Reading the Middle/High School Enrollment Guide
You never know what you'll find when you read information put out by the district. So I'm perusing the middle/high school enrollment guide. One plus is you see what the enrollments are at each school currently. For example, Eckstein is huge at 1213. Its closest competitor in size is Washington at 1038 followed by Whitman at 931 (and I know Whitman, several years back, was nearly Eckstein's size but gradually started pulling back). The sizes then drop to Madison at 895 down to Aki Kurose at 465.
All of the poorly performing schools have much longer descriptions than the high performing schools. I wonder if incoming parents read the guide and wonder why some have lengthy descriptions and others don't.
Then you get to K-8s. The largest K-8 is Broadview-Thompson at 671. Somehow, in my head, I was thinking a K-8, with a range of 9 grade levels, should be about 500-700. But only B-T, Salmon Bay (611) and TOPS (526) are over 500 (Blaine is 499). I was quite surprised to see how small African-American Academy is at 355 (in a 900-seat building), AS #1 (210), and ORCA at 336 (but it's their first year as a K-8). I was also surprised to see that Salmon Bay offers 4 languages (something no other middle or K-8 does) but there are some K-8s that offer no languages (AAA, Catherine Blaine, Madrona, and Orca).
Then we get to high schools and that's where some things just don't make sense. This is the first time I have seen a page with class offerings listed. So Ballard comes in first in AP with 16 classes (a surprise given Garfield is considered the AP school). However, I had heard from someone that they are trying to have all theseclasses but that they are not all offered yet. Garfield has 15 followed by Roosevelt with 11. But who's next? Rainier Beach with 10. Huh? I thought that's what the Southeast Initiative was partly about - bringing more rigor. Either Rainier Beach has it already or there's a misprint here. The schoosl with least are Ingraham and Sealth but that's because they have IB programs.
Every high school has band/jazz band and drama/theater. I wanted to put that in because there seemed to be some confusion if that is true. How big or active they are, there's the question.
All of the poorly performing schools have much longer descriptions than the high performing schools. I wonder if incoming parents read the guide and wonder why some have lengthy descriptions and others don't.
Then you get to K-8s. The largest K-8 is Broadview-Thompson at 671. Somehow, in my head, I was thinking a K-8, with a range of 9 grade levels, should be about 500-700. But only B-T, Salmon Bay (611) and TOPS (526) are over 500 (Blaine is 499). I was quite surprised to see how small African-American Academy is at 355 (in a 900-seat building), AS #1 (210), and ORCA at 336 (but it's their first year as a K-8). I was also surprised to see that Salmon Bay offers 4 languages (something no other middle or K-8 does) but there are some K-8s that offer no languages (AAA, Catherine Blaine, Madrona, and Orca).
Then we get to high schools and that's where some things just don't make sense. This is the first time I have seen a page with class offerings listed. So Ballard comes in first in AP with 16 classes (a surprise given Garfield is considered the AP school). However, I had heard from someone that they are trying to have all theseclasses but that they are not all offered yet. Garfield has 15 followed by Roosevelt with 11. But who's next? Rainier Beach with 10. Huh? I thought that's what the Southeast Initiative was partly about - bringing more rigor. Either Rainier Beach has it already or there's a misprint here. The schoosl with least are Ingraham and Sealth but that's because they have IB programs.
Every high school has band/jazz band and drama/theater. I wanted to put that in because there seemed to be some confusion if that is true. How big or active they are, there's the question.
Comments
Parents have to be detectives. It's sad.
http://www.seattleschild.com/0208-5.htm
~Maureen
The list of AP classes at Rainier Beach is what we plan on offering because of the SE Initiative. We are receiving money for next year so we can offer those classes. Remember this is the enrollment guide for 2008-2009, not what the school currently offers.
I hope this clears up the confusion.
Any word yet on the accountability elements of the Southeast Initiative? The schools were supposed to have clear, quantified goals for three years and clear benchmarks for each year. These goals were supposed to be in place in September. The year is more than half gone and they still have not been set. What kind of accountability is that? What is the source of the delay?
We did get some money this year. It was to hire two teachers (LA/SS & Drama), but the money came too late to change the master schedule. We will be hiring additional teachers for next year with the idea being that we will be adding the AP classes then.
I'm not aware of any specific goals, other than increased enrollment and I don't know what we are shooting for. I would hope for about 750 or so, but I don't know.
There was some vaguely threatening talk from the Superintendent about this school at one time, but I haven't heard anything lately.
Will the District intervene with this struggling school? If not with this school, then how bad do things have to get?
I can't help thinking that some serious facilities and enrollement issues could be resolved if the New School would move into the AAA space and Southshore could be used as a middle school.
I also can't help wondering what the poor results from this school indicate about the efficacy of "culturally relevant" curricula.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
My daughter is a graduating 8th grader. Her musical education started in the 5th grade at Salmon Bay. Yes, the band was perhaps a 20 person unit then, but the school was able to attract a young, relevant music teacher in Mark Oesterle. In the 4 subsequent years, the band has grown and thrived, there's a full jazz band separate from the concert band (my 12 year old was playing improvised jazz solos to a full lunch room - how cool is that!?!), and a huge Marimba program that is a family favorite. Mark composes unique pieces, introduces the kids to jazz and concert greats - and while may be a bit of an introvert - is certainly enthusiastic!
Salmon Bay's music program is only getting better under Mark's leadership and I expect it to be an enriching opportunity for your kids. Good luck choosing!