West Seattle, Washington
08 Tuesday
On the 14th anniversary of the day when millions were shaken to learn Seattle grunge-rock megastar Kurt Cobain had ended years of substance abuse by committing suicide, an earnest group gathered tonight at South Seattle Community College in hopes of strategizing how to save today’s young people from getting anywhere near that kind of lethal low point. You probably heard about the anti-underage-drinking town-hall meeting ahead of time; organizer Renae Gaines from Madison Middle School worked hard to get the word out.Read More
Carol Viger, one of the parents who helped organize this weekend’s successful West Seattle High School Grad Night car wash fundraiser (WSB coverage here), sent this to us today to share — a heartfelt tale she titled “Miracle on California Avenue.” For the thousands of volunteers who make the wheels of West Seattle (and so many other communities) turn — this one’s for you … and for everyone who doubted whether joining the volunteer ranks would truly make a difference:
In a secular (public) school miracles happen. Maybe it was the recent Christmas-like snowfall that spurred this realization.
I’m talking about genuine acts of faith and spirituality, and they have for years. We might think that public school is fueled by public servants and funds; a non-religious environment where overt acts of faith are scorned. However, when you stop to think about the acts of faith that happen every day in public school, it is encouraging and heartwarming, and this article intends to acknowledge what is amazing about our community, and especially about our public West Seattle High School, which we should be proud of.
It is a miracle that parents step forward to volunteer in public school. As parents, our kids, and circumstances wear us out often, and yet some of us volunteer for activities that require more energy. Is this insanity? It is not, contrary to one’s first thought. What happens when parents step out the door to volunteer, in this case in public school, is that they discover that their efforts towards the greater good catch fire. It can take a daunting amount of starter fluid and in the beginning a disappointing amount of matches, but when the fire takes hold everyone enjoys the flame and the satisfaction is multiplied due to the mutual benefit reaped by everyone. Along the way, others learn how to build the fire. It is perhaps relevant that the current “Seeds of Compassion†event is being planned in Seattle. We can learn to be good volunteers, to enjoy it and to teach it to our children, much as the current research regarding compassion is proving that the brain is plastic and we can continue to develop and optimize our abilities throughout our life.
The miracles at WSHS are numerous; it is a miracle that any auction happens at a public school. In the last several years I have lost count how many I have attended, but the last few at WSHS have been impressive. The amount of work that goes into them, not to mention the commitment of the people who attend, is inexplicable from the standpoint of a consumer. How does it all comes together seemingly flawlessly, year after year, not to mention the Staff Appreciation Day? The countless hours the numerous good staff basically donate as volunteers outside of their contract, simply because they believe in kids (God Bless Ms Jewell, Ms. Sugden, Ms. Berenter, and so many others!) And then there is Grad Night…yet another miracle.
Many years ago, an individual organized a celebration that would be safe and sane for high school seniors on graduation night. His volunteer effort caught fire and became an occupation, and is now a popular professionally planned and common occurrence among high schools. However, the volunteer flame is still being nurtured, as to make the event affordable for all public school students requires much volunteer and financial support in a public school.
In the case of West Seattle High School, four years ago a group of parents embarked on the first organized “Grad Night,†and bravely plunged forward. This being the fourth year, again a (new) group of parents signed the contracts, proceeding on faith that somehow, some way, they would figure out how to organize for more than 100 kids, the funds would be raised, the students would come, parents would volunteer as well as the students, lives might be saved and memories made. Lending proof to the “Build It and They Will Come†tenant of faith, the amazing WSHS PTSA once again stood behind them, on a limb albeit, but with smiling faces and encouragement. Talk about faith…the PTSA runs the church.
So, the Grad Night Committee just held their second car wash fundraiser April 5th. Again, proceeding on faith that the endeavor would get volunteers (they did! The students were amazing; single working moms, and dads were out there for all they were worth!), and that they would get support (they did! Starbucks‘ 35th drive-through provided coffee and cocoa, and generous bakery donations were given with goodwill from The Original Bakery, Little Rae’s, Salvadorean Bakery, and PCC, which kept the volunteers going and helped us raise probably an additional $350). The community at large was present in the 34th Democratic Caucus and was promising heartily to support Grad Night at Barnes and Noble on the coming weekend’s book fair. At the end of the event, exhausted, one mom volunteer’s last patrons drove up and were about to be informed the car wash ended long ago, when the patrons donated handsomely, committed to chaperoning at the event, and even promising a sponsorship to Grad Night..
It will be interesting to see how the membership of the famous and historically notable WS Alumni membership fares in future years in correlation to Grad Night engagement with our recent four years of graduates. And will they be volunteers? My money is on them.
If you haven’t been a volunteer before, or haven’t volunteered recently, maybe you should reconsider. It really is a lot more enjoyable than watching “America’s Next Top Modelâ€, and it certainly is a real slice of life. Don’t underestimate yourself. Volunteer…somewhere. If it’s for Grad Night, you could be saving a life. You likely will never know, but it will be good leadership on your part, appreciated and more than likely, a lot of fun satisfaction. If you don’t think you are good enough, just hang around the amazing principal at WSHS, Bruce Bivins for a while. You will be convinced that you, and all of us, can do more, and be better individuals than we think we can. If you live in West Seattle you shouldn’t miss out on the rare opportunity to work with a good leader, because the flame is irresistible.
That’s how one parent volunteer describes the feeling now that construction of Gatewood Elementary‘s playground project is getting closer, after 3-plus years of hard work. What you see above was part of that hard work — the well-attended “Kids for Kids” event featuring ivy-munching goats (WSB video coverage here) last October. The next step in the work comes this Wednesday night — a community meeting at 6:30 pm in the Gatewood cafeteria. White says, “The purpose of this meeting is to make final decisions on the new play structure! We are now down to picking individual elements that will make up the toy, colors, extra features, etc. so that we can get our order placed and get this project done!” He also points out that not only has this resulted from endless hours of volunteer work but also from a $90,000 grant from the city Department of Neighborhoods and a $30,000 grant from the county Parks Department. So it’s truly a community project — even if you don’t have a child at Gatewood, the playground is a neighborhood resource/attraction, so you’re welcome to be there Wednesday night and have a say. (See the Gatewood site master plan here.)
This new P-I story is a good – if scary – preview of the anti-youth-drinking town-hall event tomorrow night at South Seattle Community College, coordinated by Madison Middle School‘s Renae Gaines, who says the event is an “opportunity to come together to learn more about the new research on underage drinking and its impact on both individuals and the community, and to discuss how our community can implement the recommendations in The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to prevent underage alcohol use.” That’s 6 pm tomorrow @ SSCC. (More helpful info here at the Start Talking Before They Start Drinking site.)
Seattle Public Library managers just announced that eight teams of fourth- and fifth-graders citywide have made it to the finals of the 2008 Global Reading Challenge, an event set for 7 pm April 22 at the downtown library. Among those eight teams are the “Flaming Reader Raiders” of Highland Park Elementary School and the “Concord Cougars” from Concord Elementary. Here’s the full announcement:Read More
One month after the Seattle School Board‘s vote to move Denny Middle School into a new building on the Chief Sealth High School campus (WSB video coverage here), an official challenge to the decision is filed. We just got a copy; it’s filed in the name of 12 individuals and one union (Operating Engineers). The legal documents say the individuals are concerned about “property values, crime, and other effects” of the move, as well as the safety of a 6-12 campus; the union, which represents classified school workers, says it’s concerned about job loss. The filing also contends, among other things, that the decision was made without “following the procedural requirements for citizen involvement required by the school closure statute.” This is filed in King County Superior Court. We will pursue district comment tomorrow.
A few days into the “Inconvenient Ride” cross-country bicycle trip starring six West Seattle students calling attention to climate change (WSB video preview here), updates are starting to appear on their website, with photos added to the gallery here and media coverage added here. Their stops are listed here (Atlanta tonight); they’re due back in Seattle on Earth Day, April 22, with the final leg of their trip taking them from West Seattle to the “Global to Local” Project Earth Care fundraiser at Benaroya downtown.
We told you yesterday about an exchange at the City Council Pedestrian Safety Committee meeting regarding school-crossing safety concerns at 34th/Morgan in High Point (as we documented in this video report in January). During that meeting yesterday, an SDOT manager vowed his staff would visit the intersection “by the end of the day.” So did they? He didn’t answer us directly but apparently forwarded the inquiry to SDOT spokesperson Marybeth Turner, who e-mailed us this evening:
We did send staff out to 34th and Morgan yesterday. School was out so not much was happening at the time. We will address the parking issues and will coordinate with the school district when classes resume.
We had also left a message asking about an SDOT crew that Ken reported (in comments here) he had spotted a block away; didn’t get an answer on that, will try again.
You won’t see many “school zone” lights this morning — it’s Spring Break for all Seattle Public Schools and some private schools. Speaking of SPS, families are starting to get fall assignment letters; for those seeking info about any WS school, an upgrade is in progress for our West Seattle Schools page – each public elementary listing now has a link to archived WSB coverage of that school. (We’ll add the same feature for the other schools later today.)
Though Seattle Public Schools leadership has decided to sell off a handful of former schools, including the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (whose tenants are working to buy it; here’s WSB in-depth coverage of last Wednesday’s meeting), 
SPS confirms it’s keeping mothballed Fairmount Park Elementary (map) as “inventory.” (Photo at left was taken as crews moved items out after it closed at the end of last school year.) Other ex-schools in West Seattle that are NOT on the market include Louisa Boren Junior High, which will become the new temporary home of Chief Sealth High School starting this fall, and E.C. Hughes, which is the current (temporary) home of South Lake alternative high school. (Our list of all currently operating public and private schools in West Seattle is here.)
While away from the keyboard for a few hours tonight, we received two notes (thank you!) that Lafayette Elementary fifth-grade teacher Catherine Bloom was honored today as the STAR 101.5 “Teacher of the Week”; checking their website, it appears to be a new program they just started this month. (Disclosure: As we mention on our “about” page, Mrs. Bloom is one of the fabulous people who taught and helped the Junior Member of the WSB Team in his Lafayette days.) This is her last year, so what a great time for a well-deserved honor — congratulations, Mrs. Bloom!
That video shows West Seattle mom Antje Staudt and her kids crossing busy 16th SW at Myrtle (map), on their way to Sanislo Elementary a couple blocks west. The intersection used to have a guard – one who not only protected kids crossing the street, but made news here January 10th for helping a young crime victim. Now, that guard is fighting serious illness, and parents and pedestrian advocates say they have been told the city doesn’t plan to replace her this year. It’s the latest in the crossing-guard crisis we first told you about in this January report – and safety advocates want to make sure it’s addressed when the City Council’s Pedestrian Safety Committee hears from citizens next Tuesday – though they recommend other courses of action too:Read More
This city news release today announced middle-school students from around the city chosen for the Mayor’s Scholar Awards; they had to write essays about how they contribute to their communities, and about what they would do with the $500 prize — here are the winners from West Seattle schools:
Mia Kaiser-Nielsen, Pathfinder K-8, 6th grade
Princess-Nyosha McWilliams, Pathfinder K-8, 8th grade
Adriana Tabile, Madison Middle School, 6th grade
Miranda Taylor, Denny Middle School, 8th grade
Amleset Tesfamariam, Madison Middle School, 8th grade
They and the other winners from around the city will be honored with a reception May 29. Meantime, reminder – if you’re ever looking for a comprehensive list of West Seattle schools, public and private, we have one with weblinks, addresses, and maplinks, on this page; we also have a section of the WSB Forums set aside for school-related discussion.
That’s Sydney Fuller, a Gatewood Elementary student who’s about to join 5 Chief Sealth High School students – and some adult chaperones – on the bicycle ride of a lifetime. Under the title “An Inconvenient Ride,” they’re going to spend three weeks bicycling across the country (here’s their route) as an “environmental-awareness project,” returning home for a triumphant arrival on Earth Day — April 22nd — at a Benaroya Hall benefit for Project Earth Care, in which students from the schools already have been cooperating:Read More
Two announcements to share with you – one for a new Spanish-language preschool, another for a new tutoring service that addresses attention-span issues as well as conventional tutoring and ESL work – full details ahead:Read More
Starting at 4 pm, Endolyne Joe’s in Fauntleroy donates part of tonight’s proceeds to the Denny Middle School music program (featured here with video during its first-ever midwinter-break camp). Choir and band performances are promised, to serenade you during supper!
Some West Seattle private schools have this week off – Our Lady of Guadalupe and Holy Rosary, for example – but Seattle Public Schools‘ spring break isn’t till next week.
First, that’s a quick bit of video from tonight’s Chief Sealth Mariachi and Honor Choir fundraiser, the annual tamale dinner at which diners were serenaded by the student musicians; you can hear the CSHS mariachis in our clip. Find out more about Chief Sealth’s music program at its website.
Second, almost a month after the Denny/Sealth shared-campus vote, the School Design Team meetings — which are open to the public — are starting up again next week, 3 pm Tuesday at CSHS. Organizers say the next meeting will include a project update and “discussion of next steps.”
Thanks to Arbor Heights Elementary School teacher Mark Ahlness for these photos from last night’s Art Fair and Auction (silent-auction participants shown below) — he says it was an “incredible success”! More fundraisers are on our Events page (including tomorrow night’s Chief Sealth Tamale Dinner for music $).
Sanislo Elementary – tucked into a wooded corner along Myrtle a few blocks east of Delridge – bills itself as “the small school with big ideas.” Tonight was the night their librarian Maryann Horsley‘s big idea for “West Seattle Reads” (previous coverage here) took flight as kids picked up free books – with a kite theme – and watched a kite expert show them some fun creations:
The goal is to get as many West Seattle kids as possible reading these two books (“The Emperor and the Kite†by Jane Yolen and Ed Young for younger kids, “The Kite Fighters†by Linda Sue Park and Eung Won Park for older kids) and then joining in two discussions at local libraries in a few weeks:
The discussions are April 14 at Delridge Library and April 15 at Southwest Library. Then “West Seattle Reads” wraps up with a kite celebration at Sanislo on April 27. And if you couldn’t go last night – you can still get the free books and join in “West Seattle Reads” — e-mail Maryann Horsley (click here).
One of West Seattle’s smallest elementary schools has a big event for all West Seattle families this week: Sanislo Elementary (16th/Myrtle; map) is one of just a few schools to win a “One Book, One Community” state grant, thanks to the successful proposal sent in by Sanislo librarian Maryann Horsley. Your part in this starts 6:30-7:30 pm Wednesday, when you’re invited to Sanislo for 
the kickoff of “West Seattle Reads” — including free books! Kites are the theme, appropriately enough for this time of year. Two books will be offered — a picture book for kindergarteners through 3rd graders, “The Emperor and the Kite” by Jane Yolen and Ed Young, 
and a chapter book for older kids, “The Kite Fighters” by Linda Sue Park and Eung Won Park. The school says the Drachen Foundation is also providing a temporary installation of Drachen kites. (Besides free books, kite-making kits will be distributed during Wednesday night’s event.) As a followup to Wednesday, discussions about these books are planned at local libraries including Delridge (7 pm 4/14) and Southwest (7 pm 4/15) library branches, and then a community kite celebration at Sanislo is set for April 27th.
When we interviewed Chief Sealth High School principal John Boyd two weeks ago, that sign and others were displayed prominently around campus, and there was even a countdown clock on the Sealth home page. Now, for CSHS and West Seattle HS and other high schools, the countdown’s over and the big test is here – reading/writing this week, math/science in April. The testing window for lower grades starts in mid-April.
At its first meeting after the big Denny/Sealth vote, the Seattle School Board has something else of West Seattle (and beyond) interest on next Wednesday’s agenda: Changes in its policy on how to deal with what the district now considers “surplus properties” no longer being used as schools. 
The Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (1951 photo @ left), home to Fauntleroy Children’s Center among other businesses/facilities, is now on that list, and many people have been working hard to figure out how to keep the district changes from resulting in dramatic neighborhood changes. The proposed new policy is now posted online as part of the Wednesday school-board agenda (find it here), spelling out details such as the plan to end the renting of these properties at “below-market” rates and a multiyear transition in certain cases to the full charging of the new rent, while also making some provision for reduced rates at sites like this that are home to “youth education” programs. The new districtwide policy is scheduled for introduction this Wednesday and a final vote two weeks later; as always, the district takes sign-ups for public comment (on any topic, not just what’s on the agenda) starting first thing Monday morning – the online agenda explains how to sign up. Also, the Fauntleroy Community Association is scheduled to discuss the situation at its Tuesday meeting, one day before the school-board meeting; its webpage about the schoolhouse effort, including last April’s gathering, is here; West Seattle State Senator Joe McDermott briefly outlined the situation here – but of the bills he mentioned, neither one appears on this list of bills that survived the most recent cutoff before the Legislature ends its regular session this week.)
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