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Rainier Beach High School

South-End School News: Meet & Greet With New Rainier Beach HS Principal + Parent Summit at Cleveland + More

August 10, 2011

in Education,News

Meet new Rainier Beach High School principal on Aug. 15:

The community is invited to join Rainier Beach High School for a Meet & Greet with its new principal, Dwane Chapelle, on Mon., Aug. 15, from 6:30-8 pm at 8815 Seward Park Ave. S.

According to Seattle Public Schools, this will be an opportunity to hear about the “great plans Rainier Beach has in store for the coming year” and ask questions of the school’s new leader, a former juvenile detention officer in Dallas County, Texas.

In January, after the school was designated as one of the worst in the state, then principal Dr. Robert Gary - with the school for 13 years – and his relatively new co-principal Lisa Escobar were reassigned to other schools.

“I am confident that with a strong team in place at Rainier Beach High School, we will see significant improvements,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield.

Parent Summit at Cleveland High School scheduled for Aug. 20:

The community is invited to join the Seattle Alliance of Black School Educators and the U. S. Department of Education for a free Parent Summit at Cleveland High School (5511 15th Ave. S.) on Sat., Aug. 20, from7:30 am to 1:30 pm.

Topics to be discussed include school reform, parent and family engagement, Seattle Public Schools Initiatives, the Importance of Social Emotional Skills in Early Learning, how to protect yourself and others from Civil Rights violations and more.

For more information, contact ighowell@mindspring.com or jbhill43@gmail.com.

Rainier Beach High School Orientation planned for Aug. 25:

Rainier Beach High School families are encouraged to meet in the school’s cafeteria (8815 Seward Park Ave. S.) for orientation on Thurs., Aug. 25, 4 to 7 pm to pick up schedules, learn about programs, meet with the RBHS community and enjoy a BBQ. For more information, email RainierBeachPTSA@gmail.com.

SPS receives $1 million planning grant aimed at enhancing arts instruction in classroom:

Seattle Public Schools has received a $1million grant from the New York-based Wallace Foundation to engage the community and develop a multi-year plan for introducing more arts instruction into the classroom.

The Foundation’s Arts Learning Initiative planning grant, which runs from July 2011 through January 2013, will support development of a comprehensive K-12 arts education plan aimed at increasing quality learning opportunities for all students, especially those with the least access to the arts.

The 19-month planning process will further advance a five-year effort between Seattle Public Schools and the City of Seattle – known as the Arts Education Partnership – to build a system and aligned resources (including budget, arts partnerships, professional development and instructional tools) to put the arts back in education for all students as a means to encourage creative expression and develop job and life skills.

Photo/Rainier Valley Post

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Former Juvenile Detention Officer Tapped to Lead Rainier Beach High Through Troubled Times

July 12, 2011

in Education,News

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) recently announced that a new principal has been appointed to lead Rainier Beach High School in the south Rainier Valley.

Dwane Chappelle – a former juvenile detention officer in Dallas County, Texas – has been in the education field for seven years, serving most recently as Assistant Principal for the Arlington Independent School District. He started his career as a special education teacher.

In January, after the school was designated as one of the worst in the state, then principal Dr. Robert Gary - with the school for 13 years – and his relatively new co-principal Lisa Escobar were reassigned to other schools.

Then last month, the district appointed a second Executive Director of Schools – Brianna Dusseault – that it said would “provide increased support and accountability” to Southeast Seattle schools, most of which are under-performing and attempting to serve a disproportionally high concentration of low-income students.

“I am confident that with a strong team in place at Rainier Beach High School, we will see significant improvements,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield.

Rainier Beach High is also located near one of the most violent intersections in the city – Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson – which is frequently the scene of gang fights and drive-by shootings. Earlier this year, a group of thugs entered the school looking for three students who had witnessed an earlier shooting and assaulted three security guards.

Currently, only 10% of Rainier Beach High School seniors go on to attend college. Photo/do communications

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KIDS: FREE Seahawks Junior Training Football Camp Coming Up in Rainier Beach

July 8, 2011

in News,Sports,Youth

Rainier Valley kids ages 8 to 14 are invited to participate in a free Gatorade Junior Training Camp hosted by the Seattle Seahawks at Rainier Beach High School in the south Rainier Valley:

These two-hour clinics combine first-rate football instruction and life skills messages that focus on self-improvement and a motivational life-skills session with a Seahawks player, coach or alumni.

This non-contact football training camp is scheduled for Tues., July 19, from 10 am to 12 pm, and is limited to 200 participants. Go here for more information or to register. Photo/Seattle Seahawks

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South-End School News: Graham Hill Goes Green, Dollars for Scholars at Rainier Beach HS, Orca K-8 Wins Heritage Education Award, Etc.

June 1, 2011

in Education,News

Graham Hill Elementary newly certified as Washington Green School

Graham Hill Elementary became a certified Level 1 Washington Green School this spring. For the past year, students and staff have been working hard at reducing waste through recycling and implementing a lunchroom composting program. Certification at each Level is achieved by choosing an Environmental Category as an area of focus, and completing the steps.

Washington Green Schools provides resources and tools to involve students, teachers, and community members in assessing and taking action to increase resource conservation and waste reduction in schools.

This year, Graham Hill Green Team members from fourth-/fifth-grade classes (above), have gone into younger classrooms to teach about conservation. They have implemented a “Zero Waste” program in the lunchroom to encourage students to take only the amount that they will eat. In addition, any uneaten fruits and vegetables are added to the worm bin for the school’s garden program. In one year, the school diverted more than 30,000 pounds of waste from the landfill.

Dunlap Elementary student wins first place in ‘The Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art’ contest

Al’Tariq Sims, a student at Dunlap Elementary, is the state’s first-place winner in the Grade 4-6 category of “The Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art” contest.

The contest is celebrating its 13th year as a successful conservation education program – combining art to catch the imagination of students, and science to foster discovery of the natural world – increasing awareness of and respect for aquatic resources.

Orca K-8 project receives Heritage Education award

Six students from Orca K-8, along with parent volunteer/coordinator Mikala Woodward, received the Heritage Education award for 2011 from the Association of King County Historical Organizations (AKCHO).

The award-winning project was titled “NO PLACE LIKE HOME – Resurrecting Seven Houses on the Whitworth Playfield.” The students, Woodward and ORCA principal Concie Pedroza received the award at an April 26 ceremony at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). King County District 6 Councilmember Jane Hague presented the award.

The Heritage Education Award is given to a King County teacher or an organization who has promoted King County heritage by the innovative incorporation of local history into the curriculum and/or through a project that involves students with the heritage community.

11 Rainier Beach High School students awarded Dollars for Scholars scholarships (Seattle Medium):

A young man who escaped southern Burma to spend years in a refugee camp in Nepal is completing his high school education in the U.S. and hopes to study computer engineering in college. A young woman whose family struggled with homelessness has resume entries that include a summer law firm internship and meeting with a legislative panel in Washington DC. A talented athlete with plans to study business chooses to take positive lessons from the challenges of childhood years spent in the foster care system.

These students are among eleven Rainier Beach High School seniors who will receive a total of $24,000 in scholarships from RBHS Dollars for Scholars this year. All have inspiring stories and all have high hopes for the future. Scholarship recipients will be honored at the Rainier Beach High School Senior Breakfast on Friday, June 10th.

The 2001 Scholarship recipients are Ahmed Adan, Taylor Anderson, Patricia Burgess, Michael Lu, Halimo Maie, Mya Yada Nawin, Priame Ndayishimiye, Jeff Perkins, Hari Pokhrel, Khina Poudyel and Phi Tang. More.

Information and photos provided by Seattle Public Schools, unless otherwise noted.

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Comment of the Week Goes To…

May 14, 2011

in Opinion

SusanH on “MONDAY: Meeting to Discuss Potential AP Program at Rainer Beach High”:

I’m wondering why we have to meet about this again. There have been meetings already. The IB program seems to be the only viable plan on the table to give Rainier Beach a true, college-prep track program. Sounds great. Let’s just do it please, before we lose another year!

Also, I do hope the powers that be don’t interpret poor turnout today as lack of community interest. Both time options are while most folks are still working…

The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.

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SW: If Rainier Beach High School Students CAN Go to College–Why DON’T They?

March 22, 2011

in Education,News

Nina Shapiro/Seattle Weekly:

Late last week, Seattle Public Schools released new figures showing that it had vastly underestimated the number of students qualified to attend a four-year college. The figures–a correction of a correction–made the district’s high schools look a lot better, particularly Rainier Beach High. Whereas once the district said that only 20 percent of the South Seattle school’s students could go on to college, it now appears that 43 percent can. Yet in some ways that makes the story of Rainier Beach even more poignant.

At the school board’s March 2 meeting, Rainier Beach PTSA president Carlina Brown took the podium with she considered good news: Ten Rainier Beach seniors last year–10 percent of the graduating class–went to a four-year college. (See video of the meeting.) She was making the point that Rainier Beach was not the troubled school many thought it was. “We didn’t need a second principal,” she said, referring to the district’s installation of an additional administrator there last year to boost enrollment and academic performance.

At the time, Brown’s jubilation seemed premature. Maybe the school’s college-enrollment rate was improving, but it was still very low. Unnecessarily so, it now seems.

If 43 percent of the school’s seniors can go to college, why are only 10 percent doing so? Read more.

Photo/do communcations

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Comment of the Week Goes To…

March 19, 2011

in Opinion

Ed.’s note: This week’s Comment of the Week is a tie between two responses to a recent incident at Rainier Beach High School in which three security guards were assaulted by a group of men who showed up on the school’s campus looking to confront several girls who witnessed a shooting.

JvA on “Open Thread Thursday: What’s on Your Mind, Neighbors?”:

It’s a sad testament to the extent to which the city has given up on RBHS that the only mainstream news coverage that story has gotten is a link from KIRO to seattlecrime.com.

and

Lou on “Open Thread Thursday: What’s on Your Mind, Neighbors?”:

I went to Southshore and remember this happening once when I was in middle school, except it was only one dude and rumor was he had his weapon out, I only saw him out-running security by a mile as he escaped.

The school was so bad they bulldozed it, then in a stroke of genus built two more schools on the same spot that are now facing the same problems I did. There are too many schools on a bad street, RBHS cannot be moved, but why were the New School and Southlake both put right there?

This is why you should not allow people to make decisions about this neighborhood that weren’t born here or lived here since a very young age.

I don’t want to discredit anyone who recently moved here or has been here for 20 years but, there is a different perspective when you are 12 and on the #7 compared to 30. You understand the appeal, affect and therefore remedy of gangs better when they are all older and bigger than you.

The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.

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Rainier Valley Crime Watch: Drive-by Shooting in Rainier Beach, Three Men Show Up to Rainier Beach HS Looking for Shooting Witnesses, Assault Security

March 16, 2011

in 911,News

Drive-by shooting in Rainier Beach (SPD):

Today at approximately at 4:20 p.m., officers responded to the 9300 block of 51 Avenue S to a reported shooting. Upon arrival officers contacted the victim, a male 17-18 years old, who had a gunshot wound to his chest. He was treated on scene by Seattle Fire and subsequently transported to Harborview Medical Center with life threatening injuries.

According to witnesses the suspects were in a moving vehicle when they fired upon the victim. Two suspects, a male and female, were quickly apprehended by responding officers as they tried to flee the scene. Officers also recovered a handgun.

This remains an active and ongoing investigation.  More information will be posted as it becomes available.

Three men show up to Rainier Beach HS looking for shooting witnesses, assault security (seattlecrime.com):

Three security staff members at Rainier Beach High School were assaulted last week by a group of men who showed on the school’s campus looking to confront a group of girls who may have witnessed a shooting.

Last Tuesday, March 8th, someone fired several shots near Rainier Beach High School, according to a Seattle school district spokeswoman. Police apparently contacted a possible suspect following the incident, but it’s unclear whether anyone was arrested.

Two days after the incident, police records say a group of three men showed up at Rainier Beach High School at about 10:15 am.

School security stopped two of the men in the school hallway and asked them to leave campus. The men ignored the security officers, pushed past them, and tried to confront a group of female students, according to a police report. Read more.

Photo/Will Austin Photography

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Save the Date: Rainier Beach HS Fundraiser at Famous Dave’s in Tukwila

March 11, 2011

in Arts/Living,Eat,Education

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911: Shooting at Rainier & Henderson, Former Rainier Beach HS Drug Counselor Faces Prison on Drug Charge, Etc.

January 26, 2011

in 911,News

Shooting At Rainier and Henderson (seattlecrime.com):

We’re hearing scanner chatter about a shooting at Rainier and Henderson [Fri., Jan. 22] … Sounds like police just found a bullet lodged in the wall of a sub shop and Rainier and Henderson. More.

Former Rainier Beach HS  drug counselor faces prison on drug charge (Seattle Post Intelligencer):

Robert “Smitty” Smith was a bright light of the South Seattle community, a youth coach and stand-in father, a drug counselor at Rainier Beach High School.

Smith, 60, was also a pain pill addict and, a jury found, dealer. Next month, he’ll find out whether his next stop is federal prison.

Arrested in December 2009, the Rainier Beach drug and alcohol intervention specialist and a second man faced a federal indictment on allegations that they sold oxycodone to a police informant. Smith was convicted after a three-day trial on six counts related to a series of pain killer sales. More.

Beacon Hill teen has laptop, cell phone stolen after school (Seattle Post Intelligencer):

A teen was robbed of his laptop and cell phone last week on Beacon Hill, and police are looking for two suspects.

The incident happened about 3 p.m. Jan. 18 in the 3700 block of South Cloverdale Street. The student was walking in the opposite direction of the two suspects, who stopped to size him up. They threatened to assault him if the teen didn’t let them search his pockets and backpack.

The suspects then took his school laptop and T-Mobile Comet cell phone. They fled northbound over fences and through yards, police were told. More.

Weird crime at Rainier & Henderson: Pantless man, pepper spray, brass knuckles (Seattle Post Intelligencer):

Every so often, a police report comes along that seems interesting, but is hard to follow because of the bizarre circumstances.

One of those is on my desk today.

The incident –an assault with brass knuckles – happened Friday in the 9200 block of Rainier Avenue South – near Rainier and South Henderson Street, which has been marked by violence and gang activity. Read more.

Photo/Will Austin Photography

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Comment of the Week Goes To…

January 22, 2011

in Opinion

G on “Rainier Beach HS Principal Out After 13 Years”:

South Seattle community, these changes in leadership present a new opportunity for all of us to come together and fix our schools starting with Rainier Beach. I like Dr. Gary and I think he is fully capable of running a successful school, but when you’re in charge you’re accountable for what happens, or in this case, what has not happened.

What community group/ member is going to take the lead: RBPTSA, South Seattle Education Coalition?? Maybe this is an issue that the newly formed Rainier Beach Neighborhood Association should take on. As a former, resident of Rainier Beach (lived adjacent to Emerson elem.), I understood that the neighborhood’s success was tied to the success of the neighborhood schools. And that’s when I decided to move.

Raineir Beach is a family oriented neighborhood and families do not choose to live in neighborhoods with failing schools. Especially now under the neighborhood schooling program.

Don’t be a non-believer, Rainier Beach High School is not beyond repair. But let’s be honest, the school itself needs repair, i.e. a major renovation. The school in its current state doesn’t exactly instill pride. This is not to imply that a renovation alone will improve the academic situation there but it will send a message that the District is committed to providing an environment/ facility where academics can flourish.

Let’s start there South Seattle Community: Let’s get Rainier Beach renovated, and I mean a real renovation, not the few dollar patchwork job done a couple years ago. I’m talking about building a 50 million dollar academic institution in Raineir Beach that is a major resource for our youth and community! Is that something we can all get behind?

The dialogue that occurs here between friends, neighbors and engaged citizens is one of the features that makes your RVP such a valuable community resource. Your RVP does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed in the Comment of the Week.

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Rainier Beach HS Principal Out After 13 Years

January 19, 2011

in Education,News

School superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson announced last week that Rainier Beach High School co-principals, Dr. Robert Gary and Lisa Escobar will transition to new positions and a new principal will be appointed for the 2011-2012 school year.

The announcement came on the heels of last week’s news that the troubled Rainier Valley high school is one of the worst in the state, a designation that makes the school eligible for a School Improvement Grant ranging from $50,000 to $2 million per year over a three-year period beginning in fall 2011.

The grant requires that a new principal must be appointed if the current principal has been in place for more than two years.

Dr. Gary has been principal at Rainier Beach for 13 years, and Escobar joined him as co-principal just last year.

The detailed grant applications are due by March 4, and successful awardees will be notified by OSPI on March 31.  Information about the amount funded will be available by April 22.

In 2010, two southeast Seattle schools – Hawthorne Elementary in Mt. Baker and and Cleveland High School on Beacon Hill – received $5.76 million over three years in SIG funding.

Photo/do communications

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THURSDAY: Watch Rainier Beach Students Perform “Two Truths and a Lie”

01.18.2011 Arts/Living

The community is invited to join the Seattle Rep’s TeenSpeak program this Thur., Jan. 20, at 7 pm for “Two Truths and a Lie” at Rainier Beach High School (8815 Seward Park Ave. S.): How do truth and lies blur together to become an accepted reality? How much of reputation is made because of truth [...]

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Rainier Beach HS Named One of State’s Lowest Performing Schools; SE Coalition Demands Change

01.18.2011 Education

The state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction has released its list of 50 Washington schools categorized as the “persistently lowest-achieving” under federal guidelines, and one – Rainier Beach High – is in southeast Seattle. There were a total of three Seattle schools on the state’s list, including Chief Sealth High School and AS [...]

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“Are You Afraid to Come to Rainer Beach?”

01.07.2011 Arts/Living

anamaria/Seattle Repertory Theatre: “Are you afraid to come to Rainer Beach?” was the very direct question that a student asked me on my first day of teaching at the Rep. I had just moved to Seattle from Southern California (pack everything that can fit in my car and go!) and knew nothing about Seattle, its [...]

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Rainier Beach B-Ball Players Help Feed Hungry Neighbors

11.26.2010 News

Seattle Times (RVP news partner): Hayley Lucotch stood in line at the Creston Point Apartments in south Seattle with her young son, Tatum, to receive a free Thanksgiving basket, but it wasn’t the first free food she’d received this Thanksgiving week. Lucotch said she also received food from the Salvation Army but gave it away [...]

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Open Thread: Urban League Wants Surveillance Cameras in Rainier Beach; What Do You Think?

11.16.2010 911

Seattle Times (RVP news partner): Noting an increase in street violence, the head of the Urban League this morning called on the city to install surveillance cameras around violence-prone “hot spots” in and around the Rainer Beach neighborhood. James Kelly, president and chief executive officer of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, said during a [...]

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Comment of the Week Goes To…

11.13.2010 Education

Jimmy on “Rainier Beach PTSA Wants to Know What Would Make You Send Your Kid There”: I did after school volunteer work for 4 years with students there and visited twice during the day- the volunteer activities were done off site. The school is chaotic. The kids are disruptive and undisciplined. I saw courageous teachers, [...]

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Rainier Beach PTSA Wants to Know What Would Make You Send Your Kid There

11.05.2010 Education

The community is invited to join the Rainier Beach High School PTSA next Wed., Nov. 10, for a community meeting at the Paul Roberson Performing Arts Center at Rainier Beach High School (8815 Seward Park Ave. S.) from 6:30 to 8 pm: This meeting is open to all Rainier Beach area residents, as the PTSA [...]

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Tell Seattle Public Schools What You Think of New Student Assignment Plan

11.02.2010 Education

Last year, the Seattle School Board approved a New Student Assignment Plan, school attendance area boundaries and a Transition Plan for 2010-11, the first year of implementation. Now, as work begins to create the Transition Plan for 2011-12, which will guide the continued phasing in of the New Student Assignment Plan, Seattle Public Schools is [...]

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South-End Teens MUCH More Likely to Get Pregnant Than North-End Peers

10.20.2010 Education

The Seattle Times (RVP news partner): Teen pregnancy is associated with all sorts of bad things — physical risks to babies, interrupted education for moms, and lower lifetime incomes all around — so it’s good news that Washington, overall, has a significantly lower rate than the U.S. average. But the statistics released Wednesday morning by [...]

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