SPOKANE, Wash. — Students in Spokane Public Schools (SPS) head back to class on Tuesday. This year there are some changes for students and parents.
School boundary changes
The district is starting to roll out new boundaries for elementary, middle school, and high schools.
Starting this year, the boundary adjustments will only impact the north side of the district. Next year, the changes will go into effect for the south side of the district.
The adjustments were made due to the addition of three new middle schools and to relieve overcrowding.
New middle schools
Two new middle schools open their doors for the first time on Tuesday.
Flett Middle School and Yasuhara Middle School were built to expand capacity as SPS moves 6th grade students up from elementary schools and into middle schools.
Flett Middle School is named after Spokane Tribal leader Pauline Flett. Flett, who died last year, spent decades preserving and teaching the Spokane Salish language. Principal Matthew Henshaw said they have been working with Flett’s family to incorporate the Salish language and culture into the school.
“We are on ground that has a rich legacy and history,” Henshaw said. “She’s impacted thousands of people now with the Salish language. One thing we want to do is open their minds to what’s possible and that they can have an impact on their community as well.”
Yasuhara Middle School welcomes around 340 students to its classrooms today. This school year, Yasuhara will have only sixth and seventh graders, with eighth graders joining next year.
During the design process of Yasuhara Middle School, school leaders put a focus on relationships between staff and students. Instead of walking down hallways into a classroom, Yasuhara has classrooms grouped together to promote a community mindset.
“"Everything is wrapping around students,” Principal Stephanie Lundberg said. “That's the structure of the buildings, but that's how our staff feel as well. How do we wrap around our students? How do we wrap around our community? How do we make sure that everybody believes that this is their neighborhood school?"
A third school, Pepperzak Middle School is under construction and is scheduled to open in August 2023, for next school year.
Late Start Mondays
The new school year brings weekly late starts every Monday morning.
Students will start school one hour late every Monday. Teachers and other staff will come in 15 minutes early to allow time for school planning and teacher collaboration.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.