan their periods, sometimes they start during class or passing periods. Girls can’t always wait until a class is over to take care of it. It is very difficult to get from one side of the school to the other and use the bathroom in the middle of it, in four minutes. It’s also very hard to wait until lunch because that is the only time during the day we have time to ourselves to go freely. Passes are not easy to get but it’s also not easy to go outside of class time. In addition to the passing period problem, we are not allowed to go to the bathroom the first or last 10 minutes of class. This is completely unfair because you never know if someone is having an emergency. This goes back to girls getting their periods as well, sometimes going to the bathroom is necessary. It shouldn’t be a shameful thing or a thing to get in trouble for. Even worse are the hall sweeps. If you have a late bus, you had to go to the bathroom, or you’re just late because of traffic and you get caught in the halls, you still get punished even though you were never disrupting any classes.

Lunches
        This connects to another problem. This year we have to be escorted to the gym or the library during lunch. It’s not like we are going to cause chaos; most of us just want to have some fun during lunch. It’s unfair that we are expected to get to our classes in four minutes but aren’t able to roam freely in the halls during lunch.
We should have our lunch back ( 1, 2, 3, lunches) even though some of the lunch tables are empty, because now that there are only 2 lunches and the lunchroom going to get crowded. Students will want their own table with their own space and friends to hang out which excludes the individual or small groups of students, and even to get a lunch there is going to be a much longer time.

Responsibility
        We could make this better by letting the students have responsibility, be treated like high school students, and be given high responsibility especially since we are close to going to high school and we should be prepared for the future. We should be given high expectations as students here at Washington Middle School, and also be given opportunities like having noticeable input on school decisions
   

Music
        As a student that goes to Washington, I find that the music program is an important thing that the school has to offer. Without the music program, there’s not much left of our school’s amazing history except our old building. To show you how important the music program is to the students, I decided to ask around, and here are the responses I’ve gathered.
Our first response is from a student in Intermediate Orchestra: “The music program makes me feel like I can learn stuff and have opportunities because we grow each day.”
A student in Senior Choir says “I would say [the music program] makes me feel included and it makes me feel like I am a part of something special.”
A student in Senior Band said: “Music class gives me a time of day I can really be excited about, it’s frustrating that people get taken out of these classes and aren’t able to practice material in class like other students.”
        This next student is in Senior Choir as well: “I love the music program because it gives a chance for me to express myself in a different way and I get to meet new people who I might not be in classes with normally. The music program is also great because the teachers care about us and they want us to learn and do well.” This student was taken out of Senior choir and put into a lower level, Junior Choir. Another student who I had Junior choir with had been taken out abruptly. They asked to not be named and said:
“It brightens my day and honestly it gives me a break so I can get back to focusing on academics after. It's the perfect way to get concentration back.”
    To end this off, the last opinion I'll give is mine, (Senior Choir) “I think that choir, and music in general, gives me a chance to express myself and feel like I’m welcomed. I've met so many people I’d never thought to talk to through choir. I find that it's easier for me to be myself and have fun but also learn a lot about my voice.”
   To have music classes be disrupted has been very disappointing to many students who enjoy what they have previously taken, and that needs to change.

Side Note: these are just some of many opinions, we didn’t want to waste any ink.

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        In addition to these changes that are being made, we can’t ignore that in the letters the principal has given us, they show no apology for not communicating to students and families, no regard for raised opinions by the community, and they often blame other sources for problems that have cost us time being educated and much more. She even got the address of our school wrong; it is the address of the school she previously worked at. She also mentions that the changes being made happen often in secondary school, but secondary school is high school and not middle school. We need to be treated like the school we are, and we need our principal to set an example of how to act in these situations, because believe it or not we are all still learning. We understand this is all part of her own principles and values, and understand how hard of a job she has with little state funding, but we think everyone should be able to have a voice in the decisions being made at our school, no matter how much the impact.

        We care about what happens now and in the future. Hopefully, our administration does too. Just like in Colonial America, the power belongs to one group of people. But if we want to be the school that fixes inequities, first we need to fix one of the biggest inequities by giving everyone a voice. We hope that you listen to our concerns and take all these suggestions into consideration, and even if you do not, know that we, the students want our school to be the best it can be, for everyone. Everyone wants to have every school year be amazing and in order for that to happen, you have to listen to us and our opinions. Thank you for reading.

More Disappointing actions at Washington Middle School

There is apparently another round of  unannounced scheduling chaos and a protest planned around it.

Some Washington M.S. Updates

First, I just returned from the school board retreat. Independently, amidst what was generally a discussion of improving the board/staff working relationship and not policy focused,  WMS was mentioned by both school board members and the superintendent. So awareness of the situation has bubbled all the way up the chain.

Also I received the following communication one from the HCSAC and the second from Principal Butler:

HCSAC Email

"Welcome back and hoping the best for the 2018-19 school year to you all!

I wanted to insure everyone knows there will be a special WMS PTSA meeting with first year Principal Butler Ginolfi on Monday, 9/17 at 7 pm to explain the significant schedule changes for all WMS students. A brief presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.

Robert Njegovan

HCS AC Communication Representative"

School Email

"Dear Washington Middle School families,
First, I want to apologize for the anxiety some students and families experienced the last two weeks. While many schools experience some shifting during the first month of school, a unique set of circumstances involving schedules, staffing, and budgets created a rocky start for many.

I was drawn to WMS because of the energy and commitment to creating a unified school community. I want to honor the work that has been done by families, staff, and our community and continue building on it.

I am writing to provide some updates, clear up some misconceptions, and invite you to join the PTSA meeting on Monday evening.

Class schedule update:  On Tuesday we finalized the remaining schedules and all students have complete class schedules.  Up until Tuesday of this week, the master schedule that was created last year was one the building could not afford or maintain. Between late resignations, hiring challenges, and changes to course offerings this year, we were able to fully fund the schedule we now have in place. We are also fully staffed at all positions with a recent recommendation to HR for our recently vacated Orchestra position.

HC courses: In alignment with our vision of one school community and breaking down siloes between students, we adjusted the course naming of HC ELA and Social Studies to “Honors” courses. The course titles are different than those that were used to describe HC or Spectrum courses previously. In the same way we would never want to specifically call out a Special Education class with a naming designation, HC class names have been updated to reflect a better sense of community within WMS, while maintaining the integrity of the HC program and cohort. No other change has been made to the HC curriculum or class offerings, or the self-contained cohorts. We continue to offer all HC classes that were previously offered including those that lead to high school credit. HC class sizes are consistent with averages from the last three years (35-36 students).

World Languages: With lower student enrollment numbers in our school, Washington Middle School is not able to offer any traditional beginning world language classes to 7th grade students this year. Students who completed Spanish 1A, French 1A, or Japanese 1A in 7th grade last year will be given an opportunity to complete the 1B continuation courses in 8th grade this year. Ms. Krasne will teach two sections of Spanish 1B. We are looking at other alternatives for students to complete French 1B and Japanese 1B because we were not able to hire a teacher for those languages this year. More details will be provided very soon to the specific families affected, as well as the full Washington Middle School community. We will continue to work with the district’s World Languages Program Manager, Michele Aoki (maaoki@seattleschools.org), to expand access to world language classes for all students in the coming year.

Music Program: The music program at WMS has a rich history and is renowned across the district. To expand music access so we can move closer to our goal of ensuring every WMS student has access to take part in our celebrated program, we are now offering four new sections of Music Survey that will increase the number of students participating in our program by more than 100. In order to increase this access, we reduced our band and orchestra proficiency levels to three levels from four, which is in alignment with what Garfield High School—a school with 1700 students enrolled—has in place.

Thank you to the WMS PTSA for inviting me to join the meeting Monday night, September 17th from 7:00-8:00. We want to make sure we can address as many questions as possible, so if you have questions you know you’ll want me to address, please feel free to send them ahead of time. Otherwise, we’ll ask families to submit questions at the beginning of the meeting so staff can gather the questions by topic and hopefully we will get to all the questions. I’ll post an FAQ to the WMS website afterward.

It is an honor to serve as your principal and I look forward to supporting your family this year.
Sincerely,
Emily Butler Ginolfi
Principal, WMS "

Washington M.S. turmoil

This is to track the situation at WMS:

[There's a thread here: on the SaveSeattleSchools blog  also discussing the issues.]

• Schedules are still not stable as of 9/11
• Music options have been reduced.
• World Languages have been drastically reduced.
• The LA/History classes are being labelled honors but its unclear if the content has changed.
• Many (all gened?) of the students are being forced to take 2 periods of ELA rather than an elective.

Note Also: https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2015/07/20/a-third-of-george-washington-high-schools-teachers-wont-return/


Apparently the problems at WMS sound fairly similar to chaos Butler left behind at her previous school:

"Butler said she was working around the clock — including scheduling multiple interviews on weekends — to get all the positions filled by the first day of school just two weeks from today.
The same problem happened last year, after Butler was hired late in the summer. Students and parents complained of substitutes filling in for months until teachers were hired."

As a comment: I strongly disagree with much of the logic below which seeks to deflect blame for administration issues on HCC.

"Good evening, Washington Families,
We had a strong start to the week with great community-building taking place in advisories and at an all-school assembly on Wednesday and Thursday.  Due to scheduling problems, Friday was not a strong day at WMS, and for that I am ultimately responsible.

Many of you have questions and concerns about your child's schedule.  To give some context, the schedule was developed by previous administration with the hope that the school would receive an additional teacher allocation, which means that it included a position the school did not have. We were not given additional positions during the summer.  The position we needed but did not have funding for was an English Language Arts position, which is particularly concerning given just 29% of our students not served in any of the district's gifted programs have met grade-level standards.  Throughout the summer, we were also searching for a teacher or teacher(s) for our French and Japanese courses.  We had very few applicants, and, like Garfield High School, we were unable to find anyone to hire.  Given both budgetary and hiring challenges, we decided to use the position to address the bigger priority of not having enough ELA teachers. This was a decision made early on Tuesday, 9/5, after the last lead we had for a teacher fell through and Garfield HS sent out a message to its families stating that first year French and Japanese will not be offered to students until the 2019-2020 school year.  Students who were enrolled in French 1B and Japanese 1B will be given the opportunity to take the course on-line.  Students enrolled in Spanish 1B will take that course.  Despite working late nights, all day on Wednesday and Thursday during Strong Start, and literally all night Thursday evening/early Friday morning, I was unable to get all students fully scheduled for Friday morning.  I’ve worked the majority of today and will work all day tomorrow in order to have them ready when your children come to school on Monday morning.

Many of you have questions about world language at WMS.  I have been impressed by WMS families' interest in and commitment to equity.  While world language is not a content area often thought of on par with English, Math, Social Studies, or Science, it is, unlike PE, music, technology, or fine arts courses, very often a requirement for admissions to college.  Exposure in middle school is important for all students and is a typical part of middle school programs in grade 8.  In reviewing course requests developed in the spring based not only on student interest but also the school's staffing capacity, world language courses were to be taken almost exclusively by students in the Highly Capable program.  83% of the 220 students were slated to take world language were in the HCC program, despite that group representing just over half of our student population; only thirteen were black (20% of our population) and nine Hispanic (just under 10% of our population).  Given the inequity in these figures as well as budgetary issues in other areas, we pushed all enrollment in first level world language to the 2019-2020 school year, and will spend the next budget and scheduling planning year identifying ways to ensure 100% of our 8^th graders have access to world language.  

Similarly, our music program has almost exclusively served HCC students.  Seventy-five percent of students who were slated to be enrolled in music this school year were in HCC and just 14% were black or Hispanic, and, due to our offering of four levels of band and orchestra and a course not offered at the high school level in Eclectic Strings, there were no opportunities to offer survey-level music courses which are standard in middle school.  When our famed orchestra teacher resigned two weeks before school started, it was not only a tremendous loss to the community, but an opportunity to increase all students’ access to our incredible music program.  We reduced our performance levels from four to three, which is in alignment with Garfield HS, and while difficult, decided to eliminate the course offering of Eclectic Stings/Fiddlers, which served only 17 students.  Instead, we have opened up four new sections of an innovative, entry-level music course that will enable 120 students who were not previously enrolled in music courses to participate in our music program. 

When you view your child’s schedule next week, keep in mind that we are not only a public school, but also a small, public school.  Washington lost over 500 students in the last year and a half, which was almost half of its general fund or baseline budget.  Additionally, almost 20% of our budget comes from additional Levy and LAP funding, which is exclusively for serving our students living in poverty and not meeting grade-level standards.  That is funding that has not always gone towards that purpose, but in making this year’s revised schedule, it was.  Given our advanced learning programs, we are a middle school that not only needs to offer intervention courses for more than a third of our population that is not meeting grade-level standards, but we also have offered upper-level high school courses atypical for middle school including Algebra 2, Chemistry, and Biology, all without receiving additional funding for students identified as ‘gifted’.  In middle schools, it is typical for all students to take a rotation of PE/health, music, visual art, and computer/technology.  Choice at the middle school level is often limited to whether or not a student opts to be in band, choir, or the general music course.  This is in part because middle school is all about breadth and exposure, while high school begins to be more about depth.  As consistent with past practice, all 6^th graders will take Health and PE.  I have worked extremely hard to ensure that all students who requested band, choir, or orchestra were placed in those courses.  Seventh and eighth graders will take a rotation of art, technology, the new music course or PE.  The school may not be able to honor all requests to waive PE courses as was done in the past.  Aside from music, our second largest elective department is PE/Health, with two teachers, and getting physical activity during the school day is beneficial to learning in middle grades in particular with the absence of recess.

I will send another update tomorrow afternoon/evening.  Your patience and understanding is appreciated as we work hard to finish tomorrow.
Mrs. Butler Ginolfi, Principal"