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New Student Assignment Plan

Worried Mom Goes Straight to the Source & Says Aki Kurose Principal “Knocked My Socks Off”

October 19, 2009

in Education,Opinion

Ed. note: Last week, Seattle Public Schools announced its proposed new Student Assignment Plan that reduces school choice in favor of a neighborhood-based system. With dramatic differences in school quality throughout the city, the move has some parents concerned. Find full RVP coverage on the issue here.

By Anna McCartney

The thing that is frustrating me here is that I am committed to the idea of public schools. I want to send my kids to public schools. And I’m committed to volunteering and donating money to public schools. However, I am not going to send my kid to a school that seems really bad. So I want info from the school district to reassure me that they are not going to make me send my kids to an awful school.

When you look up the annual reports for some of the schools in the district (particularly for south end schools), it’s pretty scary. I also do not believe that the annual report tells you everything. So what I was hoping for from the folks from the district at that meeting was for them to come down here and tell us specifically what is being done to improve the schools that have been struggling.

I do not want to hear broad, nonspecific things, like that they are aiming for excellence for all, or that teachers are taking more training courses. I want to hear exactly what plans they are implementing. I want to hear that a school has a super dynamic principal, and exactly what that principal is doing to fix the school. I did not get that at all from the school district folks at the meeting at Aki Kurose.

Mia_WilliamsThat said, I talked to the principal of Aki Kurose, Mia Williams, and she knocked my socks off. She answered every question I had, and was super nice. She has some amazing projects going on.

I went over to the school yesterday at lunch time to talk to her some more, and she talked to me for over an hour about all the great things they have going. You can tell that she is really excited about that school. I also met one of the math teachers, who seemed awesome. They have some pretty exciting (and nerdy!! heh!) sounding stuff going on there! Honestly, I was about ready to sign myself up for middle school, it sounded so great!

So I’m feeling much better about sending my kids to Aki. I think at this point, my big frustration is that the folks from the district don’t seem to be communicating well with us parents, and are not giving us the info that we are asking for.

I think what many of us want is to hear what is going on in the individual schools (and especially the schools that look a bit grim in their annual report). I want them to give us a reason to get excited about our local schools. They need to tell us what is great at a school, what they need help with (and let the us know so that we volunteer if they need it), etc., and do it in a way that engages us rather than feeling adversarial.

I wish there was better communication coming from the main offices of the district, and it didn’t feel so hostile. I think I’m normally a pretty easygoing person and at the end of that meeting, I was extremely frustrated!

Anyway, my bright side to all this is that I am most impressed with Mia Williams and am no longer freaked out about sending my kids to Aki Kurose any more.

Aki Kurose Middle School – located at 3928 South Graham Street in the Rainier Valley – has a troubled reputation. Principal Mia Williams hopes to improve it. Photos courtesy of Seattle Public Schools

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Mt. Baker Neighbors Concerned New Student Assignment Plan Will Divide Community

October 18, 2009

in Education,Opinion

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Ed. note: Learn more about how the New Student Assignment Plan will impact Mount Baker at a community discussion on Mon., Oct. 19, from 7 to 9 pm at Mount Baker Community Club (2811 Mt. Rainier Dr.).

By Eric Brown

I’m sure most of you have heard by now that Seattle Public Schools is overhauling their student assignment plan which I think is positive and will overall help foster better public schools and neighborhoods for the city. Whether you have kids or not, whether you send your children to public schools or private, this effects you as stronger public schools makes stronger, more desirable neighborhoods.

Unfortunately the proposed plan has serious, negative, lasting implications for the Mt. Baker neighborhood and community.

mtbakerAccording to the City, South Irving Street is the northern boundary, South Genesee Street the southern and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way and Rainier Avenue South are the western boundaries. Very likely what you also consider our great neighborhood.

Seattle Public Schools is proposing to cut the Mt. Baker neighborhood in half, sending our children to two different schools elementary schools, one of which is not in our neighborhood, and two different high schools. See the proposed redistricting maps here.

You will see they effectively want to split Mt. Baker as follows:

  • For elementary school they want to use McClellan as the divider – they are proposing sending children north of McClellan to Leschi Elementary and children south of McClellan will stay at John Muir Elementary
  • For high school they want to use Walker as the divider – kids north of Walker will go to Garfield High, kids sound of Walker will go to Franklin High

What makes our neighborhood so great are the people – being able to come together around common interests and principles to support and serve the community. In part what is so great about sending our children to the neighborhood public schools is it promotes and fosters community commitment and builds stronger community relationships. By splitting our neighborhood in two, much of the natural common bond of having all of our kids at the same school is severed and community commitment across the board suffers.

Seattle Public School’s proposed boundaries for assigning Mt. Baker children needs to change to reflect and be consistent with what the City defines as, and most of us consider to be, the Mt. Baker neighborhood.

Our Mt. Baker children all should be able to go the same neighborhood school together K-12. This is especially true for the elementary level, McClellan is an absurd northern border for John Muir and southern border for Leschi. Our kids should be able to stay in Mt. Baker neighborhood and attend John Muir as they have for decades – not have to go over on the other side of the I-90 lid.

Learn more about the proposed New Student Assignment Plan here. Comment via e-mail here.

John Muir Elementary School is located at 3301 South Horton Street in Mt. Baker. Photo/do communications, inc.

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Open Thread: New Student Assignment Plan Community Feedback Meeting

October 14, 2009

in Education,Opinion

Aki-Kurose

Did you attend Tuesday night’s New Student Assignment Plan Community Feedback Meeting at Aki Kurose Middle School? How did it go? What did you think of the presentation? Are you in favor of the proposed changes? Why or why not?

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Please remember the established RVP rules of conduct:

Opinions that are derogatory, attack other users, offer unsubstantiated facts or are offensive in nature can and will be removed as defined by the Terms of Service. The Rainier Valley Post is not responsible for the content posted in this comment section, and reserves the right to remove any offensive or off-topic remark or thread.

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Photos/David Mullarkey Images

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Seattle Going Back to Neighborhood Schools

October 7, 2009

in Education,News

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Seattle Times (RVP News Partner):

Seattle Public Schools proposed new boundaries for all its schools Tuesday, marking a return to a neighborhood-based assignment system that will place students in a school close to home.

Over the past few decades, the school district has had a variety of assignment plans with differing goals — from forced busing in the late 1970s meant to racially integrate schools to the current plan, which allows students to apply to any school but doesn’t guarantee them a spot at any particular one.

That’s about to end. With the new plan, students will be assigned to schools based on their address, with some options — but no guarantee — of going elsewhere. The plan will be phased in over the next several years, starting next fall with students entering kindergarten and grades six and nine. Other students will stay where they are. Read more.

Find the new city-wide attendance area boundary map here.

South-End Community Feedback Meetings

The community is invited to comment on the new attendance-area boundary maps and the student assignment plan at the following south-end meetings:

  • Tues., Oct 13: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Aki Kurose Middle School (3928 S. Graham St.)
  • Sat., Oct. 17: 10 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m., Mercer Middle School (1600 S. Columbian Way)

Comments also may be submitted via e-mail. For a list of city-wide community feedback meetings, go here.

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District Must Address Equity Issues Before Addressing Assignment

October 6, 2009

in Education,Opinion

rbhs

Horse’s Ass:

A lot of families are awfully anxious as they await [today’s] release of the Seattle School District’s new assignment plan, one which intends to assign the majority of students to their neighborhood schools, with fewer options and less flexibility than we currently enjoy.

Will many of my friends here in SE Seattle, whose children are comfortably on an academic track they thought would guarantee them a slot at Garfield, happily accept an assignment to Rainier Beach? I don’t think so. Likewise, on the even more contentious issue of middle schools, an assignment to Aki Kurose in its present form would be the equivalent of a one-way ticket out of the district.

Criticize me all you want for stating the obvious, but that’s just the way it is. Read more.

Photo/do communications, inc.

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SPS Moves Forward With New Student Assignment Plan; Community Meetings Set

September 22, 2009

in Education,News

Last week, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) announced plans to move forward with its new student assignment plan with proposed attendance area boundary maps for all elementary, middle, and high schools to be presented at a School Board workshop on Tues., Oct. 6, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the John Stanford Center auditorium, as well as a schedule of community meetings (see below). From SPS:

After reviewing community comments, the District will introduce recommended boundary maps — including any revisions — at the School Board meeting on Wednesday, November 4. The School Board will vote on the recommended boundary maps on Wednesday, November 18 (see south-end schedule below).

Predictable Assignment Hallmark of New Plan

The general idea behind the new student assignment plan is that students will receive initial assignments to elementary, middle or high schools in their attendance areas. Those assignments will be based on their addresses. Students can choose to apply to schools outside their attendance areas; those assignments will be based on a series of tiebreakers.

If students are currently enrolled at schools outside their attendance areas, they can stay at those schools through its highest grade under a process called “grandfathering” — as long as the services the students need are available at those schools.

The new plan will be implemented in phases, beginning in the 2010-11 school year; the assignment rules for the current 2009-10 school year will remain the same.

New Attendance Areas to Replace Outdated Boundaries

If adopted by the School Board, the new attendance area boundaries will replace a set of school reference areas that haven’t been updated in decades, no longer reflect city demographics, and do not accurately reflect the capacity of the District’s facilities.

By comparison, the development of the new attendance area boundaries has been a data-driven process, designed to reflect demographic shifts and building capacity more accurately — as well as provide greater assignment predictability while preserving choice options.

Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson said that the District will spend the next three weeks preparing families for the release of the attendance area maps and the many ways in which they will be able to provide feedback.

“We know that boundaries are of great interest to our families — as well as those with pre-school aged children and those considering moving from a private school to the public system,” said Goodloe-Johnson. “Our job is to help families understand how we got to this point, what comes next, and reassure them that when new attendance area boundary maps are released, they will have the ability to be heard — and that we will be listening.”

Learn more about the new student assignment plan here. Find reference areas for 2009-2010 school year here. Submit comments via e-mail email here.

South-End Schedule of Community Meetings on New Student Assignment Plan:

  • 10/6: School Board Workshop: Proposed Attendance Area Boundaries, 4 p.m. at John Stanford Center Auditorium (2445 3rd Ave. S.)
  • 10/13: Community Feedback Meeting, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Aki Kurose Middle School (3928 S. Graham St.)
  • 10/17: Community Feedback Meeting, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Mercer Middle School (1600 S. Columbian Way)
  • 10/17: Community Feedback Meeting, 1 –  3 p.m. at Mercer Middle School (1600 S. Columbian Way)
  • 11/3: School Board Workshop Attendance Area Boundaries, 4 p.m. at John Stanford Center Auditorium (2445 3rd Ave. S.)
  • 11/4: School Board Meeting: Introduction of Attendance Area Boundaries, 6 p.m. at John Stanford Center Auditorium (2445 3rd Ave. S.)
  • 11/7: Community Information Meeting, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Rainier Beach High School (8815 Seward Park Ave. S.)
  • 11/9: School Board Public Hearing: Attendance Area Boundaries, 6 – 8 p.m. at John Stanford Center Auditorium (2445 3rd Ave. S.)
  • 11/18: School Board Meeting: Action On Attendance Area Boundaries, 6 p.m. at John Stanford Center Auditorium (2445 3rd Ave. S.)

According to SPS, interpretation services will be available at all meetings.

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