Another Principal Move
According to the Central District News, there was a rally held in support of Kaaren Andrews, the principal at Madrona K-8.
The Central District News reports that Ms Andrews will be re-assigned to be the new principal of the Interagency Academy.
The Central District News reports that Ms Andrews will be re-assigned to be the new principal of the Interagency Academy.
Comments
"Madrona PTSA president Rita Sheckler stressed that parents have seen clear educational progress during Principal Andrews' 6-year tenure at the school, and they want to make sure that any staff changes are done carefully, transparently, and in a way that doesn't discourage or disenfranchise existing students within the school. Another parent told me that she has seen a historic lack of support for the school from the wealthier area around it, and is concerned that the strict new student assignment plan may be driving parents outside the school to seek disruptive changes to the way the school is run."
My recollection is that Principal Andrews stood firm on how the school was going to be despite some parents' efforts at dialog. If there are parents who live in that neighborhood who don't feel included in the school and yet want a neighborhood school, what are they to do? There is no middle ground for anyone?
And read the comments link from the day before. Very interesting.
It's interesting because many parents seem very happy with Principal Andrews leadership. But they are have been and are still in AYP. I walked through the school with her when I was on Closure and Consolidation and I have very mixed feelings. (I started to write about them but it was one visit so maybe that's not enough. Suffice to say, I found Principal Andrews had a good rapport with students and cared deeply but something seemed very off about the tone at the school.)
I thought it interesting that the PTA president thought the letter was cold and I said previously I thought it actually sounded warm (for Dr. G-J). I guess the question is how should a community be notified about a principal change? Is there a better way than a letter or e-mail? What should you tell your child? Would your child care a lot?
But Ms. Andrews did not want them there. She told white and Asian parents from the neighborhood in private conversations that that they would be better off at other schools. She was passionate about helping struggling kids, but she was devious in her efforts to rid herself of neighborhood families. There was an email message circulated that referred to these families as the "Mayflower" group. There was front page story in the Seattle Times about the tensions at the school.
Today, Madrona has one of the lowest percentages of reference area families of any school in the entire city. There are some admirable neighborhood families that have stayed and made their peace with her leadership and admire her for her commitment to kids many other educators give up on.
But for the most part, reference area families have gotten the message loud and clear that their kids would not be well served at Madrona. And it is not because "wealthy" families don't want to be there with poor minority kids!!!!! It's because Ms. Andrews really did not want them in her hair, pushing for music, asking questions about the decision to eliminate recesses for academics, questioning about how she was using the school budget, generally getting in her way.
This subject has become almost completely taboo in this neighborhood. There are tons of elementary age kids in public school in Madrona but they have never had the chance to be together. You'll find them at Montlake, Stevens, Leschi, Orca, McGilvra, TOPS, Beacon Hill - anywhere they could get in and be welcomed. When we see each other at the playground and remember those years when our kids were toddlers and we really hoped that we would all go the neighborhood school together, we still feel sad about that missed opportunity. Our neighborhood lacks the cohesion of others because we haven't been welcomed at our neighborhood school.
The ironic thing about the new student assignment plan is that many of these families have younger siblings that may not get into the other public schools where they have invested because Madrona was not a good option.
But there is new group of of hopeful families in the neighborhood that want to try again. They HAVE to be included in the conversation about who will lead Madrona K-8 next, or Madrona will never become a neighborhood school. I hope this opportunity to build a diverse, academically strong neighborhood school is not missed again.
? So (correct me if I'm wrong) You are saying that Kaaren Andrews only cares about herself? And so she will go to work at a school where the kids parents are challenged so can't hold her to accountability??
I have never met the woman, but I think your comment is total BS.
KA is said to have been notified of the change by a phone call from MGJ and directed to tell her staff the same day the letter came out. So this isn't her choice,and that's a terrible way to treat an employee. Because of the shoddy execution, it isn't clear MGJ has done the neighborhood any favors at all.
Get a grip. Have some tact. These are children you're so cavalierly disrespecting.
this from 1/13 SPS School Beat - not quite the same info
this will affect every Madrona student not in the new reference area.
this also severely affects TOPS and Salmon Bay.
KA can go where she likes it best... where nobody else gives a total rip, where there is not one shred of accountability. Obviously, accountability is not something she wants. I know her type and see them all the time, the teacher/charity worker. They are the worst.... those who think they are doing charity work nobody else wants to do, therefore they aren't accountable and should never be questioned.
I told her to reapply to her neighborhood schools during open enrollment and, if possible, to have her younger one privately tested for AP and bring the results when she applies. Was that good advice?Neither will be at entry level for a school and won't technically be new to the District.
Maybe Madrona, under new leadership, will be better next year? Maybe they will add art and recess as neighborhood families have lobbied for for years? Maybe they will offer a true ALO? Maybe, maybe, maybe?? To many maybes and question marks if you ask me. And what happened to predictability?
I'm trying to find out if anyone knows if her younger son would be eligible for APP placement next year (5th grade) if she had him privately tested now and brought the results with her during open enrollment. They told her he would have had to have tested in October, but I don't know if that counts with private testing too. I'm trying to help her navigate the system.
From the enrollment guide
"June 15 - Sept 30th Parents may change student’s assignment to any
school with space available, put the
student on the waiting list for a school, or change to a different waiting list."
And
" Sept 30th, Waiting lists are dissolved and reassignments for 2009-10 end."
I found this out because my child attends an out of district school but applied for an SPS school this year. He didn't get in and was placed on that schools waitlist. The waitlist wasn't moving and I called the registrar to find out my options. She told me to call her back on Sept 30th as the waitlist dissolves on that date, and SPS kids are then restricted from changing schools. If a spot opened up she could not give it to an SPS kid, but she could give it to me as I was "new to the district".
I didn't believe her so I called enrollment who confirmed it. Here is what they told me:
SPS students may not transfer from one SPS school to another SPS school, except by a granted appeal, after Sept 30th. The only students who can transfer into a school after Sept 30th are students that are new to the district (re-entry student that had dropped out, a student who is transferring in from another district or from out of state, a homeschooled student who wishes to transfer in to and SPS school, or a private school student who wants to transfer to an SPS school).
Double check with enrollment if you like. I assure you this is correct. Not sure if this will change with the new SAP, but it is in effect now, this year.
Here is the link:
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/eso/faqs_secondary.html
"Can my child transfer to another school during the school year if I request it?"
"Between May 1 and the end of September, we can reassign your child to any school you request that has space available. Effective October 1, 2009 all other transfer requests are handled as a transfer appeal"
And FYI fokls, a transfer appeal is only granted if you can prove that enrollment made a mistake, or for a child's safety, or some other extenuating circumstance.
http://www.seattleschools.org/area
/eso/faqs_secondary.html
Now, her kids are not coming in at entry which in some ways works for her. The biggest numbers ARE in the entry grades and there tends to be a bit of movement in every grade. I think she has a good chance to get her oldest into Washington. The youngest? I might leave him at Madrona which might be a very different school in the coming years. If not, she could change schools when he goes to middle school.
Tell your friend that she is not alone with having a bright son who is not particularly motivated. There are many of us out here that have the same issue.
So all of those hundreds of transfers we see in and out of schools take place between the start of school and October 1st?
Wow.
There is room in child's grade at HSB. The principal at HSB signed to agree to transfer, the principal at HSA also signed the transfer request. After an extremely frustrating experience through the labyrinth of SPS enrollment, the district denied the appeal.
I do know of a student who transfered to Nova at semester break. If I remember correctly, that student's mom was sweating a bit during the process as well. ie, although both principals agreed, it wasn't a sure thing. I could be misremembering that though.
SO a kid new to the District has to wait up to two years (if they enrolled after October and the official school testing time) to be able to get into APP? That hardly seems fair, and is probably just one more reason a family new to the District might opt for private school.
I double-checked because I thought that the district had decided that if a student came into the district from another school where he/she was in a gifted program, those test results could be used. I didn't find that at the website so you'd have to check with Advanced Learning.
For the appeals process, free/reduced lunch students can have free private testing.
I think the Advanced Learning department is always loathe to put kids in mid-year as (1) there are waitlists to get in so these are kids already tested in and (2) there is generally no open spaces anyway.
So yes, if you come in late, you don't get to get into Spectrum or APP until the next round of testing. It would help to make more space for Spectrum students. I know they seat all APP students who test in and want a seat.
"...there is generally no spaces"
I meant
"there are generally no spaces"
What Melissa said is true. We were one of those families who entered SPS in January and tried to get our child into APP (we switched from a private school where we weren't happy).
I had called the AP office in November and was told, 'sorry you missed the deadline, you have to wait another year to test'. Even though we had private testing results, they would not let us even apply to the APP program.
So, unfortunately your friend will have to wait another year to test her kids.
Once again, the only people who can easily escape the worst of SPS are those with the financial ability and/or time to do so.
She moved to the right neighborhood, to get decent schools and that wasn't good enough. She ended up with one of the most questionable schools in the district—at least in so far as serving the needs of her children.
Helen Schinske