Why can't commuters do Running Start? Like seriously, why?

LAMENT. Commuters who wish to do Running Start stand in front of VHS and wave. These students have to choose between their lives on Vashon and the benefits of Running Start. Photo courtesy of Gloria Erickson.

Since 2018, Vashon Island School District (VISD) has had a policy that prohibits

commuter students from participating in running start unless they transfer to their home district and away from Vashon. This includes students who want to do a hybrid of running start and high school. The policy is unfair to commuter students who have spent years of their lives building friendships, connections, and academic portfolios on Vashon. Why should they be forced to choose between the lives they have built and a more financially viable path for themselves and their families? To be clear, this is not an argument for or against Running Start; I am advocating that all VHS students be given equal opportunity in their academic choices and not treated differently based on the location of their address.

The reasoning which the district provides for this policy (VISD policy #3141) is that if

commuters are allowed to participate in Running Start, then the administrative responsibilities for those students is placed on VISD counseling staff. The district says that they receive no extra funding for those students, so it is a financial loss for them if they allow it.

However, the state legislature says otherwise. The law explains that districts receive 7% of the funding for a student, even if they are enrolled full time in Running Start. The allocation of funding slides progressively more towards the district if a student does a Running Start/high school hybrid. This means more funding goes to the district based on how much time the student spends in class there.

It is also worth noting that the VISD policy was created in 2018, when a hybrid of

Running Start and high school was virtually impossible due to the commute. Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced much of education online, colleges can offer entire courses virtually. This drastically changes the picture of Running Start on Vashon, yet the policy has not been revised since. The price that the district pays for allowing commuters to participate in Running Start is negligible, if there is any price at all.

All of that only considers the impact on the district itself. What about the students? Most of them have been at the district for several years, lots of them for many more. Some of them want to participate in Running Start because the money it saves them is very significant. They have to choose between that life changing money, and the lives that they've built on Vashon. This especially true of students who want to do a Running Start hybrid. They are making the decision to commute to VHS every day in addition to attending college. That commute alone demonstrates how much VHS matters to these students.

As a student hoping to do a hybrid next year, I know exactly why staying at Vashon

matters that much. The decision making process has made me reflect a lot on what Vashon has done for me and what I do for Vashon. There are financial reasons for staying like maintaining extracurricular activities, and yes, that has real value in college applications. Real, monetary value. It's unfair that the district offers that opportunity to their islander students and not commuter students.

However, that is nowhere close to what matters most. It's friends that make the

difference. When you've gone to Vashon as long as I have, that is five years, you've spent the last years of your childhood there. You've made friends in an era of your life that is unique and irreplaceable. The memories that you share with them can never be made again. You don't get another childhood and therefore you don't get new friends like the ones you made then. Those friends matter way more, at least to me, than any extracurricular activity.

We are being asked to choose between the lives we've built on Vashon and an

academic opportunity with huge implications for families. Sometimes you have to make hard

decisions, but this should not be one of them. It causes the district no harm. All students of

Vashon should be given the same opportunity economically, educationally, and socially,

regardless of where their address is. If you want to support commuting students and our fight to stay at VHS, please reach out to the school board to show your concern. They are the people with the power to change the policy. Just as Vashon helps us, we help Vashon, and the weight of this decision will be felt whether you are a commuter or not. If you can, come to the next board meeting on May 28th. Show the board that the people of Vashon care.