Whittier Elementary will not be getting a fourth Kindergarten class next school year, but could get one additional homeroom for a different grade, if needed. The Seattle School Board is looking at options to ease overcrowding in the school district and one of the options included adding a fourth Kindergarten class – an option that was opposed by the PTA.

In a letter sent to parents on Tuesday, Pegi McEvoy the Assistant Superintendent for Operations for SPS writes,

Our preliminary enrollment projections indicate we may need to add one additional homeroom at Whittier next year. The additional homeroom would NOT be for a fourth kindergarten class – we are still planning for three kindergarten classes. The potential need for an additional homeroom is based primarily on enrollment distribution across the grades. If enrollment is not as high as anticipated, we will not add an additional homeroom. However, we need to be prepared in case this need arises . We are looking at options in the building, given the fact we cannot place a portable on the Whittier site.

The school board is voting tonight on the Short-Term Capacity Management and the New Student Assignment Plan: Transition Plan for 2012-13. The Board will not vote specifically on adding a new classroom at Whittier. Placement decisions – moving or adding a new program to a school – will be made by the Superintendent. If a new homeroom is added, it is unknown which grade would get the additional class.

“These decisions are made prior to open enrollment to ensure that families can review their options for the next school year,” the letter states. “The Superintendent seeks guidance for these decisions from staff and community groups, such as the Special Education Advisory and Advocacy Council (SEAAC) and the Advanced Learning Task Force to provide input to inform these decisions.”

According to the letter, no changes in the Spectrum program or the Phinney Neighborhood Association programs are being considered at this time.

Individuals can email suggestions to: programplacement@seattleschools.org.

The North Seattle French School is getting off the ground and will hold an informational open house from 1-3 p.m. Saturday at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., Room 2 in the Blue Building.

North Seattle French School is a new elementary school dedicated to bilingual education through excellent academics, creative learning and outdoor activities while promoting a rich multicultural environment.

The curriculum will be in both French and English with a strong majority in French.

NSFS is still finalizing its location, but it will most likely be in Phinney-Greenwood, Green Lake or Ballard. It plans to open in the fall.

According to the website, tuition will be $10,000 for the 2012-13 school year, and they plan to offer an after-school program for parents who need childcare. The first class will have around 15 students. The school plans to begin with one kindergarten-first grade class, then add a grade each year until it offers kindergarten through fifth grade.

If you’re interested in working as an unpaid volunteer, Seattle Public Schools needs community members for its new Advanced Learning Program Task Force.

The task force will consist of approximately 20 members including one or more district staff, principals, teachers, parents and community representatives. Late afternoon meetings will be held monthly beginning in late November at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence.

The task force’s primary purpose is to advise district staff as it develops facility recommendations that will support the delivery of services to advanced learners throughout the district. The recommendations will be used by the Seattle Public Schools Facilities and Capacity Management Advisory Committee, Superintendent and School Board. The task force’s work will include a review of Accelerated Progress Program (APP) and Spectrum enrollment patterns, key program elements, family interests, costs and decision-making factors regarding student enrollment in APP and Spectrum programs. Responsibilities will include participating in public meetings, reviewing descriptive data, and weighing the competing interests and constraints surrounding future services for APP and Spectrum.

The task force will meet at least once a month for two hours from November to June with the possibility of additional meetings as needed to provide timely information to the Facilities and Capacity Management Advisory Committee, Superintendent and School Board. District staff will facilitate the meetings. A typical meeting will include a staff presentation on a topic or issue to resolve, followed by dialogue and discussion by the task force members. Staff will review task force input to develop recommendations.

Seattle Public School parents, principals, teachers and community members with an interest in advanced learning programs are encouraged to apply. Interested individuals should submit background information and reasons for their interest via email with “Advanced Learning Task Force” in the subject line to: advlearn@seattleschools.org no later than Monday, Nov. 14.

A district administrative team will select task force members to represent of a cross section of the community and participation in the Accelerated Progress Program and Spectrum program. Task force members and those not selected will be notified via email or mail sent Nov. 15. The first meeting is scheduled for Nov. 21 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in Room 2765 of the John Stanford Center, 2445-3rd Ave. S.

By Meghan Walker

Nestled just above Carkeek Park, Viewlands Elementary is slowly coming back to life. Since its closure four years ago, the school has stood empty. But now, with a new principal at the helm, Viewlands is planning for its reopening in the fall.

Guiding the renovation and planning is Lisa Escobar, the new principal of the school. Escobar is a seasoned school principal; she comes to Viewlands with experience working in elementary, middle and high schools.

Escobar found out she would be taking over the K-5 at the end of March. Since then, she’s been busy working with a design team to give the school a face-lift. She says it’s a very exciting thing to start a new school.

“When you go into an existing school, it already has a culture, and then you work to shape it as a leader. But when you get to create that, it’s not something that happens very often, so I jumped at it,” Escobar said.

The school needs everything from new desks to books and even a new teaching staff. Escobar said the hiring process starts soon, with six positions to fill. She wants the school to have a focus on environmental science.

“We’re working with Carkeek Park and Piper Watershed. People are very eager to get involved,” Escobar explained.

Rain gardens are being planted, and conservation will be a strong theme in the school.

“There’s an idea for a culmination project in fifth grade, where they’ll look into their (carbon) footprint, and ways to neutralize that footprint on the environment,” Escobar said. “Its an incredible opportunity to create such a dynamic learning environment.”

When the school closed in 2007, nearly 200 students were relocated to other elementary schools. Escobar said she was surprised to learn the history of Viewlands.

“When it closed it was hard on the community. So, there are a lot of old wounds that need to be healed, and there are people who are excited about it coming back. It’s going to be redone and it will be beautiful when it’s done,” she said.

The school will start with 130 kids this fall, with the hope that within five years, 450 kids will be enrolled. In the meantime, Escobar is busy getting ready for the new students.

“You have to order everything from paper clips to laminators,” she said. “You just have to imagine you start with nothing.”

(Contributor Meghan Walker is an intern from the University of Washington School of Communications.

Phinney-Ridge-based Polly-Glots, which provides French, Spanish and Mandarin language classes for children, is celebrating the release of its educational French and Spanish CDs with a big party downtown next week.

Polly-Glots teacher Ines Andrade will perform in French and Spanish from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 24, at the Starbucks at 1600 E. Olive Way. The first half-hour will be French songs, and the second half-hour will be in Spanish. The event is free, but because space is limited, please RSVP to kim@polly-glots.com.

Each CD – The Polly-Glots Chantent and The Polly-Glots Cantan –  includes 30 kid-friendly songs about food, letters, numbers, animals and the body.

Polly-Glots will give away some T-shirts, CDs, and there’s a raffle for free tuition for Spring quarter. Classes are held at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, Twirl Café on Queen Anne, and North Kirkland Community Center, as well as student-only classes at Stevens and Highland Terrace elementary schools.

Polly-Glots founder and French instructor Tanya Knudsen lives with her family in Phinney Ridge.

If you plan to enroll your child in Seattle Public Schools and you didn’t register during Early Enrollment, then now is the time. Open Enrollment begins today and goes through April 15.

Current students and new students who pre-registered before Jan. 31 will receive their assignment in the mail in mid-March.

If the family wants the assignment noted in the March letter, no other action is needed. If the family wants to apply for a different attendance area school or an Option school, they may do so during the Open Enrollment period. Families who apply during Open Enrollment will receive their assignment at the end of May.

Families enrolling students for the 2011-12 school year may visit the Enrollment website at http://district.seattleschools.org/enrollment for forms and detailed information. Families may also contact an Enrollment Facilitator at the Service Center at the John Stanford Center, 2445 3rd Ave. S. (3rd and Lander). Telephone: (206) 252-0010 or fax: (206) 252-0761. There is also a Recorded Information Line: (206) 252-0410. Registration and application materials may be mailed, faxed or submitted in person. Mailing address is: Seattle Public Schools, SPS Service Center, MS 11-174, P.O. Box 34165, Seattle, WA 98124-1165.

Interpreters are available at the Service Center for families needing assistance in a language other than English. Office hours are 8:30 a.m Ephesus. to 4 p.m.

To be eligible for kindergarten for the 2011-12 school year, children must be 5 years of age by August 31, 2011. Documents required for new students include: proof of the child’s birth date (through Grade 1), photo I.D. of the parent/guardian, two additional documents for proof of address, and immunization records. An Admission Form and Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS) form are also required.

Current students wishing to change schools must submit a School Choice Form, which will be available online March 15. If the student’s address has changed, an Admission Form and two address verification documents are also required.

All school choice forms received during Open Enrollment are processed together after Open Enrollment ends on April 15. There is no advantage to submitting forms earlier or later during the Open Enrollment period. The first few days and the last few days of Open Enrollment are the busiest. To avoid long lines, families are encouraged to consider this when planning their visit to the enrollment center.

Current students may drop off School Choice Forms in our 24-hour drop box in the JSCEE parking lot at 3^rd and Lander. Forms must be filled out completely and signed to be accepted. The drop-off box is only for school choice forms for current students who already have a school assignment but would like to apply for a different school. New students must submit enrollment materials either in person, by fax or email.

You can also talk to enrollment staff in person at several libraries and community centers over the next two weeks. The nearest ones to our neighborhood are: Ballard Library, March 17; Green Lake Library, March 21; Queen Anne Library, March 29, Broadview Library, March 31. All enrollment visits are from 5:30-7 p.m.

Seattle Public Schools is holding a series of community meetings about proposed changes to its Transportation Plan for the 2011-12 school year.

The first meeting is from 7-8:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at Aki Kurose Middle School, 3928 S. Graham St.

The second meeting is from 6:30-8 p.m. next Thursday, Feb. 3, at Hamilton International Middle School, 1610 N. 41st. The third meeting is from 6:30-8 p.m. Wed., Feb. 8, at Chief Sealth International High School, 2600 SW Thistle.

The proposed Transportation Plan changes would save the district $4 million by creating new Transportation Zones for bus routes for attendance area elementary and K-8 schools.

The proposed changes would benefit students and families by decreasing the bus ride time for attendance area schools to 25 minutes or less. As routes will be shorter, buses are less likely to encounter the traffic delays that occur on longer routes, so families will find departure and arrival times to be more reliable. The plan also benefits the environment by taking about 80 buses off the roads and reducing the district’s carbon footprint.

Children within the transportation zone and outside of walk zones would be eligible for district-provided transportation. Transportation Zones would include the entire attendance area of a school, extending to areas within a 1.25-mile radius from the school and within the middle school service area. Existing walk zones to schools would still apply.

Bus transportation for middle schools, high schools, option schools, English Language Learners, Special Education and Advanced Learning would have minimal changes.

In addition to the new zones, some schools’ bell times would change, with some high schools and middle schools starting 10 minutes earlier and elementary schools starting five minutes later.

The School Board is scheduled to vote on the proposed plan at its Feb. 16 meeting. Opportunities to comment during public testimony are available at the February 2 and February 16 board meetings. For information about signing up for public testimony, visit the School Board website at http://www.seattleschools.org/area/board/publictestimony.pdf.

Seattle Public Schools will continue its Early Enrollment through Jan. 31 for students entering kindergarten this September, or for any new student entering school next fall.

If you file your early enrollment forms by Jan. 31, you’ll get your initial school assignment letter in March. If you miss early enrollment, you can still enroll your child during Open Enrollment, which begins March 15.

Assignment letters will confirm continuing assignments or provide notification of new assignments for 2011-12. These are initial assignments, and nothing further is required if the family wishes to keep the initial assignment. If a student wishes to attend a school other than the school listed in the initial assignment letter, then they need to submit a choice application during Open Enrollment.

Fall 2011-2012 will be the second year of the District’s New Student Assignment Plan, which assigns students to an attendance area school based on residential address. Any student new to Seattle Public Schools this fall will initially be assigned to their attendance area school. If the family is satisfied with that assignment, no further action is needed. However, families have the option, during open enrollment (March 15-31, 2011), to apply to attend an option school or another attendance area school. All applications received during open enrollment will be processed together and final assignments will be mailed before the last day of this school year.

It’s also school tour time. Click here to see the list of elementary schools for the Whitman Middle School attendance area: Adams, Broadview-Thomson, Daniel Bagley, Greenwood, Loyal Heights, North Beach, Northgate, Salmon Bay, Viewlands and Whittier.

If you don’t know your attendance area school, plug your address in here.

North Seattle Fives Cooperative School on Phinney Ridge is holding two open houses for the 2011-12 school year, from 7-8 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 24, and from 2-3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5th. Children are welcome.

North Seattle Fives rents two classrooms inside St. John United Lutheran Church, 5515 Phinney Ave. N., across from Woodland Park Zoo.

North Seattle Fives is designed to meet the needs of children who are too young for kindergarten or who would benefit from another year before starting kindergarten. The classroom, located across the street from Woodland Park Zoo, is designed to provide a stimulating, hands-on environment for the children and includes specific learning areas such as: Blocks/Construction, Art, Dramatic Play, Science Investigation, Math, Puzzles and Games, Music, Movement, Outdoor Play and many other special projects. In addition to a vibrant, busy, engaging classroom, the children are taken on many field trips each year!

Now that the Seattle School District is going back to a neighborhood school plan, the School Board and Seattle City Council are teaming up to explain to parents the basics of planning for local schools.

The “Healthy neighborhoods, healthy schools” planning primer is from 6-8 p.m. tonight at Eckstein Middle School, 3003 NE 75th St, Seattle 98115.

Have you ever wondered what role urban planning plays in neighborhood and student success? Or, to what extent governments – like the city and the school district – plan and collaborate to anticipate growth in neighborhoods?

Join Councilmember Sally J. Clark, School Board Member Peter Maier and other members of the Seattle City Council and the Seattle School Board for a special community meeting intended to demystify regional, local and school district planning for quality neighborhoods and schools.

This special meeting will include a “Planning 101” primer explaining how neighborhoods, the City and the region anticipate, prepare and respond to growing and changing populations, followed by questions from the audience for planning staff, councilmembers and school board directors.

Council meetings are cablecast live on Seattle Channel 21 and Webcast live on the City Council’s website.

Phinney resident Angela Blemker teaches kindergarten at Green Lake School, and her mantra is “teach dirty,” as in getting your hands dirty in the great outdoors.

(Photo courtesy of Angela Blemker.)

Starting April 11, Blemker will take her educational philosophy to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for an educator fellowship.

Blemker will use satellite and Internet technology to connect “Live from the Field” to her classroom and community. Blemker will join Earthwatch Institute’s Mammals of Nova Scotia expedition for two weeks as a member of a research team consisting of scientists and volunteers determined to collect data and answer the most pressing issues related to climate change.

Blemker is looking forward to bringing all that she has learned back to her classroom. “I aim to teach my students through experiences and this is the perfect opportunity to take them on an International field trip without having to apply for passports.“ Children and adults are invited to follow her adventure on her expedition blog.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles is seeking middle and high school students to apply for a week-long Senate page position in her office during the 60-day Legislative session scheduled to begin Jan. 11.

The Washington State Legislature has one of the finest page programs in the country. The program provides an opportunity for hundreds of Washington’s students to take part in the legislative process and observe the Legislature and other branches of state government in action.

During their assigned week, pages attend classes in the page school designed to teach students about state government and the legislative process. They also listen to guest speakers, tour the buildings on the Capitol Campus and learn how to draft bills.

Pages also provide invaluable services to legislators and staff by relaying documents across the Capitol Campus, responding to requests from senators at work in the Senate chamber and presenting the flag during floor sessions.

If accepted, students attend a two-hour orientation the Sunday afternoon before their assigned week. Pages work Monday through Friday, beginning at 7:45 a.m. and usually ending at 5 p.m. (Pages work Saturday or Sunday only if the Senate decides to hold session those days.) The Senate also offers students assistance in finding host homes. Pages are paid $35 for each day worked.

To serve as a page, a student must: be at least 14 years old but not older than 16; have a grade point average of a C+ or better; receive parent and school permission; and have a Social Security number.

To receive a page application, contact Sen. Kohl-Welles’ district office at (206) 281-6854.