Does anyone else feel like we’re in some vicious, deja vu like maze where the Seattle School District is concerned, specifically with school closures?
How many times have we traveled this road, twice? Three times? More like four.
Tonight, Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson announced her preliminary recommendations for this most recent round:
Under the plan, the seven buildings that house the following schools would close: Pathfinder K-8; Lowell Elementary; Nova Alternative High School; Alternative School #1; T.T. Minor Elementary; and Van Asselt Elementary; and the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center.
Five programs would be discontinued: African American Academy, AS#1, Arbor Heights Elementary, Meany Middle School and T.T. Minor Elementary.
Among Goodloe-Johnson’s other proposals: close or relocate six alternative programs, split the elementary-level Accelerated Progress Program between two schools, create a new elementary school in Northeast Seattle and move Northeast Seattle’s Summit K-12 to operate individually out of Rainier Beach High School in Southeast Seattle.
Goodloe-Johnson has the authority to make program placement decisions, but closures would have to be approved by the board.
Let’s review a few details from the plan:
The goals of the district are to reduce overhead, which means closing buildings, and fill classrooms, which means consolidating programs.
Closing the Pathfinder building is not a shock; it was on the chopping block the last round and won a reprieve because an impassioned community fought like mad to keep it alive.
Lowell Elementary: I predict that we’ll see a fight from Lowell. Not only are they organized as a school community, but the mere idea of splitting in the school is something few will be able to take lying down.
Alternative School #1; All I will say here is that after seeing how the district treated alternative programs the last round, I’m not shocked, and you shouldn’t be either.
Arbor Heights: An easy target for the District. That’s the bottom line.
Meany Middle School: I’m not sure I have the patience to speak on SPS’ middle school programs. Not shocked Meany made it onto the list.
T.T. Minor: Gee, this is sort of a weird example of how school closures do not go as planned. Remember MLK Elementary? The district closed it and sent the kids to Minor, claiming that a consolidation of the two was best. The goal was to have enough bodies in the building to increase funding to a survive able level. Guess that didn’t work out very well.
Summit K-12 to Rainier Beach: Alright, I’ll admit, I laughed out loud when they announced this. Are you out of your mind? Never going to happen, not in it’s current form anyway. First of all, Summit, though an all city draw, is a NORTH END SCHOOL. There is NO WAY that those kids are going to school in the South end. I thought the district was trying to cut down on transportation costs? Are they planning to bus these children clear across the city? No. That’s not going to happen. Summit is basically dead.
But I understand the attempt to push the two together. Goodloe-Johnson and Co. really, really want to close down Rainier Beach High School because of, well, a million reasons, but primarily the frighteningly low enrollment numbers, but they know if they even look in RBHS’ direction, there’ll be smoke in the city.
People love RBHS and are protective of it (and the Paul Robinson Performing Arts Center that’s attached to it). Additionally, RBHS represents in a nut shell the failures of the district when it comes to the South end. Talk about the red-headed step child. Sheesh!
Thus to avoid the riots and the ugliness that plagued previous attempts at closures, they’re leaving RBHS and making what could only be called a half-hearted-hail-marry-attempt to inject bodies into the building. But kindergartners in the same building as high school students? Mmmmm, no. One thing is certain; if they can’t get bodies into RBHS, they will go after it for closure.
Advanced Placement: The district has taken heat for years about its elitist AP programs, so, this is no shock either. Boy some conservative bloggers/parents were going OFF about this one!
African American Academy: Where oh where shall I begin? I think AAA is the crown jewel of this closure round. Goodloe-Johnson has stamped a massive “FAIL” across it and is ready to put it alllll behind her.
I would like nothing more than to be able to stand up and say that the choice is wrong, that AAA is a fantastic school for our children and needs to be preserved. NOPE. I speak from experience as a former parent and employee. Shut. it. down. I am sure many would think that is a terrible thing for me to say, and might go so far as to accuse me of not supporting my people. Spare me. I could write a FEW books about the drama and dysfunction inside AAA. That being said, just like folks put up a stink about MLK being shut down, I’m sure folks will attempt to make some noise on the AAA’s behalf. I say tread lightly and don’t wear yourself out for a lost cause. I know the district has never done right by the Academy, I get it, I do. However, the mess that is supposed to be “the Beacon on the Hill” is beyond rescue at this point. It shouldn’t stay open just because it’s “supposed” to be something positive for Black children.
AAA hovers at about 350 students. Because the building is not even 10 years old, it will be passed on to Van Asselt, which has about 100 or so more which means if all of the families move, which they will since Van Asselt’s building is horrific and the AAA is still a really nice facility, there will be NO SPACE for AAA kids. Yup, the dream is dead. I really hope that someone is outside of the AAA building when the school district removes that massive stained glass map of African that weighs a few hundred pounds; snap a photo, won’t you?
Now the list is out, what happens next? Well, the board’s vote on these recommendations is planned for late January. Community meetings will be Dec. 4 and 6, and public hearings are scheduled for mid-December, because after all, mid-December is the most convenient time of year for these kinds of forums.
What will the response be from communities across the city? I think there will be some noise, but I also don’t think that it’s not going to matter a single bit. When all is said and done, the Board and the Super. will be on the same page, representing a united front and united talking points.
The word on the ground is that Goodloe-Johnson is prepared for a take-no-prisoners fight, and she is not going to do ANYTHING that reminds ANYONE of Raj Manhas and his choices during closures. That means she will not bend. She will not be moved.
Lest we forget, Maria Goodloe-Johnson is not from here. She has little concern for the things that we concern ourselves with everyday, and she very much believes and has pushed to create a district where the system is in charge, not the will of the people.
I doubt very much that she will allow parents (or students) to take over the way they did last time. The rules of the game were changed when Maria came to town, so my advice is, protest at your own risk, be prepared to be escorted off whatever property you’re on at the time, and for those who just refuse to let the district push their kids around, set aside some bail money- you might just get yourself arrested. Happy Holidays!
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I have to say I heartily approve of MGJ (she of the fab shoes) and her “I’m the grownup” stance. Gov. Gregoire may cower before the knee-jerk NIMBY rage of Seattle voters, but not MGJ. That, my friends, is leadership. I do, however, wish SPS would start to address the private school flight question by working to actively improve the public school system so we’re no longer talking about closing buildings for lack of bodies. Maybe it’s first things first…. Looking forward to trading horror stories about ill-managed schools (mine are from the private side, which just goes to show that dysfunction doesn’t have a pricetag). We really have lived parallel lives in many ways!
Can you provide some links/quotes re: the “conservative bloggers/parents” going off about APP? Not sure what you mean…
I am not sure why you think so highly of Maria Goodloe-Johnson’s leadership. Are you aware of the problems with test scores at Sanders-Clyde Elementary school while Maria was supervising the schools in South Carolina?
It has been reported in the New York Times as well has heavily in the local papers in South Carolina.
Unfortunately, the supposed turnaround of that elementary school may have been part of the reason Maria was hired in Seattle in the first place. This issue of alleged manipulation of test scores only came out after Seattle had hired Maria.