School-closure fight: Cooper Elementary’s “fact sheet” out

Days after Arbor Heights Elementary was proposed for “program closure” in the “preliminary recommendations” from Seattle Public Schools leadership two weeks ago, its community prepared and released a “fact sheet” (WSB report here). Now, the morning after its official appearance on the potential closure list – its program, not its building – Cooper Elementary has created a “fact sheet” as well, so we wanted to share that with you. Read it here (7-page PDF) in its entirety. Among many other points, the document showcases some of Cooper’s programs, like these two:

*Cooper’s Bilingual Program serves a culturally diverse group of English language learners. Two bilingual teachers and three instructional assistants provide instruction and support to students and parents who speak Spanish, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Somali.

*Cooper’s Autism Program continuum serves 24 students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Eight students are served in Cooper’s general education classrooms with additional support and instruction provided by one special education teacher and 2 instructional assistants. Sixteen students are served in rooms 209 and 107, Cooper’s self-contained Autism K-2 and 3-5 classrooms. They are supported by two special education teachers and six instructional assistants. Additionally, Cooper’s resource room supports students with learning disabilities and developmental delays through both pull-put and push-in support.

The document also says closing Cooper’s program would eliminate the Earth Project (here’s its link on the Cooper site), which we’ve mentioned previously. Again, here’s where you can read the Cooper document in its entirety; the school is having a meeting tomorrow night – we covered the first Cooper meeting last Friday. Also, if you missed it last night, the latest “potential final recommendations” for school closures and changes citywide are summarized on the district website here.

1 Reply to "School-closure fight: Cooper Elementary's "fact sheet" out"

  • Jennifer December 11, 2008 (7:33 pm)

    One loud, “THANK YOU!” for listening and posting voices from the Cooper community.

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