Schools-closure plan draws shock, anger

A committee's proposal for reorganizing Seattle Public Schools has generated concern within school communities and across socioeconomic boundaries.

The Community Advisory Committee on School Facilities and Programs recommends closing 12 school buildings — eliminating nine schools entirely, relocating five programs and merging two schools.

The proposal has drawn fire for targeting poor and racially mixed schools. On Friday, the president of the Seattle-King County chapter of the NAACP called the closure list "a direct attack on black schools and the poor. We plan to take direct action and also bring this to the attention of the national NAACP," said Sheley Secrest.

At Sacajawea Elementary School, a mostly white, relatively affluent school in Northeast Seattle, parents and teachers were surprised by the news that their school may close. On Thursday, the day after the committee announced its list, two principals from nearby schools showed up at Sacajawea for what they called "moral support."

Sacajawea parents and teachers spoke of a close-knit community in which the principal and teachers know the first names of all 280 students, and where parents have raised thousands of dollars for school programs.

That's why this is so painful, said Dail Bridges, mother of a third-grader. "This is a very thoughtful school. I was shocked and angry when I heard," she said.

Hers was a sentiment shared elsewhere.

Community meetings


Seattle school closures: Beginning today, the Community Advisory Committee on School Facilities and Programs will hold five meetings on its preliminary recommendations before submitting a final list to Superintendent Raj Manhas May 30. All meetings are from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Today: 3:30-5:30 p.m., Madison Middle School, 3429 45th Ave. S.W.

Monday: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Aki Kurose Middle School, 3928 S. Graham St.

Tuesday: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Meany Middle School, 301 21st Ave. E.

Wednesday: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Hamilton International Middle School, 1610 N. 41st St.

Thursday: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Aki Kurose, for the bilingual community.

"Not time to give up"

Debbie Leonard, a parent at Graham Hill Elementary School, had only three words to describe her reaction that her school was on the list.

"Absolutely, completely shocked," said Leonard, 41.

Leonard has three kids at the school, and a husband who teaches there. The more than 100 PTA members would have mobilized, she said, if they thought the school was at risk.

But WASL scores in reading and writing were above most neighboring schools, she said. And Graham Hill has so many special features, she said, from a "powerful writers" program to a popular Montessori school.

The school's PTA is gearing up now for the meetings to come. Leonard spent Thursday coloring a poster of school support with her kids. They've already asked the question: Where would we go if the school closes down?

"It's not time to give up yet," she told them.

Forgetting the "vision"

Leonard Quatrella, a teacher at John Marshall alternative school, was not surprised to see his school on the list. But he was certainly discouraged.

Seattle prides itself on being enlightened and liberal, he said — dedicated to doing good for all kids, regardless of color or class or ability.

"But when the going gets tough, and it comes down to the bottom line of money, then everyone seems to forget that was the vision," said Quatrella, 49, who has taught in alternative schools for the past 27 years.

John Marshall caters to some of the city's most vulnerable kids, he said, from teenage parents to students on probation. The school provides four different programs, and is open from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.

Over the years, its building in the Green Lake neighborhood has been renovated to meet students' needs with features like a child care and parent-training center.

It's unclear what will happen to the John Marshall program.

Last year, the district proposed it move to Wilson-Pacific, a multi-purpose building near Aurora Avenue (this year, the committee has proposed Summit K-12 move there). School officials argued it was not a safe area for kids trying to stay out of trouble.

Quatrella is concerned about how a move would affect the students who see school as the only stable thing in their lives. The staff will do what it can, he said, to protest the committee's decision.

"There isn't really anyone to speak up for these kids," Quatrella said.

"We're done"

Last year, Mike Moore, a volunteer at Martin Luther King Elementary School, spent a lot of time in meetings, trying to keep the school open.

"Yelled, screamed, shouted, hollered," he said.

This year, when the school made the closure list again, Moore said he felt resigned to the whole thing.

Enrollment is dropping, he said, and programs are being scaled back. "There's no fight to fight," said Moore, 67, who lives in Edmonds. "We're done."

Moore started as a volunteer at MLK two years ago, inspired by an article he read on the school. He has worked with parents, the community and the principal, helping out where he can.

When the announcement came down, he said, staff seemed mostly disappointed. But they saw it coming. The main concern now is what to do with the name, he said. "Martin Luther King" is hard to let go.

At least on Thursday, the school closing was not on kids' minds. Moore took all 115 of them on a field trip to Emerald Downs. They met the jockeys. They watched the races. They learned about the sport.

After all the fighting over who moves where, and when, Moore recalled thinking to himself: "This is what it's really all about."