Superintendent's Final Recommendations
The Superintendent's final recommendations are out and posted at:
--- Summary
--- Full report
No real surprises to me. It follows what I suggested in my post "Positive Change Likely in Closure Plan" and what was suggested in a related Seattle Times article that day.
- Graham Hill stays open.
- Rainier View merges with Emerson in the nice, new Emerson building.
- Pathfinder stays where it is, pending further discussion.
- Viewlands merges with Greenwood. (I think this is the least well thought-out recommendation, and would like to see more details on how the district thinks this will work.)
All other items from the preliminary recommendations remain the same.
I have only looked at the summary, but will post again later today when I have read the full report.
--- Summary
--- Full report
No real surprises to me. It follows what I suggested in my post "Positive Change Likely in Closure Plan" and what was suggested in a related Seattle Times article that day.
- Graham Hill stays open.
- Rainier View merges with Emerson in the nice, new Emerson building.
- Pathfinder stays where it is, pending further discussion.
- Viewlands merges with Greenwood. (I think this is the least well thought-out recommendation, and would like to see more details on how the district thinks this will work.)
All other items from the preliminary recommendations remain the same.
I have only looked at the summary, but will post again later today when I have read the full report.
Comments
I note the Raj seems firm on 11 schools eventually and that one more from the NE/North/NW will come, maybe one from the SW and one from the Central area. I'd believe him on that.
The things I take issue with are:
-the district staff never made it clear that much excess capacity was in the alternative schools. This is problematic because parents have to choose to be assigned to them. This would have made the overall process easier if this had been made clear. It also points out the need to have a clear vision for alternative schools.
-the decision to not move Pathfinder to Boren would signal another school closing. There are no other interim buildings in the SW so they would have to find another building. I suspect it's Cooper.
-Graham Hill dodged a bullet. I suspect if there had been more capacity (and there was enough but it would have dispersed many kids; again, a process that occurs with school closures, no big surprise), they would have remained on the list. I think the fact that the Super's recs continue to be troubled by and point out the problems at Graham Hill shows that to be an issue to them.
-Viewlands. Well, it's a mystery to be how they can fit all the Viewlands students into Greenwood but bless 'em if they can. It's a good solution (but it would be better if they put the Viewlands principal in there) but I'll have to see what their "solution" is.
Anonymous
If he's going to work with the community, he is going to hear them say that the location they think best is... John Marshall. He had better be open the possibility that John Marshall IS the best possible location for these programs.
Unfortunately, all of the talk about community engagement is probably a sham - as will be the community engagement they provide. The Superintendent has probably already decided where the programs will go but, for some reason, he can't announce it yet.