from S Metro at 2:31 PM.  Remember it is still the snow route.

This is intended as mainly an update on the stories about Garfield and the Student Assignment  Transition Plan, meaning meetings to review the current student assignment plan and begin to plan possible changes to it for next year.  

The Garfield commons area was packed with at least 200 people, probably more.  The organization of the meeting didn’t serve such a diverse set of concerns and schools well.  *See list below.  Only a small portion of the line to make opening public comment had an opportunity to speak due to time constraints.  Eventually there was an attempt to identify speakers on different subjects in order to allow all issues to have some time at the microphone. The district then presented a Power Point presentation before breaking all into groups for discussion.  Most who stayed appeared to be concerned with Garfield.  The speakers addressing siblings being able to chose to go to the same schools, kindergarten assignments, overcrowded elementary schools, and other boundary issues mainly spoke at the beginning and were not reflected in the small group reports  at the end.

Kay Smith-Blum was there to meet with the groups and promoted the idea of a staggered schedule fort Garfield.  The teachers and other District employees have contracts about how many hours they work.  Students do not.  I did not make a meeting at Ingraham High School on Wednesday which offered more details on a proposal to develop an additional pathway for APP students to Ingraham where there is an existing International Baccalaureate Program.  However  Dr. Vaughan shared that this option is intended to draw students from Garfield voluntarily, not as an involuntary assignment.   Both Dr. Robert  Vaughan from Advanced Programs  and Kay Smith-Blum mentioned Interlake High School in Bellevue.  With little time to do research I can only say that it has been highly rated nationally and offer web sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlake_High_School or http://www.bsd405.org/default.aspx?tabid=120.

Other solutions offered were to close  open choice seats for Garfield next year, redraw boundaries and various options about APP.  Most asked for some data about the how big the problem is and also asked the the District to take time to do it right. 

The  District summary of the comments is pretty good but does not  reflect the number of people who spoke to  some of the same points:    http://www.seattleschools.org/area/implementation/index.dxml

See also summaries and comments on: https://www.blogger.com/comment.do or go to http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2010/11/se-nsap-region, http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2010/11/app-meeting-t. 

For many of the controversies on Teach for America and other issues look at the general blog and peruse the side bars: https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=28765366&postID and to echo the reminder from Madrona, don’t forget: the meeting on the reports on the schools on December 9th at Washington Middle School at 7:30 PM

To its credit the District is posting much of the data as it becomes available: http://www.seattleschools.org/area/implementation/index.dxml 

I highly recommend the drop-in sessions if you have specific questions.  I talked with Tracy Libros regarding data showing the assignment areas and where student attend school and also show which assignment areas students in a specific school live.  That should be available soon.  The next drop in session is December 14, 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the District and the work session is December 1: Please see: http://www.seattleschools.org/area/news/1011/20101026_NSAP_R

*Central Regional Meeting for Seattle School District on the Student Assignment Transition Plan.Please note that the Queen Anne Schools except the Center School are included here.Franklin,Garfield, Nova,SBOC, McClure, Washington,Blaine (K-8), Madrona (K-8), Coe, Gatzert, Hay, John Muir, Lawton, Leschi, Lowell, McGilvra, Montlake, Queen Anne, Stevens, Thurgood Marshall

About 30 or 40 citizens attended Director Kay Smith-Blum’s quarterly community meeting this gray fall Saturday to ask questions and express concerns about the Seattle Schools.  Nancy Coogan one of the five regional directors of schools for the District was also present.  The audience included concerned families and students from AS-1 in Northeast Seattle worried that the District may consider closing the program due to low-enrollment, parents of Garfield football players upset that the football coach was allowed and perhaps encouraged to resign,  citizens concerned about whether Teach for America is good fit for Seattle Schools, a parent advocating for additional security at Garfield,  parents with questions wondering  if integration of the Special Ed. students into the classrooms of normal developing, same age peers is being adequately supported, and those wondering if rearranging the high school pathways for  APP students so soon after the recent changes and with little planning time is really going to serve the students and schools involved well. 

Current Nova and Garfield students who once attended AS-1  were among the families and students who  advocated for and spoke to the strengths of AS-1.  Kay noted the remarks and reminded them that the District staff were not presenting this closure as a proposal a, but only as a possibility.  She also assured them that she is supports the AS-1 program.

Garfield Principal Ted Howard was present to answer questions and firmly asserted that Anthony Allen will not be returning as football coach despite the enthusiasm for the former coach voiced by the parents of the football players.   Allowing ineligible players to play was not the only issue.  Personnel issues have to remain private and everyone involved has a lawyer; therefore he couldn’t comment further on the details.   Principal Howard is in the process of hiring a new football coach and athletic director and fully expects to be successful.

The controversy surrounding the Districts plan to sign a contract with Teach for America (TFA) included a perceived   lack of adequate communication with the community, extra costs associated with the program,  and questions regarding the need for the program, along with questions about whether the training and the two year commitment of the TFA teachers actually  delivers  the strongest teachers.   The fact that a  part of the extra cost of the program will be covered by private funds prompted an audience member to comment on the dilemma , “Do you take money with strings attached for a project you probably wouldn’t have otherwise done if the money wasn’t offered? Is it worth the time and effort?”   Why consider  TFA since Seattle is usually considered a desirable place to teach and receives an overwhelming number of teacher applications every year, and several four-year institutions in the area have highly rated teacher training programs.  The person who spoke  in favor of giving TFA a chance expressed that he was also disappointed about the quality of public engagement.  He wished it could have been better.  Although Kay did not express a definite opinion, she said that TFA students are often prepared to teach in the areas of  science and math where teacher shortages sometimes exist, and that it offers a path to alternative certification.  In a survey of the principals in the District  50% reported that they like the idea of TFA, and 50%  don’t.

Kay couldn’t really respond  to concerns about the staffing ratios for the Special Ed. programs (the integrated comprehensive services (ICS) model), but she did say she thought that it was about money.   A representative from the Garfield PTSA attended and advocated for the Read/Write program and asked for more support for it.  Director Smith-Blum took notes on the comments, the  meeting ran long and she adjourned it.

School Board Director  Kay Smith-Blum’s next scheduled quarterly meeting is not yet noted on the Board Calendar.  She is good about answering questions by email ([email protected]), which is a different experience from meetings where members of the public also share information with each other.

If families and community members have time for even more meetings regarding schools as the holiday season approaches there are some more.  The Seattle Times ran a story today: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013381422_s

Seattle Schools and the Seattle Council  PTSA are sponsoring the meetings.  The link to the District reports is here: http://www.seattleschools.org/area/strategicplan/schoolrepor

All run from 7-8:30 p.m.Nov. 29: Roosevelt High, 1410 N.E. 66th St., Nov. 30: South Lake High School, 8601 Rainier Ave. S., Dec. 6:Whitman Middle School, 9201 15th Ave. N.W., Dec. 7: Washington Middle School, 2101 S. Jackson St., Dec. 9: West Seattle High School, 3000 California Ave. S.W.

It is clear that Garfield High School will be impacted  by changes to the current Student Assignment and Transition Plans in an effort to stem continuing overcrowding at the school.  During last Wednesday’s School Board Work Session the two main solutions presented by staff were redrawing Garfield’s attendance area boundaries or creating additional  high school pathways for the students in the Accelerated Progress Program (APP).  School Board member Kay Smith- Blum also asked the staff to assess how a possible expansion of Nova’s proposed Geographic Zone (the area where students live and receive preference for attending an alternative school) boundaries could impact the over enrollment at Garfield.

Currently all APP Students are guaranteed an assignment to Garfield if they choose to go there.  Garfield’s current enrollment is about 1780 and approximately 455 are APP students, while the capacity of the school is about 1680.   Remember a portion  of the APP students also live in the Garfield assignment area and that not all APP students choose Garfield. Neither of these numbers was available and either solution will profoundly affect many  students living in the current area and those who attend programs in the area. *(Please see below for some explanation of the APP Program vs AP, Advance Placement classes which are taught according to  nationally recognized curriculum.)   Other options that were offered included giving Garfield area students priority to other high demand schools, limiting transfers to Garfield and open choice seats, and using other nearby community facilities to add classrooms. Generally the Board seemed more disposed toward adding pathways for the APP students compared to redrawing boundaries. 

Nonetheless, a 9-page document of possible changes to the boundaries was presented.  Some proposals  involve redrawing the Franklin High School boundaries to move the current areas assigned there to Rainier Beach to prevent overcrowding at Franklin if the portions of the Garfield area were to be reassigned  to  Franklin, including Thurgood Marshall, Beacon Hill and part of Leschi.  Like any puzzle one piece affects others.  Another assigns  Montlake area students  to Roosevelt. This may have been  proposed since the current Roosevelt assignment area has fewer resident students than had been projected. Yet, another shows the Lowell attendance area folding into Ballard high school.  These last two  would be especially provocative, as both attendance areas are much more convenient to Garfield than to either of the other high schools, especially true for the Ballard assignment.  What happened to keeping students close to where they live?  

Please see the details:

http://www.seattleschools.org/area/newassign/garfield_book.pdf

This is the link to the Power Point presentation:

http://www.seattleschools.org/area/board/10-11agendas/110310agenda/sappresentation.pdf

Central District families and residents should  review these, prepare to comment or ask questions regarding the various ideas that were put forth, and attend the community meetings.  While the timing with November and December holidays may seem not to bode well for authentic community engagement, remember the plan was developed to ensure a predictable, equitable and easy to understand assignments for families and that this work it part of creating the  continuing Transition Plan for 2011-2012 and future phasing-in.  It is worthwhile to make an effort to attend the meeting or to communicate with the Board members.

A draft  plan will be formally introduced to the Board (as an introductory agenda item) on January 5th, 2011 and the  Board will vote on it on January19th.

For full listing of the meetings and descriptions go to:

http://www.seattleschools.org/area/news/1011/20101026_NSAP_R

“Consult and Involve” meetings are intended to be meetings where parents and community members can drop-in  and interact with District staff  one-on-one regarding any of the data:

Thursday, November 18, 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM, Room 2700

Tuesday, December 14, 6:00 PM to 8:00PM

“Inform and Consult”  meetings are general  community meetings in different areas of Seattle for the 2011-2012 Transition:

Garfield HS on November 15, 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM (Central District Meeting)

Those not able to make a specific regional meeting, may attend any of the meetings listed:

Nov. 8, 6:30-8 p.m,.SE region meeting, Rainier Beach HS

Nov. 10, 6:30-8 p.m.,NE region meeting, Roosevelt HS

Nov. 15, 6:30-8 p.m., Central region meeting, Garfield HS

Nov. 16, 6:30-8 p.m., West Seattle region meeting, West Seattle HS

Nov. 22, 6:30-8 p.m., NW region meeting, Ingraham HS

Nov. 18, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Drop-in session, JSCEE Room 2700

Dec. 1, 4-8 p.m., School Board work session, JSCEE Auditorium

Dec. 14, 6-8 p.m., Drop-in session, JSCEE Room 2750

Jan. 5, 6 p.m., School Board meeting –Transition Plan introduction JSCEE Auditorium

Jan. 19, 6 p.m., School Board meeting –Transition Plan vote, JSCEE Auditorium

Among other  topics included in the discussion will be development of geographic zones for option schools. The “geographic zone” will provide a tiebreaker for students who live within a defined area in proximity to the school. Option schools include STEM@Cleveland, NOVA, The Center School and AS#1 high schools; Jane Addams, Salmon Bay, TOPS, Pathfinder, Orca and South Shore K-8 schools; and Thornton Creek and Queen Anne elementary schools

Proposed drafts of Geographic areas:

http://www.seattleschools.org/area/newassign/geo_zones.pdf

School counts:

http://www.seattleschools.org/area/newassign/board_wkshp_11_

*The APP Program ends after 8th Grade and all students who attend Garfield have access to the Advance Placement classes. All nine of Seattle’s comprehensive high schools offer AP classes, some more than others.  A school must
have a large enough number of students ready for these classes to drive a good number AP class.  There are many very bright students who opt into Running Start at the Community Colleges rather than taking AP classes. 

Yes, due to numbers this cohort does drive a greater number of AP classes to the highest levels for Garfield.  If this cohort was to be dispersed  among all the high schools the number of classes available would definitely decline.

APP classes grades 1 through 8 are generally at the top range of the legally allowed student to teacher ratios and the same is generally true for the AP classes at Garfield.  Yes, due to numbers this cohort does drive a greater number of AP classes to the highest levels for Garfield.

To see the District’s description of APP and the students it serves go to: http://www.seattleschools.org/area/advlearning/program_app.h

 “The Accelerated Progress Program (APP) is the Seattle Public Schools Advanced Learning program that serves the needs of students who are academically highly gifted.

As the election approaches there will be a number of sources including the descriptions produced by King County Elections to help voters think about how they want to vote.  The Seattle Times will also eventually publish a summary of their positions:

http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/elections/201011/votersp

Voters may find extensive information on all the ballot issues at:

http://www.seattlelwv.org/sites/default/files/voteroct10web.

Page 13 and 14 indicate the positions taken in advocacy and action.

Pages 22 thru 54 contain the ballot issue summaries that were prepared by the League of Women Voters. 

The Municipal League provides guidance on which ones they support and which they oppose.

  http://www.munileague.org/issues/ballot-issuesill

I think you will find the knowledge here helpful in thinking through many of the ballot issues.

This is a positing to let you know in case you were not at the meeting or watching.

The Executive Board of the East Precinct Crime Prevention Coalition has written the following letter to the Mayor in response the August 26th presentation on the Night Life Initiative.  We appreciate any thoughts or comments you have regarding this letter.  You may comment here or at: http://www.sngi.org/welcome/contact.php?subject=Put%20me%20o!. abd letters may also be sent to the EPCPC c/o Seattle Neighborhood Group, 1810 E. Yesler Way, Seattle WA 98122 (206) 323-9666

Dear Mayor McGinn:

Thank you for sending your representatives to the August 26th East Precinct Crime

Prevention Coalition meeting to present the proposed Seattle Nightlife Initiative. In

attendance were a large and diverse representation of neighbors from Capitol Hill, the

Central District, the Pike/Pine corridor, and several other East Precinct communities.

We understand that there has been an extension of the public comment period. We are

taking this opportunity to provide you with our comments. We, as the Executive Board

of the East Precinct Crime Prevention Coalition, welcome another meeting with you, so

that we can discuss the proposed initiative in more detail. We have reviewed the

materials presented at the meeting and we have many questions and need more

information. We feel that the initiative’s components are insufficiently supported by

factual and strategic elements necessary to be viable and effective.

We do, however, support a vibrant Seattle nightlife and zoning for nightclubs in

business districts so long as the businesses do not impact residents.

The Seattle Nightlife Initiative needs far more discussion and investigation, and we

understand that it may be implemented incrementally.

Finally, we welcome you to attend one of our general meetings to discuss your plan for

nightlife as well as other public safety issues.

Very Truly Yours,

East Precinct Crime Prevention Coalition

Executive Committee

The proposals for purchasing Martin Luther King Jr. School are on the agenda of the Seattle School Board’s Audit & Finance Committee meeting on September 9th from 3:30PM to 6:00 PM in the School Board Conference Room at 3rd and Lander (2445 3rd Avenue South ).  These meetings are open to the public but do not include public testimony.    However, it will provide an opportunity to ascertain the thinking and the issues that appear to be important to the District administration and various Board members during these final steps of  making a decision. This in turn will be helpful to community members and advocates in framing  the questions, information, and comments that they may want to forward to Board members.

Current proposals under consideration:                                                                                                     http://www.seattleschools.org/area/propertymgt/mlkbidproposa

Original list:                                                                                                                                                   http://www.seattleschools.org/area/propertymgt/mlk%20bids%20           

Finance Committee:

Sherry Carr, Chair  [email protected]

Peter Maier – member [email protected]

Michael DeBell – member [email protected]

Sr Administrative Assistant for the School board [email protected]

Other School Board Directors:

Harium Martin-Morris – District III [email protected]

Kay Smith-Blum – District V[email protected]

Steve Sundquist – District VI[email protected]

Flyer designed by Andre Helmstetter