tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post2823055298924361151..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Board Work Session on NSAP TransitionMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-30153544815411924842010-11-09T16:48:13.575-08:002010-11-09T16:48:13.575-08:00Seattle Parent: is this just as simple as going b...Seattle Parent: is this just as simple as going back to a plan that delinks the two MSs from the HSs? Or is that not possible because of the shared Denny/Sealth campus (some kids would be at Denny for MS and then feel totally disenfranchised by being "moved " from what they reasonably see as "their school" while everybody else gets to stay)?Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09923777229601243321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-14948847657994362222010-11-07T22:59:44.601-08:002010-11-07T22:59:44.601-08:00WS North-
Maureen posted the link on 11/05 on this...WS North-<br />Maureen posted the link on 11/05 on this strand (for both maps & data), and I have posted it actually 2 times on the "free Friday" strand.<br /><br />From the Enrollment page, click on the big orange circle, "Transition Plan for 2011-12".<br /><br />http://www.seattleschools.org/<br />area/implementation/index.dxml<br /><br /><br />Then, on the New SAP & Transition page about 1/2 way down you'll find the "Key Facts & Data (all 50+ pages of it---except for future enrollment projections, still pending...). <br /><br />Also on the same SAP/Transition page you'll find the Option schools proposed maps, Garfield's map proposals, etc.<br /><br />As far as the MS/HS link, the two sets of secondary schools in WS (Madison/WSHS and Denny/Sealth) were given the only MS/HS linked assignments in the whole District. After the first maps were released and everyone protested that the MS & HS maps weren't aligned for Denny & Sealth, i.e. some people in the mid areas were assigned to Madison and then to Sealth (or Denny & then to WSHS). So the District/Board changed it in the 2nd go-around with new maps (because they had to link Denny/Sealth, then they also had to do Madison/WSHS which was not ever part of a organized plan).<br /><br />This is different than anywhere else in the city, where designated elementary schools feed into a specific MS, but the HS assignment map is completely different, which allows at that point for enrollment adjustments.<br /><br />I would encourage you to go Steve Sundquist's meeting also (on Sat. 11/13 @ High Point Library 11:00am), before the 11/16 District SAP meeting, if only to be able to talk with other parents and come up with some options to get WS out of this mess.SPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12726295210572942506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-66469919676529700642010-11-07T19:19:02.152-08:002010-11-07T19:19:02.152-08:00Can we get a link to the "facts and data"...Can we get a link to the "facts and data" book? I looked for links from the Enrollment page, but couldn't find it. Does that mean that RBHS only has ~ 600 students assigned to it? 600 x 70% =~ 420. No wonder it is so under-enrolled. <br /><br />And, I live in WS, and have no idea what this "unique" HS/MS link we supposedly have - do you mean the International school at Denny to Sealth? There should be an international feeder or option, but there is not as far as I know.wsnorthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03795943009142572757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-63832373474761452632010-11-06T10:12:47.139-07:002010-11-06T10:12:47.139-07:00Seattle Parent said...
WS North-
I agree- It's...Seattle Parent said...<br />WS North-<br />I agree- It's a nice gift to the 3 areas on the border, but no one else gets that dual-feeder choice in the district. How will that help balance the "4 vs. 6" feeder pattern problem?<br /><br />All of the Options (proposals) listed on p. 67-69 of the PowerPoint EXCEPT for the "Realign Feeder Patterns" proposal, are from Steve Sundquists's pet favorites. All 7 of his proposals do NOTHING to address the Feeder Pattern Imbalances acknowledged on p. 67 (4 vs. 6 = guaranteed imbalance).<br /><br />In the new "Key Facts & Data" book online now, pages 51 & 52 say it all: The traditional West Seattle north/south migration for high school didn't happen this year. It apprears that 70% of Sealth area 9th graders accepted their default Sealth assignment, whereas only 49% of WSHS area 9th graders took their default assignment at WSHS. Over half of the WSHS area 9th graders still jumped ship, the lowest % by far in the whole district? (Franklin & Ingraham come in next lowest at 66% and 69%). Even Rainier Beach had 71% of their 9th grade kids accept their default assignment!<br /><br />Check out the proposed Garfield maps online- there are all sorts of proposals to rearrange the assignment area boundaries at the high school level (in WS, it would have to also include the MS area because of the unique MS to HS link that WS has). The district has to make the WS feeder pattern/boundary change NOW before it's too late and more damage has been done!SPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12726295210572942506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-35569496732555142212010-11-06T10:08:27.457-07:002010-11-06T10:08:27.457-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.SPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12726295210572942506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-81569082060429441622010-11-06T00:48:44.089-07:002010-11-06T00:48:44.089-07:00West Seattle (and others) speaking of "gold t...West Seattle (and others) speaking of "gold ticket" insanity. Can someone please tell me what those of us living in the Schmitz Park, Lafayette and Alki areas have done to totally p!$$ off the district? now this proposal: <br /><br />Make Gatewood, West Seattle Elementary, and Sanislo dual feed with transportation.<br /><br />To non West Seattle folk, this would give 7 of the 10 elementary feeders in WS carte blanc on assignment, and the other three, stuck in our rusty, moldy portables and falling apart 50's era schools no access to international programs and no choice at all. wtf? It is like they are singling us out and punishing us... for what???wsnorthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03795943009142572757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-19024088766020418122010-11-05T22:15:06.894-07:002010-11-05T22:15:06.894-07:00I'd just add that proposals to reopen Marshall...I'd just add that proposals to reopen Marshall or Wilson-Pacific as regular middle schools is crazy because both buildings are in horrible physical shape. The expense of bringing either one up to something resembling code would be immense.Josh Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242600011474990770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-88630857259213370942010-11-05T17:49:12.842-07:002010-11-05T17:49:12.842-07:00The Geographic Zone and Garfield Boundary Change O...The Geographic Zone and Garfield Boundary Change Option maps are posted:<br /><a href="http://www.seattleschools.org/area/implementation/index.dxml" rel="nofollow">Transition Plan '11-'12</a>Maureenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18444916440000921599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58102549137136977532010-11-04T18:31:49.256-07:002010-11-04T18:31:49.256-07:00newbie, yes I have heard that there is a K-8 taskf...<b>newbie</b>, yes I have heard that there is a K-8 taskforce working on fixing the problems K-8s have because they have been funded like K-5s.Maureenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18444916440000921599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-29521189035718072372010-11-04T18:08:24.946-07:002010-11-04T18:08:24.946-07:00By the way, SPS has been renting out the John Mars...By the way, SPS has been renting out the John Marshall Building. There are many non-profits in there by now that have at least 5 years leases. So, I think the discussion whether John Marshall should become another middle school anytime soon is kind of obsolete. <br /><br />Locationwise, squished between Hamilton and Eckstein, it does not seem to make much sense either (as some posters already mentioned).Sabine Meckinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17894106929137582679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-31345874140350716602010-11-04T17:56:52.425-07:002010-11-04T17:56:52.425-07:00slide 46 about k-8 funding-- forgive my ignorance ...slide 46 about k-8 funding-- forgive my ignorance about these matters. i am just learning about how they fund these things. Is that just about Madrona or about all K-8s? Does that mean they are thinking about funding K8 schools more instead of like elemtary schools?newbienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-53289598688826777772010-11-04T16:50:48.818-07:002010-11-04T16:50:48.818-07:00Spruiter
I really do appreciate your sticking up ...Spruiter<br /><br />I really do appreciate your sticking up for your school and you are certainly correct that the threat of closure wrecks havoc on a school. AS1 can certainly attest to that at this point. <br /><br />All three north end middle schools are maxed out and facing varying degrees of difficulty in managing the overloaded students. Adding an extra middle school will balance middle school capacity. Everyone seems to agree on that, since middle schools take only feeder schools that are geographically contiguous any new school would relieve some pressure because they just move to the next area and pick up a feeder school. So essentially it is a zero sum game as you simply divide the number of elementary schools by the number of middle schools and you have a feeder patterns. <br /><br />Your argument that Jane Addams as a middle school does "nothing for for overcrowding at Whitman or Hamilton" and that John Marshall would put "3 middle schools fairly close together, but the density in that part of town is much greater than up north" has a few flaws in it. <br /><br />Current enrollment is not an indicator of where the students actually live. They used to have these great maps of where the students actually live on the seattle schools website. They showed them all the time during the NSAP meetings. And it showed that the greatest density of students lived in the Lake City and Jane Addams area, not the south part of the cluster. <br /><br />Even using the K enrollments as a guide isn't that helpful because we don't know how many are out of area sibs. <br /><br />And your feeder pattern for a new John Marshall school is a bit of a stretch. McDonald is mostly in the walk zone of Hamilton; Most of Green Lake and much of Oly View is in the walk zone of Eckstein; Bagley and Greenwood are mostly in the walk zone for Whitman. And AS1 is a K8. <br /><br />So you are proposing mostly moving kids that are in a walk zone for their current middle school and then leaving all of Lake City and the entire North end of the city can not have any students in a walk zone for middle school. <br /><br />I understand that the "4 middle schools in the 4 corners of town argument doesn't hold" for you but maybe you can agree that having Whitman as the most north school is a little rough on feeder patterns.<br /><br />Hamilton is not in Ballard - It is it in Wallingford and practically on the ship canal. Whitman is equidistant from the ship canal and the Shoreline border and that is the northern most school. Adding another middle school in the south part of the cluster is just not fair to the families like mine that live in the north part of town and want a middle school. <br /><br />I just think it is ridiculous that both Jane Addams and Broadview Thompson were built as middle schools and have all the athletic fields and stuff to support a middle school but are used as a K8 and John Marshall doesn't have any of those facilities. <br /><br />So if you add John Marshall to the mix, you create a real imbalance by having 3 schools with a facility and one without.north seattle momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16398949285827606629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-2718444143327150812010-11-04T16:28:41.070-07:002010-11-04T16:28:41.070-07:00Lowell attendance area going to Ballard HIgh seems...Lowell attendance area going to Ballard HIgh seems crazy.JamieCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-45079082999185146602010-11-04T16:24:35.906-07:002010-11-04T16:24:35.906-07:00"Whereas, Jane Addams as a middle school woul..."Whereas, Jane Addams as a middle school would mean that there were 4 middle schools in the 4 corners of the north end and there could be logical feeder patterns." <br /><br />This makes so much sense. It would be devastating to dismantle JA K-8, but would it be that devastating to just move the program intact to Marshall or another north location? Option schools are just not tied to building geographically, like neighborhood schools are. that doesn't mean they should be moved on a whim, but in this case I don't see any other options.<br /><br />"Anonymous North Seattle Parent, if Jane Addams were reconfigured as middle school only, it might help the middle school capacity problems. But it would create capacity problems in the NE elementary schools."<br /><br />Are you sure about that? John Rogers didn't fill this year, and we have two new schools -Sandpoint and McDonald. We also have Viewlands coming online this year too. And, possibly Pinehurst. That's a whole lot of new seats. Seems like we could redraw some boundaries.seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01231800476411684686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-60467290758249695812010-11-04T15:44:20.123-07:002010-11-04T15:44:20.123-07:00Anonymous A Parent wrote: "What sort of '...Anonymous A Parent wrote: "<i>What sort of 'accountability' would somebody propose? Oh. Let's see, fire the VAX people? Fire Tracey Libros? 'Hold their feet to the fire'?? The accountability machinationists cry, cry, cry but never have 'accountability' specifics.</i>"<br /><br />The biggest "accountability machinationists" in the District are the superintendent and the Board. And you're right: they talk about accountability but they never do anything about it.<br /><br />What would I like to see as accountability? First, an acknowledgement of the facts. Second, it should be duly noted on someone's performance review. Nowhere on the superintendent's performance review was there any mention of the fact that the new student assignment plan was two years late. It should have been there.<br /><br />I don't think that failure alone would be enough to cost someone their job, but if there were a lot of other failures then it might.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91008431318058679952010-11-04T15:16:46.274-07:002010-11-04T15:16:46.274-07:00The Board members did talk about rearranging APP a...The Board members did talk about rearranging APP and may prefer that option. However, a 9 page packet of hard copy maps with titled Boundary Change Options for Garfield was presented. Yes, knowing the number of APP students within the Garfield area, along with numbers attending or living in any other high school areas that might be involved would be important.<br /><br />Back to the maps, one shows Montlake area students going to Roosevelt. Maybe this was proposed since the current Roosevelt assignment area has fewer resident students than had been projected.<br /><br />That one and the one showing the Lowell attendance area folding in Ballard would be provocative. Both attendance areas are both much closer to Garfield than to either of the other high schools. What happened to keeping students close to where they live.joannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02017196722611730669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-86518167188043280872010-11-04T15:12:13.521-07:002010-11-04T15:12:13.521-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.joannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02017196722611730669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-85247144083814363972010-11-04T15:00:15.945-07:002010-11-04T15:00:15.945-07:00North Seattle Parent -
When you look at the K en...North Seattle Parent - <br /><br />When you look at the K enrollment numbers, I don't think a comprehensive middle school at Jane Addams takes enough pressure off Eckstein to even add Laurelhurst back into the service area. The 4 schools at the north end of the cluster (Oly Hills, Oly View, Sac and John Rogers) are small schools, with the exception of Oly View. <br /><br />If you look at the K numbers for those schools, and assume all the current JA kindergarteners are coming from those 4 schools (most are), that only gives you 267 kids in that class feeding into a Jane Addams comprehensive middle school.<br /><br />Compare that to the 500 kids in K at Bryant, Green Lake, Sand Point, View Ridge, Wedgwood, AS1 and Thornton Creek. <br /><br />Even with a percentage going to private school for middle school, the numbers don't work. <br /><br />In order to draw enough kids, you would need to pull Wedgwood up to Jane Addams, and I'm sure many Wedgwood families, especially in the southern part of their boundary, which is literally across the street from Eckstein, wouldn't be too happy about that. Plus, that would likely put Jane Addams over capacity.<br /><br />And this does nothing for overcrowding at Whitman or Hamilton.<br /><br />Alternatively, a middle school at John Marshall could be fed from McDonald, Green Lake, Bagley, Oly View, Greenwood, & AS1 - that would be 288 kids, and the McDonald #s will certainly grow. <br /><br />That takes pressure off all 3 schools, and Marshall (with a capacity around 1200) is even big enough to take APP, thus making even more space at Hamilton. <br /><br />Yes, it would put 3 middle schools fairly close together, but the density in that part of town is much greater than up north. <br /><br />The 4 middle schools in the 4 corners of town argument doesn't hold for me - Hamilton is hardly in Ballard, and Whitman is basically equidistant from the ship canal and the Shoreline border. Middle school walk zones are 2 miles and are likely to be revised. <br /><br />I haven't looked at Wilson Pacific as an option - maybe it's a better compromise, but I stand by my statement that the numbers don't work for Jane Addams as a comprehensive middle school.Spruiternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-10371648955174409032010-11-04T14:56:30.362-07:002010-11-04T14:56:30.362-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.joannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02017196722611730669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-48131807223088107952010-11-04T14:37:23.789-07:002010-11-04T14:37:23.789-07:00In response to Lori:
Jane Addams will be a mushro...In response to Lori:<br /><br />Jane Addams will be a mushroom model K-8 - meaning the 6-8 classes will be larger that the K-5. Right now our K,1,2 classes are comparable in size to 6,7,8 and 3,4,5 are smaller, but as the school fills, everything I've heard indicates that the intent is to have a mushroom model.<br /><br />If Jane Addams were turned into a middle school, it would likely have the following feeder schools: Olympic Hills, Olympic View, John Rogers and Sacajawea. These schools are considerably more diverse than Wedgwood, View Ridge, Bryant and Green Lake (based on the 2008 numbers available on the district website under school reports). Thus, my comment that peeling off the north end of the NE service area to go to Jane Addams, will likely reduce diversity at Eckstein.Spruiternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-15431424868344368172010-11-04T14:36:48.931-07:002010-11-04T14:36:48.931-07:00Spruiter, thank you for the post. Yes, Jane Addam...Spruiter, thank you for the post. Yes, Jane Addams' biggest problem is the cloud hanging over it since June 2009, and I hope this will finally put those rumors to rest.<br /><br />Anonymous North Seattle Parent, if Jane Addams were reconfigured as middle school only, it might help the middle school capacity problems. But it would create capacity problems in the NE elementary schools.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16260807460417787614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-84535833480548771452010-11-04T14:00:40.965-07:002010-11-04T14:00:40.965-07:00Spruiter-
I am thrilled that you are happy at Jane...Spruiter-<br />I am thrilled that you are happy at Jane Addams. I hear lots of wonderful things and I am glad they are true. <br /><br />But the continuing problem is that Jane Addams is the perfect location for a neighborhood middle school.<br /><br />Marshall is in the walk zone for both Eckstein and Hamilton. So adding Marshall to the mix would only mean needing to creating some very bizarre feeder patterns. Not that this is likely to slow anyone down. <br /><br />Wilson Pacific is also very close to Whitman and has the same problem of making some just strange feeder patterns with some area being very close to more than one middle school. <br /><br />Whereas, Jane Addams as a middle school would mean that there were 4 middle schools in the 4 corners of the north end and there could be logical feeder patterns. <br /><br />Jane Addams middle school would very much help with Hamilton and Whitman because then Laurelhurst could then go back to Eckstein, where they should have been assigned in the first place and a more logical boundary for Hamilton and Whitman can be formed as well.<br /><br />North Seattle ParentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-36950535137452870522010-11-04T13:43:39.531-07:002010-11-04T13:43:39.531-07:00Well Jeez. Of course they have to use the geograp...Well Jeez. Of course they have to use the geographic zones of option schools for capacity management. Option schools are part of the capacity of the system. Some people will complain no matter what. If they didn't consider the options with an eye towards capacity, people would be complaining about that too. Oh those district people. Don't they know people are attending option schools?<br /><br />I don't think Tracey Libros ever meant that a kid wouldn't have to walk past a school if they were attending an "Option" school.<br /><br />Yes. It looks like the VAX migration never happened. Perhaps they simply don't have the talent to do it. That would seem the case. What sort of "accountability" would somebody propose? Oh. Let's see, fire the VAX people? Fire Tracey Libros? "Hold their feet to the fire"?? The accountability machinationists cry, cry, cry but never have "accountability" specifics.<br /><br />A ParentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-80548134812496691002010-11-04T13:43:37.770-07:002010-11-04T13:43:37.770-07:00Thanks for your post, Spruiter. It's good to h...Thanks for your post, Spruiter. It's good to hear things are going well at JA and that there seems to finally be a commitment to the school.<br /><br />One question: I'm not sure what you mean when you say that increasing middle school enrollment at JA would decrease the diversity at Eckstein. Certainly it would relieve overcrowding at Eckstein, but I don't follow the diversity comment.<br /><br />Also, as it stands right now, does JA "bubble" at 6th grade? That is, are there the same number of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes as there are 5th grade classes, or does enrollment swell a little such that the middle school grades are relatively larger (I think they call that a "mushroom model").Lorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07777580098975083499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-9424732839462160022010-11-04T13:35:25.039-07:002010-11-04T13:35:25.039-07:00I'd like to clarify what you said about Jane A...I'd like to clarify what you said about Jane Addams. <br /><br />There were two slides regarding Jane Addams that mentioned the strong growth of the program this year and also said: <br /><br />"Superintendant does not plan any changes in the Jane Addams K-8 program/grade. Jane Addams will continue as a K-8 option school"<br /><br />As a Jane Addams parent, I was ecstatic to see these slides. <br /><br />I was surprised that there is no immediate plan to increase north end middle school capacity as that is sorely needed, but it does not make sense to locate that middle school at Jane Addams. <br /><br />For one, it would significantly reduce diversity at Eckstein. It would also only help alleviate crowding at Eckstein and not Hamilton or Whitman, which are also full. <br /><br />Based on the current elementary school numbers and attendance area maps, John Marshall or Wilson Pacific would make much more sense, and be less disruptive to families. <br /><br />Jane Addams is a strong school with an involved parent community, an excellent principal, and amazing teachers. <br /><br />We are the most diverse option school in the north end, and that diversity is holding in the entry level grades that have all opted in. We have both ELL and Spectrum programs. While I don't have Spectrum numbers, I know that access to an advanced learning program was a selling point for a number of the kindergarten families, and I expect that our Spectrum numbers will climb. <br /><br />Our biggest challenge at the moment is battling the ongoing rumor of our building being repurposed. While I know that no school has an ironclad guarantee, knowing that the superintendent does not intend to alter our program is reassuring, and hopefully reassuring to the many families who are interested in Jane Addams but have yet to make the change because they aren't willing to take the risk on the school closing.Spruiternoreply@blogger.com