Waitlist Numbers 2011
The waitlist numbers for SPS schools is out and it makes for a lot of head-scratching and wonderment about what will happen. (They charmingly call it the 'Waiting list.')
Sadly, it's alphabetical so you can't quickly compare high schools, middle schools, K-8s and elementaries. (Also sadly, I can't figure out how to attached the PDF yet but as soon as I figure it out, I'll put it up.)
Elementaries (these are incoming K numbers only)
The largest waitlist appears to be at Kimball at 31. There are lots in the '20s - West Woodland, Loyal Heights, Laurelhurst, Lafayette, Gatewood, Dunlap, Muir, and Maple.
Elementaries with a focus
Beacon Hill has 58 on its list with JSIS at 46. Graham Hill's pre-school Montessori has 35 while Bagley has 19 for its Montessori. Thornton Creek is at 33.
Middle Schools (these are incoming 6th graders only for General Ed)
Mercer is the highest with 65. Washington follows closely behind with 62. Hamilton is at 26 and Eckstein at 23.
K-8s
Well, people are voting with their feet and the alternative K-8s are far more popular than the regular ones. South Shore has a preschool number of 49, kindergarten at 56 and 6th grade at 47. TOPS' kindergarten waitlist is at 41. Pathfinder's kindergarten list is at 48 (with no 6th grade waitlist available).
High Schools
Garfield is at a whopping 93 for 9th grade General Ed and over 20 students for 10th grade. Sealth is right behind at 83, Roosevelt at 74, Ballard at 64, then it drops to Franklin at 37, Cleveland at 9 and West Seattle and Ingraham at 1 each. No waitlist is reported at Rainier Beach or Hale.
Sadly, it's alphabetical so you can't quickly compare high schools, middle schools, K-8s and elementaries. (Also sadly, I can't figure out how to attached the PDF yet but as soon as I figure it out, I'll put it up.)
Elementaries (these are incoming K numbers only)
The largest waitlist appears to be at Kimball at 31. There are lots in the '20s - West Woodland, Loyal Heights, Laurelhurst, Lafayette, Gatewood, Dunlap, Muir, and Maple.
Elementaries with a focus
Beacon Hill has 58 on its list with JSIS at 46. Graham Hill's pre-school Montessori has 35 while Bagley has 19 for its Montessori. Thornton Creek is at 33.
Middle Schools (these are incoming 6th graders only for General Ed)
Mercer is the highest with 65. Washington follows closely behind with 62. Hamilton is at 26 and Eckstein at 23.
K-8s
Well, people are voting with their feet and the alternative K-8s are far more popular than the regular ones. South Shore has a preschool number of 49, kindergarten at 56 and 6th grade at 47. TOPS' kindergarten waitlist is at 41. Pathfinder's kindergarten list is at 48 (with no 6th grade waitlist available).
High Schools
Garfield is at a whopping 93 for 9th grade General Ed and over 20 students for 10th grade. Sealth is right behind at 83, Roosevelt at 74, Ballard at 64, then it drops to Franklin at 37, Cleveland at 9 and West Seattle and Ingraham at 1 each. No waitlist is reported at Rainier Beach or Hale.
Comments
Ugh.
Every year the district refuses to provide them.
This is a decade-long cycle and further evidence that at central administration logistics trumps academic opportunity. Most staff flat out has no interest in growing the offerings. Too much work.
Either get used to it or get outraged and demand change.
-skeptical-
Dont understand why as the buildings could take more kids.
North Seattle mom
North Seattle mom
A mom
The Capacity Management Policy requires the District to report on demand, but the District didn't do it and the Board didn't enforce the policy. So what else is new?
At Seattle Public Schools the operations tail wags the academic dog. The District doesn't want to create any more alternative programs (contrary to all of the talk about duplicating successful programs there is no TOPS II or Thornton Creek II, is there?) because it complicates the student assignment plan and the enrollment planning.
The problem is rooted in two contradictory commitments - to approach 100% capacity utilization and to guarantee every student access to their attendance area school.
The District can reckon that, on average, a certain percentage of the students in the Adams attendance area will choose Salmon Bay. So they can figure that those seats are available and they can expand the Adams attendance area to include more students. But what if one year many fewer Adams area students choose Salmon Bay? Then Adams will be overcrowded. If the District geared everything for a target of 95% capacity utilization then they could accomodate the extra students. But, because the District is pushing for 100% capacity utilization they cannot accomodate the variation.
Since these unpredictable variations in demand for option programs complicates their efforts to manage capacity in the attendance area schools, the District doesn't want to create more option schools.
The operational concern outweighs everything else.
I neglected to note that Salmon Bay has 21 for K, 15 for 2nd and 12 for 3rd but only 5 for 6th. Maybe the K-5 section is stronger?
I will try to find a link but I don't have a way to put up the PDF. Maybe I'll scan it and put it up at Scribed.
Charlie: if the district wants 100% usage of buildings, doesn't it have a lot of schools that are way below that that could be ramped up via option programs? I understand the point about predictability, but I would think that, given that there are far fewer slots at option schools than families that want them, you actually have less predictability in a system where you get a random sampling of students who want option schools into option schools every year.
You would think that the district would view demand for popular programs as a good thing, since it indicates parent satisfaction and interest. But, instead, district staff seems to view it as a hassle, even going to the point of taking actions that damage popular and successful programs in what appears to be an effort to try to reduce demand for them.
Even if that is our miserable reality, we can still talk about the ideal. And the ideal would be that the entire function of the central office would be keeping out of the way of principals and teachers, letting them run their programs and schools as they want, then expanding successful and popular programs and replacing unsuccessful ones. Perhaps some day we will be able to get a school board in that will get us there.
The waitlists at McDonald, Queen Anne and Sand Point are by grade level.
This makes total sense for several reasons.
1. If you you just keep taking kids because the entire school is not full, you are likely to end up with a few extra kids at a grade level. Then you have weird split classes such as a 2nd grade with 4 1st graders in it. Not good for anyone. That situation happened this year and it wasn't pretty.
2. Physicial building capacity -If you take too many K kids, it is literally impossible to roll that cohort up the ladder to the upper grades without having a year in the future where the incoming class of K will be only 1 class. i.e. QAE has 3 Ks next year, if you assume they have they have that every year - that means the school will need to hold ~450 total but building capacity is about 300. McDonald has 4 Ks next year so even more important for them.
PAL
I agree that the changes in transportation options are what mostly skunked the middle school numbers, but I also think that the financial cut backs, which forced the MS to follow a more traditional class pattern, hasn't helped.
SPS parent
Over 70 schools have waitlists.
SPS parent
and: - Lowell Parents
kids will be having their classes in the lunch room, since there is no art room and the music room is too small. The dance teacher is already using the stage!
JSIS is losing the bilingual program this next year (probably to make space for next year's K cohort). Next year's 2nd graders will have 31, 31 and 33 students in the three classes unless the school go to a split 2/3 model. If JSIS has more than 2 K classes in 2012-2013 and beyond, they will have to sit in the hallways, or the cafeteria. There is no more room, anywhere, as Music will lose its classroom next year (moving onto the stage!) There is no Art room. They NEED to redraw the boundaries this next year! I don't even want to imagine the overcrowding problems, especially since they are reducing the janitorial and maintenance services.
SPS Parent 2
Is there a place that give tips as to how to complete the open enrollment form to your advantage?
I recall last year a document that had nearly all the waitlists "resolved" by some time in September. What does "resolved" mean? That many of the kids on the waitlists actually got into their 1st choice?
Can you be on more than one waitlist?
Thanks!
SPS Parent 2
You asked: how does this compare to previous years?
Comparisons are hard to make, except to last year, which was the first NSAP year, but even so, some of the transportation rules have since changed, as have the sibling transitional rules, and there are practical effects of the new schools coming on line, etc. Also, the old "Waldman - something or other" algorithm has changed, meaning that folks now have to do what dj describes above -- correctly "guess" which schools might not be as oversubscribed, to increase their chances in a lottery of getting in.
You asked: Is there a place that give tips as to how to complete the open enrollment form to your advantage?
Not that I know of -- at least not yet. There used to be lots of good advice available for parents under the old algorithm. But I am not aware of anyplace where you can (yet) get good advice on the new system. I would suggest heavy networking with other parents whose kids will be in K or grade 1 next year (i.e. -- the two groups who have done Kindergarten under the new rules right before you). Sometimes, staff at the enrollment centers knows this stuff cold and will help -- sometimes they don't, or won't. But if I were you, I would find out when the "ice cream social/picnic/back to school event" is for the school(s) you want this summer -- and figure out how to get into it -- volunteer, whatever. And then ask those parents to tell you what they know, what they did, who they talked to. You may have to eat ice cream and hot dogs at 3 or 4 schools :>), but you will be among the most knowledgeable of parents when you are done.
You asked: I recall last year a document that had nearly all the waitlists "resolved" by some time in September. What does "resolved" mean? That many of the kids on the waitlists actually got into their 1st choice?
The only announcements I recall were the ones tracking sibling kindergartners trying to get into the schools of their older sibs, when those were NOT their attendance area schools. The District made a one-year effort to try to split as few of those kids as possible. For the most part, except to the extent that sibling preference is now hardwired into the preference formulae, that effort has now ended, and I would be surprised if they continue to monitor and report on those waitlists going forward. They got what they wanted (the NSAP passed). The usual course of action for this District (once they have gotten the action from the Board they wanted) is to then drop any further pretence at pretending to follow through on commitments or to care about accomodating parent or community concerns. They no longer need to put out the effort -- so they don't. I don't mean to sound so harsh. But sometimes, it is just better to know how your adversary operates, than to pretend otherwise.
Is it the principal? Or is it more centrally controlled?
I'm considering going into business as a public school enrollment consultant. I've been looking for a way to monetize all of my obscure knowledge about SPS. (Not sure if I'm joking or serious. It seems like something real estate agents might be willing to pay for.)
I think you would probably make a mint Maureen.
I'm not overly concerned, given that Addams, the only option school I visited in February and liked, didn't get a waitlist.
I am just wondering how huge a mistake it would be to take a swing at a more popular school like Thornton or Wedgwood and make Addams my second choice.
Thanks
Clementine
Thanks,
Lost on SPS website, again
Thanks,
Data driven
I've been a TOPS parent for 8 years. It's been a great school for our family, tempered at times unfortunately by District incompetence and interference.
I will contact you off-list for more discussion.
If I knew how, I'd scoop the entire site onto my hard drive for safekeeping and historical purposes. If anyone knows how to do this, email me at stevepalbertson (at) gmail.com.
If you can't put in the link, if you could just provide the information as to where it is located on the website, that would be helpful.
Thank you!
- curious -
Yikes
You can also call enrollment and they will tell you how long the waitlist is at a school because they have to tell you if you are considering moving your student to a waitlist.
One year I called and got the waitlist numbers for the 20 closest schools to try to find a spot for my daughter after we had just moved to the district.
north seattle mom
If this many people have seen it it must have at least been released to the schools so why not the public?
Lost on SPS website, again
Clementine
Is that jump worrisome to you, or are you just reporting the news?
Is the letter posted someplace? I'd love to read it, as a prospective parent.
Increased enrollment from 430 and expect approximately 550 (don't know how many K classes.)
Paragraph about Sept. 1st open house and BBQ with K-5 and middle school orientations for new families to cover schedules, bells, procedures, etc. Aimed at new families but continuing families welcome.
No classroom assignments until late august because of expected enrollment changes, but if parents want to provide input re: placement, ways are given to contact principal and should do so by June 17th.
Paragraph re: kindergartners having 1/2 days first 3 days of school so all kids can have 1:1 assessment with teacher. (I thought this was GREAT this last fall!)
Middle School elective choice sheets due by June 17th.
Invitation to all new families to field day, June 17th, 12:30-2pm on main soccer field.
Three summer K-5 playdates and one gathering for middle school families (both new and continuing). Info on the PTSA website:
http://www.janeaddamsptsa.org/
A closing paragraph about office being open until July 1, then closed until Aug 15th. Contact info (phone and email). Best wishes for the summer.
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