SEATTLE, WA – Students from seven Seattle Public Schools’ high schools walked out of class in response to a planned change in lunch scheduling.
Seattle Public Schools recently announced it will require all comprehensive high schools to implement a two-lunch schedule in order to make it possible for all students to be served and eat during a single 30-minute period. A comprehensive high school offers more than one course program of specialization to students.
Other schools within the district have two lunch periods.
Details were shared about the walkout in a social media post from “One Lunch SPS,” including routes for students in the affected schools to take to the Seattle Public Schools district building in the SODO neighborhood. The post encouraged walkout participants to treat people and property with respect.
According to One Lunch SPS, the change to a two-lunch schedule makes it difficult for student-led organizations to meet and creates more distractions for students in class while others go to lunch.
School clubs typically took place during the one lunch period. The district listed two options for students: shift clubs to meet before or after school, or meet during advisory periods or other scheduled times.
The walkout began at 11 a.m. on Monday with the following high schools listed as participants in the walkout include: Ingraham, Ballard, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Rainier Beach, Nathan Hale and West Seattle.
According to the One Lunch SPS social media page, walkout participants had a “successful” meeting with the superintendent and other district administrators.
The district’s announced lunch schedule change came less than three weeks after the first day of school.
“We recognize the timing is not ideal. While this expectation had been in place for some time, schools were not fully aligned,” the district explained in a post.
After the school year began, the district made adjustments to allow for student access to meals, staff contract requirements, and students traveling to or from off-site programs.
Seattle high schools have until Oct. 6 to make the changes.
