Update: APP is to move to Lincoln for 2011-2012.

http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=28765366&postID=

I Posted the information below last week as a response to some of the information on the Mayor’s visit.

For copies of the presentation referenced below and the spreadsheet go to:

http://district.seattleschools.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sThis is the school board page, scroll down, click on 2010-2011 agendas, then go to the June 29, 2011 work session, open the agenda, and from the agenda you can access the documents.

I was hoping to get picture to go with this. But, I am sure that there will further opportunities for more informational articles with pictures. Also by commenting here I feel less responsible to ensure that there won’t be questions about what I mean. Ask away.This post will mainly address the Central Area elementary issues with a brief summary of how other areas look. Nova has been told that it is 85% certain that they will return to Mann in 2012. I asked the facilities people about the lease there, and they indicated that it wouldn’t be a problem. I also inquired about the TT Minor Lease. So far the information I have received indicates a large penalty was written into that lease if the District were to reclaim it before 2015. Yes, they can get it back earlier than 2017, or even before 2015, but there is penalty if it is before 2015. (Help on getting the exact details would be greatly appreciated.) I asked about a penalty regarding reopening Sand Point, and maybe they paid a penalty there too, but could the people there could not remember how much it was. Getting the facts on these could prove time consuming. However, I am going to try to get some clarity on the meaning of the state RCW.

By 2015-16 the area is projected to have 530 more elementary age students than the current available space would accommodate in the area. This does not account for APP changes at Lowell (a long discussion here: http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=28765366&postID=7911). Madrona K-8 is projected to be under enrolled in both the K-5 and 6-8 areas while all the other schools such as Leschi and McGilvra are projected to be more than 120% over enrolled. Stevens is projected at capacity until 2014 and still not over 120%. Functional capacity seems to change from time to time. The preliminary current capacity estimates are on a spreadsheet that was handed out at the Capacity Management work session but not available electronically. Gatzert is projected to be over enrolled by 146% by 2015.

Kay recommended that the staff begin engaging with “the group of parents in area 4, that group that is between Union and Cherry and is clearly south of Madison.” Madrona would probably be a more logical school to capture the some of the too-many students from McGilvra and Leschi. Many students there live closer to Madrona and those two schools have a greater and more immediate problem with projected over enrollment. McGilvra’s problem begins in 2012 and climbs quickly to more than 120%. Still should families and communities have to readjust so often?

The only areas without similar issues (The spreadsheet listed schools by middle school service areas.) are: McClure with a projected enrollment of -65, Hamilton with +46, and Whitman with +97. The other areas are projected to be over enrolled as follows: Madison at 393, Mercer at 683, Washington 530, Eckstein 236, Denny 879, Aki Kurose 456. The preliminary spreadsheet that was handed out has more detail and the updated material from the agenda give some ideas have some ideas.

May Forum: Smart Transportation Choices and How to Fund Them

Statistics can tell different stories and still be true.  I think this story from the Seattle Times is interesting and should be read by anyone interested in statistics.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/20149235How can we be white and not very diverse, have some of the most diverse neighborhoods and be among the most integrated — all at the same time?

Government experts will outline our options, shedding light on the revenue predictions in the near future and budget challenges facing our elected officials. Beth Goldberg, director of Seattle’s Budget Office; Tom Goodwin, chief economist with King County’s office of Economic and Financial Analysis; and Marc Baldwin with Washington State’s Office of Financial Management will share the spotlight.League of Women Voters of Seattle forums are free. For more information contact the League office online www.seattlelwv.org or call 206-329-4848.

Thursday, April 7, 2011 07:30 PM 08:30 PM

Seattle FirstBaptist Church (Harvard and Seneca)

Saturday, April 9th Squire Park Community Council quarterly meeting at CAMP, 722 18th Avenue, 10:00 AM to noon.

Seattle University reflects and takes action on how it can contribute to the life of neighborhood children. Join us Saturday to find out how this may impact your community.

Start small, build a shared vision with the community and plan measurable objectives is what Seattle U had in mind when it developed its strategies for the SUYI.    In 2007, with a mission of empowering leaders for a just and humane world and an established tradition of service, Seattle University began to collectively reflect on how it might make an even greater impact. After intensively consulting with members of the surrounding community, it was apparent that the university’s resources and efforts were most urgently needed by the youth living right here in our neighborhood. 

The guiding principles behind the SUYI involves engaging, listening and working with youth and their families who live and attend school in its surrounding community.  The schools within the SUYI boundaries include Bailey Gatzert elementary, Washington Middle School and Garfield High School along with a Head Start early learning program in Yesler Terrace. The goals of Rachael Steward, the new Associate Director for Center for Service and Community Engagement at Seattle University, are to improve the academic achievement of low-income youth and strengthen the university-community partnerships within its neighborhoods.  Rachael will provide an update of the SUYI at the Saturday, April 9th Squire Park Community Council quarterly meeting at CAMP, 10:00 AM to noon.  

For more information or call the SU at 206-296-2569  or visit the SUYI website http://www.seattleu.edu/SUYI/.

(Later on the agenda but not less: http://centraldistrictnews.com/2011/04/07/an-update-on-seatt)

The  youth who live here, go to school here , and work here are a reflection of who we are and what we have offered them.    What are their contributions?  They do contribute.  What are their thoughts on the neighborhood?  What are their experiences in growing up and going to school here?  Whether you are a parent or a community member, you will want to have this conversation for insight into the  future and current state or our community.  Are we making a good impression on our youth?

Join us this Saturday, April 9th at the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP), 722 18th Avenue,10:00 AM to noon for a conversation led by the Raza Unidas and Ambassador students from Garfield High School. What are their thoughts about the neighborhood? How are they working to build community in our neighborhood? How are these students working to build trust and cooperation among their peers. How are they contributing directly to the communities in which they live? Can we help? Youth, not only represent the future, they also serve as ambassadors of their families, school and communities. Raza Unidas ( United Races). Their slogan is “Si Se Puede” meaning “Yes, We Can!”

http://www.squireparkseattle.com/

MONDAY, APRIL 4 — 5:30 – 7 p.m. at MLK Memorial Park in Seattle — This event, sponsored by the Communications Workers of America, will be at 2200 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. in Seattle.

Kay Smith-Blum’s Saturday morning community meeting was a conversation among a small group of constituents covering the Seattle University Youth Initiative, concerns about the effectiveness of current efforts of the Seattle School District to align curriculum, especially at the high school level, and budget and assessment issues.

Kent Koth, Director of the Center for Service and Community Engagement and the Seattle University Youth Initiative which will initially focus on the preschool children who live in the  Bailey Gatzert Elementary School attendance area and those students currently attending the school.  The idea would be to eventually expand to work with other partners to build a  comprehensive support for preschool students that continues through Bailey Gatzert, and then on through Washington Middle School and Garfield High School.  He has been surprised by some of the complexity of drawing up agreements between large institution, along with the opportunities and challenges of building a sense of community and collaboration within a community with so many different languages.  More information may be found on the web site: http://www.seattleu.edu/suyi/

Kay reported that the new Superintendent is reviewing many of the efforts to align curriculum across the district that were threatening to end some of the important and successful  high school science and language arts programs.  Among the schools mentioned were science at Garfield and Ballard, language arts at Nova and Ingraham’s language arts and social studies.

During the discussion regarding additional cuts to education, community members addressed the student assessment program known as MAP, which has proven to be problematic in accuracy, difficult to support technically, and expensive, to question why the District didn’t use the classroom based assessment provided by  Washington State.  Kay responded that the District has a contract with the providers of MAP and, therefore, it will continue to be used in some form for sometime, although the District may look into renegotiating some aspects of the contract.  Many of the strategies discussed to balance the budget  focused on downsizing the central administrative staff by reducing some of the layers of various directors and supervisors and perhaps rethinking how the math, science and literacy coaches are assigned.  All community members present were strong advocates of protecting the classroom from further cuts.  Kay is not necessarily supportive of any cuts to the science coaches, especially in their work that supports 4th and 5th grade science kits.

Kay also noted that she is leading an effort to add more discussions of innovative ideas to the School Board work sessions.  The current discussions on the reports by the staff are an important aspect of the Board’s oversight.  However, she feels that adding time for exploring new ideas would enrich these discussions.  She is also a strong advocate for ensuring that grammar is included in middle school language arts.  The group thanked her for her time and inquired how many hours she gives the school board.  She responded that generally it required at least 25 to 30 hours of her time per week and that lately it has been more.  I encourage all who have questions and desire to interact with Board members to attend her community meetings, as well as those of the other School Board members and to encourage Kay to schedule another soon. Please see http://district.seattleschools.org/modules/calendar/showCale[]=37082&oc_id[]=12618&year=2011&month=03&day=01&sessionid=620744382257816fa1daf2c30b92ab32 for the Board calendar.

Join School Board member Kay Smith-Blum this Saturday morning for an opportunity for an informal conversation.

Meeting time is 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the Douglass Truth Library at 23rd and E. Yesler.

This Metro meeting is tonight at Central Area Motivation Program, 722 18th Avenue at 6:00 PM.