Back to School Issue by mihsislander

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“Back” to School Issue September 2020

INSIDE | Sept. 2020

ABOUT The MIHS Islander 9100 SE 42nd St. Mercer Island, WA 98040 mihsislander@gmail.com www.mihsislander.org

THE MIHS ISLANDER | mihsislander.org The MIHS Islander acknowledges that MIHS is on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.

PUBLICATION NOTICES Purpose: To provide news to the Mercer Island High School student body and members of the surrounding community in a manner that accurately reflects readers’ interests. The MIHS Islander is an open student forum, and the opinions expressed within do not represent those of the high school or district administration.

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Corrections: We pride ourselves on accurate, fact-based journalism. If you believe The MIHS Islander has gotten a fact or quote wrong, please contact us and we’ll print a correction in the next issue.

Privacy: All electronic mail messages in connection with Mercer Island School District business which are sent or received by this account are subject to the Washington State Public Records Act and may be disclosed to third parties.

Nondiscrimination Notification: The Mercer Island School District does not

discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, marital status, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The Mercer Island School District offers classes in many College and Career Readiness Programs, admission to which is non-discriminatory. Lack of English-language proficiency will not be a barrier to admission and participation in these programs. The following people have been designed to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator; Harrassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) Coordinator; Title IX Compliance Coordinator: Erin Battersby, Senior Director. (206) 230-6227, erin.battersby@mercerislandschools.org Section 504 & ADA Coordinator: Dr. Lindsay Myatich, Director. (206) 236-3326, lindsay. myatich@mercerislandschools.org

Letter from the Editors Headline of the week: “MI students Must Undergo Temperature Checks Before Logging on to Zoom.” No, not really. But the fact that you considered it was real speaks to how strange our world has become. Welcome “back” to school Islanders! While we understand you may miss football games and spirit Fridays, we’re sure there are plenty of things that you don’t miss. And we want to remind you of them – instead of looking at the negatives of remote learning, let’s fondly remember the worst parts of in-person school: getting a ticket for parking in Northwood, having to use a VPN on school wifi, arriving one minute late for class, going to a tardy kiosk, and being 10 minutes late to class. For freshmen who are confused about what this means, don’t worry – you have four years to experience the anomaly that is Mercer Island High School. Seniors – we can’t believe that this is the beginning of the end of our high school careers. We’ve made it through countless Pasta Mondays and half-empty assemblies, and it’s finally our turn to be booed after chanting “Senior Power.” This year is memorable, for many reasons, so let’s try and make the most of it – we’re personally excited to see how you dodge your English teacher’s eye contact through Zoom. Fingers crossed for a non-virtual Prom! When brainstorming for this issue, we had no shortage of ideas - so much has happened despite no one leaving their houses (as evidenced by zero Instagram photos without masks). Our spread features a discussion of the debate over SROs in schools – a topic reignited by Black Lives Matter protests this summer. We interviewed multiple District officials and students to accurately record Islanders’ opinions and heard a wide range of voices on the issue. Page 6 features a letter from everyone’s favorite beach-day enthusiast, Noah Hendelman, who also happens to be our ASB President. He may not be the best at dressing for Seattle weather, but he has some pretty solid advice. While for some, quarantine meant not moving from the couch for six hours, for others quarantine meant not moving from the couch for six hours AND creating some cool art (which is featured on page 7!). We want to continue accurately representing the zeitgeist of the student body, even through these turbulent times. We hope you enjoy this issue! And just remember, we’re all suffering through glitchy Zoom calls together, Annika Bhananker & Ethan Preston

THE MIHS ISLANDER | mihsislander.org

features | sept. 2020

Elementary Schools Face Unique Challenges with Online Learning Morgan dawson Features Editor

Going back to school in a virtual model is difficult as is, but for parents with young children, it will pose an even greater challenge. With new concerns arising – like daytime childcare, keeping children engaged, and compensating for social interaction – parents have a lot more to worry about this back-to-school season. In September 2020, Mercer Island elementary schools plan to open solely online, with all students expected to learn from home via computer. Many skills typically taught in a kindergarten or early elementary classroom will be very difficult to replicate in an online format. Fundamental activities for children such as art projects and group playtime help develop early social skills, but also demand physical interaction. “I think [online learning] is really tough for social skills, especially with the younger ones,” said Shelly Helms, mother of three. “My kindergartener I think has already gone backwards a lot in things like taking turns, sharing and just basic interaction.” Some parents have needed to get creative, thinking up solutions such as the nowprevalent “learning pods”– small groupings of four to five children doing online school together, often with a tutor or nanny present. These “pods” are one solution for socializing children and many parents on the island have been considering similar methods. This is not an all-encompassing solution, however, as small groupings like these can get exclusive and leave many children and families still in need of help. Another issue is childcare. For a lot of parents – especially those who work

– school is not just a place for their child to learn, but also a necessary form of daytime supervision. “I have s e v e r a l friends that are working

unemployment that has ensued, no parent is wanting to lose their job. Taking time off to look after kids during the day is just not an option for most. Many parents are looking to daytime babysitters or nannies to help out, but this can easily get expensive. Other families are looking into moving schools altogether and many already have. Private schools in the area are seeing an ncrease in enrollment, as parents are seeking out smaller class sizes in the hopes of getting their kids back in the classroom quicker. “None of my friends that are in kindergarten are going to my school anymore, only two of my friends are in my class” said Lakeridge kindergartener Brooke Helms. “My best friend is going to Bellevue Christian now.” Though its community may be spreading out to learning options across the bridge, the Mercer Island School District is working to find their own balance of elementary curriculum that is both safe and full time educational. According a n d to the district’s Learning typically Forward Continuum, all travel a lot schools in the district and they currently sit in the allare having virtual “Red Learning a very hard Model” but hope to begin time right now,” transitioning to hybrid models y Graph Helms said. within the next few months. t s ic by Lena Hardi “The middle-school “We’re really all just doing our kids can manage their best right now to make sure our kids can schedule for the most part, but the still succeed,” Helms said. younger ones need a lot of help turning in and completing assignments and paying attention to the teachers. They need supervision.” In this pandemic and the age of mass

Districts Re-evaluate the role of SROs Annika Bhananker Editor in Chief

In 2020, ‘school safety’ evokes images of masks and diligent sanitizing. But when students finally return to brick-andmortar schooling, another recent issue, the movement to reform policing in America, will be on the mind of many students as they ask whether schools should be policed. School Resource Officer (SRO) programs vary across the country, but they generally consist of a partnership between a school district and local police departments. According to OSPI, the official purpose of an SRO is to promote positive role models and inform students of laws regarding drug and alcohol use. Recent protests against police brutality and Black Lives Matter groups have identified police presence as an area of danger for young students. Across the country, footage of school officers abusing power have gone viral. Additionally, investigations into the frequency of events of violence or negative interactions on school campuses found a significantly higher rate of incidence among black students than any other race, regardless of the frequencies of infractions committed by this group.

At MIHS, there have been no reported complaints of this nature about the SRO program. “In my career, I haven’t had students express that they are uncomfortable with the presence of an SRO,” MIHS associate principal Nick Wold said. H o w e v e r, an MIHS Journalismsurvey, which received 39 responses found that 10 students (24%) said they “disagree[d]” with the statement “I feel that the presence of a n armed SRO positively impacts my level of safety at school.” An SRO has the power to both enhance and diminish feelings of safety at school – feeling safe is dependent on an individual’s association with the position. For some, an armed officer is reassuring in case of emergency, while for others law enforcement, especially when armed, is threatening. In fact, of the 39 students in the aforementioned survey, 18 “agree[d]” while 10 “disagree[d]” with the statement, “I feel that the presence of an armed SRO positively impacts my level of safety at school.” Of the 18 students who agreed, 12 of these students specifically attributed this feeling of security to an SRO’s role in the event of school shootings or other similar

48% of public high schools in the US have an armed police officer, typically an SRO.

“In my career, I haven’t had students express that they are uncomfortable with the presence of an SRO.” MISD’s School Resource Officer program began 1996, and MIPD currently employs a fulltime armed officer to serve as a liaison between the police department and the high school.

emergency situations. Especially with extensive news coverage of school shootings, which came to the national forefront in the ‘90s, many school districts have upped their security. Thus, the prevalence of SROs, as well as both negative and positive associations with the role, have greatly increased. In fact, between 1999 and 2015, the percentage of students with an SRO in their school increased from 54% to 70% nationwide.

“Black students and students with learning disabilities are about

times more likely than white students and students without disabilities, respectively, to be

Superintendent Donna Colosky recalled that after the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. 2018, she received calls from concerned parents who urged an increased police presence – many asked for one stationed at each MISD school. In a Washington Post investigation examining 197 instances of school shootings since 1999, an SRO successfully intervened to stop the school shooter in only one instance. Since the article, there have been two more such instances. The extent to which SROs prevent or deter school shootings remains to be proven. The District pushed back against these 2018 demands, and now, Colosky says, they face an opposite situation with some calling for SRO removal.

“MISD continues to champion their inclusivity, but by not listening to students who voice their concerns with the SRO is continuing to prove they won’t include students in many important conversations.” Colosky emphasized that the SRO’s value does not lie in the response to emergencies, rather in the relationships the officer makes with students. “[Emergency response] is an important

arrested in school.” — ACLU

part of the job but I think it’s a little bit of a misunderstanding that an SRO is an armed guard who is keeping the bad guys out. That’s not the premise of an SRO, and quite frankly, never has been,” Colosky said. “It’s a relationship building piece that I really find to be the most advantageous part of having an SRO on campus -- of having him in the building,” principal Walter Kelly said. “Yes SROs are first responders like all police officers … but that’s not the bulk of their work, the bulk of it is building relationships,” Colosky added. Another aspect administration hopes to emphasize is that the role is a resource for students, hoping that students will utilize an SRO for legal or personal needs. When asked about the role an SRO plays in their school, 10 of 26 students responded that the SRO is responsible for safeguarding the school. Another six students were unaware of the position’s other stated duties. Although students may be unaware of the SRO’s current role and responsibilities at their school, many are cognizant of the movements calling for their re-evaluation. Seattle Public Schools, which established their partnership with SPD in 2005, published a resolution June 9, imposing an indefinite moratorium on all police presence in schools. Edmonds School District and many other districts nationally have made changes to existing SRO policies, ranging from the dissolution of these programs to disarmament, and many more variations. In response to recent Black Lives Matter protests, several MI students scheduled a demonstration for June 12 in solidarity and to demand changes. The list of demands

was published online, and included a call for MISD to discuss “the presence of a resource officer and his power/role in the high school to follow the precedent of Seattle Public Schools’ decision to remove officers from their district for a semester.” MIHS teachers also attended to show support for the student-led event. A June 10 email from MISD Superintendent Donna Colosky instructed teachers on how to request a day off in order to protest. June 11, MIHS librarian Sarah Abreu replied to this email with a letter to Colosky, the MISD Board President and MIHS Staff. In it, she referenced Colosky’s previous email, which read: “Mercer Island School District stands in support of the principles of the Black Lives Matter movement and see them in conjunction with and not in opposition to our District’s values, vision, and mission.” “This is patently false unless and until you remove [MIHS’ SRO] and all police presence from our schools. (See Section One, Point Number Three of the Demands of the Collective Black Voices of Seattle.),” Abreu wrote in response.

Continued at mihsislander.org

6 FEATURES | SEPT. 2020

THE MIHS ISLANDER | mihsislander.org

A Letter from your ASB president Hello! For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Noah Hendelman, and among being a top 500 Overwatch player and a Duke Silver fan, I am this year’s ASB president. I hope you all have enjoyed our newfound rule of 6s: 6 months of summer, 6 hours of Tik Tok, and 6 minutes of reading a day. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be. Normally, I would reference myself as the tall skinny dude who wears flip flops in the snow, but this school year is anything but normal. We won’t see any band kids T-posing, no popular kids dabbing each other up, no leadership assemblies that murder our eardrums, no Marcus Tibbs securing our hallways, no succulent pasta Mondays. It seems like the essence of MIHS has left the building, so what do we do? 4 words. Integrity, Innovation, Inspiration, Inclusion. Our school motto. In the face of adversity, whether it be algebra, Bellevue, or a worldwide pandemic, we Islanders are obligated to live with integrity, to innovate, to inspire and to include everyone who shares the same way of life. This year, we have the option to lay back in our beds, half asleep during our zoom classes as the world passes us by. Or, we can organize virtual events, check in on each other, and make sure our community stays strong, the Islander way. I can guarantee you the leadership class will live through the 4 I’s and work hard to preserve the best parts of your high school experience. Here’s the thing, we can’t do it alone. This year we need you to go all out. For example, Spirit Day: Beach themed. I need you to wear your brightest clothes, bring your widest smiles, and change your zoom background to the baddest beach in the world. We will bask in the virtual sunlight together. Before I finish, I want impart some advice upon my fellow Islanders for the upcoming year. I am in no way qualified to do so, so take it with a grain of salt, but know these are words of wisdom that my freshman

self certainly could have used. He was a cringey young lad. Spend time with the people you care about. Other than my TikTok addiction, I don’t use social media and consider myself in no way “popular,” but the people I spend time with, however clueless and delusional they are (insert Dunning Krueger effect here), I can be myself around. That’s what’s important. Loneliness has been proven to be worse than smoking for your health. So, wether it’s friends, a teacher, or your mom, make sure you have someone you can rely on. Nobody knows what they’re doing. Take it from an ASB President. Below the Instagram posts and DECA suits, everyone is faking it until they make it. Everyone has failed tests, lost their iPad, crumbled from the stress, embarrassed themselves… (I once spent a day walking the halls without a shoe after my flipflop broke). Just recognize that life goes in waves, ups and downs. The downs suck, but they pass. Success feels exponentially better after some failure. Try new things. Not for your resume or for your clout. For your legitimate interest. I genuinely love leadership and the personal relationships I’ve built over 4 years. The class feels like a family. But the only way for every islander to get that feeling is to actively engage in the community. That’s when the magic of high school starts…and it only happens when you take a leap of faith. I wish all of you the absolute best in the upcoming school year. If you got this far into the letter please know that I love you and if you have any questions or concerns about the year, I’m at noahendelman816@hotmail.com. I check my email more than my snap ;) Thank you Islanders!

THE MIHS ISLANDER | mihsislander.org

A&e | sept. 2020

Inspiration From Isolation: Student Art During COVID Compiled by Brooks kahsai, Hannah Howison, sandra Pedersen and Braeden Nett

Chris Chechitelli I have been drawing for almost my whole life. Despite this, I was intimidated to draw realistically and only drew comic book and cartoon characters. However, the recent quarantine, along with my decision to take AP Art, inspired me to improve my artistic abilities. Since then, I have created 30+ pieces and spent many hours teaching myself new techniques and skills to improve my work. I began posting my drawings to my art focused Instagram account and received support from family and friends. Although I have made tremendous progress over quarantine, I will continue to improve my craft.

Angelina Durkee

Quarantine has definitely allowed me to be a lot more creative and explore out of my comfort zone! Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had a lot more time to practice and improve my skills which has been a great creative outlet for me during the pandemic.

Sophia Chew Quarantine has totally changed my perspective on myself. I had to teach myself how to pose, model, and create while stuck at home. Taking photos of myself and spending hours of planning, shooting, and editing made wwmy confidence grow during a time where I felt most insecure. Photography has been an amazing creative outlet for me- itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s helped me make connections with people across the world.

8 back | SEPT. 2020

THE MIHS ISLANDER | mihsislander.org

MISD’s Response and Plan for COVID-19 Ethan Preston Editor In Chief

The Mercer Island School District is opening the school year in a “Red Learning” phase that consists of remote learning for all students. The re-opening plan consists of Red, Orange, Yellow and Green Learning phases to gradually bring all students back into the buildings as the threat of COVID-19 diminishes. For the 2020-21 School Year, the district hoped to adopt a hybrid model that combined in-person and online learning, especially for the K-1 and special needs learners who were impacted the most by online learning. Most families wanted to return to in-person learning, but the problem of maintaining a safe distance from one another in a classroom setting remained difficult. “When we started planning for the new year, for the 2021 opening, we knew that we were going to have a remote learning setting because we were hopeful that we would be able to have students in the building come the start of the school year,” said Superintendent Donna Colosky, who has helped direct the district’s COVID-19 response. “But everything that the health experts were telling us was that we had to be ready to pivot to an online model in case we had an outbreak of one school or all schools in the region.” After guidance from the Department of Health and statistics indicating that re-opening was unsafe, the District worked closely with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop their learning model for the upcoming year, beginning in the Red Learning phase. “‘Red’ is very different than we were in our emergency school mode in

the spring,” Colosky said. “Red has a set schedule. Teachers have a school day, as do students, whereby the learning is occurring at a set time.” The Red Learning phase will differ in a variety of ways from the learning model that students experienced in spring. The weekly schedule was revised, attendance will now be taken on a periodby-period basis, and grades will return to normal. The decision to move to the Orange or Yellow phases will be based on guidelines set by the governor, which account for local COVID-19 concerns. Early on, the district hoped to adopt a hybrid learning model for the latter phases; however, the logistics of having some students at home and some students in school did not seem feasible. “We moved away from a hybrid model, where kids come in two days a week and are at home three days a week because we heard loud and clear that students and parents wanted daily contact with their teachers,” Colosky said. In advancing to Orange and Yellow, the priority will lie with the youngest students in the school – different students may be in different phases at the same time. High school and middle school students, with multiple periods, have more uncertainty in how to navigate in-person schedules. “[The Orange Phase] is going to look very personalized for every student,” Colosky said. “It is really going to vary from student to student and group to group based on the student’s needs, the staff availability, and the kind of engagement that we are going to be able to initiate for students.” As COVID-19 remains a threat in King County, Colosky hopes that students can help prevent the spread to ensure a return to normalcy in the near future. “I want our students to have a school experience that allows them to be in our wonderful classrooms and our wonderful buildings, and we can’t get there if we all don’t do our part by following the [COVID-19 guidelines],” Colosky said.

RISK LEVEL HIGH >75 cases/100k/14 days

Distance learning is strongly recommended. Recommended keeping in-person learning to small groups.

RISK LEVEL MODERATE 25-75 ceases/100k/14 days

Distance learning with personalized exceptions.

RISK LEVEL LOW <25 cases/100k/14 days

In-person learning for all elementary students, hybrid learning for middle/high-school students.

The Washington State Department of Health provided numerical guidelines to schools for re-opening this year.