9:58 AM: Though much of the discussion of possible Inauguration Day student walkouts has focused on Seattle Public Schools, the first walkout of the day turned out to be from an independent school. A tip from a parent (thank you!) led us to Westside School (WSB sponsor) in Arbor Heights, where some of the preK-8 school’s older students walked out at 9 am, heading along 35th SW to SW Roxbury, then east for a bit and back to the school. More photos later.

ADDED 11:59 AM: Two more photos:

According to a letter sent to Westside families (shared with us by parents), middle-school students approached teachers and administrators yesterday with their plan for a demonstration. Here is an image of the letter – we are asking the school for a copy:

Also see comments below for explanations from students.

(WSB photo from last week)

Last week, we brought you an update on the plans for remodeling and addition work at the ex-church/ex-supermarket at 9601 35th SW that is set to become charter school Summit Atlas this fall. As mentioned in our update, the formal land-use-permit application is now on file with the city, and that meant a new public-comment period would soon begin. Today’s Land Use Information Bulletin brought the official notice – see it here. If you’re interested in commenting, here’s how. The permit is required for the second phase of the project, involving a two-story addition to make more space for the school; work is expected to start soon on the first phase, which mostly involves interior remodeling of the existing building. (Our report from last August included a look at a building elsewhere in the city that the charter company already has remodeled, telling us the plan for use of the Arbor Heights space is similar.) Deadline for comments, meantime, is January 18th.

Almost exactly two years after we broke the news of West Seattle’s first charter school planned in an ex-church/ex-supermarket in Arbor Heights, site work is about to start. The middle/high school to be called Summit Atlas is planning to open with sixth- and ninth-grade classes in fall of 2017, one year later than originally planned, after charters lost and then regained state funding. James Heugas of Washington Charter School Development, which purchased the site in 2015 for $4.75 million, tells WSB that they expect to start work by mid-January on the first phase, interior remodeling for the first phase. They also have “submitted drawings” in the land-use-permit process for the second phase, which will involve a two-story addition – that’s why the new notification signs (including the one in our photo) are up. A formal city notice will likely be out soon, opening a comment period for that application. (See the “preliminary site plan” here.)

We asked what neighbors will see on the sprawling site once the remodeling work begins; Heugas says it depends on whether they will be able to keep the building’s existing roof, which they are currently discussing with the contractor. Because there’s so much room on the site, he expects that the crews and materials will be largely kept within its confines, minimizing disruption to neighbors. (For more on what’s planned at the Arbor Heights site, see our August report.)

Another first-of-its-kind start-of-school ceremony happened today, this time at Westside School (WSB sponsor) in Arbor Heights.

While loud cheers greeted staffers dancing in the aisles of the school’s big theater space – each group introduced with inspirational “theme songs,” from Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us” to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” – the real call to action came in the form of a fish story.

Westside’s new head of school Ted Kalmus told the assembled students and parents that he had acquired a pet fish that came with the name Wonder. The story of the fish became a tale of how he hopes that everyone will go throughout the year with a sense of wonder – and curiosity, “become the best question-asker you can be.” He invited the students to each take a blue or green “jewel” (the glass pebbles often found in aquariums or terrariums) from bowls at the bottom of the stairs down from the theater, and to hold it and think of something they wonder about.

With that, Kalmus said, the school would be certain to have a “Wonder”-ful year.

(Photo via Twitter: @mayoredmurray)

One day after the dedication of the all-new Arbor Heights Elementary, Mayor Ed Murray visited this morning (as previewed here yesterday) to celebrate something else that’s new there – the Seattle Preschool Program. The levy-funded program has expanded to 600 students at more than 30 schools around the city; the levy’s original goal is to enroll 2,000 students by 2018. Tuition is free to families whose income is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Arbor Heights still has room for more students, according to the SPP website, which also says there’s room at two other West Seattle schools where the program operates, Louisa Boren STEM K-8 and Highland Park Elementary.

Announced after our visit to Arbor Heights Elementary for today’s dedication of the new building: Mayor Murray will be at AHES tomorrow morning to greet preschoolers arriving for their first day in the levy-funded Seattle Preschool Program. The announcement we received this afternoon says he’ll be joined by school district and city officials during his 7:45 am visit. (We published an announcement back in July that the city-funded program had dozens of openings in local schools including AH.)

The just-concluded dedication ceremony at Arbor Heights Elementary celebrated a day that twice came close to never happening. Mentioned many times during the pre-ribbon-cutting speeches was the fact that the school community had to fight to get the rebuild – and then had to fight to get the schedule moved up in the BEX IV levy so that students could get out of deteriorating conditions as soon as possible. Not mentioned – the fact that just a few years before, during a contentious school-closing process, the Arbor Heights program was proposed for closure. That too was fought and now AH students are hours away from their first day in a $28 million building built for their eSTEM curriculum, as highlighted by principal Christy Collins:

The ceremony in the AHES Commons was attended by a crowd we estimated at more than 400 – here’s just part of it:

The ribbon-cutting was followed by tours – here are our photos from the recent media tour, including many of the elements that Collins mentioned. She was joined onstage and at the microphone during the ceremony by 34th District State Sen. Sharon Nelson, 11th District State Rep. Zach Hudgins, Seattle PTSA Council president Sebrena Burr, Schools First president Melissa Pailthorp, West Seattle/South Park School Board rep Leslie Harris, School Board president Betty Patu, and SPS Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland.

AHES is one of 5 new schools the district is dedicating, and the next one is in West Seattle too – Genesee Hill Elementary (1 pm)!

ADDED: Another view of the crowd in the commons, showing the bracing in the back, meant to be educational as well as safety-enhancing:

The big smiles during the ribbon cutting:

Pieces of the ribbon were offered to kids afterward – “Batman” got one:

Both kids and parents were helping the Arbor Heights PTA make the most of the big turnout, handing out cards touting the “4th Annual Direct Drive” fundraiser – one was offered to us as we walked down the sidewalk before even getting to the school, and the PTA had a table in the lobby:

It was a day for celebration and for gratitude – with principal Collins thanking many, including the neighbors who dealt with two years of construction, and the Louisa Boren K-8 STEM community whose Delridge building they shared the past two years (“wonderful hosts”). And now, as of Wednesday morning, Arbor Heights’ new future begins.

We’ve reported already on the five Seattle Public Schools in West Seattle that are starting the new school year with new principals. We have since learned that a major local independent school has had a change at the top as well: PreK-8th Westside School (WSB sponsor) is now led by Ted Kalmus, who has a two-year appointment as interim head of school while Westside embarks on a thorough process to create a strategic plan and launch a leadership search. He took over after the departure of four-year head of school Kate Mulligan last June. Kalmus served as head of school at independent Billings Middle School from 1997 to 2015, and worked with Westside as a consultant prior to taking the leadership role. He also is on the board of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (which has its headquarters south of The Junction). By the way, tomorrow will start Westside’s second year in its permanent location in Arbor Heights.

Story by Tracy Record
Photos by Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers

Two weeks from today, Seattle Public Schools will dedicate two new elementaries in West Seattle. We’ve already taken you inside the new Genesee Hill Elementary; now, our first look inside the new Arbor Heights Elementary.

This is the school that principal Christy Collins and families fought hard for. As recently as four years ago, Arbor Heights wasn’t scheduled for a rebuild until 2019 – despite the old school being in such bad shape, it even flooded without rain one day in 2013.

By then, the campaign had worked, and the BEX IV levy called for Arbor Heights’ rebuild to be complete this year, and now it is. This morning, district officials, school board members, and architects from Bassetti led a VIP tour of the new school. It incorporates the eSTEM philosophy – environment plus science, technology, math, engineering – that was announced by Collins in 2013. As we were shown during the tour, the school’s theme is “sea to sky,” and it’s incorporated inside and out. Like the new Genesee Hill, it’s awash in natural light, with windows and skylights throughout. Here’s a look around inside the cafeteria and stage area:

It’s also built to a capacity of about 660 students, though unlike its crosstown counterpart, it will not be near capacity at opening – more than 400 students are due here. Read More

(WSB photo: The open 2nd floor at Summit Sierra in the International District)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

As the charter organization Summit Public Schools starts the second year of classes at its first two Western Washington campuses, it says the third is on track to open in West Seattle one year from now.

We’ve been tracking Summit’s plans for the former church/supermarket building at 35th and Roxbury since discovering an early-stage proposal in city files at the start of 2015. The court fight over charter-school funding led to the California-based organization deciding at the end of last year to push back the West Seattle opening until fall 2017. Last spring, a new charter-funding plan became law (although it now is being challenged).

In the meantime, the principal originally announced for the Arbor Heights school, Greg Ponikvar, has since been reassigned to Summit’s Tacoma campus; he is a longtime Summit star, and they didn’t want to underutilize him, Summit’s regional director Jen Wickens told WSB. But the West Seattle middle/high school, to be called Summit Atlas, has a new leader in place already: Katie Bubalo, who we met during a media open house Wednesday at the Summit school in the International District, which we attended to find out the latest on the plans here. Read More