Sanislo Elementary PTA is hosting a dineout with Puerto Vallarta in the Junction on Wednesday, January 22nd. If customers dine in or take out all day, 20% of the proceeds will go to help support Sanislo PTA. Join Sanislo families from 4-7, and there will be a piñata at 6:30, full of trinkets and fidgets for the kids!

Thanks to those who forwarded this: One night before the Seattle Public Schools Board was scheduled to have a special meeting to authorize superintendent Dr. Brent Jones to withdraw his plan to close four schools, he sent families a message tonight saying he’s doing just that, declaring the district will find other ways to save money – next school year, at least:

As Superintendent, I take seriously the responsibility of ensuring our district’s schools meet the needs of every student while operating sustainably for the future.

Earlier this year, the Seattle School Board directed me to develop a preliminary recommendation for elementary school closures and consolidations to address enrollment declines, budgetary challenges, stabilizing programs and services.

After much deliberation, reflection, and engagement with our community, it is clear there is no longer a pathway for this approach for the 2025-26 school year. I am withdrawing my preliminary recommendation, and we will not pursue school closures and consolidations for the upcoming school year. The Board will vote Tuesday to formally approve this direction.

This decision was not made lightly and reflects the Board and my shared priority: the needs and well-being of our students, families, and community. While our Board recognized the vision for the proposed changes, and many in our community understood the need for stability behind them, this decision allows us to clarify the process, deepen our understanding of the potential impacts, and thoughtfully determine our next steps.

The projected $5.5 million savings from the proposed closures are significant. However, we agree that achieving these savings should not come at the cost of dividing our community.

The discourse surrounding this issue highlighted the need for constructive conversations and collaboration to replace conflict, as meaningful progress for our students requires unity and shared purpose.

Instead, we will focus on addressing our district’s budget shortfall through legislative and levy renewal advocacy, as well as pursuing operational efficiencies aligned with our shared values and priorities. We also remain committed to addressing the underlying issues that drove this initial proposal. These challenges remain critical to ensuring the long-term health of our district, and we will continue to work together to find solutions and ensure any adjustments we make are both equitable and sustainable. …

The closure possibility loomed over months of meetings, discussions, and protests about what the district originally suggested would result in a system of “well-resourced schools” – a concept first introduced a year and a half ago – closing up to 20 of them and offering two possible slates of closures. That was eventually whittled down to four elementaries including Sanislo. Then last week’s emotional board meeting ended with Dr. Jones saying he might withdraw the plan.

P.S. If you want to talk with West Seattle/South Park school-board director Gina Topp about any of this – or any other SPS topic – her community conversation meeting remains on for 6:30 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, November 26) at West Seattle (Admiral) Library (2306 42nd SW), shortly after the board’s one-issue, online-only meeting to officially cancel the closures.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Three weeks after Seattle Public Schools superintendent Dr. Brent Jones announced plans to close Sanislo Elementary and three other schools to save money, district reps came to Sanislo tonight for an info/Q&A session.

Parents and students around the room came for a fight, though the district reps on hand weren’t the decisionmakers (ultimately, that’s the School Board). They held signs like the one below to show their support for the Puget Ridge school and its staff. Principal Erika Ayer opened by talking a bit about the school’s history and traditions. But the night was largely short on specifics – talk of a “transition,” but not of how exactly it would work.

District chief of staff Bev Redmond filled in for the superintendent, who she said is sick. She said “he would tell you …. this is one of the hardest conversations to have with a (school community).” First came a presentation led by Dr. Marni Campbell (below right), the administrator overseeing the process, who said they’re in a “30-day period of public review” for the proposed closures. She insisted the district isn’t taking the closure/consolidation plan “lightly” but that it wants to ensure students have access to things they can’t do at a smaller school. The slide on the screen made lofty promises about “enhanced learning” and expanded “holistic support.”

Next, director of school operations Tyler Hamilton (above left) took the mic. Why is Sanislo one of the four schools targeted for closing? A slide carried three points: “Building condition and learning environment scores” was at the top of the list. Sanislo is in poor condition, Hamilton said, and its learning environment (“design of the building”) is “fair.” (Sanislo has a unique open design.) Also, “regional distribution of students” is a factor, and “which buildings in West Seattle make the most sense to use as schools.” He showed enrollment numbers from last month – 140 currently at Sanislo, 263 at Highland Park Elementary, with which it’s proposed to be merged. The grid he showed also looked at staffing, some of which would go down per student – one principal and a halftime assistant principal for the combined schools as opposed to two fulltime principals for the two schools, for example. A half-FTE librarian for the combined school – as opposed to half for each school.

Then came a slide selling the benefits of HPE – “a well-resourced, updated facility,” for example. They promised a “full continuum of special-education services.” Campbell said the hope is that the two schools would truly come together, even a merger of PTAs.

Next step: A hearing in December, she said, but while the closure isn’t yet a done deal, it’s important to think ahead to “what will we do, what could we do.” That led, about 20 minutes into the meeting, to the moderator for Q&A. They offered the chance for people to speak aloud or write their question on a card.

Ken was first at the mic. “This is a good school,” he declared, and then brought up Chicago’s unsuccessful bout with school closures. “Why are you closing Sanislo without evidence that it benefits students OR the budget?”

District chief operations officer Fred Podesta said they have a history of opening/closing buildings and they do know how it’ll affect the budget but they really want to invest in “schools that will be successful.” He claimed very few districts have schools with fewer than 300 students – while SPS “has 29.” “We think we can replicate what’s great” in creating these consolidated schools.

Another parent said her student will have less weekly access to arts and music, and that consolidation will mean less attention for the students already at Highland Park, so why is that better? Hamilton said Sanislo has extra music “purchased through a grant” and that’s not shown in the charts they’ve been circulating, so the situation may be better than it looks. Campbell said the teacher positions follow the students – not necessarily the same teachers, though.

The moderator then read written questions which again noted the lower per-capita staff numbers projected for the combined school, Hamilton said they’re “still working through the budget” to see what the actual plan would be. Another question again focused on the strain that will be placed at Highland Park. Campbell said that all the school administrators citywide involved with this “see the benefit of more students.” She claimed Highland Park’s principal Mary McDaniel had said it was getting harder year by year as the enrollment got smaller and smaller (some scoffing was heard in the crowd).

A parent of two Sanislo students broke into tears as she took the mic. “How can you guys guarantee that our kids aren’t going to bear the brunt of the (budget) fix – what are you guys going to give up?” The district is who broke the budget, not the kids, she said. “Do you have plans for busing the families who live super-far from Highland Park?” She said the staff makes this a special place and if the consolidation goes ahead, she wants to see them go with the kids.

Chris Carter, the district official who supervises principals in this region, and is their liaison with the central office. He said, like Redmond, he wanted to recognize “how hard” this is. “What does the transition look like? All the key stakeholders,” he said, talking about “building transition plans” for staff, students, families.

Ann, both a community member and the nurse at Sanislo and Roxhill, talked about the school sitting in the Longfellow Creek watershed, and being among the most linguistically diverse schools. Low-income children, children of color, benefit from being in these environmental spaces. Roxhill was moved from being next to the greenspace. Now Sanislo is being proposed for a move, and how does that affect social/emotional health? Campbell said that’s “definitely something to take under consideration.”

Back to cards – why aren’t the actual teachers following the kids, who will “lose contact with trusted teachers and staff.” Hamilton said, “We want the communities to be able to move together,” but they also have to honor labor agreements.” But “we want staff who want to move with the students to be able to do that.” But, he said, if enrollment keeps declining at individual schools, they have to make hard choices about what to let go, and this should reduce that.

A question read off a card was from a parent wondering if she’d be able to transfer her student to Louisa Boren STEM K-8. “That would happen during the open enrollment period,” replied Campbell. She added that they could have a “school-closure tiebreaker” to give some preference to families like that.

It was almost 7 pm by then; Redmond offered to extend it 15 minutes, as they had done at a similar meeting at Sacajawea.

The next questioner at the mic talked about her son getting extra reading help from a teacher, which she said might not be available at a larger school. She recalled that a lack of attention like that was a challenge during her school days. What are you going to do for kids not to get passed on when they don’t know the material?

Whatever transition happens, Campbell said, they’ll maintain the “caring relationships you’re talking about.”

Next at the mic, a Sanislo graduate, offering “more of a thought,” and breaking up – “This is personal to us – aside from learning, teachers, they were like our parents. They could scold us. My mom gave permission to anybody at this school to scold me.” She talked about Sanislo’s open layout, not “stuck behind four walls.” She wanted to know what opportunity people have to “raise money, get grants” to try to help with the budget problem rather than see the school “ripped away.”

What are you planning to do with the school and land if Sanislo does close? Podesta answered that, saying they’d keep the property in their inventory and “look for interim uses … as the city grows and grows it’s harder to find property” so they’d keep it, but hopefully make the greenspace available to the community. The building, though, might be torn down.

Note-card question: How does the superintendent justify accepting a raise when the district has a budget deficit? Redmond said “yes, the superintendent did receive a cost-of-living adjustment” – that drew laughter – “I won’t justify that, but” it was part of the “terms of his employment.” But, she said, “we have to hustle” to tell legislators “our schools deserve the maximum funding … we don’t want to be in a position like this.” She returned again to “It’s incredibly hard to have this conversation … I can see the love resonating in you … our next step to balance the budget is to head to Olympia.”

One more person had a turn with the mic, and impassioned words: “I’m not hearing any solution for our kids – where are our kids in this? I don’t want to lose all this for my daughter to be like a sardine.” Also, she wondered, where will the other $94 million budget savings be found. “How will you fix your mistakes by closing this school? You say this school is old … that’s your fault. … How do you say these things, with no solution? Sanislo has a lot of people behind it” – multiple generations of supporters. “You can make a family in a school – give us a solution – I’m pretty sure Highland Park already has enough work – I hope there is time … make a difference, make it work, for our kids.”

And with that, the meeting was a wrap – after the moderator was interrupted by the last speaker standing up again to say “Sanislo, we love you, we are a family.”

The next meeting will be November 25th, and they hope to have online access for that one as well as in-person.

(Morning clouds, photographed by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)

Highlights for today/tonight, mostly from our Event Calendar, where you can get a preview days, weeks, even months ahead

POSTCARDS4DEMOCRACY: Long-distance advocacy via handwritten postcards sent to voters in other states – the work continues – drop in 10:30 am-noon at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), all welcome.

ROTARY CLUB OF WEST SEATTLE: Lunch meeting at noon at West Seattle Golf Course (4470 35th SW).

CHESS CLUB: Tuesdays 1:30-3 pm, at the Center for Active Living (4217 SW Oregon). All levels welcome. (Questions? Email conwell@conwelld.net.)

ADOPT-A-STREET CLEANUP: 4 pm, join the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s quarterly cleanup. Meet at California/Charlestown.

CITY BUDGET HEARING: 5 pm in person at City Hall or online, your last major chance to speak out on what the city should or shouldn’t be spending money on these next two years. Our preview has participation information.

DROP-IN WINE TASTING: 5-7 pm Tuesdays at Walter’s Wine Shop (4811 California SW) – $10 fee, $5 off with bottle purchases.

DEMONSTRATION FOR BLACK LIVES: Long-running weekly sign-waving demonstration on the corners at 16th/Holden. 5-6 pm. Signs available if you don’t bring your own.

SANISLO ELEMENTARY CLOSURE INFO: 6 pm meeting at the school for families and staff, convened by Seattle Public Schools, as previewed here. (1912 SW Myrtle)

FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: Monthly board meeting, community welcome, as previewed here; 6 pm at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (online option available), 9131 California SW.

SCRABBLE NIGHT: 6-10 pm tonight, play Scrabble at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW).

FREE TRACK RUN: All runners welcome! Meet at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) for this free weekly run at 6:15 pm.

HOPE LUTHERAN MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: 6:30 pm at Hope Lutheran School North (4100 SW Genesee).

MAKE POTTERY: Weekly 6:30-9 pm “girls’ night” at pottery studio The Clay Cauldron (5214 Delridge Way SW), sign up in advance to work on your project(s).

ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: 7 pm general gathering at Admiral Church (4320 SW Hill), with guests including City Attorney Ann Davison, as previewed here.

FREE SWING-DANCE LESSON: Tonight at 7 pm at Center for Active Living, start learning swing dancing! (4217 SW Oregon).

BINGO AT THE SKYLARK: Play – free! Tuesday nights bring Belle of the Balls Bingo hosted by Cookie Couture, 7 pm. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

TRIVIA X 5: Now there are five trivia options for Tuesday – new, 7 pm trivia at Future Primitive‘s Beer Bar on Alki (2536 Alki SW) … The Beer Junction (4711 California SW) has Sporcle Pub Quiz with David at 7 and 8 pm … 7 pm at Ounces (3803 Delridge Way SW), free and hosted by Beat the Geek Trivia; 7 pm at Zeeks Pizza West Seattle (6459 California SW), hosted by Geeks Who Drink; 7:10 pm at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW).

Planning an event? Tell your West Seattle neighbors via our event calendar – just email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

Dear Sanislo Families,

Sanislo Elementary has been identified for potential closure and consolidation with Highland Park Elementary in the Superintendent’s preliminary recommendation for rightsizing and stabilizing our school district.

We would like to invite you to a meeting to talk about upcoming potential closure and consolidation on Tuesday Nov. 12, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Sanislo. Interpreters will be available as needed.

Please note this is not a hearing. Those will be scheduled in December.

We want to make sure our families have the chance to fully understand the recommendation, ask questions, and share ideas for how we could implement a potential closure and consolidation with care and support.

Please note: This is a meeting to support the Sanislo community. SPS will host more engagement opportunities for the broader community. This is a time for us to address the specific questions and needs of Sanislo Elementary families.

As previously reported, Sanislo Elementary is one of four elementary schools around the city that Seattle Public Schools is proposing to close to save money. One week ago, we covered a community-organized meeting on the Sanislo playground to talk about families’ desire to fight the closure. The final vote wouldn’t be until early next year, with the closure to take effect starting next school year – Sanislo students, and some of its staff, would be merged into Highland Park Elementary. So what happens in the meantime? First, a meeting for Sanislo families, next Tuesday (November 12), 6 pm at the school (1812 SW Myrtle). The announcement sent by principal Erika Ayer underscores that this meeting is intended for the Sanislo community, and that the formal “hearing” would be in December.

(Seattle Public Schools photo)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The word “devastated” came up repeatedly when more than 50 people gathered tonight outside Sanislo Elementary to talk about Seattle Public Schools‘ proposal to close it.

The community-organized gathering – whose leaders asked that video not be taken – was a chance for parents, teachers, neighbors, and students to talk directly to school board director Gina Topp about how they feel, as well as, as an organizer put it, a chance for their voices to be heard in the process, where they had not been heard previously.

They told their stories about what the school is like for them and their kids. Every student is known, every student is greeted, every student is understood, many participants explained. The school has 145 students, according to district data, and is proposed to be merged into Highland Park Elementary, with 276, for a combined population of 421,

It was a diverse crowd – including an immigrant parent who said that after coming to this country “looking for something better,” she discovered a school that was “like a family – received us with open arms.” She also appreciated that Sanislo is a “multicultural school.” The school is 78 percent BIPOC, 74 percent low income. Its staff is diverse too; one of the bilingual teachers who attended the meeting has been at Sanislo for 35 years.

Some of the participating parents have or had multiple children there. More than one expressed sadness that if the closure plan for next year and beyond goes through, their younger children won’t be able to attend the same school as their siblings. One mom was a Sanislo alum herself.

Topp said she was mostly there to listen. Both she and a union rep stressed that there’s not much information yet about how this will all play out – except that the board’s final vote is due in January, after a round of hearings at the four elementaries around the city, including Sanislo, that are proposed for closure. She said she didn’t know yet how she would vote on it. But she stressed that the district’s $94 million budget gap has to be closed somehow – and that the overarching issue is the need for more state funding to fully cover the cost of education.

But that big issue is hard to get your arms around when what you see is a plan to close your child’s school. Some of the staff will be able to move with the students, but not all: “Our librarian dressed up as Mary Poppins yesterday,” recounted one attendee. “She can’t go to Highland Park because it will be kept as a half-time position there,” and that position already is filled. The uncertainty of staffers’ fate “compounds the situation,” one attendee observed.

Some attendees were angry at the injustice they see in the closure plan. One pointed out that eastern West Seattle already has seen other school communities disrupted in recent years – Roxhill Elementary and Cooper Elementary, for two.

Organizers assembled fact sheets, including a refutation of what they say some school-board directors claimed, that Sanislo has a high educational cost per student. Larger West Seattle Elementary, for example, costs only $333 less per year per student. The fact sheet also notes that the “well-resourced school” to which Sanislo students would be moved isn’t necessarily going to be more “well-resourced” than their current school once its population balloons – they say it’ll mean “less time in the library and less specialist time in Art and Music.” Some students who live north of Sanislo will be bused more than two miles to Highland Park, though they are less than half a mile from Boren STEM K-8

Other arguments organizers are making to try to save Sanislo: “Highland Park and Sanislo will BOTH be needed as neighborhood schools to keep up with population increase. By closing Sanislo, Highland Park will be the only neighborhood school for all of Delridge, which has a population of 32,044.” They contend it should be rebuilt rather than closed.

What about the Sanislo building being in bad shape? That’s the district’s fault, organizers contend, neglecting to invest in building improveents for many years: “The building’s disrepair is the result of the District’s neglect, hich now students are paying for.” But the school has an incredible asset in their “green space and city-protected wetlands.”

The fact sheet ends with a plea to “keep Sanislo open.”

Early in the meeting, one participant described Sanislo as a “little sanctuary.” Asked how best to have a say in its fate, Topp replied, “Talk to me, talk to other board directors,” and help them figure out how to fix the budget long-term. “We need everyone heading in the same direction to make our education system work.” (You can reach her, for starters, at gktopp@seattleschools.org.)

(Patterns on smoke-tree leaves, photographed by Suzanne Krom)

Here’s today’s list of what’s happening, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar (where you can always look ahead, and where you’ll find even more events than we spotlight in the list):

FOOD/CLOTHING DRIVE CONTINUES, WITH EXTENDED DROPOFF: Third day of the dropoff drive at West Seattle High School (3000 California SW) to benefit students and families served by the Care Center, until 4 pm inside the school or 4-5 pm today outside the “historical entrance” on the school’s north side.

WALKING FOR WELL-BEING: Meet at 47th/Fauntleroy at 10 am. Details in our calendar listing.

TODDLER READING TIME AT PAPER BOAT: 10:30 am at Paper Boat Booksellers (6040 California SW).

SOUTHWEST ARTIST SHOWCASE: Final days to see what community artists are showing at the Southwest Library (9010 35th SW), open today noon to 8 pm; you can visit to see the display any time.

HOMEWORK HELP: 4-7:30 pm at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond), volunteers are there to help K-12 students with their homework.

SANISLO ELEMENTARY MEETING: As announced at school-board director Gina Topp‘s meeting last Sunday, a community-organized meeting is planned for the proposed-for-closure school’s community at 5 pm today on the school playground. Translators for Vietnamese, Spanish, and Somali. (1812 SW Myrtle)

FIX-IT WORKSHOP: Fix it, don’t toss it! Weekly event, free (donations appreciated), 5:30-7:30 pm at West Seattle Tool Library (4408 Delridge Way SW, northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center).

HEALING THROUGH CREATIVITY: Second week for a 14-week online group following “The Artist’s Way” meets starting tonight, 6 pm – info in our calendar listing.

TRIVIA x 4: Four trivia options tonight: At 6 pm, Locust Cider (2820 Alki SW) offers trivia … Larry’s Tavern (3405 California SW) hosts Wednesday-night trivia starting at 7:30 pm … Quiz Night begins at 8 pm at Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW) … and at 8:30 pm, trivia with Phil T at Talarico’s (4718 California SW).

FREE GROUP RUN: All runners, all levels, are welcome to join the weekly West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) group run – meet at the shop by 6:15 pm.

SCHOOL LEVIES INFO MEETING: 6:30 pm online meeting with info about next February’s proposed Seattle Public Schools levies. Connection and call-in details are here.

LIVE MUSIC AT THE LOCOL: 6:30 pm. 21+. Rotating performer slate. (7902 35th SW)

MUSIC BINGO X 2: One night, two games! Play at The Good Society (California/Lander), 7 pm … At Three 9 Lounge (39th/Oregon), you can play MINGO music bingo, hosted by Mingo Maniac, at 7:30 pm Wednesdays.

KUNDALINI YOGA AND GONG BATH: 7 pm with Inner Alchemy at Move2Center (3618 SW Alaska), $35; ticket link is in our calendar listing.

SKYLARK OPEN MIC: Your turn in the spotlight! 7:30 pm signups for West Seattle’s longest-running open mic. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

Planning an open house, reading, tour, fundraiser, sale, discussion, show, meeting, presentation, etc., that’s open to the community? Please send us info so we can add it to West Seattle’s only comprehensive event calendar! westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

Join us on October 28th, 2024, for a special Dine-In or Take-n-Bake event at Mission Cantina, where 20% of proceeds will support Sanislo PTA! You can enjoy your favorite dishes in two ways:

Dine-In:

● Hours: 4:00 PM – 12:00 AM
● Enjoy a night out with friends and family while savoring mouthwatering dishes!

Take-n-Bake Option (Pre-Order Only):
Pre-order “The Whole Enchilada” and enjoy a feast at home with your family! For $100, you’ll get a kit that feeds 4-6 people and includes:
● 2 Carnitas Enchiladas
● 2 Sweet Potato Enchiladas
● 2 Chicken & Green Chili Enchiladas
● 4 Black Bean & Cheese Enchiladas
● Verde, Roja, & Creamy Chipotle Sauces
● Shredded Cheese
● Cumin Black Beans and Spanish Red Rice
● Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa
● House-Made Corn Tortilla Chips

Pre-order your take-n-bake kit today!

Take-n-Bake orders must be placed by midnight on October 25th, 2024. Pick-up will be available during dine-in hours on the day of the event.

Pay Ahead and Reserve Your Take-n-Bake Now!
order.toasttab.com/online/mission-cantina

4:04 PM: The list is out. Seattle Public Schools superintendent Dr. Brent Jones is finally out with his promised short list of school closures/consolidations – four in all, including Sanislo Elementary on Puget Ridge, consolidating it into Highland Park Elementary. Here’s his full message:

Dear SPS Families, Staff, and Community,

Thank you for your unwavering dedication to our students and schools. We are incredibly grateful for your ongoing support and commitment to helping us navigate these challenging times.

Balancing our budget is no easy task, especially as we face a significant shortfall. However, our guiding mission remains clear: ensuring that every student receives an excellent education in an environment that fosters learning and growth.

Our Budget Challenge
Like many districts across the state and nation, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is grappling with a persistent budget shortfall. Declining enrollment—driven by rising housing costs, the ongoing impact of COVID, and a shift towards home-based instruction and private schools—has compounded the issue. Additionally, state funding for public schools continues to fall short.

We find ourselves at a critical financial juncture. Yet despite these challenges, SPS remains a place where excellence thrives. We proudly serve nearly 50,000 students, offering enriching academic experiences, extracurricular activities, and vital special education services. Our goal is to preserve these opportunities and ensure every student, in every school, has access to high-quality education and the support they need to grow.

Our Path Forward
We know many of you have experienced frustration as we’ve worked through these difficult decisions, and we are grateful for your passion and feedback. We face a $94 million shortfall for the 2025-26 school year. To address this, we are pursuing several strategies:

1. School Consolidations: After careful consideration and listening to your concerns, we are moving forward with a smaller plan to merge four schools in the 2025-26 school year.

This consolidation is part of a larger strategy to stabilize our finances. By closing these four under-enrolled schools, we will start to build a stronger, more sustainable school system. This is the best way forward in ensuring our district continues to provide the high-quality education our students deserve.

My preliminary recommendation to the School Board will be the following:

Northwest Region: Closing – North Beach Elementary Consolidating with Viewlands Elementary at Viewlands
Northeast Region: Closing – Sacajawea Elementary Consolidating with John Rogers Elementary at John Rogers
Central Region: Closing – Stevens Elementary Consolidating with Montlake Elementary at Montlake
Southwest Region: Closing – Sanislo Elementary Consolidating with Highland Park Elementary at Highland Park
We understand this change is difficult. We chose these schools based on factors like building condition, space, and the goal of minimizing disruption to students and families. A dedicated transition team will be working with the impacted communities to ensure a smooth and supportive process for everyone involved.

We recognize the deep connection that our community has with its schools, and we are committed to a thoughtful and transparent process. Starting next week, we will hold engagement sessions at impacted schools, offering in-person support weekly through November 23. Additionally, a districtwide information session will take place on Thursday, Nov. 14, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

2. Advocating for Legislative Support: We are actively seeking full support from the state legislature to help cover our budget shortfall, particularly in areas like special education, transportation, and operational costs. In addition, we are advocating for an extension of our interfund loan and seeking to fully utilize our levy authority.

3. Central Office Reductions: To keep cuts away from classrooms, we are identifying operational reductions within our central office, including staff reorganizations and adjustments.

4. Changing School Bell Times: We will transition to a three-tier bell schedule, which will allow us to reduce transportation costs by running more bus routes with fewer buses.

5. Renewing Levies: In February 2025, we will ask voters to renew two critical levies—the Educational Programs & Operations (EP&O) Levy and the Building Excellence (BEX VI) Levy—which provide vital funding for school operations and maintenance.

Efforts to Increase Enrollment
To attract more families back to SPS, we are conducting an enrollment study. This study, expected to be completed by December, will guide our efforts in recruitment and retention, helping us build a stronger, more vibrant school community.

Building a Sustainable Future
Seattle Public Schools has been in existence for more than 150 years. While this may be a difficult moment in time, we must continue to seek viable solutions. This will require our community’s ongoing partnership and support.

This approach will begin to help us stabilize the budget for next year. I am committed to continuing this conversation with families, staff, and the School Board as we work toward sustainable fiscal solutions. Together, we will create a future where every student in Seattle Public Schools can thrive.

More info to come. And remember that West Seattle/South Park School Board Director Gina Topp has set her next community-conversation meeting for this Sunday, 11 am-noon in person at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond).

ADDED 6:21 PM: The anti-closure community coalition All Together For Seattle Schools reacted:

We are disappointed that Seattle Public Schools is moving forward with closing four public schools. They are proceeding despite evidence their justification for closures is flawed, evidence that closures harm students, and overwhelming public opposition. We strongly oppose this proposal and will rally the community to oppose it and any other closure plans. … Rather than make closures that harm students and won’t come close to addressing our budget gap, SPS should join us in asking the legislature to close the entire budget deficit for districts across Washington State.

(Photo courtesy Stu Hennessey)

That signal-box portrait on 16th SW north of SW Holden has turned from a tribute to a memorial, after sad news from Arizona. As reported here in October 2020, the box was commissioned from prolific painter Desmond Hansen as a tribute to Sue Turner and Bud Turner, local educators renowned for their PE achievements. Ms. Turner, 76, was especially beloved at Sanislo Elementary, where she long served as PE teacher. She was reported missing in the Tucson area last month, with a Silver Alert issued, but after a two-week search, authorities reported she was found deceased. News stories from Arizona have no further details. Bud Turner died a year ago at age 77; the couple had been married for 52 years.

Kids free with paying adult.

Date: September 6th

Time: kids’ activities 5-6 including face-painting, making slime, blasting Diet Coke/Mentos, and juggling

Tim Turner Band onstage starting at 6 p.m.

On Wednesday March 13th there will be a dine-out at Puerto Vallarta supporting Sanislo Elementary School.

*Come for breakfast or grab lunch – 20% of all proceeds from the full day will go to Sanislo.

*Please bring the whole family for dinner from 4- 8 p.m. We will also have a raffle and a piñata!

Tim Turner Band benefit concert hosted by the Sanislo PTA – $15/door, kids free when accompanying paying adult.

Students at “small but mighty” Sanislo Elementary on Puget Ridge could use your help if you haven’t yet locked down on dinner plans for tonight. Until 10 pm, a portion of proceeds at the Westwood Village MOD Pizza will benefit the Sanislo PTA. Their announcement says, “Families can eat in and mention Sanislo, or order online using the coupon code MODGIVES25, and MOD Pizza will donate to the Sanislo Elementary PTA 25% of the proceeds.”

On Monday, November 21st, Puerto Vallarta will be giving 25% of the proceeds from the full day to Sanislo Elementary. This will be an all-day event, with special activities (face painting, balloons and juggling) from 10-12.

All that rainwater has to go somewhere. Two of the places:

LONGFELLOW CREEK: Manuel sent this video of a leaping salmon along the Dragonfly Park stretch of the creek (south of SW Yancy):

‘LAKE SANISLO’: Part of the school‘s sprawling site was swamped when Amy and family decided to go paddling:

So far this month, the National Weather Service has measured almost 7 inches of rain … normal for this part of November would be just under 3.

(Photos by Pete Draughon. Above, students and siblings from Westside Wonderspace preschool got to release coho fry last week with Dennis Hinton in the lower creek)

By Judy Pickens
Special to West Seattle Blog

Kindergarten students, parents, and staff from Sanislo Elementary had the honor of releasing the last of this spring’s Salmon in the Schools fry into upper Fauntleroy Creek.

Despite the pandemic’s many extra demands on teachers, seven West Seattle schools (half the usual number) managed to rear coho this year. In addition, two preschools released fry reared by volunteer Jack Lawless for the Fauntleroy Watershed Council to supplement what schools were able to produce.

Most teachers scheduled their releases in Fauntleroy Park by family groups. All told, 130 students, plus 190 adults and siblings, put 1,044 fish in the water.

(This Sanislo student added a bit of glamour to the last salmon release of the season on Fauntleroy Creek)

An additional 30 park users who happened by the release site on Saturday let the last of the supplemental fish go for their year in freshwater.

About the same time that fry were going into the creek, 49 smolts were heading out for their two years in saltwater. Between mid-March and late May, volunteers Dennis Hinton and Pete Draughon documented 15 smolts leaving from the upper creek and 34 from middle and lower reaches of the mile-long system. This number is about average for the past five years of this 19-year study.

Next up will be spawning season, starting in mid-October.

(WSB video and photos unless otherwise credited)

Sanislo Elementary is the latest school in West Seattle to “reunite” students and staff, at a distance, via a parade! Our video above shows participants just after they left the school on Puget Ridge early this afternoon. Some of the sights:

Even a classic fire truck!

And along the route, Chris got this video of some of the students on the roadside:

It was two months ago today that Seattle Public Schools announced its campuses would close for at least two weeks, which as everyone knows then became the rest of the school year.

Sanislo Elementary on Puget Ridge is the next school having a parade so students and staff can see each other – at a distance – two months after schools closed. Above is a screenshot of the route – see it here full=sized – and here’s the announcement:

All of the teachers and staff at Sanislo miss you! We miss you so much that we have organized a Sanislo Staff Car Parade for this Monday, May 11th.

Sanislo Staff is going to leave the school in a train of cars at 1 PM. Please check out the map of our route so that you can plan accordingly. The orange numbers on the map show the order that we will be traveling through the neighborhood. Come out to your yard! We would love to see you!

If you live farther away from the school, or your house is not directly on our route, please know that we still really want to see you! Feel free to go to the closest spot on the route. We do ask that you continue to practice social distancing so if you see other Sanislo families around, please give a friendly wave and continue to keep a healthy distance.

If you are able, it would be amazing if you could wear your Sanislo t-shirts and make a sign for the teachers and staff. Most of all, we just want to see your smiling faces! Also, be on the lookout for a special surprise from us! We hope to see you on Monday!

As reported earlier this morning, Seattle Public Schools will have lunches available at five local sites starting Monday, but that’s three days away. In addition to the Highland Park PTA effort continuing today, we have word of a lunch distribution for Sanislo Elementary students, from volunteer Holli:

Lunches for Sanislo Students provided today at Highland Park Improvement Club, 11 am-2 pm.

Thanks to the community and neighbors for pitching in to provide, assemble and serve! And to the Board of the club for providing this hub.

Address: 1116 SW Holden St.

Also see our daily highlight lists (today’s coming up shortly) for an all-ages site. Any others, for kids and/or adults, as this goes on, please let us know.

Sanislo Elementary PTA invites you to the first-ever Rainbow Party on the Playground tomorrow in celebration of Pride Month. “It’s free and open to ALL!” says PTA president Ebony Lee, sharing this announcement:

We’re excited to get the party started w/local celebrity, DJ MZ ARTIZ from the historical Seattle Re-bar, and encourage everyone to dawn their Pride colors to join us in parading around the playground for what we like to dub as a mini-Pride parade. We’d like to start having everyone parade around the playground starting at 5:30pm-ish. Bring a blanket, chairs or just find a comfy spot on the grass and let’s PARTY!

We’ll have donation-collection containers should anyone be inclined to help us raise funds toward our Race & Equity and Diversity & Inclusion PTA initiatives, which includes bringing in speakers, holding workshops, professional development, and adding anti-bias library materials along the subject matters of RACE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION to empower our students, their families, and our community.

We are still looking for acoustic musical/entertainment performers and LGBTQ agencies whom are willing to donate their talent, time, and information on the playground to entertain our families, friends, neighbors, et. al. Please contact Ebony Lee or Janay Destello at pta@sanislo.org if you can help.

Sanislo is on Puget Ridge, at 1812 SW Myrtle.