By Sequoia Gregorich, Co-Content Editor
VHS has 157 commuters out of a total of 494 students — a whopping 31 percent of our school. Because they are substantial contributors in our small high school community, it is essential that we understand how they arrived, and the many benefits they have brought.
Determining whether or not a commuter is right for the school is not based solely on grades. The school’s process involves three criteria: behavior, academics and attendance. And there are three possible outcomes: acceptance, rejection or waitlisting.
“It’s not a first-come, first-serve process,” Principal Danny Rock said. “We use the same filter for every application.”
The application process students must go through — as explained on the school website — has been essential to creating a system that is fair for those who wish to transfer districts.
For non-resident commuters already attending a Vashon Island School District (VISD), the application must be resubmitted each year.
But before an application can be submitted or resubmitted, VISD must clear it with the school district in which the student lives — a process called a “transfer agreement.” The reason for this yearly process is that each student’s default school district only reimburses the Vashon district for one year of enrollment. After that year is up, they assume the student is returning.
It can also benefit VISD in the case that a student shows a dip in their behavior, academics or attendance.
“At any point in time, [if] that choice [is that] they don’t want to be here, or … they are having a negative impact on our learning environment such that we wouldn’t choose to have them be here, then we want the [end of the year] to be the time and place where we have them go through … that same screening process,” Rock said.
But in order to accept new and past non-resident students each year, the school first needs to establish the capacity. The capacity is determined by two factors: space and funding levels.
Space is calculated at the beginning of December by predicting how many eighth-graders will be coming to the high school and how many students will be leaving. Funding levels are set by state budget standards. This is not all black-and-white, however. The issues of excessive class sizes and limited program opportunities have to be taken into consideration as well.
Commuters are an important part of the community, one many people often forget to recognize and acknowledge.
“Commuter students stabilize our enrollment,” Rock said.
Without the empty spots in the school being filled, enrollment would fluctuate, damaging the district significantly. A decrease in the number of students one year would force the district to lay off teachers, and conversely, an increase would force the district to rehire previously laid-off staff or hire new staff. And if the school were to act too slowly in rehiring, then the teachers they wanted may have already committed to a new district.
Admitting a fresh group of mainlanders every year can also give students the opportunity to restart when it comes to their rather isolated island social lives. Plus, it offers a metaphorical bridge to the off-island community while giving island students a taste of the outside world.
Unfortunately, there are still prejudices and wrong assumptions made about the non-island residents, such that they are boisterous and chaotic. However, this is negated by the simple fact that commuters tend to receive better GPAs and stronger scores on standardized tests and attendance, according to Rock.
Commuters are extremely beneficial to the high school community because they bring diversity, offer a fresh start to some students and contribute academically.
“We go through the process because we want our non-resident students to understand that we are mutually choosing each other,” Rock said.