Later start time for JAMS?

A couple of people have emailed the blog suggesting a later start time for JAMS. A parent raised this issue at a JAMS meeting and later started an online petition for an 8:30 start time to match that of Nathan Hale. Tracy's petition makes some great points. Please check it out!

The National Sleep Foundation points out in an article on later school start times that adolescents need as much sleep as children, but the changes in their bodies make their natural "fall asleep" time later.

So how does this compare with other schools? Most Seattle middle schools start at 7:50. (Denny is the only exception -- it starts at 7:40!) Hale starts at 8:30; Garfield and Ingraham both start at 8:00.

So, what do you think? Any downsides?

World Language Programming at JAMS

World languages have generated the most emails to this blog and also have been prominent in the comments to several posts.  Clearly this is a topic that lots of us care about!  Principal Montgomery has said that Karen Kodama, the district's International Education Administrator, is helping with planning and continuity for world languages at JAMS.

Ms. Montgomery earlier sent us the following: "Yes to foreign languages, starting for 6th graders. At this point, I can say absolutely Spanish and Japanese due in large part to preparing students for high school. I will need to see the number of current 6th graders in French before making a decision."

Choosing the languages won't be easy -- there are continuity issues for students transferring to JAMS from Eckstein, Hamilton, and Jane Addams K-8, as well as issues of preparing students for language study at the high school level at Nathan Hale, Garfield, and Ingraham.

	JA K-8	Eckstein	Hamilton	Hale	Garfield	Ingraham
Chinese	X			maybe in the works?
Japanese		X	X	X	X	X
Spanish	X	X	X	X	X	X
French		X		X	X	X

 Eckstein offers three languages starting in 7th grade. Hamilton has only 2 languages, but offers them for three years. 

KM pointed out in a comment: "From what I understand, two years of a World Language taken in middle school counts towards one year of high-school level World Language, so a student who has taken a World Language, for two years, in middle school could enter at the second year level in high school."  


Spanish: Definitely will be offered
Paula Montgomery has stated that Spanish will definitely be offered at JAMS.  

French: On the fence

As noted above, Ms. Montgomery will need to see how many kids would be interested in French before a decision is made about whether to offer French.  L. A. emailed us:

My son is a current seventh grader at Eckstein. Students are not able to begin a foreign language at Eckstein until 7th grade so if Ms. Montgomery is counting current 6th grade students taking French then Eckstein would have zero or none. I'm worried this will impact her decision on whether or not to offer second year French to incoming eight graders.

For Nathan Hale, two years of middle school foreign language classes allows a freshman student to start the same language at a second year high school level. My son would need to continue French in eighth grade in order to qualify for this two year deal. French is offered at Nathan Hale.

He loves his current French teacher at Eckstein, wants to continue French next year (and at the high school level), and is very disappointed to hear he may not have that opportunity at the new JAMS. 

Lori had previously commented and pointed out that this might be a place to use mitigation funds:

I'm curious how languages will be handled with kids coming in from Eckstein and Hamilton, which have slightly different offerings. Both have Spanish and Japanese, but only Eckstein has French. Seems those kids already studying French should be able to continue, but will there be enough to support a teacher? I hope this an area where the district can provide mitigation funds. That is, even if it's only a handful of kids, and such a low number generally wouldn't justify a position, they'll make a "hardship" exception so children can continue their chosen language. A school with 700 kids probably wouldn't normally offer 3 different languages, but this one should have to, given the circumstances.

Japanese: Continued from HIMS and Eckstein but possibly phased out

 Wedgwood Family commented: "Paula also mentioned three years of language being offered to every student and phasing out Japanese for new langauge learners and adding Mandarin. Will JAMS become an international school?"

Shannon commented: "For the Japanese Language program at HIMS they have an exchange program and end of the year trip for 8th graders who have had 2 years of Japanese. My son was looking forward to participating."

Ms.Montgomery has indicated that Japanese will be offered at JAMS; however, she has stated that Japanese might be offered only temporarily, until the 7th and 8th graders coming from Eckstein and Hamilton have moved on to high school.

Mandarin Chinese: A Possibility

At her meeting with Sacajawea parents, Paula Montgomery mentioned that Hale is actually encouraging her to offer Mandarin Chinese at JAMS. It sounded as though Hale was considering or instituting a Mandarin track.

Z. X. emailed us:  

"I would very much like to see that Chinese is offered as an option for foreign language at the new JAM middle school. Many students would have liked to taken it if it were offered at HIMS (or at least their parents would have liked their kids to take it). In fact, many parents lobbied the principle at HIMS, but it was not possible because the foreign language teachers were already hired there.  Since JAM is starting new, this will be a golden opportunity to start to offer Chinese. It would be a strategically smart move."

KM commented: "JA K-8 offers Spanish and Chinese/Mandarin (Mandarin is new this year). Historically, languages at the K-8 were only available for 7th and 8th graders, but I'm not sure if that still applied to this year's (large) 6th grade class."

As mentioned above, Ms. Montgomery has mentioned the possibility that JAMS and Hale could institute a continuous track for Mandarin Chinese.

Language travel opportunities?
A few commenters have written about how much their Eckstein or Hamilton students have been looking forward to traveling with their language classes in their 8th grade year. These do indeed sound like amazing opportunities that would be really hard for these kids to give up. 

Shannon commented: "For the Japanese Language program at HIMS they have an exchange program and end of the year trip for 8th graders who have had 2 years of Japanese. My son was looking forward to participating"

JoRo commented: "Please offer French. I hope you are able to pull together a language travel program for language students. That is the #1 thing my kid was looking forward to - for her 8th grade at eckstein."

Leanne G. commented:

For the Spanish program, Eckstein students travel to Costa Rica after the end of school each year...it is typically a combination of tourism and service projects, as well as home stays with host families. Ihave only heard good things about it...my daughter would have participated next year after her 8th grade year. I think the best way to learn about these programs is to have language leads/Paula schedule some time with the coordinating teachers at Eckstein or Hamilton. Apollonia Guerra is the Eckstein Spanish teacher who coordinates the Costa Rica trip.

JAMS Meeting tonight -- your thoughts?

If you attended the JAMS meeting this evening in the Jane Addams building, please share your thoughts and have a conversation about it!

Here are links to the materials: Dec. 11 JAMS Meeting Materials and JAMS Dec 18 Meeting Presentation Materials


They are available from the JAMS FusionPage: http://jams.www.seattleschools.org

As always, please review and adhere to our posting guidelines. 

Official JAMS website and new opportunities to get involved!

There is now an official JAMS website where Principal Montgomery can directly upload materials and information for the JAMS community! You can "join" the Fusion Page to be alerted when new materials are posted.  You do this by logging in with your Source login.  You do not have to join in order to read the page.  Here is the link:

http://jams.www.seattleschools.org/

In addition to the PTA/PTSA Steering Committee opportunity we posted about last Friday, there are two other new ways to get involved.

Apply to join the Parent Core Team

From the new JAMS Fusion website:

Parents, please consider being a leader in your community and be part of the JAMS parent planning team. The core team seeks 1-2 parent representatives from each of our elementary schools as well as Eckstein and Hamilton. This is an exciting time to help create an incredible new school. See the attachment for the application and send or email back to Principal Montgomery.

Principal Montgomery's email address is: p l mont gom ery at seattle schools dot org [remove spaces, replace words with symbols]

 

Join a Teacher Interview Team -- incoming students can do this too!

Principal Paula Montgomery has already posted six Lead Teacher positions in the district's internal hiring process. Interviews are coming up, and both parents and students can be involved. The same kind of interview teams will be formed throughout the spring as general hiring progresses. Broad representation from the different JAMS feeder schools is highly desirable. 

Here are the steps to get involved:

1. Complete the SEA Site-Based Interview Training.
You must have completed the SEA Site-Based Interview Training prior to being put on an interview team. Interested students must also attend the training in order to participate. Here is the schedule and contact info for registering for upcoming trainings; the next one is on January 9. They are held at the John Stanford Center in SoDo.

Ms. Montgomery is also working with HR to have a training take place at JAMS so that parents and students don't have to travel as far.

2.  After completing training, tell Ms. Montgomery about your interest.
Ms. Montgomery wants to bring in as many parent communities as possible. However, a caveat: an interview team must be of a manageable size, so any given team will likely include only one representative from each constituency.  You can reach her at: p l mont gomery at seattle schools dot org. [Remove spaces, replace words with symbols.]

There are two interviews coming up soon, for which Ms. Montgomery is reaching out to PTA organizations to put together interview teams. 
1. Head Counselor: Tuesday, December 17, 3:45-6:00, Jane Addams Middle School
2. Arts Team Leader: Wednesday, December 18, 3:45-6:00, Jane Addams Middle School

Jane Addams MS PTSA Steering Committee – Volunteers Needed!

An important message from John Rogers parent Kim McCormick:

 

A Steering Committee is currently being formed in order to navigate and complete the process of creating a PTA/PTSA charter for JAMS.  We are seeking 1-2 volunteers from the feeder elementary schools, as well as Eckstein and Hamilton.  Steering committee duties will include working with SCPTSA representatives to complete and submit the charter application, establishment of the JAMS PTA/PTSA Standing Rules, and PTA/PTSA Board structure; as well as planning for the initial JAMS PTA/PTSA Charter Meeting.  A separate nomination committee will be formed at a later date for the nomination of JAMS PTSA Board officers, to be elected by the JAMS PTSA as a whole.  The goal is to hold the Charter Meeting in Spring 2014.

 

Thank you to those who have already stepped up to help with this task!  We currently have enough volunteers from APP @ Lincoln, John Rogers, and Thornton Creek.  In order to complete the Steering Committee, we are still seeking volunteers from the following schools:

 

Eckstein

Hamilton

Sacajawea

Olympic Hills

 

Parents from schools other than the feeder schools, who will have a child attending JAMS (i.e. Jane Addams K-8, Wedgwood, View Ridge, Laurelhurst, etc…), are also encouraged to participate.

 

For more information, or to volunteer for the JAMS PTSA Steering Committee, please contact parent Kim McCormick:
kim mc cormick at com cast dot net  [remove spaces, replace words with symbols]

 

Thank you!

Tonight's JAMS Meeting: Your thoughts?

If you attended the JAMS meeting this evening in the Jane Addams building, please share your thoughts and have a conversation about it!

Here is a link to the materials: Dec. 11 JAMS Meeting Materials

If you missed the meeting, don't worry -- there will be another with the same agenda next Wednesday, December 18, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Jane Addams building.

As always, please review and adhere to our posting guidelines. 

Open thread for your thoughts

REMINDER:  THERE ARE TWO MEETINGS at the Jane Addams Building coming up, in which Planning Principal Paula Montgomery will speak with prospective parents about JAMS.  Please plan to attend one or both of these meetings!

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11

and

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18 

Both meetings run from 6:30 to 8 in the Jane Addams Middle School library, and both will follow the same agenda.  More info about the agenda can be found here: Post: JAMS Meetings Coming Up -- Please Come!

The Jane Addams building is located at 11051 34th Ave NE, Seattle WA 98125.  The library is located on the second floor.

___________________________________
Share your thoughts about JAMS programming and facilities in the comments to this post.  Starting next week, we will have regular posts about specific areas of programming, incorporating the comments we have so far received from you on this blog and by email.

Please keep the following statement of our blog's focus in mind (this is posted on the right nav bar and on our Guidelines page):

This is a narrowly defined blog. It is about planning JAMS and facilitating community engagement. It is offered by parent volunteers. This is not a place to discuss school district policies, personalities, or politics. It is a place for constructive civil discourse. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or abusive comments without warning or comment.

In addition, we ask that if you post using the "anonymous" option that you choose some sort of handle or posting name, some kind of word that will help the others in the conversation refer to your comment. 

Please review our posting guidelines before commenting. Thank you!

Easing the transition for incoming 7th and 8th graders

In response to some questions about whether the upcoming JAMS meetings will be appropriate for incoming students to attend, Paula  Montgomery sent us the following.

I think that it's fine to bring current middle school students to the December meetings; however, I am thinking that the bulk of the time at the meeting will be to answer questions about programming.

Once we (Eckstein principal, Hamilton principal, and I) get a list of students making the transfer, we will have regular meetings with current 6th and 7th graders to include them in the planning in a way designed for student voice. All three of us want to make sure that all students transferring have a high degree of attention prior to the summer. Once we have teachers hired, those new teachers will also be involved in working with students.

It sounds as though the middle school principals have this question of  transitioning students from their current schools very much on their radar.  We've had some discussion in the comments on this blog about ways to help these kids, including meetups well before school starts.

If your child is one who will be re-assigned to JAMS from another middle school, what do you think your child is concerned about?  What worries you?  What would help your child feel more on board with changing schools?  What can the community do to help?

JAMS Meetings Coming Up -- Please Come!

From Paula Montgomery, the JAMS Planning Principal:
_________________________
While it is early in the process (we have not hired team leaders), I know that parents have many, many questions, want to meet me, and want to start to give input.

The agenda is the same for both meetings. And we will have monthly meetings after the school year, including a day time option.

Jane Addams Middle School Community Meeting
Jane Addams Middle School Library
(Same agenda both dates)

Wednesday, December 11 6:30-8:00
Wednesday, December 18 6:30-8:00
Agenda:
Overview of timeline , teacher hiring, and spring processes
Review of facility work
Q & A
Opportunity for parents and community to give first input into the educational design
Brief school tour
_______________________

EDITED TO ADD:  Paula Montgomery, asked about bringing kids to the December meetings, responded: "I think that it's fine to bring current middle school students to the December meetings; however, I am thinking that the bulk of the time at the meeting will be to answer questions about programming."  She added that there are plans to involve current 6th and 7th graders in the planning -- please see the next post.

Also, in response to questions about touring the JA building, she reminded us: "We will absolutely provide tours of the school, but they will need to be during the evening when school is not in session. And yes, no one should enter a school without permission from the current principal."

Information from Paula Montgomery on JAMS Programming

Thank you all for your comments and questions on the last post. We asked Paula Montgomery, the JAMS Planning Principal, for information on planned meetings with families. We also sent her the link to the last post so she could see what some families are thinking about.

Ms. Montgomery is working on a master calendar of currently scheduled meetings with families and will get it to us at the beginning of next week to post. We know from a meeting she had with a group of Sacajawea families last week that she is planning multiple appearances at PTA meetings and with kids at Eckstein and Hamilton who will be geo-split away to JAMS to get their perspectives. Definitely watch for that master calendar and take advantage of the chance to get to know her and ask her questions.

Here are Ms. Montgomery's "quick big answers" to questions posed on the blog. 

-----------------

1. Yes, JAMS will have Algebra 2 next year. It looks as if we may have enough qualified students for two sections.

2. Geometry and Algebra 1, no problem. Plenty of sections.

3. Yes, for band and orchestra program. Just added a second music room to the plans for Phase 2 (summer 2014). The number of sections/levels will be driven by student needs. Both Hamilton and Eckstein band directors are involved in planning.

4. Working on initial instrument and library inventory with district.

5. Yes to foreign languages, starting for 6th graders. At this point, I can say absolutely Spanish and Japanese due in large part to preparing students for high school. I will need to see the number of current 6th graders in French before making a decision.

6. Spent day at Garfield, learning what needs to happen in APP at the middle level for students to be successful in 9th grade. Plan to visit Ingraham as well.

7. Yes to biology. Hoping to pull off science electives as well. Our school site is an amazing resource for environmental sciences. In conversation with science leaders in the district to develop possibilities.

8. Teacher leader positions are now posted! An all Seattle district email should be sent out next week, alerting teachers about the opportunity. Hope to have interviews in late December. May have to interview in early January given how busy December is . These leaders should be on board by mid-January.

9. Other programming decisions are waiting for 1) student data review, 2) teacher leader input, 3) student input, and 4) parent input.

And now I have a BIG ask. If anyone out there is able/willing to do pro-bono work on logo design. I would love to connect. Our BEX levy is really covering academic spaces and curriculum and this is an area that has not been addressed. Would love to use the expertise of a professional to start designing logo/mascot possibilities and have our future JAMS students select the mascot/colors/etc prior to February. The architect for the project then can include these elements into finishes for our school.
---------------------

If you're interested in providing some design help, Ms. Montgomery can be reached at p l mont gomery at seattle schools dot org. [remove all spaces, replace words with symbols.]

Also, information that Ms. Montgomery passed on from Tracy Libros in response to the questions raised by maps of the JAMS, Eckstein and Hamilton attendance areas: they are working on "enlarged (and therefore more detailed) maps of the middle school attendance areas for JAMS, Eckstein, and Hamilton."  Dr. Libros provides this info for families: "For specific information on where your child will be assigned for next year (2014-15), please go to the Address Lookup Tool on the district’s web site. We are in the process of updating that information for 2014-15 to reflect changes approved by the School Board. We expect to have the updated information posted the week after the Thanksgiving break."

Now a request from us to you: please share the address of this blog with people you know. The more community involvement, the better it will be. Thanks.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

Now let's get planning!

Welcome! We have an amazing opportunity here to plan our kids' middle school.  Please comment below about what you most want to see in programming, culture, etc.  Or email us at janeaddamsmsblog@gmail.com.  We will put up regular posts bringing in your suggestions, for the community to discuss.

Each post here will have one or more tags that help us sort out what we all think is most important for JAMS. The more times a tag is used, the bigger the tag label appears in the tag cloud. Visual voting, essentially!

Please also watch this space for updates on JAMS and information on community engagement.

Edited to add:  You're welcome to comment anonymously, but please sign your comment with a posting name of some kind (e.g., initials or alias) to facilitate conversation within the threads, and also so we can begin to build a feeling of community here.

Open Thread: Feel Free to Post Your Thoughts!

Feel free to post your comments, questions, and thoughts in the comment section here.  Please keep your comments civil.  We reserve the right to delete uncivil or abusive comments without warning or comment. Thanks.

Jane Addams Repurposing Project: Meet our new Planning Principal & View the Building Design!

SAVE THIS DATE! 

November 7, 2013, 6:00-7:30 PM

Invitation From SPS:

Seattle Public Schools invites you to a Community Meeting on the
Jane Addams Building BEX IV Construction Project

Date:       Thursday, November 7, 2013

Time:       6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Location: Jane Addams Building, 11051 34 Ave NE

Room:     Cafeteria

Dear Jane Addams area communities,

Because you live in the greater Jane Addams building area, you are receiving this letter. 

Seattle voters approved the Seattle Public Schools Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Capital Levy in February 2013, which includes the construction project to repurpose the Jane Addams building to become an attendance area Middle School.

The meeting will be presented by representatives of Seattle Public Schools BEX IV Capital Projects Team, the Jane Addams Middle School planning principal and Hutteball & Oremus Architecture, who will provide information about the project’s early construction design progress. You will be able to learn more about the construction project’s scope, schedule and design exploration. You will be able to ask questions and give us input and feedback. We hope that you will be able to join us!

This meeting is not related to boundaries issues, but only to the construction project to repurpose the building to become a Middle School. As you may know, boundary changes have not been made: the Board is scheduled to vote on any possible changes at its November 20 Board meeting.

For more information, please visit http://bex.seattleschools.org

Sincerely,
Seattle Public Schools Capital Projects Team

October 17 Work Session Staff- Proposal: "Full Grade Assignment in Year One"

Hi all! We found that someone shared this blog's address on the Save Seattle Schools blog.  Everyone is welcome!  Please respect, however, that this blog is for the purpose of planning JAMS (the curriculum and school, not the student body makeup) and please keep your discussion civil. Thanks!

October 17^th School Board Work Session – Staff-recommended proposal:

“North Middle Schools:  Full Grade Assignment in Year One”

As part of the October 17^th Work Session, SPS Staff presented an alternative to the Oct 16^th JAMS implementation proposal, in which students are assigned to JAMS for grades 6-8, instead of opting in at grades 7 and 8. 

Here is a link to the presentation from the October 17th Growth Boundaries work session.

A synopsis of the Staff-recommended proposal for starting JAMS as a full comprehensive middle school, grades 6-8, in Year One.

Beginning 2014-15: 

a.      JA K-8 to John Marshall (two years interim)*. 

b.      JAMS AA**  students (APP, GenEd, SpEd), grades 6-8, assigned to JAMS in the JA building (Geo-split from Eckstein).

c.      APP students living in Eckstein AA, grades 6-8), assigned to JAMS in the JA building (Geo-split from Hamilton APP).***

*JA-K-8 students may chose to go to JAMS, but this choice MUST be made during the Open Enrollment period.

**The JAMS Attendance Area is not explicitly defined in the proposal (the previous proposal had John Rogers, Olympic Hills, and Cedar Park feeding into JAMS).

***APP students have a dual assignment to Eckstein, and may opt out of APP to attend Eckstein.

FYI:  The Growth Boundaries feedback survey closed 10/25/13.  All comments should be directed to the School Board Directors andgrowthboundaries@seattleschools.org.

October 16 SPS Proposals for Interim Period & Growth Boundaries

Info on the October 16 proposals. A post on the other proposals will follow.

Comments are open, but please remember that this place is really to plan JAMS (the curriculum, not the student body makeup). Uncivil or abusive comments will be deleted without warning or comment.  Thanks.

October 16^th Recommendations:

Attachment A:  Recommended Growth Boundaries, Feeder Patterns, and Option School Geozones
Attachment B: Reference Materials
Attachment C: Summary Information on Public Input

In the Oct. 16^th proposal, John Rogers, Cedar Park, and Olympic Hills will feed into JAMS, along with APP kids living within the JAMS and Eckstein service areas.  Implementation would be as a 6^th grade roll-up with optional entrance at 7^th and 8^th grade.

From Attachment B:

·       Relocate Jane Addams K‐8 to John Marshall 2014‐15 and 2015‐16.

·       Open JAMS with grades 6/7/8 in 2014‐15

·       Assign JAMS GenEd/SpEd 6th graders and JAMS and Eckstein APP 6th graders to JAMS 2014‐15

·       Give rising 6th‐8th grade students at Jane Addams K‐8 the option to attend JAMS

·       Give rising 7th and 8th grade students in the JAMS attendance area the option to attend JAMS

·       Give rising 6th‐8th grade students in the Eckstein attendance area the option to attend JAMS

·       Start roll‐up of Wilson‐Pacific MS in 2016‐17 at John Marshall with Wilson‐Pacific GenEd and Wilson –Pacific and Whitman APP 6th grade.

SPS Recommends Establishing APP at Jane Addams, Changing JAMS Feeder Schools, Co-Location

SPS Staff recommendations on Growth Boundaries were presented to the School Board tonight, and the documents have been posted to the SPS website. The Seattle Times has published an article about the growth boundaries proposals.


Two options given for housing programs in the Jane Addams building during the interim period (2014-2016).

 

Option 1:  Co‐house JAMS attendance area students and Jane Addams  K‐8 at Jane Addams 2014‐2016.  

Transition north end middle school  APP initially to John Marshall in 2014-15 and 2015-16; start two  pathways in 2016-17 school year.

2014-15 projected JAMS enrollment:  200 (preliminary) 

Interim portable need:  9-10 + quad modular core space

2015-16 projected JAMS enrollment:  380 (preliminary)

2015-16 interim portable need:  15-16 + quad modular core space

 

Option 2:  Co-house JAMS attendance area, transitioning middle school APP pathway students, 

and Jane Addams K‐8 students at Jane Addams 2014-2016.

2014-15 projected JAMS enrollment:  300 (preliminary)

2014-15 interim portable need:  12-13 + quad modular core space

2015-16 projected JAMS enrollment:  600 (preliminary)

2015-16 interim portable need:  22-23 + quad modular core space

 

[Staff Presentation, Slides 37-38]

 

One of two new APP middle school pathways to be located at Jane Addams. 

 

To address capacity issues in APP services, staff recommended two new North End pathways with guaranteed assignment:
1. Wilson Pacific Elementary --> Wilson Pacific MS -->Garfield (or to optional APP/IB at Ingraham)
2. Olympic Hills --> Jane Addams MS --> Garfield (or to  optional APP/IB at Ingraham)
[Staff Presentation, Slide 15]

As described above, there were two options given for housing this new APP location in the interim period.

 

Elementary school feeder pattern recommendation has been changed.

Staff recommended that the following elementary school reference areas feed to JAMS:  Cedar Park, John Rogers, Olympic Hills, and Olympic View. Sacajawea would not feed to JAMS as proposed last year, but to Eckstein.  Elementary reference area boundaries have been revised. Staff presented proposed maps, which are part of the handout posted to the SPS website.

Remember, these are only recommendations!  Make your opinion heard at the community meeting to discuss these recommendations at Nathan Hale High School Commons, September 24 from 6:30-8:00 PM. Please join us in supporting JAMS at this meeting!

Tonight's School Board Work Session Will Impact JAMS

This evening, from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. at the John Stanford Center, SPS staff will be presenting recommendations to the School Board on the Growth Boundaries process. This meeting is open to the public, though the public will not have a chance to comment during the session itself. Here is a link to the meeting agenda in PDF.

How does this process affect JAMS?  Depending on what SPS staff are hoping to do with programs such as APP (it is possible that NE middle school APP will be assigned to JAMS), and where it decides to place the Jane Addams K-8 (E-STEM) option school until its new building is ready for occupancy, the attendance boundaries for the Jane Addams Middle School may need to be adjusted because the building can only hold so many kids.  A smaller JAMS may translate to an insufficient budget for comprehensive programming. Another possibility is that JAMS may be located at an interim site until the E-STEM K-8 program has vacated the Jane Addams building.

We will post links to the Growth Boundaries Map and supporting documents, as soon as they become available. Information is also available on the SPS Growth Boundaries webpage (http://bit.ly/GrowthBoundaries).

The community meeting to discuss these Growth Boundaries recommendations will be held at Nathan Hale High School Commons, September 24 from 6:30-8:00 PM. Please join us in supporting JAMS at this meeting!

Back-to-School Update

Happy back-to-school, everyone! Here's a brief update, with more details to come soon.

Communicate Your Needs for the JAMS Interim Plan -- ASAP!
The JAMS Interim Plan, covering school years 2014-15 and 2015-16, will be developed as part of the Growth Boundaries Revision Process going on right now. SPS is seeking input from the community for the Growth Boundaries process. The data collected and decisions made will determine, among other things, whether, how, and for how long JAMS and the K-8 will share space in the Jane Addams building.

It's so important for potential JAMS families to communicate what they expect from their kids' middle school experience, particularly during the interim years (2014-16).  Please share your thoughts and your family's needs with SPS by sending an email to growthboundaries@seattleschools.org and to the School Board Directors*. If you are the parent of a current 6th grader who chose the K-8 for your child's 6th grade year, it would be good to give the district feedback about whether you intend for your child to remain at the Jane Addams building with JAMS or move with the K-8 if they are moved to an interim location.

There is a School Board work session on Growth Boundaries scheduled for Thursday, September 17th, just a week away.  It's best to get your comments in to SPS staff and the Board Members well before this work session.

Our local Growth Boundaries meeting will be September 24, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., at Nathan Hale High School Commons. Please come and participate!

* Email addresses of Seattle School Board Directors:
sharon.peaslee@seattleschools.org, sherry.carr@seattleschools.org,
harium.martin-morris@seattleschools.org, michael.debell@seattleschools.org,
kay.smithblum@seattleschools.org, martha.mclaren@seattleschools.org, betty.patu@seattleschools.org

Planning Principal Chosen to Lead JAMS
Over the summer, Paula Montgomery was chosen as the new Planning Principal for JAMS. In this position, she will be instrumental in planning JAMS and will be the school's principal for at least the 2014-2015 school year.  We look forward to getting to know Ms. Montgomery and hope to help you get to know her, too.

The Design Team is Working on JAMS
The Jane Addams Middle School Design Team (JAMS SDAT) was formed and got to work this summer. The Design Team includes JAMS Planning Principal Paula Montgomery, parents from potential JAMS feeder schools, Eckstein Middle School staff, Nathan Hale High School staff, Executive Director of Schools (NE) Kim Whitworth, Matt Christensen from Hutteball and Oremus Architecture, and SPS Project Manager Scott Hogman. There should be a public meeting sometime this fall.

Architectural Design is Under Way
The school district has chosen the architecture firm of Hutteball and Oremus to repurpose the Jane Addams building to house JAMS, and it appears a contract was executed over the summer.  More details to come!  

Open thread for your thoughts

What are you thinking about? What do you want to find out about? Are your kids looking forward to anything in particular in middle school? What was YOUR favorite subject in middle school, and why? Open thread means open to your comments, so have at it!

What does "comprehensive middle school" mean to you, and you, and you?

(Great, now that song from The Sound of Music is in my head. Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you...)

There's been talk. Oh, there's been a whole lot of talk. Mostly we're going to leave that talk behind when we step in here, to this blog, to plan JAMS. But there has been one question asked quite often in the community meetings leading up to the creation of JAMS that is worthwhile for us to discuss at the outset.

What exactly does the "comprehensive" in "comprehensive middle school" mean?

Well, what do you think it means? Because the answer is: there is no agreed-upon definition.  Discuss in the comments!

Help us get out the word!

Please help us get out the word to NE families about this blog. We want lots of participation by all the communities that will come together to create JAMS.  Here's something you can share:

 

JAMS Plans: A community drawing board to plan a world-class comprehensive middle school in NE Seattle

 

In September 2014, when our current 4th graders are making that important and somewhat scary transition to middle school, a new comprehensive middle school program will open its doors in the Jane Addams building.  What will that program be like? What classes will be offered?  Will there be a special focus? How will it be organized? What will the school’s culture be like? 

 

Who gets to decide these things?

 

Mostly, we do.  We, the families whose children will become the first students of the new Jane Addams Middle School.  A clean sheet of drawing paper sits before us, and we get to plan our kids’ school from the ground up.  There’s a place for us to talk to each other, to ask questions and offer possibilities, to discuss what might work and what might not, and to make JAMS a world-class school.  The address: http://jamsplans.blogspot.com/

 

Join in!   

One more test!

OK, so maybe I'm a little obsessed with math. ;-)

Testing tag cloud

Playing around with the template... please don't mind me!

How our tag cloud works

Wondering about that tag cloud at the top of the blog page? Each post here will have one or more tags that help us sort out what we all think is most important for JAMS. The more times a tag is used, the bigger the tag label appears in the tag cloud. Visual voting, essentially!