Many of you probably know that Seattle Public Schools is currently considering and taking comments on a draft New Student Assignment Plan that would change the way kids are assigned to schools.
The current school assignment system is far beyond my understanding, but I’ve been told repeatedly since my kids were born that living in the neighborhood doesn’t mean that they will get into Stevens (our closest elementary school). The proposed new system would guarantee every child a spot at his or her local elementary school, among other apparent improvements. That sounds great to me, since I like the idea of my kids going to school in our neighborhood and getting to know other local youngsters.
Please consider commenting to the School Board about your own view of this proposed plan (you can also find much more information on this website).
I agree the part about guaranteed admission sounds good, as long as you live close enough that you get drawn into the new “attendance area” boundaries (drawing those should be interesting!). The big downside is for those of us who stayed on the waitlist for a long time and were lucky enough to get in at the last minute, after school had started, but live just outside the current reference area. Until now, the District’s policy has been that younger siblings get in first, guaranteeing that families can stay together at the same school. But now those siblings (if they’re just outside the attendance area) will only get in if there’s still space available after all the attendance area kids are accommodated (which seems unlikely in a school like Stevens that’s already oversubscribed and will have to expand just to make room for all the nearby kids).
I support the attendance area kids getting guaranteed spots, but I think that siblings of current students should be able to follow their sibs to Stevens too. Keeping siblings in the same school helps families work better and enables people to devote their volunteer energy and resources to building one community, rather than trying to split their attentions between two or more schools.
With the closure of T.T. Minor, Stevens feels much more like a neighborhood school to the south CH zone (a flat 1-mile walk) than Madrona K-8 (also a mile, but down a hill, up a hill, across 3-4 arterials, and in a totally different neighborhood). We thought our school plans were all set when our kindergartner got in, but with the new plan, it’s looking like we’ll need to start from scratch since our son is unlikely to get in under the new proposal. (boohoo)
I hear you and would hate to have to move one of my kids to a new school or send my kids to separate schools. Under the draft proposal it appears that only kids currently attending a school are “grandfathered” in but to make the transition easiest for families perhaps the grandfathering should include sibs in already-enrolled families as well. As you say, it’s not clear yet exactly who will be affected in this way since the “attendance area” boundaries aren’t yet set, but I’m guessing that this concern will be well-represented in the community meetings being held this week: http://www.seattleschools.org/area/newassign/index.html#engage