Earlier today, Mayor Ed Murray announced that he will propose $2.3M in startup funding to help Seattle Public Schools students get more sleep and be better equipped for academic success. The funding will help SPS implement a two-tiered bell schedule (down from three), in response to requests from families. Mayor Murray will request the Families […]
Tag: seattle public schools
Seattle Public Schools bell times set to change this year
Seattle Public Schools is reminding local families that bell times will be changing this upcoming 2016-17 school year. According to the district, the change in school start times is designed to improve academic outcomes for secondary students. They are providing a list of resources on their district website, from child care and nutrition, to after school activities […]
Locals host rally to protest Loyal Heights Elementary expansion
Loyal Heights Elementary parents and students, along with members of the community, will host a rally to protest the expansion of the school. The rally will be held this Friday, June 10, at the school (2511 NW 80th St) from 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Many locals have expressed their anger about the planned expansion […]
Majority of BHS juniors opt out of “Smarter Balanced” statewide exams
According to our news partners at The Seattle Times, 95% of Ballard High School juniors are opting out of the state wide Smarter Balanced exams. The Smarter Balanced English Language Arts (ELA) and Math exams are replacing Washington’s old statewide exams and must be completed by schools before June 15. According to the Washington State […]
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.
Local schools recognized for their high performance
Three Ballard-area schools are among the 21 Seattle Schools to be honored with 2011 Washington Achievement Awards. The schools are recognized for their their performance on the Achievement Index, a comprehensive measurement of Washington schools’ performance for the three previous years. Ballard High School receives two recognitions – Overall Excellence and Closing the Achievement Gap. […]
Seattle Schools asking for two-day snow waiver
Students may not have to make up all three school days they missed during this month’s snow storm. Officials at Seattle Public Schools (SPS) want to waive two days instead of tacking them onto the end of the year, which they say would cost the district $500,000. Lola Velush, a first grader at Whittier, enjoying […]
No fourth Kindergarten class for Whittier Elementary
Whittier Elementary will not be getting a fourth Kindergarten class next school year, but could get one additional homeroom for a different grade, if needed. The Seattle School Board is looking at options to ease overcrowding in the school district and one of the options included adding a fourth Kindergarten class – an option that […]
Protesting teachers demand better for students
While most students took the afternoon off from school, passionate teachers gathered at Ballard’s busiest intersection to protest budget cuts. Waving to honking cars, many of the protesting teachers were wearing red. “Today is a furlough day which means that we’re essentially laid off without pay today,” Judy Oerkvitz of Lawton Elementary tells us, “But […]
School make-up day next week
Students in Seattle Public Schools will make up one of this week’s snow days on Friday, January 27th. That date was scheduled as a professional development day for the staff, so kids were supposed to have the day off. “It is important to get our students back in the classroom next week,” said Interim Superintendent […]
Whittier Elementary PTA opposes addition of Kindergarten class
Members of Whittier Elementary School’s PTA plan to attend Wednesday night’s Seattle School Board meeting to oppose a proposal to add a fourth kindergarten class next year. Whittier, which is at 13th Avenue NW and NW 75th Street in Ballard, currently has three kindergarten classes of 23 students each. Whittier Elementary on a sunnier day […]
Salmon Bay School adding more students
Ballard’s option school, Salmon Bay School, will allow more students starting in the 2012-2013 school year. From the Salmon Bay website: We will soon begin tours the first week of February. In addition to our usual new students in Kindergarten and 6th grade, we will be opening up space in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. […]
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