From Monday June 14 through Friday June 18 the Eckstein Library will be hosting a community book drive.  The intent of the drive is to build strong classroom libraries that support our Eagle Readers.  

Please consider donating gently used books, appropriate for ages 8-18, to support our Eagle Readers.  Donations can be dropped off in the library from 7:30am to 2:45pm.  Your generous donations will then be equally distributed throughout the school to provide constant access to quality books for all of our students.  Please contact Rebecca Wynkoop (rlwynkoop@seattleschools.org) if you have any further questions.

From 6:30 – 7:15 on Tuesday 03/09, Mike Donlin from our district Prevention/Intervention Office will be presenting information about Cyber Bullying to the families of incoming Eckstein 6th graders in addition to current Eckstein families. He will discuss Internet Safety and what you can do to help teach and inform your student about how to respond if they are being bullied as well as develop a plan for how to use the Internet responsibly. Eckstein’s orchestra will be performing shortly after the presentation, starting at 7:30 and you are welcome to attend that as well. We hope you can join us.  It will take place in the auditorium.

May is bike to school and work month.  There will be an informational meeting about bike safety on April 29 starting at 6:30pm in the cafeteria.

Download the document as a pdf.

Seattle Public Schools’ strategic plan, Excellence for All, includes a commitment to manage the District’s facilities more wisely. We have thousands of excess classroom seats, as well as an imbalance that leaves some schools crowded and some under enrolled.

The superintendent’s Final Recommendations on District-wide capacity management are based on the preliminary recommendations announced November 25. They have been modified and strengthened based on questions and comments from School Board members; comments and testimony from hundreds of staff, family and community members; and additional analysis. These recommendations will move Seattle Public Schools toward the goals established in Excellence for All. They will strengthen the District’s ability to deliver on the promise of an excellent education for every student by:

• Moving or adding programs to improve equity and access to quality programs across the District
• Focusing resources on fewer facilities and programs in order to protect our long-term fiscal health and strengthen our ability to support student learning
• Improving the balance of classroom capacity with respect to projected enrollment and the geographic location of school-aged children in the city.

THE NET EFFECT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS:

·         Five buildings will be closed, one of which will be closed temporarily and may reopen;

·         Eight programs will relocate from one building to another;

·         One new program will be created (a new K-8 school in Northeast Seattle); and

·         Five programs will be discontinued and their students reassigned to new schools in fall 2009.

This plan would achieve estimated net general operating fund savings of $16.2 million (M) over five years, factoring implementation costs in the first two years of $1.9 M. In addition, net savings from deferred maintenance (capital costs) are estimated at $33.1 M over the next three years, inclusive of $0.5 M in implementation costs.   

GETTING INVOLVED:  More details are available at www.seattleschools.org. Information about how to provide feedback on these recommendations is included on page four of this document.

WHICH BUILDINGS AND PROGRAMS WILL BE AFFECTED?

The Final Recommendations address the District’s imbalance in capacity: there is currently too little classroom space in North Seattle to meet demand, but too much space in the Central, South, Southeast and West Seattle clusters. By balancing capacity with demand, the District can use its resources wisely, meet student needs and ensure that every student has equal access to a high quality educational program.

HOW WILL SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS BE SERVED?

The Final Recommendations above apply only to general education students (except where specified) and students whose needs can be met with resource room services. Seattle Public Schools has also developed recommendations for special education students who require other specialized services.

SPECIAL EDUCATION FINAL CAPACITY RECOMMENDATIONS (1/6/09)

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

A motion on Final Recommendations will be introduced to the School Board at its meeting on January 7, 2009, and the Board will vote on the Final Recommendations on January 29, 2009. Families, staff and community members are encouraged to provide comments. Opportunities include:

*John Stanford Center for Education Excellence: 2445 3rd Avenue South

To testify at the Lowell or Final public hearings, email hearing@seattleschools.org or call 206-252-0042. For the Lowell hearing, individuals who were on the public testimony list for the original hearing date (postponed due to weather) have first priority. Updated information about the process and timeline will be provided via the district’s Web site, www.seattleschools.org/area/capacity. In addition, comments can be emailed to capacity@seattleschools.org, schoolboard@seattleschools.org or mailed to School Board, PO Box 34165, MS 11-010, Seattle, WA, 98124-1165. The School Board office phone number is 206 252 0040.  Comments from December community workshops and hearings are available at www.seattleschools.org. Select “Capacity Management” from the navigation bar on the left.

January 7, 2009

Dear Seattle Public Schools Students, Families, and Staff:

Seattle Public Schools is committed to using resources as efficiently as possible in order to provide a high quality education for all students. For the past several months, we have been studying how we can use our facilities more wisely. For many years, we have maintained more buildings than are needed for current and projected student enrollment. By focusing resources on a smaller number of buildings, we can improve our ability to invest in excellent teachers and provide more equitable opportunities for all students and families.

In November, I presented preliminary capacity management recommendations. Since then hundreds of families, students, community members, teachers, principals, central staff and School Board members have devoted countless hours to strengthening those recommendations. Closing schools and changing how we deliver programs are difficult decisions to make, and I want to thank the Seattle community for working together to create a stronger proposal. The final recommendations, which are being presented to the School Board this week, are outlined on the attached pages.

I am confident these final recommendations will strengthen our ability to deliver on the promise of an excellent education for every student by:

• Moving or adding certain programs to improve equity and access to educational programs;
• Focusing resources on fewer facilities and programs to protect our long-term fiscal health and strengthen our ability to support student learning; and
• Improving the balance of classroom capacity with respect to enrollment and where children live in the city.

The School Board is scheduled to vote on these recommendations on January 29, 2009. I invite you to provide feedback by emailing capacity@seattleschools.org or attending a public hearing scheduled for January 22, 2009. As always, you can find extensive information at www.seattleschools.org.

I want to assure you that Seattle Public Schools is committed to doing everything possible to make transitions following the School Board vote as smooth as possible. Special design teams will work with schools affected by these recommendations, and we will share information about enrollment assignments as soon as we can.

Finally, let me reflect at the beginning of this New Year on where we are headed. Our strategic plan, Excellence for All, is a roadmap for creating high quality schools for every student. I hope you will work with us this year as we make progress on the math and science curriculum, new assessments of student progress, and a new student assignment plan.

Together, we can make sure that every student in Seattle gets the quality education he or she deserves and that Seattle Public Schools becomes one of the best-performing school districts in the nation.

Sincerely,

Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D.

Superintendent

and

Final Capacity Management and Building Closure recommendation from the Superintendent

Seattle Public Schools’ strategic plan, Excellence for All, includes a commitment to manage the District’s facilities more wisely. We have thousands of excess classroom seats, as well as an imbalance that leaves some schools crowded and some under enrolled.

The superintendent’s Final Recommendations on District-wide capacity management are based on the preliminary recommendations announced November 25. They have been modified and strengthened based on questions and comments from School Board members; comments and testimony from hundreds of staff, family and community members; and additional analysis. These recommendations will move Seattle Public Schools toward the goals established in Excellence for All. They will strengthen the District’s ability to deliver on the promise of an excellent education for every student by:

• Moving or adding programs to improve equity and access to quality programs across the District
• Focusing resources on fewer facilities and programs in order to protect our long-term fiscal health and strengthen our ability to support student learning
• Improving the balance of classroom capacity with respect to projected enrollment and the geographic location of school-aged children in the city.

THE NET EFFECT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS:

·         Five buildings will be closed, one of which will be closed temporarily and may reopen;

·         Eight programs will relocate from one building to another;

·         One new program will be created (a new K-8 school in Northeast Seattle); and

·         Five programs will be discontinued and their students reassigned to new schools in fall 2009.

This plan would achieve estimated net general operating fund savings of $16.2 million (M) over five years, factoring implementation costs in the first two years of $1.9 M. In addition, net savings from deferred maintenance (capital costs) are estimated at $33.1 M over the next three years, inclusive of $0.5 M in implementation costs.   

GETTING INVOLVED:  More details are available at www.seattleschools.org. Information about how to provide feedback on these recommendations is included on page four of this document.

WHICH BUILDINGS AND PROGRAMS WILL BE AFFECTED?

The Final Recommendations address the District’s imbalance in capacity: there is currently too little classroom space in North Seattle to meet demand, but too much space in the Central, South, Southeast and West Seattle clusters. By balancing capacity with demand, the District can use its resources wisely, meet student needs and ensure that every student has equal access to a high quality educational program.

HOW WILL SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS BE SERVED?

The Final Recommendations above apply only to general education students (except where specified) and students whose needs can be met with resource room services. Seattle Public Schools has also developed recommendations for special education students who require other specialized services.

SPECIAL EDUCATION FINAL CAPACITY RECOMMENDATIONS (1/6/09)

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

A motion on Final Recommendations will be introduced to the School Board at its meeting on January 7, 2009, and the Board will vote on the Final Recommendations on January 29, 2009. Families, staff and community members are encouraged to provide comments. Opportunities include:

*John Stanford Center for Education Excellence: 2445 3rd Avenue South

To testify at the Lowell or Final public hearings, email hearing@seattleschools.org or call 206-252-0042. For the Lowell hearing, individuals who were on the public testimony list for the original hearing date (postponed due to weather) have first priority. Updated information about the process and timeline will be provided via the district’s Web site, www.seattleschools.org/area/capacity. In addition, comments can be emailed to capacity@seattleschools.org, schoolboard@seattleschools.org or mailed to School Board, PO Box 34165, MS 11-010, Seattle, WA, 98124-1165. The School Board office phone number is 206 252 0040.  Comments from December community workshops and hearings are available at www.seattleschools.org. Select “Capacity Management” from the navigation bar on the left.

The NE Seattle Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking has launched its website! Check out www.PreventionWorksInSeattle.org – it contains a great deal of information about underage drinking, prevention activities, and the coalition.

The Public Health Department of Seattle and King County has asked the school nurse to send out the following information about keeping you healthy during the coming influenza season:

• Download the Flu Fact Sheet