Seattle Public Schools classes may be over for the year, but the School Board still has work to do, and its agenda for tomorrow (Wednesday, June 28th), starting at 4:15 pm at district HQ (3rd/Lander in SODO) has these items of interest:

SOLAR POWER FOR ARBOR HEIGHTS, DENNY: When the new Arbor Heights Elementary was designed, there was a mention that it would be solar-ready for the future. According to an item on Wednesday’s board agenda, the future is approaching – AH and Denny International Middle School are two of six schools around the district planned for a pilot project. The documentation says AH is proposed for “1 ballasted rooftop array consisting of a total of 412 modules of 72 cell monocrystalline, 345W format” and Denny for “3 roof-penetrating rail-mounted rooftop arrays consisting of a total of 408 modules of 72 cell monocrystalline, 345W format.” The project has a price tag of more than $2 million but the district is getting a grant covering half a million, and says the sites were chosen for energy savings that will provide a “positive cash flow.” You can read the documentation here.

SCHOOL-BUS PADDLE-CAM TICKETS: The district’s been working on this for a while and now is looking at going full-speed-ahead with cameras on school-bus paddles, to detect violations and send tickets. One of those tickets will cost you $419. Of that amount, the agenda document says, $69 will go to the provider American Traffic Solutions. They’re expecting more than 9,100 violations a year, to be processed by the King County Sheriff’s Office (which also will get a share of the proceeds). Total expenses are projected to be more than half the expected revenue, so the district expects to net about $1.3 million a year.

CAPACITY: The board meeting will start with a “work session” at 4:15 pm, and part of it addresses the topic of “capacity.” No documentation in the agenda yet, but “capacity” is the umbrella topic that includes the possible move of Louisa Boren STEM K-8, so we’ll be monitoring.

Thanks to SBRE for today’s in-bus photo – as we remind you again that Seattle Public Schools are getting out an hour early today, last day of classes. Summer vacation continues until the first day of classes, September 6th (for kindergarteners, September 11th). And schedules will be different next year, as announced on June 15th, including weekly early dismissals on Wednesdays. Happy summer to all!

Wednesday night’s second Class of 2017 commencement ceremony at Southwest Athletic Complex launched more than 220 West Seattle High School graduates into the world. The class adviser, Tom Burggraff, called them “this school’s finest graduating class ever.” He explained why, in his speech following the welcome by ASB president Sean McCabe, who starts this clip:

Burggraff also is the parent of a 2017 grad (Andrew Burggraff), and saluted other grads’ families and friends, who filled the stands and cheered throughout:

Valedictorian Michaela Coontz spoke of concluding “the busiest year of our lives” and urged her peers to be flexible, instead of worrying about deciding their futures immediately, or worrying that whatever path they were setting out on couldn’t be changed:

After the diploma presentation, one more student spoke, ASB vice president Nahom Kassaye. Like adviser Burggraff earlier, he also hailed the Class of 2017 as the school’s most-successful class, and “most impactful.” And then, musical reassurance from an ensemble of graduates (plus a guest from another school), a 40-year-old song by Bob Marley – “Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be All Right”:

Then it was off to the staff receiving line as the grads left the field. Among those there to wish them well, Ruth Medsker, at her last commencement ceremony as WSHS principal:

Before the ceremony, we saw her successor, Brian Vance, on the sidelines:

With new beginnings on the way for many – the Class of 2017 went off into the night.

“We did it – we made it!” So exulted featured much-honored Mahala Provost at tonight’s Chief Sealth International High School graduation, before her show-stopping musical performance.

The hour-and-a-half ceremony celebrated Provost and more than 230 other Class of 2017 graduates – who principal Aida Fraser-Hammer (below with district Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland) said she would remember warmly because their first year at Sealth was hers too.

Here’s our video of the Class of 2017 entering Southwest Athletic Complex as the ceremony began:

Their principal also hailed the grads’ achievements, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships and shouted out to valedictorians Michelle Ly and Tommy Nguyen, and salutatorian Amy Ly. The program also listed 54 grads who made the National Honor Society (3.5 grade-point average or higher). Proud family and friends cheered loudly throughout the ceremony:

And the grads beamed:

Their featured speakers, Kaitlin Andrade and Sean Jenkins, shared memories, promising their classmates they’ll all be together again “at the reunion in 10 years”:

Staff speaker Matthew Schiavo honored the school’s international focus, greeting the grads in multiple languages, and exhorting them to “be your own #1 fan”:

And after the diploma pickups and the tassel-turning, it was time to move on, as the decorated caps showed in a multitude of ways:

They left the stadium through a receiving line of their now-former teachers and other Sealth staffers, perhaps with a memory of their principal’s declaration, “We are Seahawks – we are made to fly; we are made to soar.”

This was the first of two Wednesday night graduations at SWAC – our report on the second, West Seattle HS, is coming up.

For the second year, Chief Sealth High School alumni will gather at Lincoln Park for a multi-class reunion, and they’re inviting all classes from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s! It’s set for 5-8 pm Friday, July 28th, at beachfront picnic shelters #3 and #4, closest to the south end of the park (ferry-dock end). It’ll be catered by Dante’s Inferno Dogs, sponsored by David Katt (contributions welcome). Organizers say they’re hoping to make this an annual event – last year was well attended, and future events will “depend on level of interest and support.” Need more info? David is at 206-650-0863 or DJK@comcast.net. And if you use Facebook, you can join the reunion group.

(Photo courtesy Sanislo PTA: Louisa Boren STEM K-8 parents who supported their fundraiser)

“We called on the community and they really answered!” Rebecca Evans and the Sanislo Elementary PTA are still thrilled about the turnout they got at last weekend’s tropical-themed fundraiser: “Our goal was to raise $5,000 and we ended up raising $15,000!!!!” That wasn’t at all a sure thing – you might recall our story about their concerns, with days to go, that they had sold so few tickets, even at a low price with high hopes for helping a school community with many needs. But generous neighbors from around the peninsula responded to the pleas made here and elsewhere, and “we were able to go from having sold 20 tickets to overselling our 150 limit by about 20 tickets in less than a week! I’m still in shock and can’t wait to start planning how we’ll put those funds to use to support our students.” Though the party’s over, the needs are not, and you can still donate online by going here.

Chief Sealth International High School students will benefit from two notable donations:

When we covered the first Roll Hawks 5K last weekend, a benefit for the cross-country team, we noted that pre-race remarks mentioned a big donation on the way from Brooks Running. Tonight, volunteer assistant coach Chris Hoffman tells us more about it:

The Chief Sealth Cross Country Team was awarded a Brooks Running Scholarship last night at a ceremony at MoPop. Head coach Jim McCue applied for the scholarship earlier this year and we were notified a couple weeks ago that we were one of just 25 schools in the whole country to receive a scholarship. Through the scholarship, Brooks will donate $12,000 worth of uniforms, running shoes and gear (enough for up to 30 athletes) and $2,000 in cash to be used for team expenses. Coach Jim, assistant coach Marta Wambaugh, and myself [L-R in the photo] were on hand at the ceremony last night to receive the scholarship from Brooks.

And from Sealth academic dean Lori Douglas:

Ten Chief Sealth students were the lucky recipients of laptops from Logic 20/20. Their repurposed computers were CSI students’ gain! The students applied and wrote convincing arguments about why they should be the new owners of this valuable resource. Most common response: This will REALLY help me with my school work. Thank you to Logic 20/20 for their well-received donation!

Logic 20/20 is based in SODO.

Friday was historic for South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) and the other Seattle Colleges – their first combined commencement, at Safeco Field. The photo and report are from SSC communications director Ty Swenson:

South Seattle College’s Class of 2017 graduates were honored at Seattle Colleges’ “Empowered to Achieve” Commencement Ceremony on June 16 at Safeco Field. More than 900 South graduates were celebrated (with more than 300 attending the ceremony), having earned a wide variety of degrees, certificates and diplomas to support their future endeavors.

South Seattle College is part of the Seattle Colleges District (which also includes Seattle Central College, North Seattle College and the Seattle Vocational Institute), and for the first time in district history, 900 students from all campuses came together for a combined ceremony. They were joined by family, friends, and college faculty and staff.

“Tonight we celebrated an amazing class of South students who have opened the door to their future in pursuit of fulfilling, family-supporting careers,” said South Seattle College President Gary Oertli. “I admire our graduates for their dedication, and thank the important people in their lives – family, friends, instructors and allies – for supporting them every step of the way.”

Outgoing Student Body President Jackie Tran, a South graduate who plans to transfer to a four-year university to earn his bachelor’s degree in engineering, spoke during commencement.

“Now we are all Seattle Colleges graduates,” Tran said. “A new chapter in our lives begins now.”

South Seattle College conferred a total of 905 awards this year, including 460 associate transfer degrees that enable students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities in Washington and beyond to complete their bachelor’s degrees. Another 257 graduates earned associate degrees and certificates that prepare them to enter the workforce immediately. Sixty-eight graduates earned their bachelor’s degrees, and 120 graduates earned their high school diploma or equivalent, taking a significant step toward increased earning potential and future educational opportunities.

One day after that 15-minute meeting in which Seattle City Councilmembers approved giving Seattle Public Schools $2.3 million to help with transportation costs, the district has finalized next year’s schedules. They’ll be in two “tiers,” down from three previously, which means dramatically earlier starts for some schools that had been in the third tier, including two in our area.

The school days also will be 20 minutes longer for all students, the district says, and every Wednesday (except the first day of the school year) will be an early-release day (explained here).

Now published on the district website, the 2017-2018 elementary schedules are here; the K-8 schedules are here; the middle-school schedules are here; the high-school schedules are here.

We compared them to this year’s bell times, and here are the schools whose start times are changing:

Chief Sealth International High School starts 8:55 am, ten minutes later
Concord International (Elementary) starts 8:55 am, forty minutes earlier
Louisa Boren STEM K-8 starts 8:55 am, forty minutes earlier
Madison Middle School starts 8:55 am, ten minutes later
Pathfinder K-8 starts 8:55 am, ten minutes later

The district says anyone with questions can ask at their child(ren)’s school(s), or e-mail arrivaltimes@seattleschools.org.

(Playground at EC Hughes, photographed this morning)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

When Roxhill Elementary is moved from its current crumbling campus to 90+-year-old EC Hughes in fall 2018, its parents, teachers, and other supporters hope to have something special for the students that’s not part of the district’s modernization project: An improved playground.

School supporters, who have just relaunched their organization (formerly the PTSA) as Friends of Roxhill Elementary, met this week to talk about the playground aspirations and to get inspiration and advice from local parents/advocates who have already helmed playground projects.

Right now, the EC Hughes playground (as shown in our top photo) is mostly asphalt – all too common at older schools, and not an optimal use of the space. Read More

More student achievements to celebrate! The report is from Chief Sealth International High School principal Aida Fraser-Hammer:

The Global Navigator Scholarship program, which Seattle Public Schools helped pioneer, has culminated in $33,700 in scholarships awarded to 12 students to study abroad this coming summer. Of these 4 are Chief Sealth International High School students. These outstanding students are Alexander Thavongsa, who will study Japanese Language & Pop Culture in Tokyo; Clarissa Perez, who will study German Language & Culture in Berlin; Dominic Martin, who plans to study French Language Intensive in Rennes, France; and Rumi Conley, who will study Chinese Language & Culture in Nanjing and Shanghai.

In total, 7 students in the district accepted Global Navigator awards, culminating in $27,440 in accepted scholarships for Seattle Public Schools.

Thanks to Denny International Middle School principal Jeff Clark for the report and photos:

On Thursday evening, the Denny International Galleria was packed in anticipation of the Seventh Annual Eighth Grade Poetry Slam! Our scholars did an awesome job of bravely expressing their perspective, passion, and brilliance through the power of poetry! The audience experienced laughs, tears, snaps of agreement and encouragement, and rousing rounds of applause for our terrific young poets!

A huge thank you goes out to our amazing eighth-grade literacy teachers, Mr. Slingsby, Mr. Woods, Ms. Belka, Ms. Dashti, Ms. Yzaguirre, Ms. Olsen, our Assistant Principal for Literacy Ms. Nestor, Mr. King and Seattle Parks, DJ Sureal and the Zulu Nation, Denny City Year, El Paisano Rosticeria y Cocina, and all of our fantastic guests and staff who supported and encouraged our scholars!

More photos ahead: Read More

Thanks to Chief Sealth International High School teacher Noah Zeichner for the photo and report:

Chief Sealth International High School awarded the Washington State Seal of Biliteracy to 32 students, about 12% of the graduating senior class, at Thursday evening’s Senior Awards Nights. Students can qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy through a language competency test or by earning a score of 4 or higher in an IB language course. Earning the Seal implies that students are not just bilingual (speaking), but biliterate (reading and writing) in at least one language in addition to English. This year, Chief Sealth awarded the Seal of Biliteracy to students who read and write in Spanish, Amharic, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, Somali, and Oromo.

Chief Sealth administers world language competency tests each fall in several languages as part of its international programming. The school aims to recognize the diverse linguistic skills that students bring to the school community. Several Chief Sealth Seal of Biliteracy recipients were also recognized at the June 7 Seattle School Board meeting.

Thanks to Debbie Taylor from the Friends of Sealth Scholarship Committee for the report and photo:

Friends of Sealth (a non-profit organization supporting the 5 A’s of Chief Sealth: Academics, Athletics, Arts, Activities, and Alumni) was privileged to award scholarships to three Chief Sealth International High School students at Senior Awards night last night held in the school auditorium.

Pictured left to right: Katherine Fry, Performing Arts recipient; Michelle Ly, Academic recipient; Laurel Glatzmayer, Athletic recipient. Friends of Sealth congratulates the dedication of these three individuals to their education and the disciplines for which they were awarded.