“I wish we could have had a simpler transition,” Seattle School Board President Michael DeBell said, just before the board’s vote about half an hour ago on the transition plan assembled for the new Student Assignment Plan. (And as of this writing, the meeting – almost six hours long – isn’t over yet!) Read on for some of the major West Seattle (and elsewhere) effects – including program changes for several schools:Read More

Notes tonight from several local schools:

SEATTLE SYMPHONY AT DENNY INTERNATIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL: Denny principal Jeff Clark shares the photo tonight with news that the symphony – fresh off its Friday night concert hosted by West Seattle Kiwanis – was there today: “Our partnership with the symphony is a part of the ACCESS project (Artistic and Cultural Community Engagement with Seattle Symphony). The orchestra program at Denny has grown substantially in recent years — today’s performance gave our students something to aspire to musically.”

LAFAYETTE ELEMENTARY PLAYGROUND PLANNING: From Janine Bostock:

The Lafayette PTA is in the planning stages for a renovation to our school’s Playground. We want to notify the community of several meetings and events that may be of interest. Our next community outreach and design meeting will be on Saturday, January 23rd, at 10 AM at the playground to meet with the architect. Anyone is welcome to attend. We will be discussing design expectations for the new toy and surrounding areas with the commissioned landscape architect. Several fundraising events will be announced specifically for the playground improvement project in the coming year. One will be a Ski and Sports Equipment swap in April. We will be selling all kinds of kid’s sports equipment including, soccer cleats, ballet slippers, jogging strollers, bikes and more. Items can be donated or sold for a small commission that will go towards funding the playground improvement project. Anyone can attend the swap or bring items to sell or donate. More details will be coming on that event soon. For more information or to get involved please contact Janine Bostock janine@avadesignbuild.com

HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSES: We’ve already mentioned the Chief Sealth High School event coming up tomorrow night (details here) at 6; West Seattle High School principal Bruce Bivins shares their invite tonight:

Please come to West Seattle High School’s OPEN HOUSE, scheduled for February 11th from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm, to meet exceptional staff, to see quality student work, and to learn about college-ready programs and course offerings.

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS: West Seattle Montessori School (WSB sponsor) has a Parent Education Night tomorrow, 7 pm, with John Chattin-McNichols speaking on “Why Montessori?”; then it’s the first of two WSMS open houses on Saturday, 1-3 pm. … Cometa Playschool (also a WSB sponsor) has an open house Saturday too, 10 am-noon … Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School sends word of its open house, 9 am-1 pm January 31st.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Tomorrow night, the Seattle School Board continues working on the next step in the new Student Assignment Plan – how to start the transition this fall, from a focus on “tell us what school you’d like to attend” to “your default assignment is a ‘neighborhood school’.” Some of the thorniest issues – like “sibling grandfathering” – are part of the transition, and the fine points highlighted West Seattle school board rep Steve Sundquist‘s open-door community chat this weekend. Read on for the discussion, plus the reason why he says he won’t be able to propose that some elementaries be “dual feeders” as he had hoped:Read More

Last month, we brought you early word of the West Seattle Preschool Fair that’s in the works for next month. More details are firmed up now: 12 programs are registered to participate in the event, and they have room for a few more (e-mail jenelle.forde@soundchildcare.org). The location is now set: 5:30-8:30 pm February 22, St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (3050 California SW); in addition to the chance to talk with representatives of participating preschool programs, they’re also offering the Families Read Workshop during the Preschool Fair (6-7:30 pm that night) to help parents gain skills in promoting child literacy – space is limited (child care will be provided) and advance registration is required – same e-mail address as above, or call (206) 518-0261.

A few more school notes before the week ends and the three-day weekend (for some, including local students) begins: First, we have two announcements from Lafayette Elementary principal Virginia Turner:

Lafayette’s Open House will be held Tuesday, January 19 @ 6:30 p.m. The event will be structured as follows:

6:30: Presentation by the principal and PTA president
7:00 Break-out sessions:
1) kindergarten teacher presentation;
2) Spectrum program panel of teachers and parents;
3) regular program break-out, led by first grade teacher, Ingrid Nyberg.
7:30: Tours of the facility.
This event is intended for prospective parents.

ALSO:

Lafayette tours: March 4, 11, 18 – 10:00 – 11:30. We request no children, please. Please RSVP to 252-9500.

The full list of Seattle Public Schools open houses/tours citywide is here (permalinked on our Events page if you need to find it in a pinch). Meantime, from West Seattle High School principal Bruce Bivins, word of music expansion:

West Seattle High School is expanding its music program to include string orchestra. This is a year-long music performance course. Students in string orchestra will perform at school assemblies, school functions, school concerts, and community events. West Seattle High School is proud to be offering this string orchestra course as an addition to the music program that includes, Wildcat Band, Choir, Guitar, Drumline, Piano, and an after-school Stage Band, where many of the students go on to perform in the annual West Seattle HS Spring Musical.

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Out of the WSB inbox, from West Seattle High School principal Bruce Bivins – news of a student’s big achievement this week:

Fatima Ruiz Villatoro won three top DECA Awards at the DECA Marketing Club Regional Competitions (Test Scores, Role Plays) at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. Fatima will be going on to compete in the DECA State Competitions in March, 2010, and if she places at State, Fatima will go on to compete at the DECA International Competitions in April, 2010.

(DECA’s high-school division helps students develop “marketing, management and entrepreneurship” skills.)

Share the good news about your school/students/group/etc. any time! Here are all the ways to get the info to WSB.

One week from tonight is a big night at Chief Sealth High School: Prospective students and families are invited to come to Sealth’s temporary location at Boren to learn about the school, with presentations including program information, student testimonials, a few words from Sealth Principal John Boyd, and cultural performances. Dessert too. If there’s an eighth-grader in your family right now, you may find an invite in your mailbox, but even if you don’t, you’re welcome; 6-8:30 pm next Thursday (January 21st), with presentations scheduled 6-7 pm – including information about the renovated campus that Sealth will reoccupy this fall – while tabling, performances and the dessert bar are scheduled 7-8:30. Here’s the official flyer.

Seattle Public Schools just sent an announcement of several principal changes around the district. One affects West Seattle: Cindy Nash is the new principal of Middle College, an alternative program with three campuses including one at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) on Puget Ridge. She spent the last five years as principal of the district’s Interagency Academy, another alternative program with multiple sites, including the Learning Center at Southwest Youth and Family Services in North Delridge. No other direct West Seattle effects in the principal changes announced tonight, but there’s a principal change at The Center School at Seattle Center, which we’ve been told has more than a few West Seattle students: Lisa Escobar is leaving to become co-principal at Rainier Beach; Judy Peterson will serve as interim principal. Here’s the full district news release on everything announced tonight:Read More

Two announcements to share this morning. First, from Madison Middle School PTSA president Kim Early, an event this week of interest to parents of future high-school students all over West Seattle, not just Madison families:

Start the New Year off right by attending the next Madison PTSA meeting, to be held on Wednesday, January 13, 2010. We will be holding a panel for parents, guardians and students called “High School Choices for Your Tween.” At this PTSA meeting from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm, come and hear from various high schools in the areas about their school and the programs it has to offer. High schools who will be attending thus far include: West Seattle, Cleveland, and Chief Sealth. There will also be time at the end for Q & A (questions and answers)! The PTSA is looking forward to seeing you and your child at this meeting!

We’ll also have time to discuss the early dismissals and its impact on this school year 2009-2010, as well as next year’s schedule & early dismissals for 2010-2011! If you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact Kim Early at ann8726@aol.com or 206-328-9335.

Announcement #2 – ticket sales are under way for the Chief Sealth High School Jazz Band benefit Big Band Dinner Dance coming up February 6. The Sealth Jazz Band will be joined by special guests the West Seattle Big Band, 6 pm at Sealth/Boren, tickets range from $7 (kids 5-12) to $15 (adults). Tickets can be ordered by mail; here’s the form.

Last month, we published a Seattle Public Schools list of teachers who have achieved Board Certification. In our latest Madison Middle School update from Jeanne Merritt, she spotlights the two Madison teachers on the list, and one of their certified colleagues:

Madison Middle School teachers Kathy Myers (Math) and Karen Nixon (Reading) recently joined Angela Clement (Science) in attaining National Board Certification. Madison has three more teachers currently working on their National Boards.

To earn this certificate, teachers must complete a rigorous two part assessment: 1) create four portfolios that include videotaped classroom teaching, lesson plans, samples of student work, and written reflections on their teaching and 2) take a three hour exam that measures knowledge of the teacher’s subject area.

Congratulations and thank you for your hard work!

P.S. We’ve been mentioning this new list of open houses coming up at schools around the district; Madison’s open house is 6:30-8:30 pm February 4th.

Meeting last night for the first time in the new year, the Seattle School Board took on some of the remaining details of the transition to the new Student Assignment Plan; here are the highlights. The issue many parents have been watching closely involves “sibling grandfathering” – if a child currently attends a school different from the “neighborhood” one to which they’d be assigned otherwise, they are grandfathered to stay through its highest grade, but what about a younger sibling entering school this fall (or maybe beyond) – will they be able to attend their sibling’s school? A group of concerned parents rallied before the meeting last night; among them, West Seattle’s Fiona Preedy, who has been active on the issue. She sent around a summary last night of what happened from her viewpoint; we asked for permission to share it:

About a dozen West Seattle parents joined me at a rally tonight, at the John Stanford Center, regarding grandfathering younger siblings. There were a few reporters at the rally, notably, KPLU and King 5, with their cameras’ filming the children with signs, and there was a spot on King 5 at 11 p.m. The broadcast of the meeting will be repeated on the Education channel and you can watch online.

After a few speakers about the sibling issue, (superintendent) Dr. (Maria) Goodloe-Johnson did speak to the sibling families and stated that they are concerned and they do want to help. She gave the guarantee that if younger siblings can not get in the older sib’s school, the older sib is guaranteed a spot in the reference area school, which is in the transition plan. This is rationalized by the ability to spread those students over 5 grades, rather than the concentration in kindergarten. They are calling this a safety net.

For siblings of students with special needs, they are definitely grandfathering in. Steve Sundquist asked that the placement of Spectrum at Madison and Arbor Heights, specifically to ease the load on Lafayette, be sped up to the upcoming year. He also made reference to investigating grandfathering Spectrum siblings.

Several directors strongly urged Dr. (Tracy) Libros to speed up the modeling for school capacity, as surveys and enrollments come in, so they can identify schools where there will be no problem or, on the other hand, where there will be problems. They seemed noticeably concerned over the families’ stress. Regardless of their concern, it still seems the chances of getting the plan past one year are nil. However, if this year’s enrollment goes well, they will begin in the fall to make the next year’s plan early and might even be able to do a two year plan.

Dr. Libros did have a power point about the timeline for enrollment. They’ve extended early enrollment until Jan. 15, then open enrollment will be in March. With the “safety net”, you have through Sept. 30 to decide to move your older sibling to your reference area school with your kindergartener, so if nothing happens to get you in, you don’t have to make an early decision to hold your place.

A lot of the power will be directed to the principals and staff at the schools, so be nice to your principal!

Steve Sundquist will have another meeting at Delridge Library on Saturday, January 16, 1 to 2:30, so come with your questions and comments.

Other reports from last night: Here’s the KING5 coverage and the KPLU report that Fiona mentioned; A partial update from the community site saveseattleschools.blogspot.com is here. That site also points to this helpful link if you want to tour a school before assignments are finalized – here’s the list of open houses citywide.

Two items of note when the Seattle School Board meets Wednesday night for the first time this year: First, the next steps in the district’s transition from “school choice” to a neighborhood-based Student Attendance Plan – with the board scheduled to review and vote on many more details regarding how it’s going to work starting this fall. Second, other agenda items include the approval of the second part of the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse purchase deal – as first reported here in September, the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency is using $1.1 million in additional state funding to buy more of the site, beyond the first $1.8 million deal for the schoolhouse itself and 32,000 square feet in the playground/parking lot area. Here’s the full agenda for Wednesday night; the board meeting starts at 6 pm at district HQ in SODO (map).