West Seattle Blog…

Reminder: Many Seattle Public Schools students off all next week

The arrival of the latest School Beat e-newsletter from Seattle Public Schools provides another reminder: This year for the first time, all elementary and K-8 schools in the district are closed for the entire Thanksgiving week — parent/teacher conferences Monday-Wednesday, holiday break Thursday-Friday. In School Beat, the district says, “The new schedule will be less disruptive to student learning while also providing greater consistency and predictability for families.”

Update: School board approves attendance maps, with few tweaks

The Seattle School Board has finally voted late tonight on the attendance maps that are a key component of the new Student Assignment Plan, and for West Seattle, it went along the path that local board rep Steve Sundquist had outlined at his meeting this morning (WSB coverage here) — no major map changes for West Seattle, just a couple of tweaks, but he reiterated that he wants to look into possible “rule changes” including making Gatewood, West Seattle and Sanislo Elementaries “dual feeder” schools whose families could choose to follow the north (WSHS/Madison MS) or south (Chief Sealth/Denny IMS) track. The maps ultimately passed unanimously; we expect word late tonight or early tomorrow on when the maps will reflect tonight’s amendments. 12:27 AM UPDATE: Word from the district is that the maps will be updated “by next week.” They’ve just issued the official news release detailing tonight’s vote and other action - read on: Click to read the rest of Update: School board approves attendance maps, with few tweaks…

Seats for sale! Chief Sealth renovation “recycling”

If you ever went to a play, a concert or an assembly in the Chief Sealth High School auditorium - you’ll remember these seats. They’re being replaced as part of the renovation project that’s in its home stretch. Second Use Building Materials shared the photo with news that it salvaged the 600 (or so) seats for reuse, and that they’re now for sale - you can even just buy one (here’s a sample page from the Second Use website). Says the announcement from Second Use, “These seats are great for adding a bit of flair or history to home design projects, business settings, or even classrooms.” For information about the material or the salvage project, you can contact Patrick Burningham at 206-510-8272 or Patrick@seconduse.com.

Before school-map vote, West Seattle board member unveils plan

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

With hours to go until the Seattle School Board votes on attendance-area maps as part of its new neighborhood-based Student Assignment Plan, West Seattle’s board rep laid his cards on the table during a meeting this morning at Delridge Library.

Steve Sundquist told the 20 people who turned out to make their cases that he is not inclined to propose major map changes to remedy potential problems — but he does have a few ideas on other ways to fix them. (There was one small map quirk he addressed at the start of the meeting, involving four homes “on a cliff” at the far south end of California SW, saying he thought he’d have an amendment ready to fix that.)

Click to read the rest of Before school-map vote, West Seattle board member unveils plan…

Madison Middle School chosen “School of Distinction” again

From Nina Chambers at Madison Middle School - they want to make sure everyone’s heard about this honor they received this fall:

Madison Middle School scores 2 years running as School of Distinction! Madison Middle School is one of “10 [district] schools … recognized by PDK-WA , in collaboration with the Center for Educational Effectiveness, for sustained improvement as measured by seven years of WASL test scores. Specifically, they are among the top 5 percent of schools making the greatest improvements in student achievement on the WASL,” writes Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson (Classroom Connection, Nov 17, 2009.)

Madison was awarded School of Distinction by OSPI in 2007-2008, and is a 2008-2009 Great School awardee (”Great Schools — Great Teachers — Great Leaders”) as the award title changed & sponsorship was assumed by Center for Educational Effectiveness/PDK this past year. We are proud of Madison Middle School’s students, teachers & their record of academic excellence! Go Bulldogs!

Today/tonight: School maps, creek help, Delridge Council, more

SCHOOLS: 10 am, Steve Sundquist, West Seattle’s rep on the school board, is at Delridge Library for a community chat bound to be dominated by the proposed school-attendance maps the board will vote on tonight (6 pm, district HQ in SODO).

WATER: Could reclaimed wastewater mean a brighter future for West Seattle’s Puget Creek and other local natural areas? The project manager of the county’s Reclaimed Water Program will be at Sanislo Elementary’s library at 7 pm to give an overview of the county’s plans to improve wastewater treatment, and what that could mean for the local ecology. (As noted on the Sustainable West Seattle website, neighbors at the meeting also will talk about a possible Puget Ridge pocket park.)

DELRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL: Come hear what community groups from around eastern West Seattle are up to, and see which neighborhood-traffic-related projects are being reviewed for a potential share of city funding - 7 pm, Youngstown Arts Center.

THE BIRTHDAY THAT KEEPS ON GIVING: It’s the 10th “39th Birthday Party” and fundraiser for King County Executive-elect Dow Constantine, this time with another momentous occasion less than a week away (his swearing-in next Tuesday). 5:30 pm, Kell’s Irish Pub downtown.

NO NEED TO PLAY ALONE: Alki Community Center invites you to Family Game Night tonight - board, video and challenge games. 6:30-8:30 pm ($5 activity fee).

Even more on the WSB Events calendar!

Another proposed amendment to the West Seattle school maps

Since our update this afternoon looking ahead to tomorrow’s scheduled Seattle School Board vote on maps for the new Student Assignment Plan, including a letter with one proposal for amending them, we’ve received another suggested amendment. Janne Endreo and David Broadstone say they’ve sent the proposed “Equitable Enrollment Amendment for West Seattle” to all board members, explaining:

It is a proposal for boundary changes just for the middle and high school assignments (not elementary). As parents who have students at both Madison, Sealth and WSHS, we are well aware that any changes to a Student Assignment plan will affect our whole community. Our goal is that both “sets” of our secondary schools in West Seattle be the best schools possible, and that all kids will want to attend.

This proposal helps to balance some of the school-wide inequities which resulted from the most recent changes in the Student Assignment plan- most notably the 35% projected enrollment cuts at Madison & WSHS, as well as the diversity imbalance in all our secondary schools, and the issue of keeping as many kids as possible in a “walk zone” with their closest neighborhood school.

They say the amendment’s goals are:

1. To balance enrollment more equitably between the Denny/Sealth and Madison/WSHS secondary schools;

2. To keep as many students as possible in their neighborhood “walk zones”; and

3. To keep as much diversity as possible in all of our schools.

Proposal:

Re-assign the “No Walk” areas (as shown on the High School Walk Zone maps in the SPS Data Book) to the middle and high school secondary schools for:

1. Gatewood’s assignment area- The southern portion of Gatewood (which is south of WSHS’s red-lined “Walk Zone” area) to be assigned to the closer secondary schools of Denny and Sealth;

2. West Seattle Elementary’s assignment area- The northern portion of WS Elementary (which is north of Sealth’s red-lined “Walk Zone”) to be assigned to the closer Madison and WSHS schools.

You can see their proposed maps here (Chief Sealth/Denny) and here (WSHS/Madison). Again, tomorrow night’s board meeting is 6 pm at district HQ in SODO; West Seattle board rep Steve Sundquist has a community chat scheduled for 10 am tomorrow at Delridge Library; e-mail feedback on the maps, whether you love them/hate them/want to change them, is being accepted at newassign@seattleschools.org as well as in individual board members’ boxes (addresses all here).

Last-minute developments before school board’s map vote

Tomorrow night, the Seattle School Board’s scheduled to vote on setting attendance-area maps for schools around the city, as part of the new Student Assignment Plan changing the district’s prevailing philosophy from “choose any school” to “attend your neighborhood school.” Anyone who wants to get the ear of West Seattle’s school-board rep hours before the vote is invited to Steve Sundquist’s community chat tomorrow morning, 10-11:30 am, at Delridge Library; meantime, the online agenda for tomorrow night’s meeting includes one amendment that will be proposed to the West Seattle maps (current versions of which are linked here):

Make the boundary between the Alki and Lafayette attendance areas be a straight line on 47th Avenue Southwest from Southwest Admiral Way to Southwest Hanford Street, with both sides of 47th Avenue Southwest being in the Lafayette attendance area.

That would straighten out the “notch” in the current map, as shown below, changing the line instead to parallel where the blue and pink zones now are divided:

The three other amendments involve maps in other parts of the city. Other amendments are possible, but would have to be made by board members speaking at the meeting. This afternoon, we have some concrete suggestions proposed by three West Seattleites involved with local schools through the Chief Sealth International Baccalaureate Program and Gatewood Elementary - they’ve sent us an open letter with their suggestions for amendments to the boundaries - read on for the full text: Click to read the rest of Last-minute developments before school board’s map vote…

School district plans West Seattle “curriculum alignment” meeting

Lots of school news today, and here’s more: Seattle Public Schools just announced a set of community meetings about its “curriculum alignment” plan, aimed at more consistency among schools (as explained here) - and one is in West Seattle, a week from tonight, Tuesday 11/24, 6:30 pm, West Seattle High School.

Skeleton of a school: New photos from Denny/Sealth site

Courtesy of the project team at DKA, new photos taken just yesterday at the Denny/Sealth construction site in Westwood - where DKA says that as of the end of October, “60% of the structural steel needed for the construction of the new Galleria and Denny International Middle School had been delivered to the construction site. Footings for the new Galleria and Denny school are now 90% complete as are the underground utilities for the Galleria.” Here’s a view with more of the new Denny’s “skeleton” (left side):

For perspective - from an earlier story, here’s a rendering of the entire project site from the same direction - looking south - what you see above is roughly at the rear center of this (the galleria attaches the new Denny to the existing Sealth):

DKA’s update continues:

In the existing Chief Sealth High School building, the contractor completed framing walls on the first floor and is 70% complete with wall framing on the 2nd floor. The contractor continued work on the mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-in in the Chief Sealth building.

This month, November, 2009, work will continue on the foundation and walls for the new Denny International Middle School. Deliveries of the structural steel for the new Denny School will continue as will the steel erection of the Commons area. The contractor will continue framing walls in Chief Sealth High School. Site work will continue on the south and west sides of the project.

More construction photos are online here. Sealth renovations are to be complete in time for classes to resume at the site this fall, after two years in temporary quarters at Boren; the new Denny is to be complete in early 2011. Work’s been under way at the site since July 2008.

Today/tonight: Sustainable West Seattle “shopping spree,” & more

(WSB photo from last year’s Money-Free Shopping Spree)
SUSTAINABLE WEST SEATTLE’S “MONEY-FREE SHOPPING SPREE”: Once again this year, SWS invites you to come swap sustainable gift items - services as well as goods (see last year’s list here) - this year, the event’s at what is truly a brand-new venue, High Point Neighborhood Center (just dedicated on Saturday! WSB coverage here), starting with potluck dinner at 6:30 pm.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Sold Home Decor Furniture Consignment (WSB sponsor) is offering “a host of planet-, family- and budget-friendly ways to enjoy the holidays at home,” 7 pm. RSVP to be sure there’s still space - maria@soldhomedecor.com

LINCOLN PARK COOPERATIVE PRESCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: This co-op preschool based at Seaview Methodist Church (4620 SW Graham) has room in some of its classes and invites you to stop by 3-5 pm today to find out more about the school.

More of what’s happening today - and beyond! - on the WSB Events calendar page.

Classroom interview: SWYFS students’ side of the stabbing story

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Nineteen days ago, police cars and fire/medical units filled southbound Delridge Way, for a short time, outside Southwest Youth and Family Services.

SWYFS is this area’s lead agency for the city’s new Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, so there was uncomfortable irony in the fact those emergency units were there because one of its classrooms had become the scene of an act of youth violence: One boy stabbed another, both 17, after an argument.

The victim was rushed off to Harborview Medical Center; the alleged attacker was led off by police. The incident drew citywide media attention - but since it was quickly determined that victim and attacker knew each other, and that the victim would survive, the attention ebbed after a day.

Since then, though, what happened has been a daily reality for the students in the blended-grade high-school classes at Southwest Education Center - getting updates on their wounded classmate.

Until Thursday, when he returned to school, and told his story as part of an unusual group interview offered to WSB, unsolicited, by SWYFS.

Click to read the rest of Classroom interview: SWYFS students’ side of the stabbing story…

School boundary vote planned this week; petition asks delay

This Wednesday, the Seattle School Board is scheduled to vote on the newest versions of the attendance-boundary maps for its Student Assignment Plan. West Seattle resident and parent Susan McLain has started an online petition to ask the board to push back that vote so that WS parents can have more time for feedback on the revised maps (find them here). The first maps were followed by 9 community meetings (2 in West Seattle), which led to revisions, but the second version — with major changes for West Seattle — was followed by 2 community meetings and one public hearing (none in WS). No changes will be made now unless they’re amendments proposed by a board member and approved by a board majority before the final vote. The online petition is here; whatever your thoughts on the new maps, if you’re interested in speaking at Wednesday’s board meeting, signups start at 8 tomorrow morning, via boardagenda@seattleschools.org or (206) 252-0040.

2 local schools’ soccer squads in their tournaments’ Final Fours

Two girls’ soccer updates: First, Bil Hood from Seattle Lutheran High School reports that the Saints beat Mount Vernon Christian 5-0 today, advancing to the Class 2B/1B final four next weekend in Sumner. Also, Madison Middle School will play Eckstein at 3 pm Monday (Memorial Stadium downtown) for third place in the middle-school tournament.

Video: Tonight’s Chief Sealth Seahawk Spirit dinner/auction

The student musicians of Chief Sealth High School not only were among the beneficiaries of tonight’s Seahawk Spirit fundraising dinner/auction at The Hall at Fauntleroy, they also were the featured performers - above, video of the Chief Sealth Mariachis outside, and here, the Steel Drum Band inside:

Attendees browsed the abundant auction offerings, including the eclectic cross-section in our second photo:

Tonight’s event sold out more than a week in advance, but there are lots of other ways to help, as noted on the Chief Sealth PTSA website.

Video: Tuskegee Airmen spotlighted at Denny assembly

No classes districtwide yesterday, so Denny International Middle School celebrated Veterans Day today. Our video shows the featured guest speaker, Tommie Lamb, president of the Puget Sound-based Sam Bruce Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, who made history in the 1940s as the first African-American pilots in the U.S. military. His speech was preceded by students talking about the Tuskegee Airmen’s history and accomplishments. Denny student musicians performed at today’s assembly too.

2 West Seattle school notes: Madison soccer, Chief Sealth dinner

MADISON SOCCER: Thanks to Cheryl for sending word that Madison Middle School’s girls’ varsity soccer team is in tournament semifinals today, playing Washington Middle School at 3 pm at Memorial Stadium downtown (map), and hoping for a big cheering section.

CHIEF SEALTH DINNER/AUCTION TONIGHT: The event tonight at The Hall at Fauntleroy is sold out but a supporter points out that you can still donate to the program - they’re raising money to support the acclaimed Chief Sealth music program (including groups that will perform tonight - Mariachi, Steel Drum, Brass Quintet) and $ donations are welcome through donation forms on the PTSA website.

Scholarship planned to honor Officer Tim Brenton

As you’ve certainly heard by now, the Seattle police officer gunned down on Halloween night was a graduate of West Seattle High School. The school has helped pay tribute to Officer Tim Brenton — as described by assistant principal Jenni MacDonald on her website - and now, WSHS Alumni Association vice president Chris King says there’s a campaign to present a scholarship in memory of Officer Brenton - and they’re looking for others to pitch in:

On October 31st, 2009, Seattle Police Officer, Tim Brenton (WSHS Class of 1988) was shot, as he sat in his patrol car. We (WSHS Alumni Association) would like to present a 2010 scholarship in his honor. To do this we would need a minimum of $1000. If you would like to donate toward this scholarship, please send a donation to the WSHSAA, c/o West Seattle High School, 3000 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA. 98116. Please indicate it is for the Tim Brenton Scholarship. Make check payable to WSHSAA. All donations are tax-deductible.

Our citywide-media partners at the Seattle Times are closely covering the investigation into Officer Brenton’s murder; read the latest here.

“Head start on your holiday shopping” with Alki Elementary PTA

From the Alki Elementary PTA, a novel way to look at the school’s annual fund-raising dinner/auction: “Get a head start on your holiday shopping!” Fiesta is the theme, The Hall at Fauntleroy is the location, 5:30-10 pm Friday, November 20th is the time/date. Organizers note, “Proceeds support the Alki PTA, which funds numerous activities for students, families and faculty throughout the year. For example, this year’s ‘Fund-a-Need’ will support a writer’s workshop benefiting both teachers and students, and other reading and writing programs.” So far they’ve lined up more than 200 silent-auction donations, from gift cards to jewelry, and the live-auction items include a 7-day cruise. Updates at the official event website; the form to get your ticket(s) is here ($45/person) - e-mail it to alkiPTA@gmail.com - or if you have a question first, Kathy will be happy to answer, at thejoras@comcast.net.

Today (and beyond): 3 ways to have your say - and more

JUNCTION PARKING FEEDBACK DEADLINE: If you have something to say to the city about its proposal for parking changes in The Junction - no pay stations, no RPZs, some areas changing to 2-hour limits - today’s the deadline for getting your comments in; contact methods are listed here, along with details on the proposals. (Thanks to Forest for the reminder.)

SCHOOL BOUNDARY MAPS PUBLIC HEARING: Tonight at 6 at district HQ downtown, the Seattle School Board listens to public comment on the proposed attendance-area maps. (Here’s our story about the map discussion at board member Steve Sundquist’s Saturday meeting in High Point.) You have to sign up in advance; as of early this morning, the list on the district’s website indicates there may still be slots left - here’s how to sign up.

PARK FUND DRAFT CRITERIA PUBLIC HEARING: Another public hearing downtown tonight with West Seattle ramifications: The Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee will listen to comments about the draft criteria for proposals to get a share of the levy’s Opportunity Fund. 7 pm at Parks HQ downtown, no advance signup needed. (See the draft criteria here.)

LOOKING AHEAD TO LATER THIS WEEK: Check out the WSB Events calendar for the full list. But two things to call to your attention for starters - Wednesday is Veterans Day, which means schools, banks and community centers are closed (normal trash pickup, the city says); Thursday night is the monthly West Seattle Art Walk - here’s the fall-quarter walking map/list of participants.

Big downtown parade to feature 2 West Seattle schools’ bands

That clip from our West Seattle Grand Parade video this past July includes the Denny (now International) Middle School Marching Band - and this weekend we have word that Denny’s band will march with Chief Sealth High School’s band (also directed by Marcus Pimpleton) in the Macy’s Holiday Parade downtown the day after Thanksgiving. They’re among more than two dozen marching bands and community drill teams in the parade, according to a news release. The parade starts at 8:45 am on Friday, Nov. 27, at 7th/Pine and travels a zigzag route through the center of downtown; it’ll also be the final parade for West Seattleite Greg Nickels as Mayor. (If you know of West Seattleites participating in the many other groups in the parade, let us know - editor@westseattleblog.com - so we can mention them here as well as watching for them for photo/video ops while covering the parade; thanks!)

West Seattle scene: Young & young-at-heart share a smile

Holy Family Parish School middle-school teacher M. Barrett Miller e-mailed to share this photo, explaining: “One of our outreach programs is taking our Middle School students to the West Seattle Salvation Army to socialize and serve the elderly. I rotate the grades every couple of weeks to give all our Middle School students the opportunity to interact with the elderly at the center. Every day the Salvation Army serves lunch and offers an atmosphere of warmth and friendship to those who partake. Over the last year, our students have built a strong relationship with some of the attendees. I think the attached photo shows the joy of the program.” (The West Seattle/White Center Salvation Army location is here.)

Drawing a line: West Seattle parents air school-boundary concerns

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“You’re taking something that’s actually working and breaking it.”

That critique of the latest proposed Seattle Public Schools attendance-area maps came from one of the two dozen-plus people who attended School Board rep Steve Sundquist’s community meeting Saturday afternoon at High Point Library.

Sundquist has this type of meeting monthly, as do other members, with no agenda except Q/A with whomever shows up, but he’s made them more frequent as the board approaches a scheduled vote on the attendance maps (and in fact his next one is just hours before that vote).

Several in the room Saturday afternoon wanted to discuss the concern reported here Friday night - the observation that the newest revision to the West Seattle attendance-areas map seems to draw a sharp line largely following West Seattle’s north-south economic divide, with the feeder-school list for Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth High School dominated by those with more students from lower-income families, while the feeder-school list for Madison Middle School and West Seattle High School is dominated by those with more students from higher-income families.

And another major concern emerged:

Click to read the rest of Drawing a line: West Seattle parents air school-boundary concerns…

High school football: Ferndale over West Seattle, 28-21

Once again this fall, for the West Seattle High School Wildcats, the varsity-football season all came down to a faceoff with Ferndale, on the road, in Bellingham. WSHS led at halftime last night but came out on the short end, 28-21. We didn’t make the road trip this time; here’s the Bellingham Herald’s game report.

Seattle Lutheran HS girls’ soccer team wins district tournament

Just in from Seattle Lutheran High School’s Bil Hood:

The Saints girls soccer team just won their district tournament. Sophomore Ashley Shaw scored both goals for the Saints. They beat Orcas 2-1. They will start the state tournament next weekend facing the #6 team from their district. Go Saints.

New school boundaries: Concern tonight, meeting tomorrow

Tomorrow afternoon, when West Seattle’s School Board rep Steve Sundquist hosts a community chat at High Point Library (1-2:30 pm), a group plans to bring that graphic to his attention. It’s a mashup of Seattle Public Schools‘ newly revised attendance-area maps for West Seattle with data from the U.S. Census and other sources. The group, Friends of West Seattle Public Schools, says it shows that the new maps would “(divide) West Seattle along economic lines (and) undermine educational progress in West Seattle.”

The thick black line is the group’s approximation of the new line between the attendance areas for West Seattle HS/Madison MS and Chief Sealth HS/Denny MS attendance; the deeper-colored areas of the map are higher-income areas; there is a further gauge of economic demographics in each area - the triangles mark elementary schools, the white-centered triangles for schools where fewer than half the students qualify for free/reduced-price lunches, the soild-colored triangles for schools where a majority of students qualify for that assistance. The group says, “The originally proposed Sealth boundaries, if applied also to Denny, would be a good place for the district to start. It had a greater socio-economic / racial mix, while meeting the objective of fostering family engagement.”

Here’s a link to a longer statement the group has made. They are urging anyone else who’s concerned to be sure to speak out during the comment period that’s under way now - by going to tomorrow’s meeting for starters (here’s a map to High Point Library), by e-mailing board members and district executives - here’s the list they provided:

steve.sundquist@seattleschools.org
sherry.carr@seattleschools.org
harium.martin-morris@seattleschools.org
peter.maier@seattleschools.org
cheryl.chow@seattleschools.org
steve.sundquist@seattleschools.org
mary.bass@seattleschools.org
michael.debell@seattleschools.org
trlibros@seattleschools.org
superintendent@seattleschools.org

…and also by going to the official public hearing on the maps, 6 pm Monday at district HQ (2445 3rd Ave. South).

From Chief Sealth High School: IB Night report; dinner sellout

Tuesday night wasn’t just Election Night - at Chief Sealth High School, it was International Baccalaureate (IB) Information Night. From left, student ambassadors Alisha Dacus, Katie Marvin, Irene Idos, Natasha O’Rourke, Megan Korling, and Paul Duncan were among those there to answer questions. IB is a challenging academic program that’s in its third year at Sealth. Its courses are offered in junior and senior year, but it’s never too soon to start looking ahead - the Sealth website even offers advice on what middle schoolers can be studying to prepare for IB. Meantime, as principal John Boyd (photo at right) told those in attendance last night, the school itself has grown tremendously too - 750 students when he started five school years ago; 827 last year; 1000 this year. Asked by parents what the new attendance boundaries (reported here last night) may mean to Sealth’s size, he said that’s not clear yet, but the renovated school on SW Thistle (where they’ll be moving back next fall after 2 years in the temporary Boren quarters on Delridge) will have a “functional capacity” of 1130. Two more Sealth notes: the Chief Sealth PTSA just announced that the November 12 Seahawk Spirit dinner/auction is sold out; also, if you haven’t seen it yet, the school newspaper the Southwester is now online - check out the latest edition, with opinion as well as reporting.

Seattle Public Schools goes public with revised attendance maps

After the original proposed maps for individual schools’ new “attendance areas” came out a month ago, Seattle Public Schools acknowledged a few errors - including different attendance boundaries for Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth High School, which will share a campus within two years. So a new round of maps is out this afternoon - linked from this page.

For West Seattle, the document explaining changes and “rationale” simply says the maps for West Seattle were changed to “reflect the district’s commitment to support co-location of Denny and Chief Sealth.” The district site also now has a page linking to “walk route” maps for indivdual schools. The revised maps are to be introduced at tomorrow night’s School Board meeting and voted on in two weeks; West Seattle’s board rep Steve Sundquist has a community-conversation meeting this Saturday, 1 pm at High Point Library, where he’ll field questions on this and other district/school issues. There’s also an official public hearing Nov. 9 at district HQ. More on all that and the process overall is in the official district news release, which you can download here.

School news today/tonight: Attendance maps; IB @ Chief Sealth

Two school-related notes for today/tonight: First, 4 weeks after Seattle Public Schools released proposed attendance-boundary maps and then revealed the West Seattle maps had a major error, revised maps are scheduled to go public during a School Board work session that starts at 4 pm at district HQ downtown. Second, families interested in Chief Sealth High School’s International Baccalaureate program are invited to IB Information Night tonight, 7-8:30 pm in the library - more details on the official flyer. (Sealth’s currently at 5950 Delridge but if you’re looking ahead to next year or beyond, remember it’s scheduled to move back to its own campus at 2600 SW Thistle this fall.)

High-school sports: West Seattle schools’ big games this week

Big games ahead this week for some of West Seattle’s high-school athletes, starting tonight. Here’s the list:

*West Seattle High School girls’ soccer vs. Holy Names, 5 pm today, Memorial Stadium downtown

*Seattle Lutheran High School varsity football vs. Evergreen Lutheran, 7 pm Thursday at WS Stadium

*Chief Sealth High School varsity football vs Mercer Island, 5 pm Friday at Memorial Stadium

*West Seattle High School varsity football vs. Ferndale, 7:30 pm Saturday at Bellingham’s Civic Stadium

Also tonight: County budget hearing; WSHS play’s opening night

Two more events of note tonight: We’ve talked more about the city budget here than the county budget, but the latter is in the works too and tonight there’s one last public hearing before the King County Council Budget Committee- 7 pm in their chambers on the 10th floor of the King County Courthouse downtown - more here. (If you can’t be there, you’ll be able to watch live video on cable channel 22 or online here.) And tonight here in West Seattle, it’s the first performance for West Seattle High School’s fall play “Invasion from Mars,” a recreation of the radio play that seemed too real to be a play when broadcast decades ago: 7:30 pm, WSHS Theater. Yet more of today/tonight’s events are on the WSB Events calendar.