Seattle Schools Community Forum

Over at the Soup for Teachers Facebook page there was some unhappiness over what info is available at the SPS website around the Growth Boundaries.   Apparently some parents received an email about them but it had no link to the webpage (which means you would have had to search for it yourself.)  And here is the link.

I'll do the School Board meeting in two parts because even though the Growth Boundary amendments were the big show, many other interesting things were said at the meeting. But to the Growth Boundaries.  HUGE thank you to Kellie LaRue who sat thru the whole thing (something like 6+ hours; I wimped out at 4 hours) and reported back on the votes.

Talk about fast and furious - there's no end to public ed news in the summer. In the "wish we had more School Board members who do this," there are two City Council candidates, Mike O'Brien and Catherine Weatbrook who ask the hard questions (sadly, in the same district - # 6).  Publicola has an article about the HALA report and Councilman O'Brien's pushback to the Mayor on some of the data.

Not on the district's homepage but of note: The Enrollment Service Center will be closed to the public from July 13 through Aug. 7, 2015, allowing for necessary new school year system transitions. During this time, students and families will be unable to access or submit online choice or admission forms. Additionally, the Enrollment front counter, Enrollment Service and Customer Service mailboxes, faxes, and Enrollment phone lines will be closed. These services are closed during the transition to reduce significant backlog, including incomplete documents received during this shutdown period, which would delay the timely enrollment of new students once the updated system is online. The Customer Service phone lines and receptionist desk will remain open to the public to serve those who need to contact other JSCEE internal personnel or departments. Enrollment will re-open its doors again on Aug. 10 at 8:30 a.m.​ I'm a bit perplexed as to why Enrollment phone lines...

A parent of an incoming kindergarten student wrote to me about issue she was having with Enrollment. Based on reading the Enrollment policy and speaking with different Enrollment staff, she believed that the only tiebreaker for the lottery into neighborhood schools is siblings. (It seems she wanted to put her child into a non-attendance area school.   The lottery was held and she was told that she was #4, and then, #3 on the waitlist.  Now, weeks later, she finds that her child moved down the list and another child moved up the list.  She is baffled how that happened. I have a query into the District but... Did this happen to anyone else? Any thoughts on why this might have happened? FYI, here the waitlist by school .  There are some interesting numbers.

From SPS Communications: If you submitted one of the 5,300 choice applications we received during the Open Enrollment period, you can now view the results. The Assignment and Waitlist link has been updated for the 2015-16 school year. Use the link to see your student’s 2015-16 assignment and any wait list placements. You will need your student’s identification number and birthdate.  If you did not request a different assignment during Open Enrollment and have not submitted at change to your home address, your student’s assignment hasn't changed. Printed assignment letters will be mailed to home addresses the week of April 27.   Second applications for choice enrollment will be accepted beginning May 1, 2015. The choice forms remain posted on the Admissions main page.  If you have questions about school assignments for the 2015-16 school year, please call the Service Center at (206) 252-0760. But not until Monday.

Yes, that is the title of a story at the district's homepage.  I will try to stifle a smile as this has not - to terrible effect - always been the case. Here's the link to the entire story. I note that the brag in the story is how close they get.  What's puzzling is that at the Work Session on the budget this week, there were repeated references to the projections for this year being off.  Not sure how to reconcile the two thoughts.

I didn't attend the Board meeting last night but watched the first hour or so on tv.  (President Carr wasn't there so Director Peaslee filled in but I never heard why Carr was not there.) Highlights ( updated and complete ):

From SPS Enrollment, videos to help non-native English speakers: 廣東話 登記入學 Cantonese Enrollment Video Español - Spanish Enrollment Video Thủ tục để đăng ký học Vietnamese Enrollment Video

I note that the district's home page has a prominent section on the upcoming Open Enrollment period that starts on Monday, Feb. 23rd.  It lasts until Friday, March 6th.  This period is to request "a school or program outside" of your regular assignment. As a general rule, your student is assigned to the same school he or she is attending now. In the case of students moving up to middle or high school, students will be automatically assigned to their neighborhood school. You will be able to confirm your student's school assignment via the Assignment Look-Up Tool after Feb. 23 or by calling our automated phone system at (206) 252-0212. If you would like to change your current or assigned school for the 2015-16 school year, get detailed Open Enrollment instructions at bit.ly/Apply-OpenEnrollment or by contacting the Admissions office at (206) 252-0760. School Choice forms will be available when Open Enrollment begins on on Feb. 23. If you request a different schoo...

Tuesday, Jan. 27th Kindergarten Enrollment night , 5:30-7:00 pm, Northgate Elementary, open to all. Wednesday, Jan. 29th Work Sessions : • Oversight Work Session: Enrollment & Planning (4:30-5:30 PM) • Work Session: Budget (5:30-7 PM) • Work Session: Series 1000 Policies (7-8 PM) Nothing attached for Budget so clearly the Enrollment Work Session is the most interesting. Fun fact: the district has no permanent Enrollment director but yes, they have a demographer (and a PhD at that), Natasha Rivers.  The interim director appears to come from an IT consulting firm.  The district has also hired a communications firm, Write as Rain , for "growth boundaries communications." Page 5 is all about Stakeholder Engagement and Public Information. Page 11 on Opportunities and Risks is also worth reading. Then we get to the percentage projections page for elementary, middle and high school.  Sober reading.  Elementary looks like the overwhelming majority of elementary sc...

There were some other key, important things said at both the School Board meeting last Wednesday and the Board retreat yesterday.  I'll just group information under headings but note by M (for meeting) or R (for retreat) where I heard it. Principals (M) To note, both of the Washington State Principals of the Year, for high school and K-8, came from Seattle Schools.  Keven Wynkoop, principal at Ballard , and Keisha Scarlett, principal at South Shore, were the winners.  Mr. Wynkoop is one of several of our high school principals who actually attended the high school he now leads.  Native American students (M) President Peaslee noted that she wished that the Indian Heritage program would be revitalized especially in high school.  This came in conjunction with the large contingent of Native American parents, students and community members who were part of public testimony.  They said they wanted a program for high school and hoped it could be at Ch...

Is this discussion over enrollment numbers and school funding still happening where you are? Because apparently, it's still an issue for Nathan Hale High.  Hale parents are being notified, via a Hale parent group, that the district is underestimating their enrollment (by less than 20 students) and it will reduce their funding.  They say they have had a waitlist for years and don't understand why this is happening.  Unfortunately, this issue is pitting school against school as the notification goes on to say that the district is not moving their waitlist because some of the students on the list would be from the Roosevelt High School area and Roosevelt would then lose students.  I don't follow this line of thinking because it presumes that Roosevelt is lobbying for Hale's list not to move.  Are schools really looking over their shoulders at other schools?  Could be. But if the district is not moving waitlists (and looking to see if a school has had a w...

Open Enrollment starts the week after next week's Mid-Winter break and runs two weeks thru March 7th.  All forms must be returned either in person or online to Seattle Public Schools by 4 p.m., Friday, March 7, 2014.  Here's the info from SPS .   Also the Enrollment FAQs have many answers to questions.  (Oddly, the district's Facebook page has nothing about this.)  But, to keep in mind: the district isn't open next week so no, you can't call and ask questions the enrollment form is not available so you can't look at one and review it so that you are ready to go when you go in to enroll this is two weeks and that's a lot of kids to enroll.  I would encourage you to go early - in date and time of day).  I did write to Tracy Libros, head of Enrollment, two weeks ago to ask about why application forms could not be reviewed and why the enrollment window seems so short but I never received a reply. Looks like Superintendent Banda is to h...

 Monday, December 16th   Seattle Special Education PTSA Meeting, 7 pm at Rm 2700, School District main offices at 2445 3rd Ave S (3rd and Lander). Tuesday, December 17th Audit&Finance Committee Meeting (Quarterly Audit Meeting) from 4-6 p.m.  Agenda . Wednesday, December 18th Work Session: Budget, WSS, and Transportation from 4-7 p.m.  Agenda I see some troubling and yet vital info in this presentation but I think that will be a separate thread. JAMS meeting from at the Jane Addams library at 6:30 p.m.  Thursday, December 19th Operations Committee Meeting from 4-6 pm.  Agenda not yet available. Saturday, December 21st Community meeting with Director Patu (yes, this is still on) from 10 am to noon at Cafe Vita.

I had a request for a thread on Board Director amendments.  I say the SCPTSA and the SPED PTA should join together and get all the local PTAs to say no to this morass of a mess.  But I don't think even the "go-slow" idea will get much traction.  Here's the thing.  Past experience shows that there is a fair amount of horsing trading among Directors when these big changes come along.  Most Directors might offer two amendments about their region at most. I'm not saying every amendment will pass but if it was well thought-out and any ripple effects considered minimal, it stands a better chance of succeeding.  So don't just say "They should change X."  Help the Directors and give any amendment idea legs to stand on. So what do you think is the most grievous mistake in this third iteration of the Growth Boundaries plan and how would you want to see it amended?

(Note: readers started commenting on this at the Friday Open Thread.  I had thought to try to transfer their comments to this new thread but was unable to do so.  I created a new thread as to make this huge issue, front and center here.) From SPS: The recommendations below go to the Board on November 6 for action on November 20. (The information from previous proposals is now obsolete.) Two Types of Recommendations Long-range boundaries that will be phased in as construction is completed by 2020.  Map showing long-range boundaries to be phased in  through 2020 Recommendations for specific components to implement next year.  Map showing recommedations to implement for the  2014-15 school year Board Materials Board Action Report (BAR) for November 6 Complete maps packet for the Board  (includes more detailed attendance area maps, feeder patterns, and geozone maps) Reference materials for the Board Summaries of public input— ...

By the way, there is a new message on the SPS Growth Boundaries page (thanks to an APP reader for this tip): "An updated recommended plan will be presented to the board on November 6 . The proposal will be released with the Board agenda at 5 p.m. on November 1 and posted here by 7 p.m. (The information from the September 17 draft and the October 16 proposal shown below is now obsolete.")"  The Board will vote on it November 20th. When that proposal is live tomorrow,  we'll put it up. Update :  From SPS, The recommendations below go to the Board on November 6 for action on November 20. (The information from previous proposals is now obsolete.) Two Types of Recommendations Long-range boundaries that will be phased in as construction is completed by 2020.  Map showing long-range boundaries to be phased in  through 2020 Recommendations for specific components to implement next year.  Map showing recommedations to implement for the...

From SPS Communications: Seattle Public Schools is updating attendance area boundaries to accommodate enrollment growth and new construction. An initial draft of boundary changes was provided in September, offering families, staff and the community time to weigh in and give feedback. After hosting five community meetings and receiving thousands of emails and suggestions, new recommended boundary changes are being proposed. These can be found at: http://bit.ly/GrowthBoundaries . For more information, including supporting documents, see the following: ·          October 16 Board Action Report ·          Attachment B : Reference Materials ·          Attachment C : Summary Information on Public Input We are asking for new feedback on the recommendations via a survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7BKFRS3 . Please take this survey by Oct. ...

I was quite startled when a reader, TC,  put in this comment taken from the district's Enrollment Planning - Growth Boundaries page : The information from the September 17 draft is now obsolete. Recommendations to the Seattle School Board, dated October 16, will be available after they are posted with the Board agenda at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 11. Many of the recommendations are different from the earlier draft due to community input. Of course, it IS great the district is listening.  However, it makes it quite difficult to know what may be coming, what will be on the survey and when to given NEW input. Needless to say, if you have not already commented on this, by all means, chime in. If you have commented, I would wait until we see the new recommendations tomorrow and/or see what the survey says (which is to be on-line sometime early next week) to give further input to staff/Board. Since the recommendations will not be available until very late Frid...