Since last night’s road-closing delivery of a two-classroom portable to Lafayette Elementary, and the sighting of another one on its way to West Seattle Elementary today (above), we checked with Seattle Public Schools to see which other schools will – and won’t – get portables. The district confirms, for starters, what a commenter said after we mentioned which schools had city permits pending for portables: Gatewood Elementary and Pathfinder K-8 are NOT getting them after all. SPS spokesperson Tom Redman tells WSB, “Processing and review of permits takes 6 to 8 weeks. Thus, SPS filed for permits prior to the completion of the open enrollment period. Actual 2012-13 enrollment data indicated that portables are not needed at Gatewood and Pathfinder.” With that, and with the deliveries last night and today, our area has two more to go, as listed by Redman:

Schmitz Park Elementary
2 single portables = 2 classrooms
Tentative Schedule:
-1st portable (in halves on two trailers) scheduled to arrive 6/28 Thursday early morning and the 2nd portable (in halves on two trailers) scheduled to arrive 6/28 Thursday late morning/early afternoon

Chief Sealth International HS
2 double portables = 4 classrooms
Waiting to be moved from the south side of Thistle Street (now at SW Sports Complex) onto the campus
Time and date of move to be determined by SDOT – will schedule with contractor

Sealth principal Chris Kinsey told us earlier this month that 9th-grade language-arts and history teachers will work in their portable classrooms.

The years-old proposal for an illuminated, digital sign on the east facade of the Madison Middle School gym hasn’t been settled yet. Tomorrow night, neighbor Claudia informs us, there’s a committee meeting that will include public comments on the proposal, which would require approval of a zoning “departure.” She writes:

Neighbors in the community are very worried that the departure will be accepted and that Seattle Public Schools will add a digital reader board on the Madison Middle School gym. As I’m sure you know, the intersection of 45th Avenue SW and Spokane is a very dangerous corner. We have seen countless automobile accidents (including roll-overs) and many near misses with pedestrians and bicyclists. We do not want to add to driver distraction. This is a very residential neighborhood and we would like to keep it beautiful and safe. Neighbors are currently signing a petition.

Here’s the official public notice for the meeting, which is at 6:30 pm Monday in the Madison library. P.S. We last wrote about the same proposal almost three years ago – at which time a commenter noted that “money for (the sign board) was raised by parents” and said that the proposal already had been in the works for some time by then. West Seattle HS and Chief Sealth IHS both have illuminated digital signs of varying sizes, but unlike Madison, the signs aren’t facing single-family-home neighborhoods.

(From left, AH principal Christy Collins, Mark Ahlness, 1st-grade teacher Ms. Wilson)
As the school year wound down to its Friday finale, we have featured several farewell celebrations for beloved retiring teachers. In most cases, the celebration plan was announced in advance, and we were honored to be invited to be there to take a photo. At Arbor Heights Elementary, they had to surprise one retiring teacher who by all accounts was hoping to leave (after 21 years there) without much fuss. But we’re glad that a parent volunteer shared the photo, because we wanted to say a special word of thanks to AH’s third-grade teacher Mark Ahlness. As far as we recall, he’s the first West Seattle teacher ever mentioned on WSB – we discovered some of his work almost five years ago, no surprise because one of his many accomplishments was making Arbor Heights one of the first schools to have a website! And the first to publish all its student newsletters online – on Friday, he was also onstage to honor this year’s “Junior Seahawk Reporters”:

He’s coached countless students through online writing – the archive’s at roomtwelve.com – and writes online himself (some of his retirement reflections are here). Over the past few years, he has also from time to time updated us – and therefore, tens of thousands of West Seattleites and other WSB readers – on Arbor Heights students’ achievements, also including the annual Earth Day Groceries Project (a now-international activity, which, like the AH website, was launched in 1994). We know AH Elementary’s community has many more memories of him, but since we didn’t get a chance to sign the banner – we wanted to publicly say “thank you, Mr. Ahlness” too!

During this morning’s end-of-year awards assembly, the Lafayette Elementary community said goodbye to Joyce Kuespert, who attended Lafayette in her childhood and then went on to teach there for more than 31 of her 40 years as a teacher. She will be gone but not forgotten – every year, the school’s best first-grade reader will receive an award named after her. The plaque was displayed during the assembly:

As of this afternoon, school’s out for summer for students at Lafayette and the rest of Seattle Public Schools!

Seattle Public Schools‘ executive director of West Seattle schools has just announced she’s leaving the district. Here’s the letter from Aurora Lora, addressed to “colleagues” and forwarded to WSB:

It is with mixed emotions that I announce I have accepted a position as Assistant Superintendent for the Dallas Independent School District. In my new position, I will be supervising four executive directors, 45 principals, and will be responsible for overseeing the education of 35,000 students. My last day with the District will be July 6.

This was not an easy decision for me because I have truly loved my experience working with the principals, assistant principals, schools, families and community members of the West Seattle region. I have learned so much in the past two years from my work as an executive director and will genuinely miss the individuals that I have had the pleasure of working with during my time in Seattle.

I know the District is committed to finding a new Executive Director for the West Seattle region very soon. I wish you all the best of luck and look forward to hearing about the successes of the Seattle School District in the years to come.

Aurora Lora
Executive Director, PK-12 Schools
Seattle Public Schools

That’s just a few days after new SPS Superintendent José Banda begins work.

(WSB cameraphone photo of the crowd just before public comment began)
Though it was not an agenda item, the just-announced co-locating of K-5 STEM and Middle College High School at Boren generated discussion, and a promise, at last night’s Seattle School Board meeting.

After half a dozen people voiced concern during the public-comment period, three board members did too, including West Seattle’s Marty McLaren, who promised a “public discussion” on the issue.

Ahead, more of the discussion, plus a budget item that might – or might not – relate to K-5 STEM’s eventual permanent home:Read More

Two dozen West Seattle High School 2012-2013 cheerleaders spent the day mentoring almost four dozen younger students during their Mini Cheer Camp a week and a half ago – and Bev Corey is sharing photos and a recap:

A great time was had by all the 47 campers from Holy Rosary, Lafayette, Schmitz Park, Alki, Gatewood, Sanislo, Arbor Heights, Hope Lutheran, Westside, and Our Lady of Guadalupe (schools), as they spent an afternoon with 24 WSHS cheerleaders learning cheers, stunts, and dances, making crafts, and enjoying getting to know each other.

The campers will perform as honorary cheerleaders at an upcoming home football game this fall. The West Seattle Cheerleaders want to thank all the campers who attended and can’t wait to see you all again at the Mini Cheer Camp Reunion later this summer.

Back on June 8th, we reported West Seattle High School would receive a six-figure annual grant from the city Families and Education Levy – and now we know another West Seattle school will, too: Roxhill Elementary. Principal Carmela Dellino shared an announcement this morning with details of what they’ll be able to do with $2.1 million over the next 7 years – read on:Read More

Tomorrow afternoon, when South Seattle Community College‘s 2012 commencement ceremony at Benaroya Hall honors 930 degree/certificate recipients, that banner will be carried on behalf of 32 of them – those who have earned the four-year Bachelor of Applied Science in Hospitality Management degree. (The pineapple, we’re told, is an international symbol of hospitality.) Tonight, the banner was displayed at Salty’s on Alki, during a commencement-eve celebration.

Faculty joined the grads-to-be – below, interim vice president for instruction Donna Miller-Parker, Professional Technical Education executive dean Dr. Malcolm Grothe, and SSCC president Gary Oertli:

According to an SSCC news release about tomorrow’s ceremony, you will recognize the Hospitality Management bachelor’s-degree grads because they’ll be in black caps and gowns with brown stoles. Other new “graduate recognitions” listed in a college news release include red/white/blue cords to be worn by the 41 students who are military veterans, green stoles to be worn by associate-degree recipients with Asian/Pacific Islander emphasis, Kente cloth to be worn by student leaders from Student Life and Diversity & Retention, and black/red cords to be worn by TRiO graduates.

For those with a stake in Middle College High School having to leave South Seattle Community College after 17 years, and being given a temporary new spot at the Boren Building campus on Delridge – also the temporary home of the new K-5 STEM at Boren elementary – it’s been a busy weekend. We broke the news on Friday and discussions have ensued both in WSB comments and on the K-5 STEM Yahoo! group, as well as in the MCHS community, among other places. We followed up today with SSCC president Gary Oertli, and while we have a few other people to contact, we are publishing the first draft of our followup because the district has just shared the letter it sent to K-5 STEM families, both announcing the campus-sharing and seeking to alleviate concerns about how much contact there might be between the two schools’ populations:Read More

A couple times during Saturday evening’s West Seattle High School graduation ceremony at Memorial Stadium, the rain came down … but that didn’t keep the caps from eventually going up:

The ceremony program listed 237 graduates; here’s our video of everyone in the opening processional:

Before everything got under way, some of the adult participants paused to reflect – from left, school board director Marty McLaren, WSHS principal Ruth Medsker, and interim superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield:

The program didn’t list valedictorian(s)/salutatorian(s), but 29 students were listed as National Honor Society members, with grade-point averages from 3.2 to 4.0 as well as participation in activities such as meetings and community-service events.

Today was graduation day for our area’s two biggest high schools – both at Memorial Stadium downtown – and the first to take the field was Chief Sealth International High School, at 1 pm. Here’s our video of all the seniors walking in:

The program lists 221 graduates this year. The ceremony ran a bit shorter than planned because, according to Sealth staff, the buses didn’t show up to bring the band over. But the weather stayed dry, and all else went well:

Afterward, the traditional staff receiving line for the graduates:

But before that – a flash mob-style dance!

As denoted in the program for today’s ceremony, 2012 valedictorians are Brian Griffith, Stephanie Hernandez, and Logan Smith; salutatorian, Graham Henry. It was Chris Kinsey‘s first commencement as Chief Sealth principal:

Chief Sealth is the newer of West Seattle’s two standalone public high schools, having opened in 1957.

Two updates from Seattle Lutheran High School:

GOODBYE: We managed to photograph the cake for posterity before the RSVP’d crowd of 300-plus all showed up for the retirement reception celebrating Shirley Vradenburgh‘s 32 years at the school:

The Friday night celebration packed the gym where just one week earlier she and other members of the school staff and community had gathered for the graduation of Seattle Lutheran’s Class of 2012 (WSB coverage here). As an enduring tribute to her SLHS work, the Shirley Vradenburgh Scholarship was endowed at this year’s school auction.

HELLO: We learned this week that the school has announced its new principal. Dave Meyer is coming to Seattle Lutheran from Concordia Lutheran School in northeast Seattle. His appointment was announced in a letter to the SLHS school community, in which Meyer was described as “bring(ing) contagious enthusiasm overflowing with vision and a great passion for academic excellence” as well as “a renewed vitality, direction and energy to the school …” He’ll start work over the summer.

(4:41 PM UPDATE: New info added at end of story, from West Seattle’s school-board rep and from the district)

9:38 AM, FIRST REPORT: According to an announcement just made by Seattle Public Schools, the new elementary school will not be the only program housed on the Louisa Boren Building campus at 5950 Delridge Way SW this fall. We reported earlier this week on the impending departure of the alternative Middle College High School – with 70 students enrolled this year – from the South Seattle Community College campus. Now the district has just announced its new location will be portables at Boren, where it hopes the MCHS students may help “mentor” students at the new K-5 STEM at Boren. Here’s the letter that the district’s executive director of West Seattle schools, Aurora Lora, has just sent to Middle College students’ families:Read More

Yet more good news to report today about West Seattle students’ achievements. This came in late last night from Denny International Middle School principal Jeff Clark:

Congratulations to the Denny Dolphin Math Olympiad team on their first-place finish! Each spring, Seattle Public Schools hosts a Math Olympiad competition with teams representing all of the middle schools and K-8s from across the city. (Thursday), our scholars won the overall first-place award – congratulations to them and their advisor Mr. Lai! Go, Dolphins!

One week from today is the final day of classes for Seattle Public Schools – and last night was our area’s final high-school concert of the year. West Seattle High School‘s musicians took the stage in the WSHS Theater. We have two clips from the concert – above, the band’s rendition of a Green Day song; below, the orchestra’s version of a Coldplay hit:

(EDITOR’S NOTE: When this school year began, we covered the first meetings of both the West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School PTSAs; now that it’s ending, we are circling back to cover their final meetings. Here’s our WSHS PTSA report from last week; ahead, our report on Sealth’s final meeting, Tuesday night.)

(Incoming and outgoing CSIHS PTSA presidents: Ted Reed, Amy Daly-Donovan)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Not only did the final Chief Sealth International High School PTSA meeting of 2011-2012 look back and ahead, it also included a presentation of information that no one in attendance could ever have hoped to use – what teens need to know about the law.

But first:

PRINCIPAL’S FIRST-EVER YEAR-END UPDATE: First-year principal Chris Kinsey said he believes Sealth is “on the tipping point of going from good to great … in the coming years we are going to transform what it means to be an urban high school.” A crowded one, at that – enrollment for next year is now projected at 1342, a hundred more than the start of last year, and four portable classrooms will be arriving before next year begins. (9th-grade language arts and history teachers will work in them, according to Kinsey.)

Read More