Seattle Schools named Washington State Schools of Distinction
From JA K-8 comes this news:
Jane Addams K-8 has been awarded a Washington State School of Distinction Award for a second year in a row! 99 schools in the state received the recognition this year, for outstanding improvements in reading and math, and they represent the top 5% of improvement state-wide. This year JA K-8 was recognized for gains in both elementary and middle school.
Also making the list are:
Jane Addams K-8 has been awarded a Washington State School of Distinction Award for a second year in a row! 99 schools in the state received the recognition this year, for outstanding improvements in reading and math, and they represent the top 5% of improvement state-wide. This year JA K-8 was recognized for gains in both elementary and middle school.
Also making the list are:
- Catherine Blaine K-8
- Cleveland High School
- Greenwood Elementary
- Hamilton International Middle School
- McClure Middle School
- Mercer Middle School
- Queen Anne Elementary
- Thurgood Marshall Elementary
- Wing Luke Elementary
Comments
Unfortunately, the District's commitment to option programs is waning.
Hopefully, during this move, JAK8 will be able to keep their most of their staff, who are the reason for the award, but with enrollment declines, staff will be cut. So it is very uncertain. Budgets are built out on projections, and so a loss of staff would probably be unavoidable. That is going to harm the quality of a strong program. That is why a move now will be damaging to the progress they've made. Moving will interfere with academics. And, building budgets are suppose to be cut by 20% next year, which is going to impact everyone, but especially a school that has been made to move to a temporary campus.
And, once they are at Marshall, their fate will be unclear: just like the Seward building was built for another community, but ultimately given to a different one once the time came to occupy it, it is not certain who will get Pinehurst in the end, so, JA K8 may be the new permanent school for Marshall. Hopefully, they can make it work at the Marshall building, but, last year, when the District considered this move, the JA K8 community were adamant that would kill their program, because it was too far and families wouldn't go along with the move. If the program withers during the move, there is no way the District will site them as an option into a new building. Buildings must be fully used, (that is why Pinehurst is getting rebuilt, because it was half empty), so it is easy to predict that this will end up as an assignment building. Last year, they were able to successfully make the case that moving made no sense, that it would incur costs to move twice and mean the Marshall building wouldn't be utilized to full capacity because families would skip the uncertainty and years of long bus rides. If common sense prevailed last year, hopefully it will again this year.
If JA K8 stays put this year they won't loose staff, they won't loose enrollment, the program will be stable, and they will continue to make academic progress, which ought to be what the District prioritizes in the first place! I hope they will be able to make the case for their own stability, because to scramble them now by removing them seems very short-sited with some serious long-term consequences for everyone in the north northeast.
This reminds me of what happened to West Seattle programs during the last go round. There were clearly winners (South Shore K8), and there were losers, who still haven't recovered. And now, the District is reversing what it did to West Seattle. If moving the JA K8 last year would have been a mistake (which clearly it would have been, as the program grew and earned another academic award), then moving them this year makes even less sense. It will be even more expensive, more risky, more inefficient, and more damaging to academics than it would have as compared to last year when they didn't end up moving.
All this to say, congratulations to all of the strong schools recognized, teachers can do amazing things working together. I hope all of the recognized communities are left to keep doing what they are doing, nurturing young minds and strong communities! Thank you!
-stay strong
I believe the district will support JA K-8 during the transition if only because they are building a K-8 building. It costs them more to do that and then to put in an assignment building would be foolish.
What do you think should happen for JA-K-8 to prevent some of these issues?
You wrote this:
"This reminds me of what happened to West Seattle programs during the last go round. There were clearly winners (South Shore K8), and there were losers, who still haven't recovered. And now, the District is reversing what it did to West Seattle."
South Shore K8? Last time I checked, it wasn't located in West Seattle.
-confused
There is no reason to suspect the k-8 would not have gotten this award if it was in John Marshall this year. The award is given for improvement- just being a relatively new school with an engaged parent base especially in the k-3 grades, especially now being the only spectrum school with open spots in the area, means the scores are going to go up. I'm not sure it's the most meaningful award, but they would still have gotten it, and besides that is not what is working at the k-8. What is working is a great parent group and principal, and nothing is happening to them next year. There will still be all that community building and strong academics, and hopefully not in the middle of a portable farm. If it does stay, it might end up experiencing overcrowding the way the rest of the NE has, and THAT actually could harm the program. If they do go to John Marshall, they'll have space for the kids to have music classes not in the cafeteria during lunch (which happens at one of my schools) and hallways not constantly crowded so a few students can work in them for 10 minutes if need be. I can hardly imagine the luxury. Green Lake is right there and a great place for activities and environmental stewardship. It could be great.
The new JAMS principal will I'm sure be looking to pluck off whichever staff does not need to make the move (since the middle school enrollment bump was always meant to be short term), and the pinehurst building is 1) not coveted by any other group and 2) opening shortly.
There are a lot of communities in legitimate crisis; let's stay on task and worry about them. JA k-8 is doing great. The worst that could really happen to them at this point is having to move their wonderful library twice, but if so, instead of chicken littling, grab a box and help.
-sleeper
TS
In the BEX III planning there were a number of schools with buildings in poor shape. Pathfinder - at the Genesee Hill building - was one of them. But the District had a deal with the benefactors of the South Shore school that they would fix up their building. Thanks to that deal, Southshore got bumped up in the list of buildings for renovation - ahead of the place in line it would otherwise get. As the dominoes tumbled, the result was the closure of the Cooper School and the relocation of Pathfinder into the Cooper building.
So it wasn't direct, but it was a consequence. Southshore (thanks to the agreement with its benefactors) gets a renovation and, as a consequence, Cooper is closed.
I've seen the plans for the new building at Pinehurst, and it is not your typical school building. There are a lot of what appear to be complicated elements (i.e. curved green roofs), and there are evidently a number of variances that will have to be obtained from the City for the project to go forward (parking, bus loading, building height, lot coverage, etc...).
I fear there could be construction delays, and I really don't see any way that SPS could guarantee that the interim co-housing arrangement would last for "only" two years. I can't imagine how many portables would be needed if co-housing had to continue for more than than two years.
JAMS needs and deserves a good, strong start. It needs to be implemented locally, in the Jane Addams building.
I wish the K-8 well. They are a strong program, and I'm sure they have what it takes to weather an interim housing stint, if that is what is called for in the new recommendations.
I hope that in a few years there will be a "Jane Addams Middle School - School of Distinction" award announcement. Our kids need and deserve a strong comprehensive middle school.
-North-end Mom
-Greenwood Dad
stay strong, can you explain what you mean by this? Seward was closed in the 80s due to low enrollment. TOPS was moved there in 1991. TOPS moved to McDonald in 97-98 during the renovation (the design was greatly influenced by TOPS staff and parents) and back to Seward in '99. Here's a TOPS Timeline. There was a very detailed history article in the TOPS newsletter (that addressed the issue of Eastlake school enrollment in more detail) sometime in the last 5-10 years, but I can't find it now.
I didn't realize a decision had been made to move JA K8 to John Marshall. Where did you hear this?
Rio
There was NO slight intended. I don't get paid for what I do and I try to put out as much news - especially good news - as fast as I can.
As I said, it may be time for Charlie and I to write a thread about what this blog is and isn't.
And I say that as a parent w/kids in a special unicorn school. But I never kidded myself that we would be the most important school to the district, I'm used to the roller-coaster (not!) so I'm never surprised.
Signed: Half a Unicorn
That's really kind of a straw man argument. There are 780 kids in the building right now and 400-600 according to the last docs who will be rolling up in the new middle school. Those are the actual numbers. The other 49K kids obviously have their own buildings.
Everyone else i.e. Hamilton/Eckstein gen-ed students are getting what they want a reduction in overcrowding once we as a community get past the infighting on the transition plans.
Ben
And you based that on...? That's a whopper of a sentence without any detail.
But Maureen, who was originally to get Seward? Go back farther.
Just hope that if they go in, and our buildings leaders are seemingly supportive of this, which I already sensed they were, we make it out. That's the worrisome part, that and loosing staff/enrollment/resources and academic excellence. The light at the end of the tunnel isn't daylight, I fear, but a gigantic headlamp aiming straight at the community.
-stay strong