BEX IV and APP

Let's do a new thread to discuss the BEX IV levy draft (see [1] [2]) and how it impacts APP. The BEX IV levy contains most of the district's new funding for construction, will be used to deal with overcapacity, and almost certainly will have a big impact on APP, especially where APP is overcrowded or does not have a permanent home.

Let's start the discussion with this excerpt of a comment from Charlie Mas:

The greatest failures in this BEX IV plan is how it treats the nomads .... There is no clear home for north-end elementary APP. None at all, they totally forgot about it. That's because the enrollment planning people only think about geographic communities and never think about non-geographic communities. The capacity for these students is distributed across their attendance area schools. It's an epic fail.

There are three likely explanations:

1) They forgot all about APP. Oops.

2) They presume the dissolution of APP.

3) They think that north-end elementary APP will split and go into spaces available at newly expanded or newly built elementary schools at Magnolia, Bagley, Thornton Creek, North Beach, or John Rogers.

None of these are good for north-end elementary APP.

It certainly appears that they don't want the program to go to John Marshall, and it certainly appears that they don't want it to stay at Lincoln.

Update: Melissa Westbrook summarizes a recent BEX IV meeting and, on APP specifically, writes:

Any decision on APP elementary north? No, but the AL committee is working on it (and indeed we are). As well, we are aware there are capacity issues for Hamilton/Washington's APP 6-8.

Open thread

What's on your mind?

Gregory King, Rina Geoghagan, and APP

There is a general discussion of "The Lowell Investigation" over at Seattle Schools Community Blog. Let's add an APP-specific thread here.

So, please use this to talk about the investigation, any thoughts you might have more generally about the history and impact of Greg King and Rina Geoghagan at Lowell when APP was there, what all this might mean for Lowell@Lincoln APP, and whether this is likely to have any broader impact on the APP program.

Update: The Seattle Schools Community Blog added three more posts ([1] [2] [3]) about this issue.

Open thread

What's on your mind?

Update: In the comments, Melissa Westbrook writes:

BEX IV ... is our capital building program levy that will be on the Feb. 2013 ballot ... [usually] it is about the oldest/worst condition buildings. But capacity management has thrown that whole scenario off ... One of my goals is to find a permanent homes for APP 1-5, SBOC and Nova. That really does have to be goal #1 for BEX IV.

First, it is unlikely that Lowell at Lincoln could stay there more than another year or two. Why? Because the district needs interim schools for BEX IV projects. Our district moves entire populations out of their current building to Lincoln (or Boren). It is faster this way than building on-site.

I have two ideas for APP 1-5 (or maybe 1-8).

One is John Marshall ... Air condition as an important issue ... Marshall does need fixing up ... [but] it is worth the district's while to do so. ... It could be just 1-5 or maybe 1-8.

Wilson-Pacific will be rebuilt ... [and] could be a middle school containing an APP-North program. That would take some of the pressure off Hamlton and Eckstein (as well as Whitman).

OR

the district could split APP 1-5 (and possibly 1-8)and send half the program to Jane Addams and half to Salmon Bay ... Jane Addams is on a large site ... Advantages include buses already going to Jane Addams, near-by community center pool, a horticulture program at Jane Addams and, if it were 1-8, classes for 6-8 at Hale across the street.

Salmon Bay needs rebuilding and could support a larger capacity. Again, there is a nearby community center pool and, if it included 6-8, Ballard High school is nearby for classes.

I know you are tired of being buffeted around and, most of all, living with uncertainty. My personal feeling is that the district has never had a champion for Advanced Learning in any senior leadership and it has allowed it to operate in an underwhelming manner ... The AL Taskforce is interested in any and all comments and ideas.

Let's make this thread about that now. Please comment here to respond to Melissa, and I'll create a new open thread for more general discussion.

Advanced Learning survey results out

About a month and a half ago, the Advanced Learning Task Force, a group set up by the district, put out a survey to parents. Via School Board Director Kay Smith-Blum, the results (PDF) of that survey are now available.

What do you think of the results? Of the survey? Is there anything you think the survey did not cover well or missed?

Another open thread

The last open thread is mostly new parents asking existing parents about APP. Let's do a new open thread to cover any other topics (APP survey, a home for L@L, situation at Hamilton, capacity, upcoming meetings, PTAs, school board, and anything else) that parents might want to talk about?