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!