(Editor's note: This story went to press before the Seattle School Board announced that it will not implement the closure plan and will not close any Seattle schools.)
School closures and an end to open-choice enrollment have upset parents who foresee a tidal wave-like change to the student population of individual Seattle schools.
While a change to the current enrollment plan will relocate students to their neighborhood schools, school closures will increase the student body of five Northeast schools.
If the district decides to implement the proposal to localize schools and end open enrollment, Mary Callahan, whose kindergartener is currently attending Alternative Elementary II (AE II) at Decatur, will be forced to enroll her child in another elementary school.
"We live in Green Lake, and if [my son] is reassigned, it obviously won't be to our closest school because Daniel Bagley is listed for closure," Callahan said.
Neighborhood schools
Callahan is just one North End resident who feels strongly about the individuality of Seattle schools. She is rallying against the district's proposal to localize students by assigning them to a neighborhood school, with a choice of an alternative school.
"Last year, we looked at other alternative schools for my son, but they weren't functionally equivalent," Callahan said. "AE II's focus on social skills and hands-on learning really fit with my son's temperament."
The district allows third- through fifth-graders to finish their elementary-school careers at their current school, but Callahan's son will be in second grade when the changes occur. If implemented, she would have the choice of a cluster of elementary schools close to her house.
"Initially, we wanted all grade levels to have the chance to complete the last grade of their current school, but that would eat into any kind of savings we could have," said Peter Daniels, the school district's communications director. "However, the district may re-look at this."
If school enrollment is localized the district will need 404 additional middle-school seats for the North East region. The district recommends expanding AE II from a K-5 to a K-8 to provide additional seats.
"We want to provide this region with a K-8 option so we don't have kids being bused all across the city for that same program," Daniels said.
AE II principal John Miner worries about the long list of supplies that will be needed - from library materials to portables to time for teacher collaboration - if these three grades are added.
"Ultimately if the proposal goes ahead, I am wondering about all the associated costs that go with it and if there is a more cost-efficient way than the proposal," Miner said.
According to the district's website, the cost of repurposing schools is $480,000 and the amount saved is $2.64 million for the first year of closures.
Keeping schools small
Nathan Hale High School is facing similar changes in that its current maximum enrollment is 1,100 and the district proposes raising enrollment to 1,600.
Harium Martin-Morris, Nathan Hale's PTA president, reminds the district that the school is intentionally small to comply with their "academy" model of education offered to ninth- and 10th-graders.
An academy is made up of 90 students, who each share the same teacher. This gives students a more personal learning environment and teachers a chance to collaborate on assigned work and skill building.
"We are the high school that made the most academic progress last year, and the big question is, will 400 kids impact our progress?" Martin-Morris asked.
Hale principal Lisa Hechtman addresses this problem by proposing a slow increase in enrollment. Adding 90 students per year, starting in 2007, would allow one full academy to be established instead of changing academy size, she said.
"How do you protect a program that offers inclusion and specialization if the school population grows too rapidly?" Hechtman asked.
Hechtman also has addressed the district about rooms they have listed as classrooms that aren't designed for that purpose and are not capable of holding the 30 kids they are proposed to hold.
"We understand that Nathan Hale wants to keep their school small, but they have a 1,600-person building capacity that needs to be used," Dan-iels said.
Martin-Morris also worries that the change to open enrollment will trap neighborhood high-school students due to Ballard's and Garfield's ability to offer more diverse Advanced Placement (AP) courses.
"What if neighborhood kids want AP classes, but we don't offer the same ones?" Martin-Morris asked. "Will this push them to Running Start programs and take money away from the district?"
For the time being Nathan Hale and AE II will continue to plan and address the district about problems they have with the proposal, in hopes of maintaining the unique aspects that make their schools successful.
Olympic Hills, View Ridge and John Rogers elementary schools also are listed for increased capacity.
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