Tag Archives: cleveland hs

Health and Safety, Local Events

Community Safety Fair at Cleveland High School, January 10

Steve Louie at the Department of Neighborhoods writes,

The Department of Neighborhoods, Seattle Police Department, Seattle Public Schools, and the Greater Duwamish District Council are hosting a Community Safety Fair for the Beacon Hill community on Saturday, January 10, 2009 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Cleveland High School (5511 15th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98108). This event is free to the public.

The Community Safety Fair will provide community members with tools to affect positive change in their communities. This is not a forum for people to vent and take no action.

The “Community Safety Fair” will offer break-out sessions on three topics: the 911 system; emergency preparedness & home security; and, finally, dealing with neighborhood nuisance concerns (property laws and problem-solving).

City Departments will also have staffed resource booths for community information.

For more information, please call Steve Louie, Greater Duwamish Neighborhood District Coordinator (Department Of Neighborhoods) at 206-233-2044 or 206-396-0200 (C) or e-mail steve.louie@seattle.gov.

Attached is the flyer for the event in translated languages. If you know of someone who is non-English speaking and know would be interested in attending the event, please pass this along. Interpretation services will be available. Please let me know at least 5 days in advance what language is needed. Thanks, Steve

Education

School closure plan changes yet again: Rainier Beach/Cleveland merger off the table, for now

Photo by Claudia Snell.
Photo by Claudia Snell.
Seattle school superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson has announced another revised slate of recommendations for school closures and program relocations.

The recently proposed merger between Rainier Beach and Cleveland high schools is apparently off the table again. (Amber Campbell at the Rainier Valley Post posts a possible reason why: the potential gang violence, according to several unnamed Seattle Police Department South Precinct sources, would have been significant.) Instead, one potential option is to close Aki Kurose Middle School, moving those students to Rainier Beach, which would then have a 6-12 comprehensive performing arts program. Another involves discontinuing the Center School program and moving its students from Seattle Center to Rainier Beach.

The African-American Academy is still scheduled for closure, with students from Van Asselt to move into that building.

Continue reading School closure plan changes yet again: Rainier Beach/Cleveland merger off the table, for now →

Education

School closures and unintended consequences

The P-I has a follow-up article on the proposed Rainier Beach/Cleveland high school merger and the response of the community:

“The possible merger is troubling for some South Seattle parents, who say their schools are disproportionately targeted in the plan, and that disputes between rival gangs at the high schools could escalate with the change. They also wonder about class size at Cleveland and the fate of Rainier Beach’s powerhouse athletics.”

The Times has additional background on Rainier Beach, and a comparison chart between the two schools. The article mentions that “District staff members say they continue to evaluate the feasibility of combining the two schools, and haven’t ruled out moving Cleveland to Rainier Beach instead of the other way around.” Cleveland’s building was completely remodeled last year for $68 million.

Also on the school closure topic, former School Board member and Seattle Times reporter Dick Lilly suggests in a Crosscut editorial that closing schools such as Van Asselt that serve low-income families may drive those low-income families — in many cases, renters who are more easily able to pack up and move — out of the city.

Education

School closure plans revised: Rainier Beach may merge with Cleveland

Just one week after Seattle Public Schools’ controversial proposals to close buildings and relocate programs, the plans have been changed. At a School Board meeting last night, Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson announced new proposals for consideration, including merging Rainier Beach High School into Beacon Hill’s Cleveland High School, eliminating Summit K-12 entirely, or moving students from several programs into the RBHS building, including Aki Kurose Middle School and displaced middle school-aged kids from three other programs on the chopping block: Meany Middle School, the African-American Academy, and Summit. (Here is the superintendent’s slide show of the recommendations, and this blog post discusses School Board reactions to the presentation.)

These changes would save the district an estimated $3.6 million, but with the district’s expected budget gap up to $37.1 million — $13 million higher than previously estimated — it seems there will be a long way to go.

Blogger Sable Verity suggests that the RBHS closure was always a given:

“This is all a part of the ORIGINAL, mostly UNDOCUMENTED South East Initiative. That planned called for RBHS to merge with Aki, to become a performing arts academy. Problem is, the district didn’t want to front the money and actually invest, they wanted someone else to come in and set up shop. Problem is, after the TAF debacle, folks were leery (’cept the brave and righteous souls at Broadway Bound) of doing business with SPS.

“Can’t say that I blame them.”

Community workshops to discuss the proposals are scheduled for tonight 6:30 – 8:30 pm at District headquarters in Sodo, 2445 Third Avenue South, and this Saturday, December 6, 9:30 – 11:30 am, at the Filipino Community Center, 5740 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South. A hearing about the previously announced Van Asselt building closure proposal is December 15, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Van Asselt Elementary, 7201 Beacon Avenue South. Stay tuned to this SPD page for updates on added hearings and forums.

Comments may also be emailed to capacity@seattleschools.org or snail-mailed to: School Board, P.O. Box 34165, MS 11-010, Seattle, WA 98124-1165.

Education, Local Events

African-American student achievement topic of meeting tonight at Cleveland HS

A town hall meeting about African-American student achievement will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 pm this evening at the Cleveland High School auditorium, 5511 15th Avenue South.

The Seattle Times reports that “a task force formed to study the African-American achievement gap wants to hear from parents, students, educators and other community members about their experiences and hopes for the education of African-American students.”

This is a state-wide task force, which will also hold town hall meetings in Spokane and Tacoma later this month, before making recommendations to the Legislature in December. For information, call Janet Hayakawa at 360-725-6503.

Local Events, Neighborhood Pride

Cleveland students create mural

Correction:The original post had the correct date, but incorrect day.

The Rainier Valley Post reports that Cleveland High School students are currently involved in a project to design and create a 9 x 31 foot mural for the school’s entryway, with help from SEED’s Public Art Program and Urban Artworks. You can see the mural and celebrate the achievement at a community celebration of the completed work on Saturday Thursday, November 20, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm at Cleveland. More information, including photos, at the Rainier Valley Post.

Getting Around

Cleveland students dodge drivers daily

The Rainier Valley Post has an article about the pedestrian-unfriendly situation around Cleveland High School, where narrow sidewalks, a lack of crosswalks, and speeding cars make the walk to and from the bus stop less than safe.

The “Critical Crossings” site mentioned (but not linked-to) in their article is available here. Thanks for forwarding this link, Ezra!

Despite the blog’s name, the Post has a fair amount of Beacon Hill coverage; if you want to go directly to those posts, go here.