At a special School Board meeting 1/31/2013 it was decided that, for next year, students from John Rogers, Sacajawea, and Olympic Hills attendance areas will not be assigned to a “comprehensive” middle school in the Jane Addams building (which does not yet exist); they will instead keep their current Eckstein assignment. Entrance to the Jane Addams K-8 program will remain voluntary for at least next year.
There are no firm details as to how the new Jane Addams Middle School will be implemented in 2014-15. It is possible that it may start out as a co-location with the K-8 program (the new K-8 building, planned to house approx 700 kids at the Pinehurst site, is not scheduled to be completed until 2016). There is also the possibility that the K-8 program will be placed in interim housing until their building is ready, as co-location of the two programs in one building (for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years) is estimated to require 11 portables added to Jane Addams, and this would strain the core resources of the building. There are several possible implementation schemes for Jane Addams Middle School. Everything for 2014-15 and beyond is up in the air at this time, and we may not know anything concrete about 2014-15 until late this year.
Here is a communication from Seattle Public Schools about the plan:
Seattle School Board approves annual capacity management plan to address increased enrollment
Feb. 1, 2013 | Audience: Families, Community, Staff | Contact:Communications | (206) 252-0200
The Seattle School Board at a special meeting on Thursday, Jan. 31 voted 4-3 to approve the annual capacity management plan and new student assignment transition plan, which outlines how the District will accommodate the projected increasing enrollment at Seattle Public Schools for the 2013-14 school year.
The Board on Jan. 23 decided to delay the vote by a week to review 2013-14 enrollment projections and with this additional data, reconsidered the options to address the district’s enrollment projections for more students next year. The Board also adopted an amendment introduced by Dir. Sharon Peaslee by a vote of 4-3.
Highlights of the annual Short Term Capacity Management Plan include:
· Designating the Jane Addams building to become an attendance area middle school, with the first students assigned to Jane Addams Middle School beginning with the 2014-15 school year.
· Relieving over-enrollment at Hamilton International Middle School with minimal disruption by assigning the 6th graders from Laurelhurst Elementary to Eckstein Middle School.
· Delaying the assignment of students from Sacajawea, John Rogers and Olympic Hills to Jane Addams Middle School for one year, giving time to redraw boundaries and adequately plan and implement a quality comprehensive middle school.
· Installing portables at various schools District-wide as needed to address annual short-term capacity management needs for the 2013-14 school year. The exact number and location of portables will be adjusted based on open enrollment data.
Enrollment is projected to grow by 7,000 students over the next 10 years. The annual capacity management plan and new student assignment plan transition plan addresses immediate capacity needs. If approved by voters on Feb. 12, renewal of the Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Capital Levy would provide capital funding for long-term growth.
The annual short-term capacity management plan was developed following input and feedback from the community, staff and School Board. Input was considered from more than 500 attendees at community meetings and from more than 1,225 public comments in December 2012 and January 2013.
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