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January 16, 2008 at 12:07 am #586251
steveParticipantWe have 2 children, one currently a 1st grader and one a pre-schooler. Currently, they go to school in another neighborhood due to work and childcare but we are looking into moving them to a public school in W Seattle in the 2009-2010 school year. We are interested in both Sanislo and Gatewood at this point, but am open to other suggestions. Does anyone have any info about these two schools or others?
January 16, 2008 at 4:49 am #613925
WSBKeymasterSteve – more and more, each school has a special area of emphasis or a special feature, even at the elementary level. So you’ll want to ask about that, depending on what your little ones’ interests are evolving toward. We were just up covering a story at Pigeon Point Park next to Cooper Elementary, for example, last week, and were learning about the environmental/art special offerings there. Our son attended Lafayette for three years and we were greatly impressed with the principal, teachers, staffers, and parent commitment. In our role as WSB editor, we have met and corresponded with people from many schools around West Seattle, all of whom have a passion for and devotion to their schools. I hope more of them will find this thread in the coming days and tell you about the schools they know best!
January 16, 2008 at 5:22 am #613926
BonnieParticipantSSCC is having a kindergarten fair to check out the schools. Of course the kindy teachers will be there but so will the principal of each school. You can go check it out.
From their website
Free Kindergarten Fair – January 30, 2008 – 6 – 9pm
Jerry Brockey Center, SSCC Campus, 6000 – 16th Ave SW, Seattle WA, 98106
While this year will mark our 10th annual Kindergarten Fair, this will be the first time that it will be held on a Wednesday evening. Parents of children who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall will have the opportunity to meet with teachers, principals and parents from public and private schools available to West Seattle families. Representatives from Seattle Public Schools Enrollment Services will be available to answer questions and to accept enrollment forms. The public is welcome.
January 16, 2008 at 5:23 am #613927
BonnieParticipantOh, wanted to add that I haven’t heard much about Gatewood (but nothing bad) but heard good things about Sanislo.
January 16, 2008 at 5:39 pm #613928
karenParticipantMy son is at Gatewood and I am VERY happy there. We have some a little bouncing around because there are some special needs that need to be met. I feel very welcome there, parents are welcome to come in and work in the class. The staff respects my child as a person and works with him to help him achieve his potential. One of the best things is that there is a respect for the child. Children are invited to attend the conferences (if the parent wishes) to talk about their strengths and goals. There is no feeling of negativity, only a willingness to help the child succeed.
Good Luck.
January 16, 2008 at 8:29 pm #613929
AnonymousInactiveI would suggest going to the School fair at SSC, as well as making a persoal visit to the schools you are interested in and maybe take your children there. When it was time to enroll our daughter in kindergarten I just called the school spoke with the principals and made some visits with my daughter with me. Sine she was the one that would be attending one of these schools it was important that she feel comfortable and familiar with the school. We were able to observe afew different classrooms at different school, meet the principal, office staff and the teachers. It made going to school on that first day less nerve racking for our child.
Right now I believe we still have reference schools, meaning you have priority to our neighborhood, but going out of your reference area you might not always find room for your children. Our daughters class at Roxhill has just 18 students and I hear from a friend who’s child attend LaFayette there are 30 kids in her sons class!!
January 16, 2008 at 8:56 pm #613930
steveParticipantThanks for your comments. We have visited Sanislo and Gatewood and liked what we saw at both of those schools and we will definitely check out a few others too. Fortunately, we aren’t in a huge rush to make this decision.
Karen, our current school encourages the children to attend the conferences and I like that too. The teacher had each student do a presentation for their parents and it was so cool!
We are interested in smaller classes, although our child is doing great in a large class right now and we would like to go to a school where parental involvement is highly encouraged.
January 17, 2008 at 3:31 am #613931
swParticipantI have two kids at Gatewood and couldn’t be happier. Glad to hear you enjoyed your visit. It is nice that there are a variety of schools to choose from – each one will have a bit of different appeal to parents and kids alike. Definitely go to the kindergarten fair so you can check out all of the schools, and you’ll eventually find yourself gravitating toward one or two. I’d also recommend going to an event at each school so you can get a true sense of the community there. Feel free to ping me back if you want your head filled with any Gatewood propaganda.
January 17, 2008 at 9:14 pm #613932
steveParticipantYes, please SW, tell us more about Gatewood!
January 17, 2008 at 11:06 pm #613933
swParticipantIt just so happens that tonight (1/17) is Kindergarten Information Night at Gatewood. If you can make it, there will be administrators, staff and parents in attendance to answer questions. Most of the elementary schools will be doing this, so log onto each one’s website for dates and times – links are on the “Schools” tab at the top of the blog. We’ll also have the same folks at the upcoming fairs at SSCC and the SSD Headquarters.
January 29, 2008 at 5:22 am #613934
westieMemberWe have a son at Gatewood, we went out of cluster to send him there, and think it’s a great school. There is an acceptance there, where the kids can learn in different ways and come from different backgrounds- and have that be celebrated. Also it doesn’t seem clicky among the students or the parents. Those factors won’t show up on the WASL, but are just as important to me as a parent.
June 5, 2008 at 7:57 pm #613935
ellenaterMemberI wanted to bring this up to see if anyone has anything to add. Our guys has an IEP but has done amazing this year. He went from a reading level 6 to a level 30. I love his teacher and think she knew how to get him invested!
The two schools we’ve heard might be good matches for our quirky little guy are: Gatewood and Schmitz. I liked westie’s review of Gatewood a lot.
Does anyone know how the cluster thing works over here? I find that infinitely confusing.
Thanks!
Ln8r
June 5, 2008 at 8:33 pm #613936
addParticipantellentor – you might also take a look at Pathfinder K-8. It’s an “alternative” school, part of the Seattle Public Schools, and still required to meet standards requirements, etc. The alternative part comes in with regard to the teaching philosophy, expeditionary learning model, emphasis & respect for the “whole child” etc. When my son started K seven years ago he also had an IEP, was definitely “quirky”, needed extra attention with regard to social/emotional development. Pathfinder was the best place for him – he thrived there and today would be considered a “typical” (although definitely still quirky!!) student at Madison Middle School. He flourished academically and socially and I credit that in large part to the dedicated staff and community at Pathfinder.
June 5, 2008 at 8:35 pm #613937
addParticipantPS – regarding clusters – depending on where you live you will be considered in the north or south cluster which gives you some priority for those schools. If you choose a school out of the cluster you are not eligible for transportation services. Pathfinder, however, is an all-WS draw so bus transportation is available to anyone in WS if other distance requirements are met.
I hope I got all that right!
June 5, 2008 at 11:02 pm #613938
ellenaterMemberThanks, add!
I need to get on this pronto…
I love Pathfinder and a friend of mine volunteered there and raved about it. I did research it for the little guy awhile back but thought there wasn’t enough structure for him. He thrives on structure and gets really flustered without it. Is this a correct impression? If they do have the structure I would check it out in a heartbeat.
I love your story about your son. My son is in the same boat and is doing so good right now. He has grown an unbelievable amount this year! He was in a looped classroom for first and second which is now ending. So he will lose his stellar teacher. :( The funny thing is, she lives in West Seattle so we will still get to see her. I attribute her greatness to the fact that she grew up and still lives in West Seattle. :)
Thanks again,
Ln8r
June 5, 2008 at 11:04 pm #613939
addParticipantln8r – send my your email address & I’ll be happy to give you more info off-line!
June 6, 2008 at 2:25 am #613940
ellenaterMemberJune 15, 2008 at 8:50 pm #613941
ebaerMemberAs a Pathfinder parent, I have found variability in the amount of structure there. While all classrooms do have structure, it seems like in each grade band there are more and less structured classrooms. If you discuss your child’s needs with the teachers and principal, I have found them extremely accommodating to children’s needs. (Sort of obvious, since they all want the kids to succeed, but at another non-SPS elementary I had experiences with, it seemed like kid’s needs were disregarded.)
June 26, 2008 at 11:56 pm #613942
ellenaterMemberThanks, ebaer. Unfortunately Pathfinder is completely full. Not a chance. :(
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