Superintendent's Preliminary Recommendation

Analysis by region: CENTRAL

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Overview:  

There are nine neighborhood schools in the Central region (Montlake, McGilvra, Stevens, Martin Luther King, Jr., T.T. Minor, Madrona K-8, Leschi, Bailey Gatzert, and Thurgood Marshall), and one alternative K-8 (TOPS @ Seward) that provide a total of 3,238 seats for kindergarten through fifth grade students. Currently 2,401 of the elementary students attending Seattle Public Schools reside in this region. The number of resident elementary students attending Seattle Public Schools is projected to decrease to 2,163 by 2014.

Currently there are 837 excess elementary seats; by 2014 we anticipate having 1,075 excess seats. Therefore, we recommend closing two buildings and repurposing two buildings.

Building Closure Recommendations:  

• Montlake ( school analysis)
• Martin Luther King, Jr. (school analysis)

Building Repurpose Recommendations:

• T. T. Minor Elementary be eliminated ( school analysis) and students reassigned to their neighborhood schools.  
• T. T. Minor building repurposed from a K-5 elementary to the location for the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center (currently located at the Old Hay building).
• Lowell APP elementary program split ( school analysis) and a portion moved to Broadview-Thomson building.
• Lowell building repurposed to a shared neighborhood K-5 and regional APP 1-5 elementary program site, with the current Special Education programs remaining.

Other Recommendations:

• Redraw Madrona attendance area to maximize inclusion of current Martin Luther King, Jr. reference area. Support renaming of Madrona to Martin Luther King, Jr. K-8 School, in accordance with School Board policy.
• Reduce assignment area of TOPS alternative K-8 program from the Northwest, Queen Anne/Magnolia, Central, South, and Southeast clusters, to the Central region.

Criteria Metrics:

Note: Buildings within the region are ranked on each criterion in descending order from 1 to 12, with 1 indicating the most preferred.

Discussion of the Criteria and Rationale:  

According to the criteria outlined above, Mann, Montlake, and Martin Luther King, Jr. are the three lowest ranked buildings in the region. The Mann building, which currently houses Nova alternative high school, is not proposed for closure. Nova is an all-city alternative school, and the Mann building location is ideally located for such a program. We considered moving the Nova program to a different location, but no other centrally located suitable buildings were identified.

The second lowest ranked building overall is Montlake, which was built in 1924, is currently in need of extensive modernization, and is therefore proposed for closure. It has one of the smallest site sizes, the third smallest building capacity, and the fourth worst building condition in the region. Additionally, approximately 42% of its capacity is in portables. Its geographic location combined with its small building size mean that neighborhood students can be accommodated by nearby schools.

The third lowest ranked building is Martin Luther King, Jr. The facility was built in 1913, is also currently in need of extensive modernization, and is therefore proposed for closure. It has one of the smallest site sizes, the second smallest building capacity, and the second worst building condition. King had among the lowest number of first choices in the region. Like Montlake, its location and small size mean that neighboring schools can accommodate students living nearby.

While we recommend closing the Martin Luther King, Jr. building, we recognize the importance of honoring Dr. King and his legacy. For that reason, and in accordance with School Board policy, we recommend renaming the Madrona building, which was modernized in 2002 and is one of the most popular schools in the region, as Martin Luther King, Jr. K-8.

It is recommended that the T. T. Minor building be repurposed to house the sixth through twelfth grade Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center (BOC) . T. T. Minor was originally recommended for closure, despite the fact that it is ranked higher overall than McGilvra. With the proposed closures of King and Montlake, McGilvra is well-situated in its geographic location and needs to be retained. Stevens was rejected for closure because it is in a new building and is also a geographically desirable location.

The BOC is currently located in Queen Anne, at the Old Hay building, which is difficult to access from many parts of the city. The Old Hay building is recommended for closure (discussed further in Queen Anne/Magnolia Regional Report) due to its poor condition, so a new site for the BOC is needed. T. T. Minor has sufficient capacity for the BOC, is more centrally located, and is easily accessible by public transportation. Although T. T. Minor is currently an elementary school, funds available from BEX II have already been designated for improvements for the Secondary BOC, and will be available for building modifications at T. T. Minor to accommodate secondary students.

The Lowell building currently houses the APP elementary program and Special Education programs. We recommend that Special Education programs remain at Lowell. However, with the growth of the APP program over the past several years, it has become increasingly difficult for the Lowell building to accommodate all of the APP students. Therefore, it is recommended that the APP program be divided between Lowell and Broadview-Thomson, which is a large building and has sufficient capacity to accommodate additional students. The excess elementary school capacity provided by the move of APP students can be utilized for neighborhood students, K-5.

The proposed new assignment plan provides access to at least one alternative K-8 program for students in every region. By limiting the assignment area for TOPS (located in the Seward building) only to the Central region, students in this region will have increased access to the TOPS program.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Overview:

There are three neighborhood schools in the Central region (Meany, Washington, and Madrona K-8) as well as one alternative school (TOPS @ Seward) that provide a total of 1,776 seats for sixth through eighth grade students at this time. Currently, 1,070 of the middle school students attending Seattle Public Schools reside in this region. The number of resident middle school students attending Seattle Public Schools is projected to decrease to 923 by 2014.

Currently there are 706 excess middle school seats; by 2014 we anticipate having 853 excess seats. Therefore, we recommend not closing any middle school buildings at this time.

Building Closure Recommendation:

• None

Building Repurpose Recommendation:

•      None

Other Recommendation:

• Move Seattle Evening School program to Meany ( school analysis) building.

Criteria Metrics:

Discussion of the Criteria and Rationale:

With the projected growth of middle school students enrolled in the APP program, it is anticipated that additional middle school seats will be needed at Washington Middle School to accommodate the increased demand. Although the Meany building is currently underutilized, with the expected growth at Washington, more of Meany's capacity will be needed for neighborhood students. The remaining capacity at Meany can be used to house the Evening School program, currently located in the John Marshall building. The available space and the central location make Meany suitable for this program.

HIGH SCHOOL

Overview:

There is one comprehensive high school in the Central region (Garfield) that provides 1,533 seats for students in grades nine through twelve. Of the 1533 seats approximately 350 seats are reserved for APP students, leaving 1,188 seats available for neighborhood students. Additionally, there is one all-city draw in this region (Nova), which is not included in the capacity analysis. Currently 1,481 of the high school students attending Seattle Public Schools reside in this region; the number of resident high school students attending Seattle Public Schools is projected to increase to 1,534 by 2014.   

We currently need an additional 293 high school seats in the Central region; we anticipate needing 346 seats by 2014.

Building Closure Recommendation:

• None

Building Repurpose Recommendation:

• None

Other Recommendation:

• Eliminate assignment preference for APP students from Washington to Garfield ( school analysis). Continue to provide AP classes at Garfield, and provide equity and rigor in AP offerings at all other high schools.

Criteria Metrics:

Discussion of the Criteria and Rationale:

Currently, APP students at Washington receive assignment preference to Garfield High School. We recommend eliminating that preference beginning in the 2007-08 academic year, to increase capacity for neighborhood students at Garfield, the only neighborhood high school in the Central region. In order to serve the needs of APP high school students, we recommend expanding the AP offerings at all other high schools, many of which already offer a comparable AP curriculum.