tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post592366347205936138..comments2024-03-18T16:51:10.406-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Discussing December 9th RecommendationsMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-66103824942763008052008-12-13T23:24:00.000-08:002008-12-13T23:24:00.000-08:00adhoc said..."The JSIS students take about 55 seat...adhoc said...<BR/><BR/>"The JSIS students take about 55 seats at Hamilton as they get assignment preference to continue their immersion studies."<BR/><BR/>JSIS students can get assigned to Hamilton to continue immersion studies, but in the past 4 years it's something like 35 kids who go to Hamilton from JSIS, for a variety of different reasons. <BR/><BR/>Also, some of those kids qualify for APP, and a most of them are from the area, so there would be some overlap in categories. I agree that Hamilton could accommodate the north half of the APP program, but not the whole thing. I also think that bringing in the whole program would make it much more difficult to integrate with Hamilton.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07629694033837924371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58562218298075526012008-12-13T23:11:00.000-08:002008-12-13T23:11:00.000-08:00I'm a parent at JSIS and Hamilton. I think establi...I'm a parent at JSIS and Hamilton. I think establishing APP at Hamilton could be great. We live at the very south end of Maple Leaf, and looked at Eckstein, Hamilton and Washington APP for middle school. We decided that the language component and international focus was most important to us and enrolled our son at Hamilton. <BR/><BR/>I understand why some people might not like the idea of splitting the APP program into 2 programs, but I think that offering that option in more than one location will be great for the city. I know that we were not the only JSIS family nor the only Northend family that chose not to go to Washington APP although our student qualified. So when calculating who might attend the Hamilton APP, we need to think about people for whom location made a difference, not just those who are currently enrolled. My understanding is that the district knows who is currently enrolled in APP, and who qualified last year, but not who qualified 2 years or more before but did not enroll in APP.<BR/><BR/>Hamilton's new building will be ready September 2010, and many of us who watched JSIS' growth (more neighborhood students, fewer free and reduced lunch students, fewer kids of color) are anticipating a similar shift in the make-up of the Hamilton population. Even without APP, I think the swanky new building is going to be of interest to families at Greenlake, Bagley and other nearby schools that have more often chosen Eckstein. If APP is also part of the program, I'd anticipate that to be a draw as well. <BR/><BR/>My concern is that integrating APP and the International Program in one building at Hamilton is done well. We at Hamilton feel that the language component (both immersion and traditional) are important, and so is the international focus. I think that the international focus can be integrated into APP curriculum without too much trouble. <BR/><BR/>We at Hamilton would love to have music during the day, but when we didn't have the funding ($150k/year?) we couldn't continue the 8 period day. We had already chosen language, so the music program had to become an afterschool activity. We do have an activity bus, but there are days at the start and end of each quarter when the bus is not provided.<BR/><BR/>I have spoken to some APP parents who have said that for APP students who aren't interested in music, the program doesn't offer as many electives as they'd like. I'm hopeful that language would be of interest to those students. A friend of mine suggested that it would be great if the programs were APP Music and APP Language, instead of North and South, but that wouldn't solve the transportation problem.<BR/><BR/>I think Hamilton would expect that in adding APP to the school that our current program wouldn't be exactly the same, and that we'd need to keep in mind the core principles that are important to International Education, and be willing to imagine some changes or compromises. I'm hoping that APP would come to the table with a similarly flexible and positive attitude. <BR/><BR/>The other concern I have is for our current 6th and 7th graders who don't live in the immediate area. I hope that they and their transportation are grandfathered in for the next 2 years.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07629694033837924371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-22209773312508904202008-12-11T17:42:00.000-08:002008-12-11T17:42:00.000-08:00I didn't see that post Momster, what was the weigh...I didn't see that post Momster, what was the weighted average?<BR/><BR/>I have heard some clusters are as low as 10-15% private, but others like NE Seattle and parts of the Central cluster as high as 65% private.<BR/><BR/>And on top of those private school families you have.....<BR/><BR/>Home school families (numbers are rising rapidly). <BR/><BR/>Families that go out of district to Shoreline, Renton and Mercer Island.<BR/><BR/>Families that choose online course work for High school, or other alternate learning sources.<BR/><BR/>And you can't even count the number of families who simply move to the burbs, or neighbor districts, for better schools when they have kids.<BR/><BR/>All together it's a big chunk of families that opt out of SPS, and it's a shame.<BR/><BR/>All I'm saying is we should find out why. Take a survey. Do exit interviews. Ask families what they want or need to stay in SPS. <BR/><BR/>This "don't let the door hit you in the a** on your way out" mentality is just plain wrong. We should be working hard to be a world class district, that is attractive to families, not one that people run from.anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03716725891562757052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58019866293147719832008-12-11T16:51:00.000-08:002008-12-11T16:51:00.000-08:00Roy - I believe the only time the district can acc...Roy - I believe the only time the district can accurately calculate SPS enrollment vs total K-12 population by reference area (which is what it would take to get data that were really worthwhile) is at census time (i.e., once/decade).<BR/><BR/>Even then, to analyze that snapshot and/or forecast between census dates would require district admin staff - something everyone always seems to want to cut.<BR/><BR/>Ditto any marketing analysis, public relations work, etc.<BR/><BR/>Central Mom/ad hoc - a market share analysis by reference area was just posted by Beth and Melissa on this blog. Unfortunately it doesn't have a total for the district or by cluster, but it's easy to see that the weighted avg is not 35% - so best not to use that number for the district as a whole.momsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589728845018669169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-9378091582295267642008-12-11T16:30:00.000-08:002008-12-11T16:30:00.000-08:00How many *non-religious* private schools are there...How many *non-religious* private schools are there that are anything like $12,000 a year? And how many are that little ("little" being a relative term -- I certainly couldn't afford that) at the high school level? <BR/><BR/>Incidentally, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people turn out to have been financing private school by taking equity out of their houses ... and you can imagine how that's going to end up in this economic climate.<BR/><BR/>Helen Schinskehschinskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10316478950862562594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-30690651404269797682008-12-11T14:33:00.000-08:002008-12-11T14:33:00.000-08:00The 35% figure for number of students in private s...The 35% figure for number of students in private schools may be accurate in some neighborhoods, but for the district as a whole, the numbers I have heard were in the 15-25% range.<BR/><BR/>That is still high, but what is worse is that my feeling is that SPS doesn't really have an accurate idea of what the real number really is. It's hard to fight for market share if you don't even understand what the market is . . .Roy Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07677294298900083208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-69620138775728454962008-12-11T14:23:00.000-08:002008-12-11T14:23:00.000-08:00I've heard the 35% number many times, but I'm not ...I've heard the 35% number many times, but I'm not sure of the source. I do know that when MLK was writing the program placement form for the Montessori program, they sited a district number that 67% (or was it 69%?) of students in its reference area were in private school. 10-15% is typical in most districts. The fact that it is so high tells me we're *doing it wrong*.<BR/><BR/>Market share is a measure of success. Comparing our market share to that of districts with similar size and demographics seems like a very good piece of data, as does looking at trends in that market share. <BR/><BR/>Oh, and very few of the private schools are that expensive. 12-14K is much more typical. There are about as many above 14K as there are below 12K. 10-12K is about what daycare costs for a preschooler, so for families with kids entering K (who don't have a stay-at-home parent), this is a continuation of an expense they've been paying for several years.<BR/><BR/>Here's the part that I'm having a hard time with... Why wouldn't you want kids who can't afford private school to have at least a somewhat comparable curriculum and set of pedagogical choices? Why should finding a good fit be an option only open to those with money? How is that fair? I honestly can't beleive that science in every grade is considered to be "extra" by this district. Science! In this technology-driven town. How is it fair that only families with money get science before middle school? Or language at the optimal time in brain development for learning it? It's not "give me everything I want". It's "give me a basic eduction, which includes art, music, language as young as possible, science in every grade, acceration for those who need it and remediation for those who need that, and fund it for every kid." How is that building a private system within the public? What other measure of success should we be using besides market share? I'm not being argumentative here (though I probably sound like it), I just really don't understand the argument. zb, can you help me out here?TechyMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04650916001250022778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91393389777389410712008-12-11T13:13:00.000-08:002008-12-11T13:13:00.000-08:00And it's even worse when schools are allowed to us...And it's even worse when schools are allowed to use school property to make a profit for their PTA (renting school grounds for people to park on). I thought this issue had been resolved (and I had asked - long ago - if schools were allowed to do this and I was told no) and yet I see from one of the schools on the closure list that it still occurs.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-44446899382710644552008-12-11T12:08:00.000-08:002008-12-11T12:08:00.000-08:00What are those ideas to keep parity between split ...What are those ideas to keep parity between split APP programs? <BR/><BR/>I have to agree that Title One in no way creates parity of programs with private funding of wealthier public schools.Sydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08715140880268606856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-75847102684447145572008-12-11T11:23:00.000-08:002008-12-11T11:23:00.000-08:00The funding disparity is very much on APP parents'...The funding disparity is very much on APP parents' minds, and several creative solutions have been proposed to keep the two programs/two schools at parity. I think they'll make it work okay.<BR/><BR/>Helen Schinskehschinskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10316478950862562594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-71624454281476784072008-12-11T09:51:00.000-08:002008-12-11T09:51:00.000-08:00And I see the "market share" argument as...And I see the "market share" argument as an extension of the same thing -- people trying to build their own private system within the public system (give me everything I want and I'll stay). <BR/><BR/>The private schools in Seattle (the popular ones) cost around 20K per year (including tuition & recommended donations). SPS spends something like 12K. Private schools sell you more, and people pay for it. The public, taxpayer funded system isn't going to offer the same level of service as the more expensive private system. That means some people who can afford to pay are going to go. <BR/><BR/>The taxpayer supported endeavor should be to provide a solid education to all the students in SPS, not a private school for the subset of families that might leave for the private system otherwise.zbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13205346985598789513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-50880882017293602932008-12-11T09:47:00.000-08:002008-12-11T09:47:00.000-08:00"Syd - ask Charlie about compensatory funding (whi..."Syd - ask Charlie about compensatory funding (which dwarfs anything almost any PTA could raise)"<BR/><BR/>Compensatory funding is compensatory. I'm going to say this every single time, because equating the fund- raising funding of "rich" schools with the Title 1 funding of the socioeconomically disadvantaged schools is equating needs and extras. <BR/><BR/>And, I agree with Syd that we're in real danger of developing a private system within a public system. As a taxpayer, I'm happy to contribute to education, but not to subsidizing private education (and that applies to vouchers as well as schools that do substantial fundraising). It's also unusual, to allow schools to do private fundraising and then keep all the money within a public system.zbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13205346985598789513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-60233683961648513432008-12-11T08:33:00.000-08:002008-12-11T08:33:00.000-08:00Syd - ask Charlie about compensatory funding (whic...Syd - ask Charlie about compensatory funding (which dwarfs anything almost any PTA could raise)<BR/><BR/>in 2006, the Rainier View principal told one of the Superintendent's blue ribbon committee making district finance recommendations that it wasn't money she needed - it was parent involvement.<BR/><BR/>Which is probably still true - with different cultural expectations about how parents should interact with school; single parent and extended families; high poverty; etc - and it can't be made up by the many social service organizations that contribute mightily to the south end, including Powerful Schools and more.<BR/><BR/>You should check out $ per student spending by school from all sources - I don't have a recent cite but the Seattle PI has had some and so has the city-level PTA.momsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589728845018669169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-31295743227416569752008-12-11T08:23:00.000-08:002008-12-11T08:23:00.000-08:00adhoc - 35% doesn't concern me because it's never ...adhoc - 35% doesn't concern me because it's never been 35% - where are you getting that number?momsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589728845018669169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-83466002309754339372008-12-11T08:16:00.000-08:002008-12-11T08:16:00.000-08:00So, how do we split the baby (the APP programs)? D...So, how do we split the baby (the APP programs)? Does Washington keep the music program and Hamilton get the Integrated 3 Math? Does Lowell keep the arts program? What happens to the Chess program?<BR/><BR/>I am completely demoralized by the public/private funding of schools. How is it going to be possible for 1/2 of the South End APP and the current Hawthorne population to raise the amount of money that Montlake/NE APP will be able to garner. Lowell will necessarily get all the PTA funded programs. The same goes for splitting the Middle School Program. <BR/><BR/>I'll tell you why South End parents don't want to go to school down here, and choose instead to bus to the NE. It is the disparity in funding. Beacon Hill, when we there 2000 -2003, could hope for maybe 15,000 to 20,000 in fundraising per year. It is similar now for Graham Hill where our kindergartner is attending. That really does not pay for a lot of extras. The information I get from parents with children in Magnolia and Montlake and a few others is that they raise in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. That pays for extra teachers, music and art, and a whole host of opportunities in the North End schools. <BR/><BR/>I can afford to give more than many of my neighbors, but one or even a handful of families is not enough to make up for the fact that most of the families who attend school in the SE do not have that money. It is not that they don't care; they just don't have the money. This lack of funding, leads to lack of programs, leads to many parents not choosing SE schools. How do we get out of this cycle?<BR/><BR/>We don't really have a Seattle public school system. We have a privately funded NE school district, and a public SE district.Sydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08715140880268606856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-35106655268733965862008-12-11T07:34:00.000-08:002008-12-11T07:34:00.000-08:00momster and Reader......doesn't 35% of SPS familie...momster and Reader......doesn't 35% of SPS families in private school concern you? Private schools are full with wait lists while SPS is closing under enrolled schools. Doesn't that tell you something? A private company that loses 35% of it's market share works hard to win it back, but SPS just keeps on keepin on. They don't do exit interviews, they don't ask families what they would need to come back (or stay in) SPS, they let bad schools get worse, and good schools get so full you can't get in. <BR/><BR/>And on top of it all they are in constant turmoil and chaos. I have to sign one of my children up to middle school this year and one to high school. I live in the NE. My head is spinning. So many schools and communities are affected. I already have a son in a Shoreline school because there was no space in our local middle school (Eckstein), and the commute to Salmon Bay was outrageous.<BR/><BR/>SPS should be working hard to try to figure out why people leave the district, and find ways to attract them back. Seattle is second to only San Francisco in least amount of families with children living in the city. Should we let this get worse? Or try to attract families? We can start by working to improve our schools and their reputation?<BR/><BR/>I think we are moving in the right direction. I think this change has been long coming and I think that MGJ is the person to finally get the job done. But, she has a lot of ground to cover. Superintendents of the past let things go, and did nothing......for years and years. And, now it's happening...all at once.<BR/><BR/>I hope that in a few years after schools are closed, and the new assignment plan is in effect, things will finally calm, and the dust will settle. My eldest will be on his way out of SPS, but my youngest will be going to HS. I hope that we can have a few years of peace.anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03716725891562757052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-84255105782584435642008-12-11T07:06:00.000-08:002008-12-11T07:06:00.000-08:00The test scores reflect the students who come to t...<I>The test scores reflect the students who come to the building, not what the school does with them.</I><BR/><BR/><BR/>Truer words were never spoken.Dorothy Nevillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17108759281089768738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-13655299940147152372008-12-11T03:59:00.000-08:002008-12-11T03:59:00.000-08:00Central Mom, I like it. I'd love to see JSIS in a...Central Mom, I like it. I'd love to see JSIS in a more central location, and Central desperately needs a program that's exciting enough to parents to pull them from McGilvra and Stevens and TOPS. Some Montlake families would move to Latona with the school, some would likely choose the new JSIS.<BR/><BR/>The clusters were drawn 30 years ago based on the demographics of the times. I hope and expect that they will change with the new assignment plan. We need to get past thinking of those as immutable.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I actually think that the current plan of Montlake at Lowell will fill. Some Montlake families will go private. However, if the staff from Montlake moves intact, with its great principal and art and language classes, some Capitol Hill and Madison Valley families will choose it over private, or will list it as a 3rd or 4th choice and accept it as an assignment where they would not have accepted Madrona.<BR/><BR/>As to the "threats" of going private... Private schools have actually done a much better job than SPS of anticipating the current baby boom and adding capacity to meet that demand. Why is SPS closing schools when the number of children in the city is growing? It's not a capacity problem, it's a market share problem. It's marketing in the sense of bringing a product that the market wants, not just trying to sell the product you have. SPS is selling Fords. Seattle families want to buy Smarts. Bush is interested in buying the MLK building. If Bush thinks it can fill it, why couldn't SPS? <BR/><BR/>It's true that the most popular private schools will always have long waiting lists, as (right or wrong) the perception of exclusivity is part of their branding. But, there are many wonderful, smaller, less-known private schools that do have room. New ones are opening every day, and even some of the "name brand" schools are growing. I know a family who opted out of TT Minor at the last minute, and found a private school with a seat at 8am on the first day of school. My current favorite private school does admissions first-come-first-served, costs less than I'm currently paying for pre-K, and had several free seats for K last year. The privates in the north end may be full (or there may be similar small schools there that aren't), but there's room in private schools in other parts of the city and on the East Side, and private schools don't care where you live. <BR/><BR/>In addition, when you start talking about APP and Spectrum students leaving the district, these students will be admitted to any private school they apply to. Private schools are not squemish about recruiting gifted kids, or about serving their needs. <BR/><BR/>I don't consider the fact that I'm looking at both public and private to be a threat, just a statement of fact as a not-fully-satisfied customer who is aware of competing offers.TechyMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04650916001250022778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-13212336645063070162008-12-10T23:08:00.000-08:002008-12-10T23:08:00.000-08:00Beth, thanks for the encouragement to think creati...Beth, thanks for the encouragement to think creatively. Here are some nitty gritty numbers for those who care to continue down this path of thinking w/ me:<BR/><BR/>SBOC is in an elementary building w/ a planning capacity of 483. Enrollment 229. You could pretty much move the whole APP <BR/><BR/>elementary cohort there and keep it together if the District wasn't bound and determined to make the split. But I digress. 1/2 the cohort could easily fit in the building w/ 1/2 the space still left for gen ed if/when needed. Aurora moves traffic just as well as I-5 does, maybe better. With APP at Old Hay, the temporary cross-cluster transportation to BF Day for QA/Mag can go away. As the parents have said many times, this was never a preferred excess capacity solution for their neighborhoods.<BR/><BR/>Suddenly, Lowell opens up again for a large gen ed program. The central cluster doesn't need another large gen ed program. Who <BR/><BR/>is going to buy into a new school there when Montlake folks are furious that their building is closed, Stevens folks don't want <BR/><BR/>to be moved, Eastlake rejects the idea that it as a "neighborhood" building and the TT Minor population wouldn't fill it and is <BR/><BR/>undersubscribing their current program as it is. <BR/><BR/>The planning capacity at Lowell is 484. The enrollment in the dual language immersion program at Latona is about 336 this year. <BR/><BR/>There are also about 30 special ed students there (I think). Put those 336 JSIS program folks at Lowell, give the current <BR/><BR/>Lowell medically fragile kids access to that gen ed program, and you can still grow one of the most popular grade school <BR/><BR/>options in the District by almost 100 kids. Does that not fit the District criteria of building on successful programs and <BR/><BR/>increasing both access to and diversity in those programs? It will fill up in a heartbeat. Moving it into true alternative <BR/><BR/>status will also save the District grief when they redraw the assignment boundaries. It simply can't keep calling JSIS at Latona a reference school vs. alternative w/ any credibility with an Alt School audit on the way and new reference school boundaries about to be drawn. Frankly, I've always thought the JSIS status is another legal grievance waiting to happen. <BR/><BR/>Latona's planning capacity is 355. Current Montlake enrollment is 237. Add back in the 30 special ed kids at Latona and at 267 kids in Latona, there's still room for Wallingford placement at Latona in 2009-10, even w/ the whole Montlake reference area pointed that direction. That's because most of the JSIS folks will choose to move to Lowell, not stay w/ their facility. <BR/><BR/>As the reference lines are redrawn, the 160 vacant seats at BF Day could be filled by the west side of the Latona area. There <BR/><BR/>are 60 open at Green Lake for the north side of the Latona reference area. That accounts for 220 of the 237 seats <BR/><BR/>taken by the Montlake move. Now go back to the Central cluster and slightly (instead of radically) shift boundary assignments <BR/><BR/>south. Give Lowell the same treatment as TOPS...alternative w/ 20 - 30 % incoming kindergarten seats reserved for closest <BR/><BR/>families by distance, and the District now has full capacity programs across the board...and good ones to boot.<BR/><BR/>Who would least-like this idea? The folks right around Latona, of course, but they get an excellent neighborhood program at <BR/><BR/>Latona and would not lose access to the JSIS program. It doesn't rip apart any existing cohorts (beyond the APP split that the District is pushing) keeps the medically fragile kids at Lowell if they wish to be there, and it is of benefit to multiple neighborhoods and undersubscribed programs. And if the District could make a special OK to put QA/Mag students cross cluster at BF Day, it can make a special amendment to have the Montlake/Latona reference area happen too.Central Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05411595538958030193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58209346572610426892008-12-10T22:11:00.000-08:002008-12-10T22:11:00.000-08:00Old salt, I think I can safely say that almost eve...Old salt, I think I can safely say that almost everything that we know about the new assignment plan is speculation and nothing else. The answers to your questions are anybody's guess. I've made a few guesses myself, but that's all they are.<BR/><BR/>The district published some guidelines for the direction the new assignment plan would move in, but as I recall, that document raised more questions than provided few answers.Roy Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07677294298900083208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-3808872961393620882008-12-10T21:49:00.000-08:002008-12-10T21:49:00.000-08:00I was under the impression, mistaken evidently, th...I was under the impression, mistaken evidently, that one of the main reasons for redesigning the assignment plan was to decrease transportation costs. I have heard discussions of smaller clusters, less choice, fewer all-city draws. <BR/><BR/>If we end up busing more kids who live in walk zones, then it can only increase transportation costs. So then what is the point of limiting choice? <BR/><BR/>I am also confused about feeder middle schools. Will it be based on current elementary school assignment or the elementary reference area in which you live? Considering that current assignments are based on a more vigorous system of choice, feeding from elementary assignments will cost transportation dollars.<BR/><BR/>Will the new assignment plan cost us more than the old one? Why is that a good thing? I would rather see those dollars in classrooms.old salthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07971380233996439817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-15518444420185588512008-12-10T21:26:00.000-08:002008-12-10T21:26:00.000-08:00"I'd be surprised if the Bryant and Laurelhurst co..."I'd be surprised if the Bryant and Laurelhurst communities will tolerate lack of a music program during the day."<BR/><BR/>Tolerate? I'd bet there are a lot of parents in this district that wish they could use that word and believe it would have any impact. And what exactly would these parents do?<BR/><BR/>Roy, you are turning into Charlie Junior. Another busy brain. I get what you mean about Addams being a traditional middle school and having Eckstein in the south. That is a key problem; that both the middle schools are in the southern end of the district.<BR/><BR/>Closing Hamilton? A bit problematic if only because it functions well as a middle school. It's not failing or anywhere near it. <BR/><BR/>I had suggested - way back - that Summit move to Lincoln (and co-house with someone, I'd thought a k-8 APP, call me crazy). Summit had said they might be interested in being the international high school. Thus you would have created the trifecta of JSIS, Hamilton and Summit all together and about to collectively create a strong program. <BR/><BR/>Also, JSIS is a reference school for the area which is a complete oddity because yes, they are alternative and yes, it's a program many people would like access to but it fills from the neighborhood.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-83755730563463527992008-12-10T21:18:00.000-08:002008-12-10T21:18:00.000-08:00ReaderWe already left SPS for an excellent middle ...Reader<BR/>We already left SPS for an excellent middle school. We bit the bullet, tightened our belts, and with help from grandparents and some financial aid took the plunge. We were planning to return to SPS next year for high school, but we'll have to wait and see what our options will be once this all plays out. We live in the southend so we don't have a lot of great choices to pick from. We'll do what it takes to get our child an education that will prepare her for a 4-year college and foster a life-long love of learning.<BR/><BR/>With this move, SPS has insured that many families will be committing to private schools since they won't know their public assignment until long after they have to sign a contract and plunk down a deposit.<BR/><BR/>And yes...the current number of independent slots is somewhat finite, but they will fill to the max with waitlists and, as Adhoc noted, so will out-of-district slots in Shoreline, Mercer Island and possibly even Renton. Many of us can't just sit back and let our child get a subpar education because the District isn't willing or able to create quality offerings all over the city. With this plan and the chaos surrounding it, the District just may need that additional homeschool resource center.SolvayGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12709893209963350066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-22214899698914769982008-12-10T21:09:00.000-08:002008-12-10T21:09:00.000-08:00You're right, reader - there isn't infinite capaci...You're right, reader - there isn't infinite capacity in private school (or Shoreline or MI) - some will leave, but many actually come back when the reality of tuition and REALLY paying for everything hits.<BR/><BR/>When the district closed several schools in the 80's, there was a big dip in enrollment that was almost fully recovered in the following year.<BR/><BR/>See page 3 of <A HREF="http://www.seattleschools.org/area/facilities/FMP/FMP_ExecSummary.pdf" REL="nofollow">2010 Master Plan Exec Smry</A> (circa 1989)momsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589728845018669169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-10630440411968147342008-12-10T21:03:00.000-08:002008-12-10T21:03:00.000-08:00Yes, Reader private schools are full......full of ...Yes, Reader private schools are full......full of SPS families that is. Thirty five percent of Seattle families. And after we fill up the private schools we (myself included) fill up Shoreline Schools, and Mercer Island schools. If that doesn't work we move to the burbs and fill up their schools. Or, we home school. We are pretty creative when it comes to avoiding SPS. <BR/><BR/>Citizens are right to be concerned that with the districts continual chaos, and budget woes, even more families will leave the district. It's a pretty hefty chunk of market share that SPS just gives up.anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03716725891562757052noreply@blogger.com