Seattle Schools Community Forum

Northeast Region Meeting Monday, December 17th 6:30-8pm Olympic Hills Elementary School 13018 - 20th Avenue NE, Seattle WA 98125. Seattle Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Pegi McEvoy, and School Board Director Sharon Peaslee, will be attending an informal meeting to provide information and answer questions for the Northeast Region of school communities about capacity management, and the BEX IV plans for new schools in the region. School and neighborhood community members are invited.

I will say at the outset that there has to be something the Board can do to make Work Sessions work better.  Staff takes took much time explaining their lengthy presentations. President DeBell said at the beginning the Board should only ask clarifying questions during the presentation and leave big questions for the discussion at the end. As usual, though,  they ran out of time as the staff couldn't get to thru the presentation in the time allotted.   9I know staff wants to explain but they waste time at the beginning going over what the Board already knows.  It's fine to have a longer written presentation but that doesn't mean going over every page during the presentation.)  There was also this document, Service Area Analysis. The community meeting next week on BEX/Capacity Management on Tuesday the 11th was noted.  We were told there would be some way to listen to the meeting via computer but I'll have to get details on how that will work.

As previously noted, there is an Executive Committee meeting tomorrow morning.  Here is the agenda.    These agenda seem to be quite terse with topics like "government relations", "community engagement" and you have no idea what the specifics of that discussion might be. They are going to be talking about audience participation at Board meetings so if you don't like either the new Board meeting start time and/or 2-minute limit, you might want to let Board members know this. (schoolboard@seattleschools.org) There is to be an Executive Session of the Committee at the end of the meeting on "real estate matters". The Operations Committee also has their agenda available.  Looks like they will be looking at: - some capital issues including Genesee Hill.  - Tracy Libros from Enrollment will be speaking on enrollment, child custody and district attendance area transfers as well as the student assignment plan for 2013-14.  - short-term and intermedia...

We have heard school district officials bemoan the fact that the City of Seattle does not collect impact fees (assessments on new development to offset the costs of additional demands on public resources) for schools. They are, as usual, crying crocodile tears. The District is authorized to assess their own impact fees and they simply have not bothered to do it. Per RCW 43.21C.060 , school districts can assess impact fees. The WAC regarding the Growth Management Act also clearly allows school districts to require new developments to set aside land for schools ( WAC 365-196 ). The King County Code ( 21A.43 ) also not only allows impact fees for schools, it appears to almost require them. The school district could assess an impact fee that would require developers to provide a portion of the cost of building new schools. They simply have not bothered to do it. This not only matters with regard to the development downtown, but to the planned development in Lake City and the planned de...

The charter school initiative, if approved, would create a time bomb that would seriously threaten Seattle Public Schools. The threat doesn't come from the possibility of a charter school organization creating a school in Seattle - at least not if they get their own building. The threat comes from the possibility of a conversion. A conversion occurs when a majority (50% plus 1) of either the teachers or the families at a school request conversion to a charter. If that were to happen at an attendance area school, then the school would become, essentially, an option school. The attendance area boundaries all around the school would have to change to cover the converted school's attendance area so that every student had an attendance area school. There is no school in Seattle that has any excess capacity to speak of. Any addition to the attendance area of any school - particularly one of this scale - would result in the instant overcrowding of the school to something like 13...

Today in Crosscut we find an article about the Downtown elementary school that actually includes some data  - census numbers - that could be used to make a case for the school. It actually makes a stronger case for a downtown high school than a downtown elementary school, but there's no mention of that. I have a number of questions that I would like to see answered. Where are these kids going to school now? Do we only need an elementary school downtown - not a middle school and a high school? Why don't we need a middle school or a high school? If these kids are in the census data, why didn't they appear in the District's enrollment projections? It's nice to finally see some numbers associated with this school idea, which has seemed like a pet project by downtown elites until this.

Seattle Public Schools is following an ass-backwards process in which they are starting with construction plans and will then follow with decisions about where to put programs. There are programs that need a home, such as north-end elementary APP, The NOVA Project, new language immersion programs and more. A rational process would start with the question "What students and programs do we need to house?" and then determine what they need to build and where they need to build it, the District has chosen to start by designing and locating buildings, opening buildings, expanding buildings, and closing buildings and then, later, they will try to assign programs to those buildings.

I was unable to attend last night. If you did, could you let us know what was said or your impressions.  Here's the West Seattle Blog wrap-up of the meeting (complete with video).   Apparently the biggest issue discussed was the merging of Arbor Heights and Roxhill and how late in the timeline their renovation would come. Again, Arbor Heights is in the top three of worst condition buildings in our district.  They want it fixed sooner rather than later.  From the West Seattle Blog: (District officials acknowledged that capacity issues are taking precedence over school-condition issues in planning of this levy.) You could hear this as an issue at the Eckstein BEX IV meeting - "we have capacity issues." It's a rock and hard place for BEX IV.  If could have another bond, this wouldn't be as big an issue but the district can't risk losing with a 60% bar that a bond requires. From the WS blog; Capital projects/planning director Lucy Morello s...

From our friends at the West Seattle Blog we learn that new Board member Marty McLaren has stepped up in a big way to hear what constituents are thinking about the capacity management plans for next year.   (I'm sorry for not posting this earlier - still nursing that cold - but there are still two other meetings.) *Tomorrow, Saturday, January 7th, Southwest Library, 10 am-noon *Monday, January 9th, at West Seattle Library, 10 am-noon *Saturday, January 14th, Delridge Library, 11 am-1 pm

The Board and the public got our first look at what is very likely to be the set of solutions to capacity management problems for the coming year. Here is the presentation made to a Board Operations Committee of the Whole last night. This presentation lays out the need for additional capacity - school by school - and the solution for each school. I'll give you the short answer: portables.

Other Issues: Overcrowding at JSIS High School overcrowding Low enrollment at specific schools Your suggestions for other issues to be addressed

Issue #4: The urgent need for additional elementary capacity in the northeast. Possible solution A: A new attendance area elementary school eventually located at the John Marshall site (the building needs significant renovation). The program will meet at the Lincoln site until the building is ready. Possible solution B: A new option elementary school eventually located at the John Marshall site (the building needs significant renovation). The program will meet at the Lincoln site until the building is ready. The option program could house a new program or it could house the language immersion program now at JSIS, relieving the overcrowding there and providing more equitable access to language immersion. Variation: The new option enrollment language immersion school at John Marshall could be a K-8 providing language immersion through middle school and providing some relief to the north-end middle school capacity crunch (see Issue #1). Possible solution C: Reo...

Issue #3: The urgent need for elementary APP space in the north-end. Possible solution A: Split the 450-student north-end APP cohort in two and place half at Broadview-Thomson and half at Jane Addams. There is no space for a 450-student cohort and these two schools, one in the east and one in the west, have available capacity. Possible solution B: Split the 450-student north-end APP cohort in two and place half at Lowell and half at Jane Addams (or Broadview-Thomson). There is no space for a 450-student cohort and these two schools, one in the north and one in the south, have available capacity. Possible solution C: Keep the 450-student north-end APP cohort intact and place it at the John Marshall site (the building needs significant renovation). This is only space for a 450-student cohort. There is even room there for an additional general student cohort there as well to help meet the need for additional elementary capacity in the northeast (see issue #4). Th...

Issue #2: The urgent need for additional elementary capacity in West Seattle. Possible Solution A: Two new elementary schools eventually located at Fairmount Park and at the Denny site. The programs will meet at the Boren site until the buildings are ready. I, personally, think this is the best path. Possible Solution B: Two new elementary schools eventually located at Fairmount Park or Genesee Hill or E.C. Hughes or the Denny site. The programs will meet at the Boren site until the buildings are ready. I, personally, think this is the best path. Important variations: The two new schools in West Seattle may not necessarily be attendance area schools. They could be option schools and they could host a variety of programs including Spectrum, language immersion, Montessori, an alternative pedagogy, or a conventional pedagogy. I, personally, think it would be best if both of the new schools used option enrollment and had language immersion and Spectrum in one building and Montes...

There is an urgent need for additional middle school capacity in the north-end. Possible Solution A: A new attendance area middle school with a capacity of about 1,000 eventually located at the Wilson-Pacific site (the building is a tear-down). The program will meet at the Lincoln site until the new building is ready. I, personally, think this is the best path. Possible Solution B: A new attendance area middle school eventually located at the John Marshall site (the building needs significant renovation). The program will meet at the Lincoln site until the building is ready. Possible Solution C: What suggestion do you have?

Despite media reports that make the New Student Assignment Plan sound like a completed project, it is, in fact, a work in progress. After adopting a framework and then a new policy, the District applies annual patches and technical revisions to the Plan at least annually. These annual "transition plan" adoptions make both small and large changes to the basic framework and implementation of the plan. Last year's transition plan , for example, dramatically altered the transportation standards, added APP IB at Ingraham, changed the rules for siblings, created attendance areas for Rainier View and Viewlands, adjusted the boundaries for southend high schools, and more. In addition, the annual Program Placement decisions are folded into this document in a way that precludes any discussion of Program Placement decisions. There will be an annual transition plan for the coming year as well. This plan will be adopted soon - probably by February - and will include a whole lot of...

FYI, the next FACMAC meeting is this Friday, Dec. 2nd from 10-noon at the Stanford Center, Room 3802.   I am sorry to say this but I think there is a lot of confusion still and frankly, this meeting only served to exacerbate it.  That's my impression.

Busy week in SPS. Monday, November 28th Curriculum & Instruction Committee meeting - 4 p.m.  Topics include: skills center update, Board policies on hostility/defamation/discrimination and retaliation, waiver policy, and innovation schools' policy. Capacity Management meeting at Denny at 6 p.m. Tuesday, November 29th Work Session on Board policy Series 6000 (which I believe is about fiscal management.) Capacity Management meeting at Eckstein at 6 p.m. IB at Rainier Beach High School meeting , 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 30th Oath of office for newly elected Board members at 4 p.m.-5 p.m. Work Sessions Nutrition and Advertising 5-6 p.m. Athletics 6:30- 8 p.m. Nutrition Services 8-9:30 p.m. Thursday, December 1 Capacity Management meeting at Washington Middle School, 6 p.m. Saturday, December 3 Board Retreat - NE Branch Library, 6801 35th Ave NE from 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Now this should be interesting.  New Board members, probably some ...

From Seattle Public Schools: Seattle Public Schools will host three community meetings, to be held on Nov. 28, 29 and Dec. 1, to share information and ask for feedback about the District’s short-term Capacity Management plan for the 2012-13 school year. The District is experiencing considerable enrollment growth, and with that comes challenges. We are gathering input and working on creating a short-, intermediate- and long-term plan to address our capacity. Our enrollment this year is about 48,500 students. We are using this enrollment information, along with projections and community engagement, to analyze capacity for the 2012-13 school year. A Facilities and Capacity Management Advisory Committee (FACMAC) was established in October, 2011. This volunteer group of community members represents all regions of the city and has diverse interests in various programs. Technical experts and school representatives are also part of the committee.  The FACMAC is working with staff...

The new Advanced Learning Task Force (or Steering Committee or Advisory Committee or whatever) has had its first meeting. It's kind of a mess.