New Student Assignment Plan What You Should Know

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New Student Assignment Plan - What You Should
Know
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Agenda

• Timeline
• How We Got Here
• Key Concepts
• Key Implementation Issues
• Next Steps

3
Timeline

• October
• 10/6 Board Work Session Draft Boundary Maps
• 10/12-17 Community / Stakeholder Engagement
  Meetings
• November
• 11/3 Board Work Session Draft Boundary Maps
• 11/4 Board Meeting Introduction of Boundary
  Maps
• 11/5-7 Community / Stakeholder Engagement
  Meetings
• 11/9 Public Hearing Draft Boundary
• 11/18 Board Meeting Vote on Boundary Maps

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• How We Got Here

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How We Got Here

• Vision - Excellence For All
• Five-year strategic plan
• All students meet or exceed grade-level
  expectations and graduate from high school
  prepared for colleges, careers and life
• Focus Classroom Infrastructure Excellence
• Make the most effective and efficient use of
  school buildings
• Redirect resources from logistics - assignment
  process and transportation - to support student
  learning
• Support changes in service delivery models for
  bilingual, special education, and advanced
  learning

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How We Got Here

• Student Assignment Today Complicated Costly
• Students must apply
• Application process is complicated
• Creates an uneven playing field

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What We Heard

• Families want an assignment plan that is
• Predictable
• Equitable
• Easy to understand
• As well as one that
• Supports greater family participation in schools
• Brings needed services closer to where students
  live
• Fosters diversity
• Is feasible and cost effective to implement and
  sustain

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What Happened Next

• New student assignment plan
• Approved by School Board in June of 2009
• Based on extensive community input

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What Comes Next

• New attendance area boundaries
• Draft boundaries to be presented to School Board
  on October 6
• Plans for extensive community feedback
• Board vote scheduled for November 18

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What Comes Next

• Plan implementation
• Scheduled to begin for 2010-11 school year
• No assignment rule changes this year (2009-10)
• Starts with entry-level grades usually K, 6, 9
• This presentation describes full implementation
• A transition plan will guide implementation steps
  for 2010

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• Key Concepts

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Three Types Of Schools

• Attendance Area Schools
• Option Schools
• Service Schools

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Attendance Area Schools

• Most elementary-, middle-, and high schools are
  attendance area schools
• Have specific geographic boundaries
• Students
• Need to enroll in Seattle Public Schools
• Need to have a current, verified address on file
• Will get an initial assignment based on verified
  address
• No school application is required
• No waiting required once the plan is fully
  implemented
• Students will enroll and know assignment right
  away

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Attendance Area Schools

• Attendance area elementary schools
• Combine to form middle school attendance areas
• Create predictable feeder patterns into middle
  school

Elem C
Elem A
Elem B
Middle School Attendance Area
Elem E
Elem D
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Attendance Area Schools

• Attendance area middle schools Part I
• Boundaries are formed by combining elementary
  school attendance areas
• Have predictable feeder pattern from elementary
  schools

Middle School
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Attendance Area Schools

• Attendance area middle schools Part II
• Attendance area boundaries also form geographic
  service areas
• Key programs and services are delivered in these
  areas

Service Area
Middle School Attendance Area
Advanced Learning
Bilingual Education
Montessori Programs
Option Schools
Special Education
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Attendance Area Schools

• Attendance area high schools
• Open Choice seats
• Percentage for students from outside the
  attendance area
• Provides more equitable access to specialized
  programs
• Number of available seats is based on building
  capacity

High School 1000 Student Capacity
Attendance Area Seats - 900
Open Choice Seats - 100
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Option Schools

• Offer a variety of approaches and instructional
  methods
• Available at all grade levels students must
  apply
• Every service area includes a K-5 or K-8 option
  school
• or has a linked option school in another service
  area

Service Area A
Service Area B
Service Area C
Option School 2
Service Area D
Option School 1
Option School 3
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School Choice Tiebreakers

• Students start with an initial assignment to
  their attendance area school
• Students may choose to apply for assignment to
• Another attendance area school in their service
  area
• Any attendance school in another service area
• Any option school
• Tiebreakers determine assignment to
  over-subscribed schools

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School Choice Tiebreakers

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Feeder School Tiebreaker

• For students who are
• Attending an elementary school that does not feed
  into their attendance area middle school
• and applying to an attendance area middle
  school that serves the elementary school they are
  attending.
• Does not guarantee assignment to the school

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Feeder School Tiebreaker

Middle School 1
Elem C
Elem A
Elem B
Elem E
Elem D Attends Here
Middle School 2 Lives Here
Initial Assignment for Students Outside Middle
School 1 Attendance Area
Reassignment to Middle School 1 Assuming
Available Space
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Geographic Zone Tiebreakers

• For students applying to an option school who
  live within a defined area in proximity of that
  option school
• Does not guarantee assignment to the school

Service Area A
Service Area B
Service Area C
Option School 2
Service Area D
Option School 1
Option School 3
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Programs Services

• Offerings include
• Advanced learning
• Bilingual education
• International schools
• Montessori programs
• Special education
• Specialized services generally delivered at
• Attendance area elementary or linked elementary
  schools
• Attendance area middle schools
• Attendance area high schools
• Full details available in the new student
  assignment plan

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Transportation

• High School Students
• Metro bus passes available for high school
  students
• Must live outside the schools approved walk zone
• Elementary Middle School Students
• School bus transportation within a service area
• For students attending any school in the service
  area
• Must live outside the schools approved walk zone

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Transportation

• Elementary Middle School Students
• School bus transportation outside of a service
  area if
• Student attends an option school in a linked
  service area
• Student attends a school in a linked attendance
  or service area school to meet their service
  needs (bilingual, special education, advanced
  learning)
• Bus transportation is not available to students
  who attend a school outside their service areaor
  linked service areathrough school choice
• Transportation for students with disabilities
  based on individual student needs all grades

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• Key Implementation Issues

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Key Implementation Issues

• Grandfathering
• Students Enrolled This Year
• May stay through the schools last grade as
  long as the services the student needs are
  available at that school
• Will keep assignment if they move within the
  district
• Will lose grandfathered status if they leave the
  school
• Younger Siblings Entering Next Year
• Board has decided this is an implementation issue
• Will be addressed in the transitional plan
• Transitional plan will be developed after Board
  votes on boundary maps

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Key Implementation Issues

• Non-entry grade students who want to change to
  attendance area school
• Must apply to the school
• Depends on space availability
• Continuing Transportation
• Depends on the transition plan
• Schedule to be developed after approval of the
  boundaries

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• Next Steps

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Develop New Boundaries

• Current geographic reference areas
• Havent been updated in decades
• No longer reflect city demographics
• Do not reflect facility capacity
• New boundaries currently being developed will
• Be driven by available data
• Reflect demographic shifts
• Reflect building capacity
• Provide greater predictability
• Preserve choice options

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Development Process

• Driven by available data and functional capacity
• Elementary/middle schools
• Balance target enrollment
• Create predictable feeder patterns
• High schools
• Make Open Choice seats available at all
  attendance area high schools

Proximity To School
Safe Walk Zones
Efficient Bus Routing
Metro Bus Routes
Demographics
Diversity Opportunities
Physical Barriers
Attendance Area Boundary
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Boundary Maps

• Maps to be presented to Board - October 6
• Community opportunities to review/comment
• Community meetings
• E-mail
• Postal mail
• Web site
• Seattle Public Schools will
• Review all comments and boundaries
• Submit recommended boundaries, including any
  revisions, to School Board on November 3 - for
  formal introduction on November 4

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School Board Vote

• New Boundaries Scheduled for Board Vote on
  November 18, 2009

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New Student Assignment Plan - What You Should
Know

• Fall, 2009
• Community / Stakeholder Engagement