Everyone, we have a victory to celebrate.
At last night's board study session, the district confirmed:
- The 7:20 AM start will NOT happen for 2027-28. The change we organized against is off the table for the year it was slated to hit.
- The earliest any change could even happen is now 2028-29.
- All three options now on the table keep our kids out of a 7:20 start — (1) shifting everyone 15 minutes later, (2) a 3-tier model, or (3) keeping schedules exactly as they are today. The 7:20 plan didn't make the list.
- Families will get a say. They're sending two surveys on these options.
Four months ago, this decision was presented as final. You changed that. Nearly 2,500 signatures. A dozen news stories. Packed board rooms, homemade signs, written comments, and the courage to stand at that microphone. One community, one ask, and they heard us.
Moreover, we built something meant to outlast this one fight: esdparentsunited.org — a home for our community to stay informed and organized. Because our hope was never just to stop one bad schedule. It's to change how these decisions get made, so that the interests of our youngest and most vulnerable students come first, every time, and tradeoffs are never quietly balanced on the backs of the families with the least.
This is what people power looks like. Every one of you is part of it.
We're not putting down our signs for good. The surveys are coming, and how families respond will shape 2028-29 and beyond. When they land, we'll need you one more time, to make sure the outcome is one where no student starts too early.
But today? Today we celebrate. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, and on behalf of every kid who'll sleep a little longer because you spoke up.
— Yizhou & the ESD Parents United team