Anna Birinyi will head Cascadia

Dear Cascadia community,

I am pleased to announce that Anna Birinyi has been selected as the new principal of Cascadia Elementary School. 

Anna Birinyi was one of multiple candidates interviewed by a hiring team that included Cascadia staff, parents and community members, school leaders, and central office staff, before being recommended for the consideration of the Superintendent and Chief of Schools. During her interview, the hiring committee recognized Ms. Birinyi for her extensive experience with the school, staff, and students; her critical understanding of students who are identified as “twice exceptional”; her student-centered voice; and her collaborative leadership.

Ms. Birinyi has most recently served as the Assistant Principal at Gatewood and Lafayette Elementary schools, where she engaged with teaching staff as a member of the Equity team working to eliminate opportunity gaps for students; worked closely with the school communities to address truancy; and participated in data-driven learning decisions to inform instructional plans.  Her prior experience also includes time as the House Administrator at Cascadia and as a first and fifth grade teacher at the APP (now HCC) at Lincoln program.  Throughout her teaching and administrator career, Ms. Birinyi has had a passion for teaching writing and science and incorporating the arts into the classroom, while striving to create an inclusive environment where all students feel welcomed.

Ms. Birinyi holds her Principal Certification from Seattle Pacific University, her Master of Arts in Teaching from the Teachers College, Columbia University, and her bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University. She is also a Seattle Public Schools alum, having attended Coe and John Muir Elementary schools, Washington Middle School, and graduated as a proud Bulldog from Garfield High School.

Ms. Birinyi’s position will become effective on July 1, 2017; however, she will begin working with interim Cascadia principal Kathy Jolly and Decatur principal Rina Geoghagan this spring to ensure a smooth transition to the new school building. She is excited to work together with the community to build an emotionally supportive environment where each Cascadia student continues to grow and become independent thinkers.

Thank you to Kathy Jolly for her leadership as interim principal. Please join me in welcoming Principal Anna Birinyi to Cascadia Elementary.

Sincerely,

Larry

Dr. Larry Nyland, Principal

Rina Geoghagan goes to Decatur

Dear Cascadia and Decatur community:

I am writing to let you know that Principal Rina Geoghagan has been selected to become the principal of Decatur Elementary School. Due to capacity concerns at Cascadia Elementary School, the district recommended and the school board approved the decision to open Decatur for our Highly Capable Cohort (HCC). 

Ms. Geoghagan brings experience and extensive knowledge of the HCC program and the Cascadia community. She was instrumental in the original move of the APP/HCC program from Lowell Elementary to Lincoln High School, has served as the design principal for the new Cascadia site, and has demonstrated strong leadership during the conversations and decisions regarding Cascadia and Decatur.  We are excited that she will be able to bring this expertise and passion to serving the Decatur community.

Ms. Geoghagan earned her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Latin American Studies and Master of Teaching degrees at the Evergreen State College. Ms. Geoghagan taught for eight years in the Shoreline School District. Her teaching experience includes teaching the Highly Capable Cohort and serving as an instructional coach in Shoreline. She also taught middle school in Seattle schools before becoming a principal.

The process for finding a permanent replacement for Ms. Geoghagan will begin shortly, and will follow a similar process as used for Decatur.  We are looking at finding an interim principal to support Cascadia during the final months of the current school year.  Executive Director of Schools, Jon Halfaker will be meeting with the Cascadia Building Leadership Team prior to Mid-Winter Break to share updates and next steps.

We look forward to coordinating opportunities for the Decatur community, staff, and students to welcome Ms. Geoghagan in her new role before the school year ends.

Please join me in welcoming Principal Geoghagan to the Decatur community.

Sincerely,

Larry Nyland, Superintendent

Cascadia/Decatur Split FAQ

	New Cascadia (at Wilson Pacific site)	Decatur
Enrollment Capacity	660	340+
Assigned Elementaries	All elementaries in the Hamilton, Jane Addams, McClure, Robert Eagle Staff, and Whitman attendance areas. Greenlake will be assigned to Cascadia.	These schools from the Eckstein attendance area: Bryant, Laurelhurst, Sand Point, View Ridge, and Wedgwood
Classrooms	27 total classrooms – once enrollment numbers and homeroom needs are known, decisions will need to be made about how any additional spaces are utilized	15 total classrooms – once enrollment numbers and homeroom needs are known, decisions will need to be made about how any additional spaces are utilized
Administration and Office Staff Allocation	Each school will be allocated only a Principal and Admin. Secretary
Teacher Placement	Executive Director for the NW Region Jon Halfaker and Principal Rina Geoghagan will meet with staff to ask for volunteers who are interested in moving to Decatur. If there are not enough people interested, sonority will also be part of the decision. The goal will be to create balanced teaching staff between both schools including teacher leaders and experience.
PCP – PE, Art, and/or General Music	PCP hours/FTE allocations are based on the number of classroom teachers and enrollment at a school. With the district’s budget crisis, it is likely PCP allocations will be reduced. PE is a requirement; other offerings (e.g. art and music) and how they’re scheduled, are site-based decisions.
Specialists – Math and Writing	Positions were based on WSS and the number of students enrolled at Cascadia– including for interventions – will be unlikely with the current budget crisis.
Resource Rooms and Staffing	Each school will need to allocate a space for a Resource room. The staffing is dependent on the number and needs of students at each school on Individual Education Plans (IEPs).
Library and staffing	Cascadia’s library books will be transferred to the new school. Due to budget constraints, Librarian FTE will be based on WSS	Decatur will receive a new library collection. Librarian FTE will be based on WSS
Other staff – Nurse, Counselor, Psychologist, etc.	Due to the budget crisis, nursing hours will be significantly reduced across the District. Psychologists and Therapists will still support students when required by IEPs.
Schedule/Bell Times	At the 1/18 School Board meeting, Bell Schedules were tentatively approved based on a 3-tier bussing system and including the extension of the school day by 20 minutes for all –10 minutes were added to the end and beginning of each schedule. However, District Staff are still working to try and get funding for a two-tier bus system for next year and so proposed a bell schedule reflecting only two tiers as well. If funding has not been acquired by May 1st, then the 3-tier system will be implemented. Current proposed Bell Times: Under 3 tier: Cascadia = 9:25-3:55, and Decatur = 9:25-3:55 Under 2 tier: both Cascadia and Decatur = 8:00-2:30
Playground	A new play structure is included in the construction of the new school.	District Staff are working very hard at plans to remove the “Annex” structure and install a playground there by fall. In the event this is not possible, Decatur would need to share play space with Thornton Creek (brand new, large playground) until other arrangements could be made.

Childcare	There is a space planned for childcare however, if enrollment numbers are too big, that space will likely need to be used as a classroom.	Decision to offer childcare is at the discretion of the new administration and is dependent on space available.
Instrumental Music	There is no dedicated space for instrumental music at Cascadia. It is possible the program will need to change to accommodate scheduling of space. Some ideas include offering it only to 5th graders, offering it only by lottery, and/or reducing choice of instruments. These decisions will need to be made by Cascadia’s administration, in coordination with the BLT and PTA.	Decisions about instrumental music will need to be made by the new school’s administration in coordination with their BLT and PTA.

Director Burke withdraws his amendment to delay the split of Cascadia

Dear Cascadia Staff and Families,

 

At the Dec 7^h School Board meeting, I introduced a potential amendment to the Student Assignment Plan directing district staff to remove the geo-split to Decatur and maintain the Cascadia cohort intact at the new site, located on the Wilson Pacific Campus.  The core values behind this amendment are steadfast for me – fiscal responsibility, long-term planning for the HCC program, and cohort stability, all within a commitment to student learning.

 

Since the posting of this potential amendment, I have received a wide range of feedback from families and educators.  Respondents have highlighted academic, scheduling, and safety challenges related to the current over-enrollment, concerns about students in portables, and also worries about starting up the Decatur site quickly with a high level of services, while addressing the looming potential budget deficit.  Ultimately, families and educators both share concerns about the educational experience of their students.  Feedback from stakeholders on the "best" district-wide action regarding Cascadia has been varied with no consensus.

 

My role as a School Board Director is to listen closely to the community, our staff, and make the best decision possible for our students and district.  At this time based on the data I have received and engagement with the community and staff, I believe the least disruptive path is to proceed with opening an additional HCC site at the Decatur building.  This will relieve pressure at the new Cascadia building and address many of the concerns I have heard from families and educators.  I am requesting that Amendment 3 to the Student Assignment Plan (SAP) be withdrawn.

 

I want to offer my heartfelt thanks for those who offered their feedback and time, e-mailed, and visited my community meeting.  We have a shared responsibility to nurture strong and positive learning communities and candid, respectful discourse is a critical component of that.  We have a lot more work to do at the district level, and within our buildings to minimize disruption and maximize learning for students.  I look forward to further conversations, even the difficult ones, along that journey.

 

Wishing you all a relaxing and enjoyable holiday,

 

Rick Burke

Editorial: Support the split of Cascadia to Decatur

The final decision over whether to split Cascadia between the new Cascadia Elementary School and the Decatur Building is going to be voted on during the January 4th Board Meeting about the student assignment plan.

There are currently several proposed amendments including:

• One to keep the community in one building. Ammendment 3
• One to make Decatur on an option site when its opened for HCC students. This would be similar to how Fairmount Park operates. Ammendment 4

My position is that the split is the best option on the table at this point and delaying would not serve the interests of the program.

I've sent out the following letter to board directors:

"I thought that I'd write one combined email to express my opinions about the split before the final vote. I don't really want to to go through a split but I'm motivated by the belief that the numbers really don't workout. Looking at the demographics there was a slight dip this year in the lower grades. but I believe that the general growth in the student population will continue to increase the HCC cohort size if nothing else. Anecdotally, I've heard that some families deferred joining the program so there may be a bit of pent up demand that explains last year's choices.

Even at the current size of 750, the ability to fit on the Cascadia campus is marginal. It definitely sacrifices common spaces, especially the playground which would likely be consumed by the portables themselves. And its also impossible to get the classroom student / teacher ratios into alignment with the state goals at those numbers. This more than anything else directly affects the quality of instruction for all the kids. I consider the 2e population to be particularly vulnerable to larger class sizes.

The next point is whether it makes sense to defer another year or not as Rick has floated. Based on what happens during open enrollment we might always completely exceed the site's capacity no matter what. But assuming that doesn't occur overall, I think this also is not in the best interest of our program. There's a huge risk of the Decatur site being taken before next year and having no obvious overflow sites available at that point. We've also now gone through most of the deliberation process. If we defer, we'll merely repeat this process again and I don't see any improvements in the roll out from that timeline. The district will still hire a principal about 6 months ahead of time and all the work will occur in the late winter / spring.

Finally, I also think its less risky to open as geosplit vs. an option. From the time the vote is taken to the end of open enrollment is about 6 weeks. That's a really short time frame to ask families to commit to an option and there will be very few details they can base a decision on. Its possible that the numbers would just workout that way anyway, but there is a risk of not moving enough people over to form a viable cohort. I believe, once everyone knows their site, people will rally around making the roll out go as well as possible. Also after Decatur is established I think that risk diminishes and that decision could be revisited. As has been pointed out elsewhere, assuming the split occurs, Cascadia E.S. will actually have some open seats that a family could access through open-enrollment even if in the Decatur catchment zone. That would provide a small amount of flexibility around the fringes.

In sum, I look at this as medium-short term least worst alternative. I'm hoping in the context of BEX V we can find a more palatable solution. Thanks again for all your hard work,"

Signed Letter from what appears to be most if not all of the Cascadia Staff:

Staff Letter of Support

I urge everyone who is concerned to contact the board prior to the vote. Your voice needs to be heard.

11/15 Cascadia PTSA Meeting on the potential Split

The new Cascadia Elementary building layout. Note: as built even with flex spaces there are 29 rooms because of the Kindergarten wing.

Overall last night was very interesting. A lot of the staff took time to be present including Stephen Martin from Advanced Learning, Ashley Davies from Enrollment planning, someone from operations whose name I didn't catch, Jon Hafaker the Executive Director for the region and Rick Burke from the school board. Also, the format with the PTSA asking a series of pre-selected questions covered a lot of ground in an hour which I think was a wise use of time.

What follows are my notes (pardon the lack of organization)

• The PTSA will follow Cascadia if a split occurs and a new one will have to be formed. Any reserves left will probably be split in a pro-rated fashion based off the school sizes.
• On that note, the current drive is 100,000 behind target. So if you're able to, please give if you haven't already. 
• The top choice off the surveys was to geosplit by between 40-60% between the 2 versions.
• The district's decision remains unchanged and it will recommend the split at the operations meeting. This will come up for a Jan 4th vote.
• Why rush?  Ashley didn't add any new color to the question but did add this was a typical timeframe (6 mo) for starting a new school up.
• The staff are using the survey results to partly justify the choice now as well.
• There was no desire from either community to merge with Thornton Creek and run both buildings as a single unit so that is off the table for now.
• There was no data on the relative costs of portables vs. running the Decatur building.
• If the levy cliff occurs the district will be in a 71 million dollar deficit and that limits the budgetary planning here i.e.  don't expect mitigation funds and rather look forward to staff cuts.
• There was a promise to involve parents in any principal selection which would probably occur right in January. Based on the timelines I assume this would be a fairly rapid process.
• The feeling from the staff was that the logistical challenges on the Wilson Pacific site with as many as 2000 kids were greater than 900 on the Thornton Creek one.  Different starting times was mentioned as one obvious adjustment.
• The split will be done by middle school attendance area. All of the Eckstein feeder schools which makes about 240-260 kids would go to Decatur.
• Dir. Peters has introduced an amendment to alter this and make the new site an option. Although its hard to predict all the implications of such a change.  This would allow a cap on enrollment but also make planning more unknown  and potentially lead to under enrollment or unbalanced enrollment per grade.  
• The staff considers the Decatur site a permanent rather than temporary solution unlike the portables. Of course, everything is subject to change if enough growth continues to occur.
• The teachers split would be governed by the collective bargaining agreement. Essentially, the teachers get to volunteer first and then its done by seniority and category.
• There is no answer on money for the initial gym and library although the staff wants to provide that due to equity. 
• The physical plant is currently being seismically upgraded and will recieve new paint and carpeting. In addition, the plan is to tear down the annex and develop a new playground there. This like all the other question depends on available money.
•  Several rumors were mentioned (black mold, condemned building) and  called out as false.

The bottom line is that while there are more details here we're still on the same path. Budgetary and space constraints really limit the choices. The staff wants to do the split. The board sounds like its considering holding off a year. And if we do kick the can down the road there is still some risk that even the Decatur site will be spoken for by that time.

Cascadia Split Briefing Paper

The Friday memo from last week contained the most official explanation of what the staff is thinking about the split.

http://www.seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/Friday%20Memos/2016-17/Oct%2014/20161014_FridayMemo_CascadiaSplit_BriefingPaper.pdf

[As an aside: I was really glad to see this published. This represents a significant step forward in terms of transparency  for the central staff]

You can read the whole paper which is interesting but I wanted to dig into a few key parts. First
a look at the enrollment information.

• As can be seen in 2012-13 when the planning process occurred the number were not too out of whack for a 650 capacity building and it wasn't until last year that tipping point occurred.
• Enrollment stayed basically steady this year BUT the largest grade is 3rd. There are small drops in 1st and 2nd as well as 5th.   5th grade doesn't matter much for future projections. The key question is how many more kids will join below 3rd?  Are the 3rd and 4th grades anomalies or will the cohorts behind them end up as large?
• Note: also uncertainty as to the program location and overcrowding may depress numbers. On the other hand, a split may also affect numbers in either direction depending on how attractive it looks to prospective families.

District Wide Enrollment Data for comparison.  Cohort sizes continue to increase :

Also interesting from this data is the current teacher/student ratios and the class size reduction targets which are supposed to be fully implemented in 2018.  To put this in context Cascadia has always had the highest ratios in the district i.e. the most crowded classrooms. 

1st  - 3 homerooms 21:1     vs. WA state target 17 

2rd - 6 homerooms 21:1     vs. WA state target  17

3rd - 8 homerooms 24:1     vs. WA state target  17

4rd - 7 homerooms 27:1     vs. WA state target  25

5rd - 6 homerooms 28:1     vs. WA state target  25

Capacity (details to be confirmed):

• Current plans show 27 homerooms in the Cascadia building. So we start with a deficit of 3. 
• According to the document the maximum portables on the site is only 4 a reduction from the previous number reported (What happened to the other 2?). 

Official Analysis of the site:

None of the stated reasons is completely compelling.

• The MUP is not binding. The district routinely exceeds them in other buildings and the capacity is changed as portables are added.
• The gym situation is no worse than the current one at Lincoln and probably a bit better.
• The long term capacity issue doesn't mandate immediate action. Is this an emergency next year?
• Fully utilizing buildings like Decatur seems neither here nor there.

However, the two biggest problems remain unanswered:

• The core space is only for 660. With 4 portables would the school fit all the students for even 1 year?  We won't completely know the true enrollment numbers until this spring.
• Are there any portables available given the other needs in the district and can the district afford them? Its quite possible there are cost savings to the split.  You balance the extra staff  needed vs. the portable costs and the additional state funds for lower class sizes that the split would earn.

And finally even if the we could wedge all the kids in next year if they won't fit within 1-2 years more should the district be proactive now or delay? The biggest risk of delaying is that the options may be much worse by then. There are alternate proposals for all the buildings being discussed. Its entirely imaginable they could all be claimed.

Cascadia Capacity Scenarios

I'm going to try to assemble all the data, pros and cons of the various scenarios here. I'll add on whatever we find out. There are lots of hard choices to be made here unfortunately and some of them affect other groups in the district.

Official SPS Link http://www.seattleschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=13505264

"Seattle Public Schools is excited to open three schools at the Wilson-Pacific site in 2017-18, Cascadia Elementary, Robert Eagle Staff Middle School, and Licton Springs K-8. Cascadia is temporarily located in the former Lincoln High School building with Licton Springs K-8 and serves students in the Highly Capable Cohort.

Cascadia’s new building is planned to have a capacity of approximately 660 seats, which is not sufficient to serve all of the students currently at Cascadia given the growth the school has experienced.

The district is reviewing potential options for serving all of the current and future students who will attend Cascadia. Representatives from Capital, Enrollment Planning, School Operations, Advanced Learning, and School Supports have met to discuss potential options given available building space across the district and the capacity challenges across the district.

The District’s Capacity Management Task Force will be discussing this topic at its next meeting on September 14, 2016, 12-1:30 p.m. and there will be additional community meetings to review and share possible options for meeting the needs of the current and future Highly Capable identified students and their families.

Decisions on an additional site to accommodate all of the students at Cascadia will be made prior to Open Enrollment, which begins in mid-February 2017. The district currently anticipates the following timeline for Board review on this decision.

Board Timeline:

November 17, 2016: Board Action Report presented at Operations Committee. 

December 7, 2016: Board Action Report presented to Board for Introduction.

January 4, 2016: Board Action Report presented to Board for Action."

Currently Cascadia has an enrollment of 750 (30 homerooms) and its projected to grow into the 800's.

Growth: 5 year growth projections
Heat Map: Eligible Map, Enrolled Map  (About 120 are eligible but not enrolled in the NE)

Status Quo

Cascadia was built with a capacity of 660 under the old classroom size standards and 550 under the new ones. It has space for 6 portables. The current cohorts are largest in 3rd grade (8 home rooms). If this continues there will need to be at least 2-4 more classrooms even at current student/teacher ratios.

Total Seats (assuming 25/portable):  810 or 700. This assumes no portables are needed for the other programs on the site.

Cons:  Strain on core facilities including child care spaces, bathrooms, lunch room, playground similar to at Lincoln but in a much smaller building.  Also if a split occurs, the classroom sizes at Cascadia will be smaller and some of the special-ed flex spaces will be used as intended rather than as classrooms. This may be a significant improvement in the educational experience for many students especially 2e ones.

Blue prints: http://bex.seattleschools.org/assets/Uploads/documents/131028-WPEMS-SDAT-08.pdf
(look towards the end of the slide deck)
Note: Rina has said there are 27 homerooms currently designed in the new building.


Most of my thinking is predicated around the assumption that the number of students will totally overrun this site and a split will happen no matter what so we need to find the most orderly least-worst alternative.

That said, starting a new program in a building is hard and requires a lot of parent effort to create all the supports that exist in the current ones, like after school programs, a PTA, muscial instrument instruction etc.  For reference our smallest HCC site at Fairmount Park has about 164 students but the recommended cohorts size is 2 classes per grade.

Cohousing has its own separate issues with integrating populations and sharing resources.

Decatur Building

This is the official staff preferred alternative. Originally the proposal was to move 150 students over

to the site.

History:  http://www.historylink.org/File/10497   "Stephen Decatur Elementary School opened in September 1961 with a K-5 enrollment of 326."  Note despite rumors it appears to not have been built as a K-2. 

Location:

Homerooms: 13-15 Its unclear if the 15 includes the library or not. Bear in mind at least 2 rooms need to be used for PCP (art/music) and a special ed resource room.
Condition: 2014 Assessment (See page: 716)   There are a set of improvements like replacing windows/door/sprinkler systems that are recommended. I can't find any evidence of it ever being condemned but given that money has continually been invested that's probably a moot point.

Capacity:  At 20-25 per room somewhere around the 200's.

Staffing: At this size:   .5 secretary. .5 librarian, .2 nurse etc.  (see: WSS formulas on page 30) 

Principal: Could this be run by John Miner (principal of Thornton Creek) jointly? That would raise the school size and allow pooling of resources like the nurse or library.
Neighborhood Opposition: I'd expect a fair amount given the previous resistance to building the new Thornton Creek building and how this would drive traffic and students on the site up even higher.
Limited Expansion: I have to confirm this but I doubt any portables can be added to the site.

Cedar Park/Olympic Hills

Either of these two buildings have been floated as possibilities in the past. Last June I asked if they were still on the table and was told no. As currently configured the extra space exists at the Olympic Hills site. This could easily be shifted to Cedar Park depending on how you draw the attendance zones. 

Note: The NNE community is concerned about the current Cedar Park catchment zone since it draws a mostly FRL population and are pushing for the district to reconsider it.

Capacity: 300 seats are unused. Cedar Park has space for around 340 officially but  that requires 8 portables. It appears to have about 12 homerooms from the blue prints. 

Busing: Either building is in the far NE corner of the city and less centrally located.  This somewhat mitigated by pulling students only from the Eckstein or JAMS reference area.
Facilities: Cedar Park is a landmarked building and is being renovated without a dedicated library: http://bex.seattleschools.org/bex-iv/cedar-park/.  Olympic Hills is bigger and more full featured. Either one is going to be in better condition than the Decatur building.
Long Term Viability: This would likely not be a stable scenario at Olympic Hills given rising school age populations in the reference zone. There's a good chance of another migration within a few years. Cedar Park probably has more viability.

Thurgood Marshall

I've heard scenarios floated with Queen Anne and Magnolia being switched to Thurgood Marshall.

Capacity: May 2016 enrollment: 516.    Official SPS Capacity: 534   

So this is realistically only possible if you added portables on the site or shifted students. The building is essentially full.

Madrona

This is the back to the future alternative since the program was housed there from the 1970's through 1997.

Capacity:   Enrollment May 2016 (294)  Official SPS Capacity: 352. This cap limit one seems off based on historical population at the school which has been around 450 without portables.

Cons:  Any move of the north end population will likely depress enrollment based on how the program grew when moved closer.  Not even on the official table.

Other Capacity Adjustments to decrease population size:

• Serve only 3-5 in self-contained classrooms.
• Tighten requirements. This usually tends to cut against efforts to increase diversity.
• Provide a compelling alternative on site in the reference area schools like what Spectrum  provided.  Some quick practical considerations: the district just worked hard to dismantle self contained Spectrum classrooms so this would represent a huge reversal. That doesn't make it impossible but all the institutional pressure against is still there. Secondly, I'm not sure if  space exists given the rising enrollments to exactly recreate the old system. Its also unlikely families would transfer back in such cases vs. less families joining initially.  So it would take longer to alleviate the immediate Cascadia issues.