The Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed this weekend until 5 a.m. Monday for routine maintenance and preparing for the future tunnel that will replace the structure. The road is closed […]
Month: March 2012
Emergency preparedness meeting at Whittier Elementary next week
On Tuesday, March 27, Whittier Elementary will host an emergency preparedness meeting at 7 p.m. in the school’s library. Brad Wakeman from the Whittier Heights Community Council says block captains […]
Boy Scouts to host food drive tomorrow for Ballard Food Bank
Tomorrow, March 24, a local Boy Scout troop will be collecting non-perishable food items to donate to the Ballard Food Bank. Ballard Pack 100 of the Chief Seattle Council will […]
Summer camp fair this weekend
While it may not feel like summer is approaching, summer camp programs are getting ready for the season. Seattle’s Parent Map is putting on a summer camp fair in North […]
Po Dog Hot Dogs opens today
After many months of waiting, Ballard finally has its own Po Dogs. The popular Capitol Hill doggery has just opened its doors in Ballard, at 2014 NW Market St. Owner […]
Plots still available at new community garden
A couple weeks ago, we told you Harbor Church (9204 11th Ave NW) would be developing a community garden with plots up for grabs on a first-come, first-serve basis. According to […]
Spring Break sports camp sign-ups and baseball coach clinic at the Boys & Girls Club
Spring Break is nearly upon us, and the Boys and Girls Club is offering two different sports camps for kids ages 7 to 12. The camps are offered April 9 […]
Adams Elementary annual auction this Saturday
On Saturday, March 24, Adams Elementary will hold their annual auction. There will be both a live dinner auction and a silent auction. The live auction is sold out, according […]
Parents upset about Whittier’s Developmental Preschool moving to Viewlands next year with little notice
Seattle Public Schools is moving the Developmental Preschool program at Whittier Elementary School in Ballard to Viewlands Elementary in North Greenwood/Crown Hill next year. But, some parents in the Developmental Preschool are upset because they weren’t involved in the decision-making process, and they were given very little notice.
The Developmental Preschool is located on the bottom floor of Whittier Elementary.
The district says it is moving the program because it anticipates higher enrollment at Whittier in the next few years, and may need an extra classroom.
Amy Thompson, whose 4-year-old daughter, Ava, has attended the Developmental Preschool for the last two years, says the district apparently made the decision in February, but didn’t notify parents until Monday. She said the district posted a letter on its website on Feb. 17 detailing various district-wide Special Education changes, and the preschool change consisted of one line in that document. But no one from the district or Whittier Elementary notified parents of that letter on the website.
“It was deeply buried,” Thompson says of the notice. “And who’s going to go looking for that if they don’t know to look for it?”
Thompson says she heard about the move last Thursday from Whittier Principal Linda Robinson. Preschool families received a notification letter on Monday, and that same letter was sent home with all Whittier students on Tuesday.
Here is an excerpt from the letter by Pegi McEvoy, Assistant Superintendent for Operations:
At this time, we have tentatively planned to maintain the same number of homerooms currently at Whittier; however, the situation is such that we need to be prepared to add a homeroom as additional Open Enrollment date becomes available. This type of decision obviously needs to be made in advance. In anticipation of potential space needs for an additional homeroom at Whittier next year, we have decided to relocate the Developmental Preschool to Viewlands Elementary beginning in the 2012-13 school year. Consideration was given to the addition of a portable; however it was determined to be unfeasible.
SPS also says it is studying the need for additional Development Preschools at other sites throughout the district, including North Seattle.
The Whittier PTA has formally opposed the move, arguing that Whittier’s enrollment figures do not necessitate another homeroom next year. On Monday, the PTA sent a letter to district officials (see end of this post for the full letter).
Thompson said her family’s reference school is Adams Elementary, but they chose to enroll their 6-year-old son, Campbell, in kindergarten at Whittier this year, so he and his sister could attend the same school. With the preschool moving to Whittier, they will be split up.
Thompson said she understands school capacity issues, but the real issue is with timely notification. Since the Open Enrollment period has passed, she no longer has the option of moving her son to Viewlands next year, to keep her children at the same school.
“If it is a foregone conclusion that the program is moving, at a minimum, just give us a year of transition to work these issues out,” she pleaded.
Thompson says routines and structure are especially important for children with developmental issues. Her daughter has significant development delays and requires intensive speech, occupational and physical therapy. When Ava started going to the Developmental Preschool program at the age of 3, she used a walker to get around. Today she walks independently, and Thompson attributes that to the teachers and intense therapy at the preschool.
“All of them require a special level of education services, so whether it comes in the form of cognitive therapy, learning or physical therapy, their routines are very structured that way,” she explains. “It takes a while to develop that routine with your educators.”
She’s worried about the same level of services being available at Viewlands, after the district informed parents that the new Developmental Preschool room at Viewlands is not equipped for physical therapy, as it is at Whittier.
“Not having those things in place is a pretty big setback to their progress and overall development plan,” she says.
Jury finds SPD officer not guilty in Ballard fight
A jury has found Seattle Police officer Garth Haynes not guilty of assault from an altercation outside the BalMar in Ballard December 2010. Haynes was off duty at the time, […]
Ballard High School students’ films to be featured at international film festival
A number of students from the Ballard High School Video Production Program will be featured at an upcoming international film festival for short films they produced. Teacher Matt Lawrence says the […]
Neighborhood greenways update for Ballard
Ballard Greenways is inching closer to making the safer biking routes a reality for our neighborhood. A few months ago, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) agreed to seven miles […]
Recent Comments