The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) released its final recommendation on Tuesday and Sacajawea is still on their bloody closure list. Although I was forewarned about this by some of our PTA leaders, I was still pretty shocked. It is so inconceivable to me that anyone would decide to close such a great school. By all measures, Sacajawea stands out as a success; a beautiful example of what elementary education should look like. As I examine the criteria surrounding this decision and the simple fact that there doesn’t appear to be any space for my kids at the other nearby schools, I really think that the CAC may have hidden agendas.
Our home is located about a mile from three elementary schools: Bryant, Wedgwood, and Sacajawea. So when I started looking at schools, I focused on these. I found I did not like the environment at Wedgwood for many reasons, the main one being that there seems to be a large discrepancy between the Spectrum program and the regular program. The building lacks warmth and the parents and students I know from that school do not seem to feel the same sort of passion and commitment that we experience at Sacajawea on a daily basis.
Bryant is slick and impressive and all the parents I’ve met from the school are pleasant, well educated types who look like they enjoy tennis. Bryant seems like it would be an acceptable place for my kids to go to school. Acceptable, but not exceptional. Not special. Not great or amazing or lovely. Really none of the words I regularly use to describe my experience at Sacajawea would apply. And I have heard this sentiment straight from the mouths of Bryant parents.
The CAC would like you to believe that Sacajawea test scores are low. They have made claims that our bilingual students are scoring lower than other ELL students in the area. I would like to point out that Sac is the only school in this area that is a designated ELL(English Language Learner) site and that at the CAC town meeting for bilingual families held last week, the category for “OTHER” languages represented at the meeting i.e. those obscure enough not to have an interpreter provided, was made up entirely of Sacajawea families. It seems possible to me that one reason the scores have appeared this way is because we are serving ELL families that other north end schools are not equipped to serve. Over 20% of our school population is made up of ELL kids or kids who require special education. Perhaps our scores reflect our inclusiveness. In every room that my children have been in, there have been multiple students who arrived in class speaking little or no English. In Kindergarten, my daughter’s uncooperative behavior was turned around overnight when she became a sort of self-appointed mentor for the new girl who had just arrived from Mongolia. It is clear that our children are learning to accept and value other cultures, as well as mastering basic reading, writing and ‘rithmetic.
The CAC proposes that dismantling our amazing program, which serves 309 students and installing it into the Olympic Hills building, which currently houses about 100 fewer students would minimize student disruption. I fail to understand this logic. Olympic Hills is described on the Seattle Schools website as a declining school. It is far away from my home. It seems preposterous to believe that we could take our community there. In reality, we would be lucky to get a fraction of our students to make that change. Would our principal be there? Our teachers? I don’t think so. It simply won’t work and it is a weak and pathetic suggestion.
I realize that there are no simple answers here, but you cannot avoid the obvious truth in this situation. Sacajawea is a highly successful school. Our program is praised by many unrelated community members and passers-by. People are blown away by our dedication and excitement when we tell them about our kids’ school, our school. This is a place where educators choose to send their children. Regardless of a less than perfect building, it is a safe comfortable place where my kids have beautiful, nurturing AND educational experiences every day.
The recommendations of the CAC are starting to feel very personal … and we are getting pissed. This battle is just beginning!