Seattle Schools Statement on Waitlists
From SPS Communications:
School Choice has ended and waitlists have been dissolved for the 2016-17 school year.
School Choice began February 17, 2016, ended May 31, 2016, and waitlist moves continued until waitlists were dissolved on August 15, 2016.
The August 15 waitlist dissolution date was established to provide greater predictability around student assignment and minimize staffing disruption for schools and families prior to the start of school. Enrollment Planning and Admissions will review this dissolution date prior to School Choice for 2017-18 and recommend changes if needed.
This year, 5,653 students participated in School Choice and 3,046 students were granted a choice assignment. Although more than 50 percent of families who participated in School Choice were granted a seat at a school of their choice, we understand the disappointment that families may feel if they were not granted a seat at a school of their choice.
As a result of the growth in Seattle Public Schools and the reduction in elementary school class sizes, choice seats are very limited. Attendance area schools must ensure that they have sufficient space to serve the students who live in their neighborhood, and many option schools across the district have more students who apply for admission than there are seats available.
To see 2016-17 student assignment information, please visit our assignment look up tool on the Admissions webpage.
If you believe there is an error in your child’s assignment, please see the information on assignment appeals webpage.
You'll note there is no information about space that may be available at any given school. I'll ask but I suspect that any available seats will be held in case someone new comes into the district. I'm not even sure that principals have any discretion anymore.
School Choice has ended and waitlists have been dissolved for the 2016-17 school year.
School Choice began February 17, 2016, ended May 31, 2016, and waitlist moves continued until waitlists were dissolved on August 15, 2016.
The August 15 waitlist dissolution date was established to provide greater predictability around student assignment and minimize staffing disruption for schools and families prior to the start of school. Enrollment Planning and Admissions will review this dissolution date prior to School Choice for 2017-18 and recommend changes if needed.
This year, 5,653 students participated in School Choice and 3,046 students were granted a choice assignment. Although more than 50 percent of families who participated in School Choice were granted a seat at a school of their choice, we understand the disappointment that families may feel if they were not granted a seat at a school of their choice.
As a result of the growth in Seattle Public Schools and the reduction in elementary school class sizes, choice seats are very limited. Attendance area schools must ensure that they have sufficient space to serve the students who live in their neighborhood, and many option schools across the district have more students who apply for admission than there are seats available.
To see 2016-17 student assignment information, please visit our assignment look up tool on the Admissions webpage.
If you believe there is an error in your child’s assignment, please see the information on assignment appeals webpage.
You'll note there is no information about space that may be available at any given school. I'll ask but I suspect that any available seats will be held in case someone new comes into the district. I'm not even sure that principals have any discretion anymore.
Comments
Jane
The other interesting thing is that it is clear that the principals do NOT have discretion anymore. The enrollment person I talked to said that the schools are told how many classes per grade, kids per each class, whether there are split classes and how many per each grade in each split. So the principal basically gets to decide who the teacher is for each classroom configuration and which names go in the boxes. No room to move things around.
It used to be that each elementary school got a total FTE count based on their total projected enrollment and the school staff figured out the best way to make that work based on what they knew to be the dynamics of the school and individual classes/classroom sizes, etc.
Not much room for site based decision making anymore, even though they know the needs and dynamics of the school better than anyone.
QA Parent
I meant conversion by the district of attendance area schools into option schools. My thinking was that we clearly don't have enough seats in option schools. If there are attendance area schools where a large number of families are making school choice requests, maybe the district should consider offering programs people prefer. Madrona for example might enroll more students if it offered the same program as TOPS.
QA Parent is right and this may be what the issue is around the principals contract. I think the principals may be frustrated over what they can control and what they can't. (The Executive Session after the Board meeting tomorrow night is likely about the contract.)
Lynn, I think if you converted Madrona into TOPS 2, it would fill in about a day.
Elementary School:
*number and length of recesses every day
*specialist classes available (music, art, PE)
*minutes of PE each week
*walk to math (or not)
Middle & High School:
*number of languages offered
*requirements for PE waivers
*electives offered
*method in which instruction is differentiated for advanced students (blended or separate classes)
For all schools:
*amount of homework allowed or required to be assigned for each grade
*math curriculum used
- MemoReader
How is an Advanced Learning seat different from a General Education seat? They are in the same room with the same teacher, aren't they?