 |
Normally, the holidays are a time for celebration. But this past November, they marked the beginning of an angst-ridden two months for many Seattle families whose schools are among those the district is planning to close or move. Even those who aren't directly impacted are watching warily, wondering what the proposal says about our district leadership and the state of our schools.
The closure proposal was developed by Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson in part to answer a recent state auditor's report finding that the district has too many open seats in its schools. Also, the district faces a $24 million shortfall for the 2009-10 school year due to state budget cuts and the weak economy.
Since the plan's debut on Nov. 25, parents have turned out en mass at several community meetings to express their concerns. Local education blogs have been deluged with rants, rumors and thoughtful comments, too, as parents nervously try to figure out how the proposal will affect their child's education.
Bigger questions swirl around, also – like whether the plan reflects Goodloe-Johnson's true feelings about the advanced learning program or alternative schools, both of which take a hit under the proposal. Indeed, the closure proposal marks Goodloe-Johnson's first major action since developing her "Excellence for All" strategic plan.
While the closure plan deals with excess seats and budgetary deficits, it fails to address the most critical issue facing Seattle Schools – a lack of confidence in the district.
Where Chaos is the Norm
In late January, I looked over notes from the previous round of closures, circa 2006. Our son's school wasn't on the dreaded closure list back then, but the parent-teacher group kept track of the process – you know, just in case. In that round, five elementary schools – Fairmount Park, Rainier View, Whitworth, Viewlands and Martin Luther King Jr. – were closed.
Although we had only been in the district for two years at that point, it wasn't our first experience with such turmoil. In 2005, then-Superintendent Raj Manhas' proposed closures shook communities across the district, before being rejected by school board members.
In late 2004, a proposal to move toward a neighborhood assignment plan created an uproar, and was eventually dropped. The district also faced potential bankruptcy then, in large part due to former Superintendent Joseph Olchefske's mismanagement of budget finances. Olchefske resigned in April 2003.
To some extent, the chaos has come to define Seattle Public Schools. I recently discussed the latest proposal with a Shoreline School District parent, who seemed unmoved. "Isn't Seattle always closing schools?" he asked.
A quick check of newspaper archives from the last five years revealed no shortage of headlines about budget deficits, school closures and other substantial challenges.
No wonder the latest closure and consolidation process feels a lot like a choreographed dance that we've all been through a time or two. Meetings are packed with angry parents, rallies are held, lawsuits are threatened. At the end of the day, one thing is certain: No one comes out of it a winner.
Everyone is Impacted
At first, South Seattle parent Antwanette Lyons seems like one of the lucky ones. Her son, Javion Hall, has attended the New School at South Shore since pre-kindergarten. The school receives extra funding from the New School Foundation, founded by local businessman Stuart Sloan to reform education through private-public partnerships. Students benefit from smaller class sizes and a diverse, involved parent community. The school is scheduled to move into a new building this fall.
But when I talked to Lyons before the final board meeting on closures Jan. 29, her thoughts immediately went to the children in schools that are on the closure list. "Closing schools is sad for everyone," she said. "These are our kids' friends."
Lyons was critical of the message that closures send to students. "It teaches our kids something horrible to say, ‘Anytime the budget doesn't fit, we'll just cut you out.'"
Lyons said that she has confidence in her son's school, where her son "has one of the most amazing third-grade teams in the district."
"But that's as far as (my trust) goes," she said, noting that school communities never know whether they will be closed or moved.
Closures Hit Home
When I interviewed Sarah Slater last September for Seattle's Child's annual education directory, she talked about her deep commitment to public schools. Her oldest son, Dillon, is a seventh-grader at Meany Middle School, near their home.
I caught up with Slater a few days before the school board vote. With Meany, located in Central Seattle, facing closure, how did Slater feel?
"We feel extremely let down," Slater said. She described the energy and effort that parents put into the school, slowly transforming it into a desirable, academically-rich program. "Meany really embodies the American spirit of the little train that could," she said.
Reflecting on Meany's fate, Slater's sense was that "our bricks and mortar are more valuable to the district than our kids and programs."
Meany was among the school programs that the board voted on Jan. 29 to discontinue. A large group of Meany students attended the board meeting, listening attentively to the discussion. Even that late in the game, the students appeared to earnestly believe they could save their schools. At one point, School Board President Michael DeBell asked if there were any other questions. A Meany student down the row from me politely raised his hand, not realizing DeBell was addressing the board members, not the audience.
In the days leading up to the vote, Brenda Nelson spoke of Meany's value to her. She attended the school in the early 1970s; now, her daughter Whitney is a seventh-grader there; her 10th-grade daughter, Briana, attended as well. Nelson serves as Meany PTSA President and works at the school as a special education assistant.
Nelson said the school's small size, diversity and extracurricular activities appealed to her family, drawing them from their neighborhood in South Seattle.
When it comes to closures, Nelson said, "Something just doesn't feel right." She brought up a sensitive topic that surfaces during every round of closures – the perception that targeted schools are mostly low-income and minority.
Nelson also had concerns about how closures affect special education students. "Change is good, but when you are forced to change, then you've got this fight for the continued programming that these children receive, that sometimes can be lost or even lessened when you keep moving these kids from place to place."
Will Families Leave?
Will the turmoil cause families to jump ship, either to neighboring districts or private schools? That's the million dollar question. If too many families leave, the district's cost savings will shrink or disappear altogether.
My own family is in a wait-and-see mode as we ponder how the proposal's impact will ripple across the district. We live in an area of North Seattle with mediocre schools, along with a few highly-sought-after alternative programs that always have waitlists. With closures and budget shortfalls preoccupying the district, we have little hope that Goodloe-Johnson's promised "Excellence for All" will find its way into our neighborhood schools anytime soon.
Also, we're exhausted from the constant crises that draw parents' attention away from bigger issues, like fighting for adequate state education funding. And with the new neighborhood assignment planning process just starting up – and not likely be finalized for another couple years – the chaos is unlikely to end soon.
Slater said her family plans to stay in the public schools. But there's a catch. "We expect to be provided with a public school we're happy with," she said.
Nelson, too, plans to stick with Seattle schools. "Some of us want to stay the course. These are our tax dollars at work," she said. "We should be able to find and get what we want through our Seattle Public School system. We are determined to make that work."
Leadership at a Critical Time
Regardless of what happens next – opponents of the district's closure plan have said they'll sue if that's what it takes – Goodloe-Johnson will face big challenges as she leads the district through lean budget times while trying to put her strategic plan into action.
One of its main goals is strengthening public confidence in our schools. To that end, Goodloe-Johnson has defended the closure process, saying the district has worked to be transparent and collaborative, with staff listening and responding to community input. Meeting agendas, minutes and school data have been posted on the district's Web site, allowing the public to see what factors drive the closure decisions.
What will it take for the superintendent to reach that goal?
"She needs to come out to the schools and show us that she's part of the community," Slater said in an interview before the Jan. 29 vote. She gave School Board members some credit, saying they've been very involved with the impacted schools, while Goodloe-Johnson has not.
If she does more to get out into the community, families' confidence in the superintendent will improve, Slater said, "so that when she's making these decisions about our schools, it's based on what she knows about us. For the moment, we don't feel like she has any idea what she's talking about."
Based on what she's heard at community meetings, Nelson said parents don't have much confidence that Goodloe-Johnson is taking the district in the right direction. The only thing she can do, Nelson suggested, is "to really listen to what people are saying, and really think about the long-term effects of such drastic measures."
"Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson came into a Pandora's Box," Lyons said. "But I do believe she has it in her to make tough decisions, and not make them at the expense of our children."
How the District Can Restore Trust
What can the district do to restore families' confidence? "Wow," Lyons said, laughing after I asked her the question.
"(The loss of confidence) is not something that just happened over this last round of school closures. It was something that happened over a long period of time," said Lyons.
The district needs to show the public what it's doing at the administrative level. "How did we get into this position, and how are we not going to be in this position again in five years?" Lyons asked.
The worst thing, she said, would be if the district closes more schools in five or six years. "Let's figure out what we need to do so that we never have to go down this road again," Lyons said.
Slater comes at the trust issue from another angle: "The district needs to show that they, themselves, believe we have great schools. Right now, I don't see it." Slater, along with Nelson, believes the district should invest in some public relations, highlighting the wealth of programs in its schools.
Slater also wants to see the district pursue creative ways to deal with the budget shortfall. Her own idea? Recruit famous Seattle musicians to play a benefit concert for our schools.
Nelson takes the big-picture perspective: "Everyone needs to keep in mind the children, the students. They are the most impacted. Yet if the kids aren't happy, none of us are going to be happy. We need to prepare them for the world competition, yet we're still down here playing musical chairs with our schools. It's not moving us further ahead. In fact, it's moving us back."
I'll second that.
Denise Gonzalez-Walker is a Seattle freelance writer and mother of two children: one who's starting kindergarten and the other who enters sixth grade this coming fall.
