West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
(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.)
Two years after closing in the West Seattle Junction, the owners of Kamei Japanese Restaurant have justopened a new location in Tacoma. They contacted us today to ask us to share that news with their West Seattle fans. They sent a few photos, too.
You’ll find Kamei Sushi Restaurant at 10435 Pacific Avenue South in Tacoma, Tuesdays-Sundays 11 am-2:30 pm for lunch and 4:30-8:30 pm for dinner. It opened earlier this month. (The West Seattle building that replaced the former locations of Kamei and Lee’s Asian restaurants, at 4508 California SW, is nearing completion, but its commercial space will be taken by an urgent-care clinic, as we reported in December.)
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
7:11 AM: Good morning! No incidents or transit alerts in our area so far.
REMINDER: The Highway 99 closure starts 10 pm Friday (here’s the timeline).
7:50 AM: SDOT reports a “blocking bus” at 5th/Roxbury.
Update from South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) – the power is not back yet so the West Seattle campus will be closed all day, all classes canceled.
No classes for Seattle Public Schools again tomorrow, as reported in our all-day coverage of the first day of the Seattle Education Association‘s strike against SPS. In the past six hours, we’ve heard from representatives of both sides, and we recorded each one.
First – a 3 pm media briefing at SPS headquarters in SODO, during which district spokesperson Stacy Howard said “all indications” were that talks would resume tomorrow:
We mentioned a few other points toward the end of our morning/afternoon coverage. Howard was joined by two members of the district bargaining team, Jon Halfaker and Keven Wynkoop.
Second – near the start of the 7 pm 34th District Democrats meeting at the Hall at Fauntleroy, the union’s lead bargainer Phyllis Campano said the union was going to meet with mediators at 10 am tomorrow but had not heard from the district regarding resuming talks:
As you can hear in the clip, Campano also offered some backstory to how negotiations had played out pre-strike, saying the union told the district it wanted to be done by August 24th. She said this is her fourth turn as a negotiator and this is the “slowest” process in which she’s ever been involved. She characterized the district’s 5 pm Tuesday proposal as “pretty much the same proposal they had put on the table at 1 o’clock on the morning,” and that, she said, is why they decided to end talks for the day and declare the strike was on. But, she said, “All 40 members of our bargaining team are eager to get back and get this solved.”
We later asked district spokesperson Howard about the seeming discrepancy, via e-mail. Her response: “Our bargaining team members told me they were asked to report here in the morning. … But this goes with the pattern we explained earlier…we are there, have been around the clock available and the union on numerous occasions have either not showed, or walked out. So that’s why we said today that all indicators show talks should resume tomorrow. Because it wouldn’t be the first time they’ve refused to talk.” The union, meantime, has contended that the district was a no-show on multiple occasions along the way. We’ll see what happens tomorrow; the union says picketing will resume at all schools at 8:30 am (with an early round at Louisa Boren STEM K-8 in Delridge during morning-newscast hours).
SIDE NOTE #1: Later in the 34th DDs meeting, the group unanimously approved a resolution supporting the union (we’ll add a copy here when we get it), and a $500 contribution to the teachers’ strike fund.
SIDE NOTE #2: Some parents have wondered how the strike will affect the school-year calendar. The district has an extensive strike-related FAQ up here, and it ends with a section about “calendar concerns.”
When we toured Fairmount Park Elementary School just before its reopening, we heard a lot about the spaces on its walls where students’ work could be displayed. Thanks to a parent’s tip, we found out about one big example that’s up today for one final day before the work will be shown off at a schoolwide celebration tomorrow – corn-husk dolls celebrating students’ family heritage(s). It’s something that first-grade teacher Kevin Peterson did with his students elsewhere before he joined Fairmount Park – and now, at this school, his new class was joined in the project by another first-grade class and two 1st/2nd classrooms:
Here’s how he explains it:
This project is based around a book called Molly’s Pilgrim, written by Barbara Cohen. … The first and second grade students crafted the corn husk dolls here at school several weeks ago (with the help of parent volunteers from all four classrooms. Once the wet corn husks dried, the kids delivered the doll forms home and exploring a part of our heritage and dressing the doll became a part of a family project over Thanksgiving.
Here at school, first grade writers (did) a folio featuring a labeled drawing of their doll with descriptive words, a observational writing piece, and a map of which continent/culture their doll is representing. Second graders are doing some beginning research on the countries that their dolls represent.
We will have a heritage festival on Friday 12/19. Each classroom will sample foods from around the world and then will travel to the lunchroom to see the writing folio projects and dolls of more than 100 of their school mates. They will record three dolls from each continent (excepting Antarctica) and celebrate their hard work together.
We asked if we could stop by for photos, and he arranged for us to visit toward the end of the school day on Wednesday and talk to some of his students about their work – keep in mind, these eight are just a sampling of those who created dolls:
From left, the students who spoke with us are Georgia, Sophie, Delilah, Torin, Bear, Lilly, Chloe, and Magdalena. They all spoke enthusiastically about their creations, the country or tradition represented. This is the one Torin made:
He explained that it shows Ethiopian traditions in honor of his brother and sister, who are from Ethiopia. Chloe told us hers represents Colombia – “in South America!” she added. Magdalena mentioned her continent first – “Europe!” and then the specific nation, “Holland.” Take a closer look at a few more:
Toward the right, the doll with red hair and green satin was made by Georgia, who explained that Ireland is the country that inspired her. Other nations celebrated by the creations of the students we met included Japan, Iran, and Sweden. The parent who first wrote us about the project declared it “fantastic,” and we’d have to agree – what we’ve shown you here barely scratches the surface!
In addition to what’s on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar for today, the King County Courthouse is the site of two court hearings of note:
(From left, Charita Dumas, Joy Anderson, Shelly Williams in court last June; photo by Christopher Boffoli)
COOPER CHALLENGE: According to anti-school-closure activist Chris Jackins, three parents’ challenge to the closure of Cooper Elementary School will be argued at 1:30 pm before Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas in courtroom W-965. In the last round of school closures, Seattle Public Schools closed the Cooper program along with the Genesee Hill Elementary building, moving the Pathfinder K-8 program – long “temporarily” housed at GH – into the Cooper building. Judge Greg Canova denied a motion for summary judgment in the case last summer (WSB coverage here); that meant it would go to a full hearing. Cooper parents Joy Anderson, Charita Dumas and Shelly Williams (shown in the photo above from last June’s hearing on the summary-judgment motion) contend the school was closed without a proper hearing; the district said state law only required hearings for school buildings that were closing, not school programs that were closing in buildings that would stay open.
ADMIRAL ASSAULT CASE SENTENCING: Three months’ work release is the recommended sentence for 23-year-old Jedidiah Doyle. He’s the man arrested after the August Admiral assault (reported here), a pistol-whipping in which Doyle’s gun (for which court documents say he had a concealed-weapons permit) went off once. He pleaded guilty last month to one count of assault. His sentencing is scheduled for 2:45 pm today in Superior Court courtroom E-955. The victim recovered, but according to court documents, he suffered a broken nose and broken facial bones and was left with “stitches in his face that extended from his chin to the top of his head.”
Just received from King County Superior Court Judge Gregory Canova – the “motion for summary judgment” filed by opponents to the closure of Cooper Elementary School has been denied, three weeks after the hearing, two weeks after the emotional last day of classes. That does NOT mean the end of the case. More in a moment, and we’ll upload the document too. ADDED 2:16 PM: Here’s the two-page ruling. Excerpt:
The Court finds that there are genuine issues of material fact as to the issues presented for summary judgment which precludes the Court from concluding that plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law …
In addition to this lawsuit, closure opponents also had filed federal civil-rights complaints, which as we reported the same day as the King County Superior Court hearing, have been consolidated into a “federal compliance review.” We have requests out for comment and will add whatever we receive. 4:32 PM UPDATE: Just talked with district lawyer Shannon McMinimee, who says, “We are pleased with the outcome of the summary judgment proceedings. We intend to proceed to defend this case and the other cases that were filed related to closure, which could include filing motions to dismiss all the cases over the course of the summer.” 11:19 PM UPDATE: Heard briefly from plaintiff Joy Anderson, who says, “This just means we have to go to court in the fall” – but also says she’ll likely have more to say tomorrow.
LAND USE PERMIT FOR “LINK”: In the Triangle, the mixed-use building Harbor Properties plans to build at 38th/Alaska (on the site that’s been home to West Seattle Montessori School [WSB sponsor] and a former Huling auto shop) has received its land-use permit; we’ll be checking with Harbor to find out its newest plans for a construction timeline (those permits are still in the pipeline). ***Added 1:42 pm: Harbor’s Emi Baldowin tells WSB that Link construction is expected to start in early fall; they’re still securing financing but “it looks good.”**** (back to original report) Westward into The Junction:
DESIGN REVIEW MEETING SET FOR 4532 42ND SW: Three years after its first design-review meeting, and 7 months after the big old house on the site was demolished, this mixed-use project in The Junction still has at least one more Southwest Design Review Board meeting to go, and the date for that is now tentatively set for July 23 (time TBA) at the nearby Senior Center of West Seattle.
THREE CLOSED SCHOOLS: From this morning’s city Land Use Information Bulletin – a long list of “notices of interpretation” regarding closed Seattle Public Schools buildings around the city, including three in West Seattle – Fairmount Park, E.C. Hughes and the newly re-closed Genesee Hill. The text of each notice goes like this:
The issue raised, subject to Land Use Code Interpretation, was whether the (school building in question) may be converted to certain other uses permitted in the Single Family 5000 zone, without convening a School Use Advisory Committee. The Department has concluded that the school building may be converted to any of the following institutional uses, regardless of conformity with institutional development standards, without going through the SUAC process: Child care centers, public or private schools, educational and vocational training for the disabled, adult evening education classes, nonprofit libraries, community centers, community programs for the elderly or similar uses. The building also may be converted to any other use permitted outright in the SF 5000 zone, as listed at Seattle Municipal Code Section 23.44.006, without going through the SUAC process.
Anyone who disagrees with that interpretation has till July 9th to file an appeal. The notice for Fairmount Park is here; the notice for E.C. Hughes is here; the notice for Genesee Hill is here. We have a question out to Seattle Public Schools to find out if there’s any particular reason these “interpretations” were pursued for these and five other properties citywide. 3:19 PM UPDATE: From school district spokesperson David Tucker: “Nothing has changed regarding the buildings’ status.” He says this is a move made to enable “expanded usage in the future,” possibly so that community organizations could rent the buildings for usages beyond church, school or day care: “It’s to the district’s benefit to have community organizations in these buildings — they help maintain the buildings” and step up security. He stresses that any change in the buildings’ status would have to be approved by the School Board, and he doesn’t expect anything to be proposed until the rest of the Student Assignment Plan is finalized.
Story and photos by Kathy Mulady
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
The sweet promise of summer vacation was tainted by tears Friday as students, teachers, parents and volunteers slowly and regretfully left Cooper Elementary School for the last time.
Students emerged from the building to walk through the “goodbye path” lined by teachers and tutors offering hugs, best wishes, and occasionally some final words of advice.
But as the kids headed for the sidewalks, jumped into parents’ cars, and as the last school bus drove away, teachers found it impossible to hold back their tears or their anger at Seattle Public Schools for ending the Cooper Elementary program.
(From left, Charita Dumas, Joy Anderson, Shelly Williams, pursuing legal action against the school district; photo by Christopher Boffoli)
We’re back from the hearing at King County Superior Court
on the challenge to the Seattle Public Schools closure of the Cooper Elementary “program” (the building will remain open as the new home to Pathfinder K-8, whose longtime “temporary” home at Genesee Hill will be closed). Topline: Judge Greg Canova said he would not issue a ruling today. Lawyers for both sides argued the points they’ve been making – for the closure opponents, that Cooper is a school, not a “program,” and should have received its own closure hearing; for the district, that it followed proper procedure and that this was the School Board’s decision to make, so anyone who doesn’t agree with it should vote against them in the next election rather than going to court. More details, plus photos/video, to come. 2:55 PM UPDATE: Adding some additional photos and video:Read More
As the court hearing for the Cooper Elementary School (Google Street View above) closure challenge is about to get under way at King County Superior Court (we’re there and will update you when it’s over), we have word from closure opponent Joy Anderson of another action under way in connection with the entire Seattle Public Schools closure process last fall/winter: A federal “compliance review” by the U.S. Department of Education, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Anderson explains that Shelley Williams, who is one of the other two people pursuing the court challenge that’s being heard today, “organized and helped people file about 200 civil rights complaints to the Department of Education. Since they had so many, and it would have been really time consuming to act on each one, the DOE dismissed the individual complaints and has initiated one BIG COMPLIANCE review.” We have asked Seattle Public Schools for comment. Meantime, the letter to Williams that explains the review can be seen after the jump (as provided by Anderson) – we have cut off only the letterhead which has the Education Department logo and Williams’ personal address:Read More
As we’ve reported in coverage of the upcoming court hearing on the challenge to the Cooper Elementary School closure, those who’ve brought the case are asking for supporters to join them in court this Friday. Joy Anderson just sent their flyer with information on two buses that have been arranged to offer transportation downtown – see it here. The hearing on the “motion for summary judgment” is at 10:30 am Friday, King County Superior Court Judge Greg Canova‘s courtroom. (Previous stories, with links to legal documents from both sides, are here and here.)
As reported here earlier this week, there’s a key hearing next week in the legal challenge to the impending closure of Cooper Elementary School in Pigeon Point: The closure opponents have made a motion for “summary judgment” (read it here) and this week, Seattle Public Schools filed its document opposing the motion. The district provided us with a copy; you can read the entire 27-page document here. One of the main points of contention in the legal challenge is that there was not a formal “closure hearing” at and for Cooper, because the district considered it a “program” instead of a school; the district’s rebuttal to that includes:
Appellants claim that not treating a programmatic change as a school closure resulted in impacted persons not getting notice or the opportunity to be heard. What Appellants fail to acknowledge to the Court is that they all actually provided testimony at public hearings and School Board meetings related to the decisions they are challenging.
Appellants had not only ample notice and opportunity to be heard, they were actually heard. However, the elected School Board, after consideration of thousands of pages of documents and the input of hundred of citizens, made a choice that the Appellants dislike. That is not the proper basis for a legal challenge, particularly when considering the substantial deference that must be afforded to the School Board in making administrative and policy decisions.
…With respect to the recommendation to close the Genesee Hill building for instructional purposes, a site-specific hearing was held at the Genesee Hill building on December 16, 2008. … Numerous speakers at this hearing identified themselves as being affiliated with Cooper. … In fact, all three of the Appellants in this case, Shelly Williams, Charity Dumas, and Joy Anderson actually provided testimony at the December 16, 2008 hearing.
Their challenge also takes on board votes to change policies enabling both the relatively rapid adoption of the school-closure proposal last January and enabling Cooper to be considered for closure; the district’s document contends “legislative bodies like the School Board are always free to amend their own polic(i)es and procedures …” The hearing is scheduled for 10:30 am Friday, June 12, before Judge Greg Canova in King County Superior Court. Meantime, Cooper is having a “closing celebration” at the school at 2 pm this Sunday.
Court fight, in this case. At Delridge Day this past Saturday, our spot in the Youngstown Arts Center parking lot was a few tables over from the booth you see in the photo above – with the “Save Cooper” theme. You might wonder, as we did, what’s the “Save Cooper” theme now, since the Seattle School Board vote to close the Cooper Elementary School “program” and move Pathfinder K-8 into the Cooper building in Pigeon Point happened four months ago, and a Cooper closure event is scheduled for this Sunday. Turns out, they were raising money for a legal challenge that continues, with a potentially pivotal hearing scheduled next week, headed by Cooper parent and PTA member Joy Anderson, aided by longtime school-closure opponent Chris Jackins. We spoke with both Anderson and Jackins at the event; read on to see what the Cooper challenge is about, and what happens next:Read More
It’s been almost two years since we took the photo at left, with crews clearing out Fairmount Park Elementary School (map) in summer 2007, after the Seattle School Board voted to close the building and merge its “program” with the former High Point Elementary School (the two together, in the HP building, are now known as West Seattle Elementary School). Seattle Public Schools‘ communications team has confirmed to WSB something we got a tip about recently – the Fairmount Park building is being reopened for summer school this year. The district had confirmed last year that the building would be kept for “inventory” rather than being put up for sale any time soon. No details so far on exactly which dates, or for which programs, the building will be used. We asked district spokesperson David Tucker why a closed building like this is being reopened for this purpose – his reply:
Using the building for summer school means not disrupting an already existing classroom at another school and also reduces the risk of vandalism during the summer with the building now occupied. So it is not a matter of lack of available space, but keeping the building in operational condition while limiting impacts on other schools. It is the first time the building is being utilized since being closed two years ago.
By Charla Mustard-Foote
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Seven people with a vital interest in West Seattle public schools got together with West Seattle’s Seattle School Board rep Steve Sundquist at Coffee to a Tea in The Junction this morning, to discuss issues ranging from proposed new staggered school start times (to accommodate a dual busing schedule) to a redefinition of the statewide definition of Basic Education.
It was Sundquist’s first “coffee hour” since the board’s controversial vote on school closures/changes, but that wasn’t the top issue on the mind of attendees — who had ties to Center School, Pathfinder, Garfield, and Washington Middle School — all were passionately concerned about the effects of state and local budget deficits on the content and quality of Seattle educational programs.
Two weeks after the Seattle School Board voted to close the Cooper Elementary program while moving Pathfinder K-8 into the Cooper building on Pigeon Point, the reality of looming transition is settling in for hundreds of families. Last night we reported a Pathfinder update, including the start of meetings for its design team. That process apparently has not started yet for Cooper, according to this open letter to the community from Molly Usry of the Cooper PTSA:
To Concerned Community Members –
Now that we have had nearly two weeks to digest the School Board’s vote to discontinue the Cooper Program we are all trying to figure out what is next. Lawsuit? Help with the transition? Stay in denial that the Seattle School Board could vote yes for such a blatantly racist and classist recommendation?
I am personally choosing to focus on putting pressure on the District to provide for the kids whose lives they are disrupting. We need to anticipate that these kids are going to be going through the grieving process of losing their school and being separated from their friends. With this in mind we need to demand from the District that they provide us with extra counseling support for our students. They have created this mess, now they better be ready to supply us with extra resources to be able to continue to teach, parent and have the kids learning to the best of their ability through these trying times.
During a meeting with (school board member) Harium Martin-Morris yesterday, Harium mentioned he wants all the kids being displaced by the School Board’s vote to be tracked closely for at least the next 2 years with quarterly reports brought fourth on each students academic performance. I not only think this is a brilliant idea but I also think the District has a responsibility to be paying very close attention to the effects of their recommendations and votes on our children. The district should be designing a system for tracking the thousand of kids that have just been displaced immediately.
I also want to bring to everyone’s attention that design teams need to be implemented at Arbor Heights, Gatewood and Highland Park, the schools where Cooper’s kids will be assigned. It was my understanding yesterday at the meeting that design teams have not been formed at those schools. This shows a complete lack of regard for our kids when I am well aware of the fact that design teams for other schools like Pathfinder have already been meeting and planning. Please don’t let our Cooper kids fall through the cracks.
Everyone please write to our district, board and representative members to put pressure on them to ensure success for our kids during this trying time.
Thank you.
Molly Gras-Usry, Cooper PTSA Vice President
Board contact info is here; West Seattle rep Steve Sundquist‘s next community gathering is at 9 am next Wednesday at Coffee to a Tea in The Junction. One more note: We received e-mail today from someone else saying there’s a meeting at Cooper for the school’s families at 5:30 tonight, but have not yet been able to officially confirm that. Tonight also is the next school board meeting; no closure-related items are on the official agenda, but they might come up in the regular update from Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson that always begins the meeting after about an hour of public comment. 3:15 PM UPDATE: The district has confirmed tonight’s meeting at Cooper but stresses it is ONLY for parents/guardians.
6:19 PM UPDATE: According to the “superintendent’s update” that is posted online as part of tonight’s School Board agenda, a Cooper design team has been formed and met today – here’s an excerpt from the presentation (see it here in its entirety) that is to be made at tonight’s board meeting:
Teams from the discontinuing programs or schools met this afternoon (Weds)
○ Cooper, Meany, TT Minor, Summit and AAA
□ These teams are working on addressing four needs:
1. Enrollment questions and issuesincluding an outreach plan to help affected families
understand their school and program options; and planning for and supporting visits
to primary receiving schools for affected families
2. Emotional support to the school community
3. End of year celebrationsto recognize that school community (these celebrations will
also be supported for Van Asselt, Genesee Hill, Mann and SBOC @ Old Hay as
requested).
4. Document and archiveschool and program artifacts and school records.
Thanks to the tipster who pointed out new information on the Pathfinder K-8 website, regarding preparations for the Pathfinder transition into the Cooper Elementary building: The post (see it here) mentions that the Pathfinder “design team” is having its first meetings this week, and discusses who’s part of it:
The formation of the Pathfinder K-8 Design Team is mostly complete. Members represent all stakeholders in the school and community. Members thus far include: David Dockendorf, Principal; Linda Thomson, Secretary; Janet Osborn, K-1 teacher; Tim Hayes-McQueen, 7th-8th grade teacher; Lisa Clayton, Head Teacher and parent; Rita Garton, Director of Blazing Trails; Rose Rapoza, NAB member and parent; Beth Bakeman, Compass Editor and parent; and Jennifer Giomi, PTSA President and parent. There will also be a teacher from Cooper’s Autism Program on the Design Team.
(The Cooper autism program is remaining at the Cooper building and becoming part of Pathfinder.) The first meeting of the design team was today; next one is coming up Thursday afternoon, 3:30 pm at district HQ. The district has posted an online FAQ about what it’s now calling the “program design teams”; see it here. The statement on the Pathfinder site that includes the team details also notes:
This is a very difficult time for the Cooper School community and we respect the challenge and grief that they are facing as part of the Board decision. We ask that current and prospective Pathfinder K-8 families please not call or visit the Cooper building. There will be time in the next several months to learn about the building and to understand what this move will look like for the Pathfinder K-8 community. In the meantime, as the community has throughout this long and difficult process, please continue to exercise restraint and compassion for all involved.
And one more note for West Seattle-area families with Seattle Public Schools concerns/questions – local School Board member Steve Sundquist has scheduled another of his “coffee hour” conversation opportunities, 9 am Feb. 18 at Coffee to a Tea in The Junction.
Two notes in the wake of Thursday night’s vote approving a plan for closures and changes including the end of the Cooper Elementary “program,” the shutdown of the Genesee Hill building, and the Pathfinder K-8 move into the Cooper building:
MEETING VIDEO: Thursday night’s meeting in its entirety is archived on the Seattle Channel website. Note that the cameras don’t have full audience views, so most of the heckling, booing, and other tumult is off-camera, but it can be heard, as can the rest of the proceedings (in some cases, more clearly than it was heard during the meeting, since the audio feed for this recording comes through board members’ microphones, meaning the audience interruptions don’t sound as loud as they did for those of us who were in the room; our video clips are incorporated into our coverage from Thursday night).
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Many questions remain, particularly for the families whose schools are involved in the plan; the district has promised an “updated FAQ” on its “capacity management” (closures/changes) page “within a few days.” Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson said at the Thursday night meeting that the families who would not be able to go to the same schools next fall will get “individual assignment letters” in the coming week. Those letters are supposed to stipulate whether Cooper students (outside those in the autism program, which will stay in the building) will be assigned to Gatewood, Highland Park, or Arbor Heights, per terms of West Seattle school-board rep Steve Sundquist’s board-approved amendment.
If the 60-year-old Genesee Hill campus closes this fall as approved by board members (the only remaining “if” would involve legal challenges, which have been mentioned by various citywide groups), that will be its second shutdown. The first one lasted from 1990 to 1994, according to this district-written article; 1994 is when it was reopened so Pathfinder, then known as Alternative School #4.
(12:42 am note: Video clips have been added to the coverage below, at the spots relevant to when they were shot. Also: Here’s the official district news release)
8:34 PM UPDATE: It’s all over – including the shouting. Just small groups talking, hugging in the hallway (video clip above, added 8:47). Topline to everything below: The closure plan passes largely as-is, with Cooper Elementary‘s program to close, Cooper’s building to become the new home of Pathfinder K-8, the once-closed building that has housed Pathfinder for more than a decade – Genesee Hill – to be shuttered. All this takes effect as of the next school year, and planning/transitioning/communicating is to begin immediately.
8:02 PM UPDATE: Bass has said she wishes there were more time, to work out a better plan. The final vote is getting closer. Bass says after this, she wants to speak with anyone and everyone about the assignment plan. She says it’s leadership to stand alone sometimes. She says she wanted to give money to Pathfinder over Sealth (and other things), but “it wasn’t popular.” Final closure vote (with no changes to buildings/programs that were to be changed/closed): 2 no 5 yes. Most of the crowd is leaving and heading out into the hallway, chanting – there was some yelling here in the main room too. Police are hovering. People are shouting hey hey, ho ho, school board members have got to go. You will be able to see that part on the TV newscasts – we’re staying put in case something actually happens in here informationally. (Added 9:15 pm – our clip from the departure of most of the crowd members, before those last pieces of the proposal were voted on)
The voting isn’t over yet – there are policy votes that have to be made in order to facilitate the main motion. There are people in the audience in here saying “Honor the 2006 Board member to the SBOC” (photo added above); now cheering in the hallway. Police and security have not all left the main area here. The chanting in the foyer has moved on to “these closures are racist.” The first of the accompanying motions has passed. Now, the motion that merges what will be the former Cooper reference area into the Sanislo reference area. (“Sanislo is full!” came a shout from the audience, which is true.) Motion passes. Meeting over.
7:51 PM UPDATE: Now, to the final vote on the official plan, which, for West Seattle, now remains: Cooper Elementary program closes (autism programs stay in the building), Pathfinder K-8 moves into Cooper’s building, Genesee Hill building closes. West Seattle APP elementary students would be reassigned to Thurgood Marshall, where approximately half the current APP elementary population will move (the other half remaining at Lowell). The board members are now making their final statements, Chow first, “now is the time” for action; must deal with “brutal facts.” Crowd now shouting. Chow is shouting to some degree, too, particularly the phrase “25-million-dollar deficit.” It’s clear she will vote yes. Sundquist has just made a speech, saying he too isn’t happy about Cooper, but that it’s time to finally move on with getting Pathfinder into another building. (here’s the clip – with heckling throughout)
Now Mary Bass is crying – she says she tried not to lose her composure.
7:41 PM UPDATE: Final amendment of the night before the final vote – Maier proposes granting “priority assignment” to students who, because of the eventual vote, will not be able to attend their current schools next year. By the way, if you’re having trouble keeping score, so far the “final recommendations” have not been altered – the only amendments that have passed affect some of the side effects of the potential eventual vote. And again, Martin-Morris and Bass vote no on this. It’s been a 5-2 split on everything.
7:32 PM UPDATE: Martin-Morris reads his amendment to keep Genesee Hill open and cancel closing Cooper. He says “it’s the right thing to do” and says closing it sends the wrong message: (video added 10:19 pm)
Mary Bass seconds. Sundquist says he won’t support it. Amendment fails, again only with Martin-Morris and Bass voting yes. Sundquist now reading his “reassign Cooper” amendment. “TO WORSE SCHOOLS!” shouted from the audience; Sundquist is called “a patronizing S.O.B.” Audience unruly again. People yelling, “Racist!” DeBell trying to quiet them down. Carr says the decision about Cooper was “the hardest” one to make but thinks Sundquist’s amendment will at least keep some of the students together. Vote on the amendment: everyone yes except Martin-Morris and Bass.
7:24 PM UPDATE: Martin-Morris’s update that would break Summit (which otherwise is closing) into K-8 and 9-12 at other sites, is now being considered. Summit families yell “We don’t want it!” It almost went without a second, then Bass seconded it. Martin-Morris’s update to cancel the Cooper program closure will be next (technically it would cancel the Genesee Hill building closure, which then would keep Pathfinder there, and Cooper in its building). By the way, besides us, several others are covering this meeting live via Twitter – twitter.com/phylfletch and twitter.com/sableverity among them. DeBell says he has been sorely frustrated by his inability to “find Summit a home.” From the audience: “Find us a home.” DeBell says Summit is “caring” and has been “pushed out to the edge of the district” but “some of the tough facts we are facing in the district right now fall heavily on Summit K-12 .. the K-12 model is very difficult to fit into a building unless it is a secondary school, and we have very few (of those) now.” He also says the transportation costs are challenging. Summit vote: Martin-Morris and Bass are again the only yes votes, it fails.
7:15 PM UPDATE: Vote on Mary Bass’s amendment for Central Cluster changes to the closure proposal is coming up. Sundquist says he will not support it. Martin-Morris says he will. DeBell says he will not. Shouts from the crowd. DeBell: “There is too much capacity in the Central Cluster.” Bass, Martin-Morris are the only yes votes; amendment fails. Boos from the crowd. This means among other things APP at Lowell will NOT be kept together – West Seattle APP students will be going to Thurgood Marshall (unless the final motion fails). The amendments failure triggers a Carr amendment regarding letting students who live in the Lowell walk zone to attend APP at Lowell. That amendment passes with all yes votes except Martin-Morris and Bass.
7:00 PM UPDATE: Now they are moving to the vote. Sundquist is reading motions. Then each member gets to read his/her amendment. Mary Bass reads hers first and is explaining at length why she proposed changes to the Central Cluster plan. If it goes the way that we’ve been told, each amendment will be voted on individually before a final vote – anything that is approved, becomes a change to the plan in the final vote. Now Cheryl Chow is recounting the history of the African American Academy, which is proposed for closure. “Unfortunately,” she says, “the program is and has been underenrolled .. and the school is not succeeding as all would want. Even if (it is closed),” she says, she believes the “Afrocentric” culture will continue in the building. Chow says the building will still be called the African American Academy unless the board votes to change it; much shouting ensues from the crowd. DeBell now says, please stop interrupting the meeting.
READ THE REST OF OUR AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGERead More
If you can’t make it to Seattle Public Schools HQ for tonight’s special school board meeting to vote on the closures/changes plans (and the amendments announced yesterday), district spokesperson Patti Spencer just confirmed it WILL be live on cable channel 26 (no live online stream, though; archived video is posted here later). Live broadcasts are not always availabe for meetings held outside the regular first/third Wednesday framework, so we checked. This meeting will NOT include public comment – the board will consider the amendments, then the plan (whether amended or not) and associated policy changes that would be required for certain proposals to be allowed. The meeting starts at 6 pm; we’ll be posting updates live from district HQ (covering the entire plan, not just the WS aspects, since WS families are involved in other elements such as the APP split too).
As first reported during the School Board meeting a week ago, board president Michael DeBell asked his fellow members this: If you’re going to propose any changes to the “final recommendation” for school closure/changes, get them in by yesterday, so they can be made public today (and voted on during the special board meeting tomorrow night). Caveat, board members still COULD propose amendments during tomorrow morning’s meeting, but for now, here are the ones just revealed. They include a proposal to take Genesee Hill off the recommendations, keeping Pathfinder K-8 there, and leaving Cooper Elementary as is; that proposal, included in this document, comes from board member Harium Martin-Morris. West Seattle board member Steve Sundquist has an amendment on the agenda too; it would continue with the move-Pathfinder-to-Cooper plan in the original “final recommendations,” but would set conditions on where the majority of current Cooper students would be reassigned – he proposes splitting them among Gatewood, Highland Park, and Arbor Heights. Of interest to APP families citywide, board member Mary Bass proposes keeping the elementary-level program at Lowell, instead of splitting half (including West Seattle APP elementary students) to another school. The amendments will all be voted on during tomorrow night’s special board meeting, 6 pm, district HQ in Sodo. (In addition to discussion here, there’ll be citywide comment ongoing at saveseattleschools.blogspot.com.)
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