The Email that I wrote to Superintendent Brynelson

Last night I wrote the following email to the district superintendent, Dr. Allison Brynelson.  I haven't received a response yet.

Also I spoke with Becky McLean at OSPI.  She was very nice and helpful.  She said that from a funding standpoint, ANY student living in the district will receive the same funding from the state and should have the right to attend.  

I will be heading over to Mariner in a few minutes to be a squeaky wheel.  

Here's the letter:

******

Dear Dr. Brynelson,
Hello.  I am a parent in the district.  My kids attend Mariner and Voyager.  One of my daughters corresponded with you a bit for an article that she was writing for the Voyager newspaper a couple of years ago, and she appreciated your willingness to answer her questions.  Thank you for that.

I'm hoping for that same approachability and willingness now. 

Are you aware of the situation with the exchange student from Italy that was going to go to Mariner?

I will give you some background information, in case you aren't aware:

Her name is G., and she's from Milan, Italy.  We are friends with the host family, who live in the Mariner boundaries.  Both of their daughters have had variances to other schools.  The older one went to GP, and the younger is a senior at Lynnwood HS this year. 

Several months ago S., the host mom, contacted me to tell me that they'd be getting an exchange student from Italy, but she couldn't have a variance...she had to go to her geographically-assigned school.  She asked if I could help out because I have kids at Mariner and also because I speak Italian.  My family was thrilled to get to be involved!

After months of waiting, G. arrived.  She was friendly and excited to experience the year here.  She started practicing with the swim team, met with her counselor, took proficiency tests, got her schedule, attended the Marauder Day club fair, met new friends, bought a Mariner sweatshirt, and got her ASB card.

And then within a week of school starting, was suddenly told that Mariner cannot accept exchange students.

I can only imagine how scary and frustrating that must have been for her, the agency, and the host family.

 They have begun the application process for G. to attend Glacier Peak, but it is not without difficulties.  There will be no bus transportation, and my family can no longer help with rides to events etc.  Also the acceptance process will likely not be done by the start of school, so G., who knows no one at GP, will have to start after the beginning of the school year. (If she doesn't get into GP then the last option is out-of-state... I'm not even sure how that would work).

So my biggest question is WHY.  

The family was told that exchange students aren't allowed according to the bylaws of the school district.  I couldn't find evidence of that, but I did see Policy 3142, which essentially just says that the superintendent can deny exchange students if needed.  I'm wondering what the need was in this case??  

I hear that the registrar at Mariner was very apologetic.  But the registrar was not the only person to not know that she would not be allowed.  In MONTHS of preparation, no one even hinted that things would go so badly.
Especially a WEEK before school starts.

My thought is that the school district should honor their initial plan.  

Last night my daughter (a senior, like G.) proposed starting a petition, so we did.  At the time of this writing there are 254 signatures.  There are many people who feel as we do: that the district is doing a terrible injustice.  I'm sure the number on the petition will continue to climb... it has only been 24 hrs.  If you'd like to see the petition the link is https://www.change.org/MSD_Exchange_student

You now have a student who is living in the district, under the guardianship of tax paying people, and who is denied the option of attending her school.  This is a family who could have their biological daughter attending Mariner, and of course overcrowding would not be an issue for their daughter if she decided to attend Mariner.  Why does G. not get that same opportunity?  I know there are intricacies with exchange students, but she's HERE.  So for all intents and purposes, she's the same as any other high school student living in the district.

I would love to discuss this with you, or whoever is in charge of this situation.

My request is that G. be allowed to attend Mariner, and that the situation be rectified before Thursday, so that she can start school on time. 

Thank you for reading this and giving the matter your consideration.