Seattle Public Schools is changing the way that they assign students. In the past, families have had a decent shot at getting into schools outside of their reference area schools. That is changing. In the future, it will be more likely that students will be assigned to their reference area school. This means that while a large number of Pinehurst/Olympic Hills students have historically attended schools outside of their official reference area (even if it is to one of the other nearby schools), this may not occur in the future.
To see what your reference school under current rules is, go here. Our reference schools are Northgate Elementary, Olympic Hills Elementary and Sacajawea Elementary.
Parents in more affluent neighborhoods have been meeting with school board members for the past year to lobby for their schools and neighborhoods. If you care about your neighborhood schools, the new assignment rules and how they will impact you and your family, be sure to have your voice heard as well. There will be a public meeting:
Tuesday, May 5
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Ingraham High School, Library
1819 North 135th Street
Seattle, WA 98133
Read the Seattle Public Schools web site discussion of the new assignment rules here. There is also a Seattle PI article on this topic here.
I don’t have a child applying to elementary school but I’m rather curious about this plan in general… Especially since it seems to impact all levels of schools?
If they’re trying to keep kids together as they change schools and keep them at their local ones don’t they have a lot of work to do to make sure they’re all the same? I was under the impression that many of our schools (especially high schools) are rather specialized. I know they all cover everything but I thought some schools focus more on science/technology while others have their own focuses. It seems like this would make it much harder for somebody interested in computer programming for example to find a school that might be able to help with that because I doubt they all have the same classes.
Also, forgot to mention, I did see how they still allow students to apply to any school. It just seems like they’re making it harder to do that and get into the one you want…