Interlake High School is experiencing a crisis: there’s too many students and too little support. What should be done to ensure quality education?
On September 2nd, students walked into Interlake for another grueling yet exciting year of school, only to find themselves squished into overpopulated classrooms with unknown peers. This new school year has been an array of surprises for everyone, students and teachers alike. What’s no surprise is that everyone is overwhelmed– 1600 students and BSD budget cuts are proving to be an uphill battle.
Space challenges are nothing new for Interlake. In the past, the school enlisted outdoor portables to accommodate for the lack of space within the main building, having students travel outside to get to their classes. The school building designed 20 years ago did not plan for the spike in student enrollment. Recent discussions to renovate the school will hopefully alleviate current space deficiencies in classrooms.
For the 2025 – 2026 school year, students will have to endure a variety of consequences from oversized class rosters. On average, class sizes are 34 to 36 students, a definite increase from last year. Some– for example the French 5 class– have 40 students per class and just one teacher. It’s very possible that this surge will translate into poorer quality of enrichment and negatively impact student-teacher relationships. How can teachers provide proper feedback for over 150 students? In return, teachers receive little benefit for their increased workload. Mr. Murphy, a reputable IB History teacher, reports how they only get a couple hundred dollars more per quarter for a set number of students that “caps at 35, even if a class has 38 students.” This doesn’t seem like fair compensation for the extra work and commitment required of teachers.
Some teachers have changed their policies to maintain a healthy work-life balance. A student reports how a teacher caps the retake grades up to a B or an 80% to lessen the amount of additional work that they would have to take on. Teachers aren’t robots and they can’t do endless work for their students out of “obligation”. Each has a family at home and loved ones to spend quality time with. How can we expect teachers to maintain the same level of grading flexibility? On the other hand, a different student recounts how teachers have become somewhat easier on the class and graded work. The student describes how group projects tend to be a common medium to ease the workload.
Staff shortages have also had an impact on selection of core and elective options. Numerous students at the end of last year were informed that the classes they had planned to take no longer existed. For example, IB Physics SL 2 and AP Calculus became unavailable, most likely due to the lack of teachers to teach the course. Additionally, there was little room for students to change their classes after assignments came out at the beginning of the school year. Small changes required robust realignments of entire schedules. Senior student Giselle Kendrick describes how she “just wanted to fulfill [her] graduation requirements” but faced major difficulties. Giselle required a final CTE credit but struggled to find any that matched an ideal schedule for her final year in high school. In the end, she had to drop her initial class options from March—Personal Finance and Guitar—for CTE course Tech Theatre.
Increased class sizes could lead to an array of unforeseen and unintended consequences. These issues could affect student grades and attendance, since teachers are unable to assist each student as thoroughly. Furthermore, the class mixing resulting from the removal of grade distinctions will create uneven student levels. Some students may feel that the content is too difficult while others think it is too easy, making it difficult to maintain focus and engagement.
Measures need to be taken at Interlake High School to ensure the continued success of the high achieving institution. To address these issues, we need to go beyond simply hiring more teachers; we need to petition the authorities at the Bellevue School District or even King County for much needed aid. These actions will require a collective desire to redirect our worsening circumstances and invest in the futures of Interlake students. It’s time for our community to take steps to continue quality education.