I have lived in the West Seattle community for 13years and am the parent of two elementary schoolchildren. I am a strong supporter of Seattle Public Schools and do all I can to be a part of the public school system. I volunteer on a weekly basis in the classroom and for a variety of school activities. I am an active member of the PTA and am a founding member of Lafayette's Playground Committee that has raised over $300,000 to begin construction of a playground this summer. I would like my children to continue to receive a quality education within the Seattle Public Schools system. I have been following West Seattle High School's struggle with the four-period day schedule and understand the community's frustration.

I applaud the West Seattle Herald for calling attention to this issue and taking a stand in their opposition to the four-period day. The four-period day is one of the biggest obstacles I see for my children to attend West Seattle High School. The 23 percent less instructional class time per course, 8 percent larger class sizes, and the lack of continuity in core subjects are all issues keeping West Seattle students from receiving an adequate education.

How can our children excel in math without continuity? How can our children learn a foreign language without continuity? How can our children study music without continuity? How can their teachers build strong programs? I believe the teachers want what is best for the students, yet West Seattle High School's test scores lag in comparison to most schools in the district. To me this emphasizes that the four-period system is flawed and must be abandoned as it has been in many other schools.

I believe with a change to a six-period day and the support of our community West Seattle High School can be the neighborhood school of choice. With current changes in school assignments being discussed, including the need for standardization in curriculum, West Seattle High School can not only meet the needs of the community, but more importantly, meet the needs of our children by making this change.

Many community members have voiced opposition to the four-period day, but the school district has ignored those voices. They carefully chose a committee to meet their agenda and now that their agenda is opposed they have chosen to disband the committee, guaranteeing that nothing will change until the next committee is chosen, and the next, and the next. There are many families, like mine with young children, that are hoping to see a change at West Seattle High School, so they can be excited about the choice to continue in the public school system in our community. The time to make a change is now.

Sonya Elliott

West Seattle