A Minor Note (But It Should Be Noted)

Someone pointed this out to me even though I should have known it if I had thought about it enough.

I don't know where all the directors live (obviously within their districts). I do know where Director Carr lives. The first boundaries put her home within Ballard's boundaries. ( As you may recall, she has a child at Roosevelt as does Director Martin-Morris). So that map would have sent her second child to Ballard. (But under the 10% Open Choice seats, her second child would easily get into Roosevelt via that choice.)

The second map has her neighborhood in Roosevelt. And personally that is the way I thought it should have been for her neighborhood. (But part of that change was for west Green Lake and I'm still not sure why west Green Lake is in Roosevelt's area because no one from there is going to walk to Roosevelt which is the given reason for the change.)

I point this out because I have gone to many boundary meetings, large and small, and I never heard Director Carr point this out. (I don't believe any other director has younger children that will be affected by the boundaries - De Bell's last is at Ballard and I believe both of Sundquist's are already at Chief Sealth and Martin-Morris' youngest is at RHS.)

I think she should have in the interest of public disclosure.

Comments

Chris S. said…
She did at her first community meeting after the first maps.
Unknown said…
She also noted the potential conflict of interest at the community meeting at North Beach, further stating that she had discussed the issue with the other Board members, and that she thought that she could separate her personal desires from the needs of the District as a whole.
Sue said…
I have heard her mention it at the meetings I have attended. She has been very very clear that the plan affects her as well. At the first meeting I attended she stated" I may have kids at two different schools as well. So I know what you are going through"

She has mentioned it at community meetings and at her coffee hours.
Just saying she has two kids at two different schools is not really the same as saying the maps would change her choices.

Also, saying it at her community meetings and not at the public hearing or Board Work Sessions or boundaries meetings seems odd.
Sue said…
I do believe I heard her say it at the Roosevelt meeting I attended. As well as numerous other meetings.

I have no idea what she thinks, and wouldn't presume to speculate about it, but if I did, I would gather that she feels she has been very upfront about the issue.

I think she has.
zb said…
I respect her for talking about when she has, and think it's grasping to suggest that there's anything untoward about her behavior, when in such a brief period of time, 3 different people have posted that she openly talked about the personal impact of the maps on her family.

I think focusing too much on personal impact is a distraction, unless there's some reason to point at behavior that seems to be motivated by personal impact (and that Carr hasn't exhibited that behavior).

I also think the focus on the Superintendent's children and where they go to school is a distraction.
Maureen said…
"I'm still not sure why west Green Lake is in Roosevelt's area because no one from there is going to walk to Roosevelt which is the given reason for the change."

Sherry said the change was because too many kids would have been assigned to Ballard and not enough to RHS in the first version, not because of the walk zone (at her last Sat meeting.) At least part of the area is in the RHS walk zone and not Ballard's, which saves the District money because they don't have to pay for a bus pass even if kids don't walk. From the north end of the area, it is much easier to bus to RHS than Ballard (one bus-vs. 2). In fact the Metro map for RHS isn't quite right--the bus zone should extend along 85th to the west boundary at least as far south as 80th.
Charlie Mas said…
While we are disclosing, my family's situation is pretty straight-forward. I have one daughter now at NOVA and another now in 8th grade APP at Washington. The plan does not impact my older daughter, but it puts my younger daughter in a pretty good situation. There are four high schools to which I believe she is essentially guaranteed assignment.

She will get a default assignment to Garfield APP. We live in the Franklin attendance area, so she could claim assignment there. She has a sister at NOVA and so is in the first tie-breaker group for that school. And I expect that if she were to choose Cleveland STEM she would be one of only about 50 students to do so and would therefore get the assignment (as, I project, would any student choosing Cleveland).

I recognize that she has an unusually good set of choices. I'm not working to improve her situation. None of my advocacy on the new student assignment plan has been for her sake.

Right now we are leaning towards Cleveland, but we're having a very hard time getting any information about the program.
SE Mom said…
Charlie:

I am curious. What would your family need to specifically know about the new STEM program at Cleveland before your daughter would choose to enroll there?
SE Mom said…
Also, what happened to Nova's website? I recall them having one prior to the move. It would be really helpful if it was resurrected prior to open enrollment.
TechyMom said…
I'm curious. Does the APP assignment to Garfield work if the student doesn't go there in 9th grade? Say Charlie's daughter takes a chance on Cleveland, and it doesn't work out. Will she still be able to use her status as an alum of Washington APP to go to Garfield in 10th grade? And, whatever the answer is under the old assignmnet system, will it be the same in the new one?
hschinske said…
SE Mom, check out http://novaprojectptsa.wordpress.com/.

Helen Schinske
hschinske said…
TechyMom, currently the answer is no, if you don't enroll in Garfield in 9th grade, you lose your guaranteed seat and have to take your chances on admission. I don't think that has changed with the new SAP.

Helen Schinske
SE Mom said…
Thanks Helen!
mkd said…
NOT HERE TO HIJACK THE WEBSITE, but people need food:

If you are in need of food, you may come to St. Mary's food bank once a week, from 10:00am to 1:00pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Please bring some form of ID. You do not need to be from Seattle and no one will ask your legal status. If you have a child under two, we have a baby kitchen the first full week of every month. Though it is not much, we can give you some diapers and baby food. For babies under 6 months, we also provide wipes and formula. Again, we ask that you bring some form of identification for the child (medical coupon or birth certificate).

The food bank at St. Mary's (20th and Jackson) is not a part of the church nor are affiliated with any religious institution. We are a nonprofit and secular organization, St. Mary's kindly has donated the space for our use. Last year, we served over 70,000 people. This year, we exceeded that number by June.

This year the need is so great. This week, November 17, 19 and 21, we are giving away what we can so that people in need can celebrate Thanksgiving. The need is great and people begin lining up very early. Some of us will be handing out hot chocolate, cookies, coffee, really whatever volunteers want to bring or donate. If you'd like to help, we could use some extra helping hands.

How about a classroom or school project? Collect nonperishables from now until Christmas to donate to the food bank.

Need service hours? The food bank is a great place to volunteer year round.

The need is so great and donations are down. We really need your help.

If you're interested, call me, Mary DeSalvo 650-534-7117 (cell)

St. Mary's Food bank
20th and Jackson
206-324-7100, push the no. for the directory, you want to speak with Deep or Annie.
mkd said…
I forgot to add, this food bank is the second largest in Seattle and is not affiliated with Northwest Harvest. Though they do provide a small portion of what we give, most donations come from people and places located in our community, like Trader Joes, Franz Bakery, Starbucks and local farmers. St. Mary's food bank is not affiliated with the Catholic Church. We are here to serve the community in any small way we can.
seattle citizen said…
abc, that is kind of a hijack, but it's appropos: Today's paper had an article that said there were more people without enough food than at any other time since records were kept.

Since, of course, this impacts children severely, I suggest the correlation motivates us to get some food to people...

Food is important to phtness, WV concurs
StepJ said…
Sherry did make a public disclosure - if memory is close as to timing - it was back in the May timeframe. It was at a Board work session or public hearing in the JSCEE auditorium that was being recorded.

She read a prepared statement at the beginning of the meeting saying that she wanted to disclose that she has a daughter currently at Roosevelt and has another daughter that will be in ninth grade for the 2010-2011 school year. Her statement led to a round of disclosures from the other board members of children currently attending grade/location.

It took place prior to the boundaries coming out.
Charlie Mas said…
What would we need to know about Cleveland STEM before we could decide to choose it?

An excellent question.

I would want to know how and to what extent they intend to embrace project-based learning. Our family has experience with project-based learning at NOVA, so we know what it's like when it is authentic. I'm particularly interested in project-based math. If the math classes are Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 with the Key Curriculum Press textbooks, then we will be gravely disappointed.

I would like to know that the people responsible for the program are capable, accountable and committed. I want reason to believe that they know what they are doing and that they are determined to do it. There are three separate committees working on this project, and I don't want tasks to fall between the cracks. It'll do no good for each committee to say that the other committee was supposed to do the task. In addition, there are a number of people on each committee, and I don't want them pointing at each other when things don't get done.

I want to know what they intend to do for, with, and about the Cleveland class of 2011 and 2012. What will these students do after the school changes? What will happen to future Cleveland students who aren't really suited to the STEM program?

I want to know what partnerships and internships they will be able to secure with local businesses and institutions.

I want to know how they are going to maintain that 1:1 student to computer ratio in every class.

I want to know the sort of CTE offerings they will have.

I want to know what sort of arts they will offer.

I will have to make a decision by the end of March. That's four months from now. So far, it appears to me that NONE of the answers to my questions have yet been determined.
Charlie Mas said…
I will also say that the numerous deadlines that they have already missed do not inspire confidence.

Nor does their reluctance to communicate.
anne said…
charlie,

I also have an 8th grader at wms that may be a good candidate for STEM or possibly Nova, but is lucky to be at GHS with new SAP.

I am very curious about your child's experience at Nova and how/whether it meets the needs of students that are strong in math/science. It sounds like it is a good fit for your child? Why did you choose it over GHS?
zb said…
They're pretty much relying on people with even worse choices than Cleveland STEM & people who like the words "STEM", and people who might be nearby to populate Cleveland, aren't they?

#1 is pretty much the only thing that would convince me to try a new option program that didn't have outside "certification" (i.e. IB or AP).

I do think language immersion for elementary *might* be different, but only 'cause (at least in theory) I'd be willing to risk loosing a year of elementary education in return for the potential of acquiring another language.

The same logic doesn't apply to STEM (what does stand for, anyway) and high school.
hschinske said…
STEM = science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Helen Schinske
SE Mom said…
What about a separate topic for sharing information about various high school programs?

For those of us seriously considering option schools and open choice seats, I think it could be pretty useful.

Or, does anyone know of any middle schools sponsoring a high school choice night in the near future?
SPS parent said…
Charlie,
Does NOVA use The Discovering Series? Algebra 1, Gemetry, Algebra II?
Charlie Mas said…
When I asked about math at NOVA, before my daughter enrolled, I was told that NOVA offers both project-based math classes (the mathematics of green energy) and traditional math classes (algebra 2). My daughter has only taken project-based math (Infinity and Logic), so I don't know if the traditional math is offered or what books they use.

My daughter chose NOVA over Garfield APP because she was sick of attending a factory school. To her, Garfield just looked like Washington but 1.5 times bigger.

Although NOVA has a lot of flamboyant students, it also has all of the other kinds as well, including those who are interested in science and math. There are plenty of geeks there. And they will find that NOVA has a very high ceiling. They will be well-supported as far as their efforts take them.

The Meany building doesn't have much in the way of science labs right now, and I don't know if the District will ever fulfill their promises about making the building high school-ready. Nevertheless, NOVA students are a short bus ride from Garfield and from Seattle Central Community College and the Running Start classes there.
hschinske said…
My daughter is taking precalculus at Nova using _Precalculus With Trigonometry: Concepts and Applications_, by Paul A. Foerster, Key Curriculum Press, 2007. That's the same book used elsewhere in Seattle per http://www.keypress.com/documents/PressReleases/Key_SeattlePublicSchools_12June09_FINAL2.pdf.

Helen Schinske
I have a freshman at Nova in geometry, using the same books as elsewhere, although she says the books are mostly only used for homework, which she likes as they're online. We are really pleased with her math teacher.

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