The Chief Sealth International High School PTSA has a reminder this morning:

Last chance to get your tickets for Soaring with Sealth, the Chief Sealth IHS Annual Fundraising Dinner and Auction. We’re raising money to support the PTSA, Performing Arts, and Athletics. Please join us for an evening of fun at the Brockey Center on Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 5:30 pm. Get your tickets at this link by October 31st.

So, just one day to go. The venue, Brockey Center, is at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor).

One of our newer WSB sponsors, The Downtown School, is having its next fall open house this Saturday. New sponsors get to tell you about themselves – here’s what The Downtown School wants you to know:

“I had never considered private school before and I feel like I hit the lottery for having found this school for my kids.” – Current parent

Founded in 2018 by Lakeside School, The Downtown School is an independent high school located near Seattle Center — one that is unlike any other in Seattle. With a maximum enrollment of 160 and a tuition half that of most local independent schools, The Downtown School offers students an applied education that empowers them to thrive at the intersection of academic rigor and learning with purpose. With the city as our campus, every day is an opportunity for students to explore their independence, to learn, and to lead. Whether visiting the U.S. District Court for their history class, building miniature theater sets for their English class, or directing one of our many student-led clubs, students at The Downtown School are innovative problem solvers, courageous and empathetic leaders, and curious thinkers.

This is not a one-size-fits-all education.

The central focus of The Downtown School is the academic experience. Our students are scholars. They think critically, ask questions, innovate, and iterate. Our curriculum promotes inquiry because we believe that grappling with complex problems teaches students to navigate life’s ambiguities and challenges from multiple perspectives. During the day, students take three 75-minute classes with two 45-minute community periods for advisory, clubs, assembly, and lunch. With an ending time of 2:15 p.m., The Downtown School allows our students the flexibility after school to pursue club, select, and public-school sports; music; sailing; dance; service work; volunteering; and robotics. Many of our students perform at the national level in these extracurricular pursuits.

Graduates from The Downtown School have pursued a range of paths after high school. Our graduates have been accepted into over 180 colleges and universities around the world, and alumni leave The Downtown School with a sense of agency, the courage to ask big questions, and the independence to explore the world freely and with confidence.

The Downtown School is at 160 John St., Seattle, 98109, reachable by phone at 206-717-2849, or by email at admissions@downtownschoolseattle.org. Saturday’s open house is 9 am-11 am.

That’s some of what West Seattle/South Park’s Seattle Public Schools board director Gina Topp told those gathered at High Point Library this morning for her first community-conversation meeting since the district’s school-closure announcement last Thursday; West Seattle’s Sanislo Elementary is one of four schools the district wants to close, combining it with Highland Park Elementary. We counted 20 people at her meeting, which will be followed up by a gathering at Sanislo later this week.

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.

SSC Co-op Preschools and Pathfinder K-8 invite families to a film screening tomorrow, with a chance to talk with the producer. Here’s the announcement they asked us to share:

Families Embracing Anti-Bias Values: Film Screening and Q/A with Producer Debbie LeeKeenan

Olympic Hall, South Seattle College Campus
Thursday, October 24 6:30–8:00 PM

Childcare available for 5+. Pre-registration is required.

Join us for a special screening, in partnership with Pathfinder K-8, of the new film Families Embracing Anti-Bias Values. This film, produced by Debbie LeeKeenan and John Nimmo, is a 50-minute documentary about families who intentionally parent with an anti-bias lens. Debbie and John partnered with filmmaker Filiz Efe McKinney of Brave Sprout Productions to create a film that raises up the voices of multiple families with diverse identities, talking about their hopes, fears, strengths, challenges, and questions as they figure out: What kind of world do we want to create with our children? There will be opportunities for questions and discussion with Debbie after the viewing. Watch the trailer here. Tickets are $5. RSVP here.

The college is at 6000 16th SW; the screening venue is toward the south end of the campus.

Today was the date around which Seattle Public Schools superintendent Dr. Brent Jones had said he expected to release his list of up to five school closures. But – no list yet. We checked with SPS’s media team late in the day and they said they weren’t expecting anything today but “We’re hoping for later this week.” Meantime, West Seattle/South Park School Board Director Gina Topp has set her next community-conversation meeting for Sunday (October 27), 11 am-noon in person at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond);

We weren’t at Chief Sealth International High School‘s Friday night football game because they played on the road, but did want to report that the Seahawks beat Nathan Hale, 34-20, at Northeast Athletic Complex. Head coach Daron Camacho‘s team is now 6-1, second in the Metro League.

(WSB photos and video)

Five hours after that rally outside Seattle Public Schools headquarters, stressing opposition to any school closures, the district superintendent and board moved ahead with a plan to propose up to five.

First, the board approved this resolution setting some parameters for superintendent Dr. Brent Jones‘s forthcoming proposal, including a directive to create a community task force. Our area’s school board director Gina Topp was a co-sponsor of the resolution and said she hoped it would help rebuild trust. The board, at the behest of director Brandon Hersey, added language underscoring that five would be the maximum number of closures proposed – for next year, anyway.

Shortly thereafter, Dr. Jones presented his progress report on the plan, with two major headlines: He says he’s planning to release his proposed list of up to five schools “around October 21”; just one list, no alternative “options” like last time. And he said the intention will be for those five school “communities” to stay together as they are consolidated into other campuses, so the students and staff can move together. Here are both of the two slides he showed:

However, the demonstration before the meeting, led again by the coalition All Together for Seattle Schools, stressed that even one closure is too many.

Speakers included West Seattle parents whose schools had been on the now-scrapped lists – including Katie Lewis from Louisa Boren STEM K-8:

Boren has an indefinite reprieve, because the new short list is not supposed to include any K-8 or option schools. No such reassurance for the other West Seattle school that like Boren was on both of Dr. Jones’s previous lists, Sanislo Elementary. Sanislo parent Briana Herman-Brand spoke at the board meeting as well as at the rally, noting that the school’s small size “is part of its magic,”

Rather than closing schools, the coalition wants to see the state fully fund them. The board talked about a possible lobbying trip to Olympia; closure opponents implored them to make use of the community energy. Before the rally, we talked with a Gatewood Elementary parent who said their PTA is circulating an open letter to the governor, calling for a special legislative session “to fully fund public schools.” You can see the letter – and add your name if you want to – by going to gatewoodpta.org/openletter.

When we reported Monday night on Seattle Public Schools‘ proposed $1.8 billion, six-year capital-levy renewal/expansion – BEX VI (aka the sixth “Building Excellence” levy) – we noted the biggest West Seattle project on its list is a $50 million addition for Career Technical Education at Chief Sealth International High School. We also noted that the levy document linked to the agenda for next week’s School Board meeting (4:15 pm October 9) has no other details about the proposed project, and that the process of developing the levy list did not involve community consultation the way BEX V did. So we had to ask SPS’s media team to dig up details on the proposal, which they’ve done over the past few days. According to district spokesperson Tina Riss Christiansen:

An addition to Chief Sealth International High School is proposed to meet the needs of the Career and Technical Education Program, eliminate the eight portables along the west property edge, and enhance energy conservation, addressing both State of Washington Clean Energy and City of Seattle’s Building Emissions requirements.

The classroom addition is planned to be added at the northern portion of the existing school and will include relocating the existing Career and Technical Education construction trades classroom from the basement and the food service classroom from the interior of the building. Both classrooms are undersized for the student populations they serve and poorly located for routinely transporting the materials and supplies required to meet the educational program needs.

In addition, SPS plans to construct eight general education classrooms.

The project is contingent on School Board approval of the levy projects and voter approval of the levy. Construction is planned to occur with students remaining on-site.

The $50M is divided 2/3 construction and 1/3 A/E fees, permit costs, construction contingency, furnishings, and Washington State Sales Tax.

No renderings yet, the district says, because design work won’t start until and unless the levy – one of two that the district plans to send to voters in February – is approved.

We are in the process of scheduling community information meetings on both levies after the Oct. 9, 2024, Board Meeting and Study Session.

Adding proposed project information to the website is also in progress.