In Advance of Today's Operations Committee Meeting
I am blessed to know people who also work hard to understand our district. Many of these sources have analytic skills far beyond mine and I am so glad they are willing to share their knowledge and understanding with me. What I put forth comes from conversations with a couple of these people. (But we don't all agree.)
In terms of capacity management for 2013-2014, here are a few things to consider as the Board has its Operations Committee of the Whole meeting today where they will be discussing this issue. (Also, keep in mind that as we have been discussing the NE middle school region a lot here, there will also be capacity management happening in West Seattle. For some reason West Seattle folks haven't weighed in much on that and I would guess they feel what the district has put forth for their region is reasonable.)
Let's flesh out what is the cold, hard truth - big change is coming to enrollment patterns in the NE. For elementary, for middle, for high school. BEX IV already reflects that with the addition of the new middle school at Wilson-Pacific, the new elementary at Thorton Creek, etc. along with the opening of a new middle school at Jane Addams.
Understanding that these shifts up through middle school will also affect high school is key as well. Lincoln, after doing yeoman's duty for a long time as an interim sight, will go back to being a high school. So those patterns will change. (And I expect to see quite the dogfight over who goes to Lincoln and who goes to Roosevelt.) Opening Lincoln is also not the only consideration as Roosevelt will have a light rail station right next to it by about 2018 (the year changes all the time) and that means more density around Roosevelt.
One huge question is no matter which of the three options is chosen, what happens in 2014-2015 when they do start assigning students to the two new middle schools (if that's the plan)?
Does it mean that some kids might start at Eckstein and then have to move to one of the new schools?
Will the district grandfather everyone in who starts 6th grade at Eckstein?
As Eric B, a frequent contributor said in another thread, people are going to be unhappy. It's a question of trying to lessen the impact (ie make the new middle school very attractive) and being equitable (other people might have to share the pain even if they are not directly impacted).
JA K-8 with co-located new JA Middle School
First, this allows JA K-8 to stay in place which is their preference versus moving to Pinehurst. It would also immediately limit the numbers of students who could enroll in JA K-8 and thus keep their numbers to a reasonable K-8 size in anticipation of their move to Pinehurst.
In other words, somewhat stunt/slow their growth.
No real boundaries will have changed but simply the district saying that Sacajawea, John Rogers and Olympic Hills 5th graders would go there for the new JA Middle School.
Now it is unclear to me what would happen the next year, 2014-2015.
By then, the district will have made boundary decisions for JA Middle School AND Wilson-Pacific. Would they think assign a nearly full amount of students to JA Middle School and thus necessitating JA K-8 move out? I am puzzled on this point.
6th Grade Academy
As I wrote to the Board yesterday, if I had either of my sons as 6th graders now, I actually would not care. (That said, neither was involved in the music program at Eckstein in a big way.)
My sons would be with all their other 5th grade friends and maybe make new friends that they would eventually meet up with in high school. The opportunities for new learning at Green Lake and Roosevelt are real and distinct possibilities.
But it sounds like this is quite the non-starter to most so I would guess the Board will reject it. (However, as someone else pointed out, even if it is the most expensive, I think some of that might be start-up costs which they would have using John Marshall no matter what. And, the staff they need will all end up at one of the middle schools.)
Steady State and Mitigate
This is what I advocate for. I know it puts off the inevitable tsunami of change and yes, turmoil that is to come.
However, I am a big believer in planning. This effort, to recreate the NE middle school regions, really needs to be well-thought out and frankly, should involve parent input.
If it were just about one school coming on-line, I would say go forward with one of the other two options. But it isn't and the district will live with the decisions made now. Making that decision while you are worrying about passing a levy (that must pass to make much of this come true) worries me.
In terms of capacity management for 2013-2014, here are a few things to consider as the Board has its Operations Committee of the Whole meeting today where they will be discussing this issue. (Also, keep in mind that as we have been discussing the NE middle school region a lot here, there will also be capacity management happening in West Seattle. For some reason West Seattle folks haven't weighed in much on that and I would guess they feel what the district has put forth for their region is reasonable.)
Let's flesh out what is the cold, hard truth - big change is coming to enrollment patterns in the NE. For elementary, for middle, for high school. BEX IV already reflects that with the addition of the new middle school at Wilson-Pacific, the new elementary at Thorton Creek, etc. along with the opening of a new middle school at Jane Addams.
Understanding that these shifts up through middle school will also affect high school is key as well. Lincoln, after doing yeoman's duty for a long time as an interim sight, will go back to being a high school. So those patterns will change. (And I expect to see quite the dogfight over who goes to Lincoln and who goes to Roosevelt.) Opening Lincoln is also not the only consideration as Roosevelt will have a light rail station right next to it by about 2018 (the year changes all the time) and that means more density around Roosevelt.
One huge question is no matter which of the three options is chosen, what happens in 2014-2015 when they do start assigning students to the two new middle schools (if that's the plan)?
Does it mean that some kids might start at Eckstein and then have to move to one of the new schools?
Will the district grandfather everyone in who starts 6th grade at Eckstein?
As Eric B, a frequent contributor said in another thread, people are going to be unhappy. It's a question of trying to lessen the impact (ie make the new middle school very attractive) and being equitable (other people might have to share the pain even if they are not directly impacted).
JA K-8 with co-located new JA Middle School
First, this allows JA K-8 to stay in place which is their preference versus moving to Pinehurst. It would also immediately limit the numbers of students who could enroll in JA K-8 and thus keep their numbers to a reasonable K-8 size in anticipation of their move to Pinehurst.
In other words, somewhat stunt/slow their growth.
No real boundaries will have changed but simply the district saying that Sacajawea, John Rogers and Olympic Hills 5th graders would go there for the new JA Middle School.
Now it is unclear to me what would happen the next year, 2014-2015.
By then, the district will have made boundary decisions for JA Middle School AND Wilson-Pacific. Would they think assign a nearly full amount of students to JA Middle School and thus necessitating JA K-8 move out? I am puzzled on this point.
6th Grade Academy
As I wrote to the Board yesterday, if I had either of my sons as 6th graders now, I actually would not care. (That said, neither was involved in the music program at Eckstein in a big way.)
My sons would be with all their other 5th grade friends and maybe make new friends that they would eventually meet up with in high school. The opportunities for new learning at Green Lake and Roosevelt are real and distinct possibilities.
But it sounds like this is quite the non-starter to most so I would guess the Board will reject it. (However, as someone else pointed out, even if it is the most expensive, I think some of that might be start-up costs which they would have using John Marshall no matter what. And, the staff they need will all end up at one of the middle schools.)
Steady State and Mitigate
This is what I advocate for. I know it puts off the inevitable tsunami of change and yes, turmoil that is to come.
However, I am a big believer in planning. This effort, to recreate the NE middle school regions, really needs to be well-thought out and frankly, should involve parent input.
If it were just about one school coming on-line, I would say go forward with one of the other two options. But it isn't and the district will live with the decisions made now. Making that decision while you are worrying about passing a levy (that must pass to make much of this come true) worries me.
Comments
Not trying to trivialize Eckstein's situation, just asking if more could be done to help until a long-term solution.
-Mom of current NE 2nd grader
Patrick, all good thoughts.
I know Roosevelt. Believe me, there is an ownership to Seattle High Schools that I never experienced before I came to live here.
So yes, there are parents (and grandparents) who went to Roosevelt and will want their child at Roosevelt. As well, Roosevelt is hugely established. While Lincoln used to exist (and I believe was a fine high school back in the day), starting any new school is challenging.
That said, some people do not like the cliqueish atmosphere at Roosevelt and may welcome a new high school. But Roosevelt is quite the powerhouse and I suspect that just as some in Laurelhurst did not want to go to Hamilton, they won't want to go to Lincoln.
This blog is great and I have been a reader for years but the coverage does tend to skew to the north (both posts and commenters.) Ie there was Stem meeting (1/15) to discuss location with Peggy M there , not one mention of that on this blog either as an upcoming meeting or afterwards.
We're happy to talk about all areas.
If I had any faith that SPS would put the appropriate planning in place to support the "no change" option, then I would feel differently. However, I do NOT have faith (nor have I seen the proper precedents) to see this as the right way to go.
For me, the plan is more of a "do nothing" one. And my experience tells me that we are just putting off the scrambling until this time next year.
- Seriously
http://westseattleblog.com/2013/01/no-definite-home-yet-for-k-5-stem-at-boren-you-will-be-somewhere
PS. Sansilo supporting theGarfield teachers. http://westseattleblog.com/2013/01/west-seattle-schools-sanislo-support-for-map-test-revolt
-NEP
- RB1986
Tired of both the Fight and the Self-Absorption
That said, my own personal crystal ball says that Lincoln takes most of Queen Anne/Magnolia/Downtown to take pressure off of Ballard and Garfield (and a little off Roosevelt from the immediate area around the school). Ballard's zone shifts north and possibly east to take pressure off Ingraham and maybe some of Roosevelt. Roosevelt may need to expand south of the ship canal to take pressure off Garfield.
Again, this is all my speculation, I have no inside knowledge. Right now, middle and elementary levels are so consuming that I doubt that there is inside knowledge on high schools to be had.
While Sanislo staff is not joining the boycott, they have written a solid letter of support to Supt Banda that clearly explains that the test is detrimental to students and teachers, and why it is irrational and unfair to base teacher evaluations on an invalid test. They even use the term Kafkaesque! Excellent.
Nep
BW
NE Mom of 3
- RB1986
-Local
BW
I'm sure staff will try to maintain existing boundaries as much as possible, but I don't see it being possible, especially near project sites.
As I always say, things ripple out in this district and believing that BEX or boundaries won't affect you would be wrong thinking. Maybe not every school but I suspect that it may wake some people up when maps come out.
This redraw process will more challenging than the last. The district is going to go from 9 middle schools to 12 middle schools. So that means major feeder pattern changes for the entire North and Central areas.
Plus the West Seattle boundaries were crazy to begin with so maybe a full re-draw might make things a little bit more sane but who knows.
If this is coming, there needs to be a timeline.
- old school rodeo
Who would want to send their kids to McClure? The Principal there has made a very hostile environment
Parent from McClure