Since the program started in 1992, the alternative education program Pathfinder has operated in inadequate facilities. Nonetheless the school, which is founded on Native American values, has steadily grown to include nearly 400 students in nine grade levels.

Now, while the school district addresses a $24 million deficit in its 2009 budget, it has recommended that a West Seattle school close to provide more adequate facilities for the neighborhood's only alternative education program.

District to evaluate Cooper

After receiving significant comments from community members the Seattle School District has decided to consider closing Cooper to provide a new home for Pathfinder .

Superintendent of Seattle Schools Marie Goodloe-Johnson recommended on Nov. 25, among other changes throughout the district, to close Arbor Heights elementary program so that Pathfinder might move into the building. Immediately, school board member Steve Sundquist questioned whether Cooper Elementary School might be a more appropriate facility for the program.

The Cooper building, located at 1901 Southwest Genesee Street, was built in 1999 and has been rated 96 out of 100 for building condition.

Cooper is also relatively close to Pathfinder's current location, the Genesee Hill building. The district estimates that 15 percent of Pathfinder's students currently reside in Cooper's reference area.

But Jennifer Giomi, president of Pathfinder's Parent, Teacher and Student Association, says that proximity to the alternative school's current location might not make too much difference to the program. As she explained, Pathfinder draws students from all over West Seattle. While Cooper is more centrally located in the neighborhood, students at Pathfinder have typically been bused to the alternative school anyway.

The district may also consider closing Cooper based on community opinion of its academic program. Out of seven elementary schools in West Seattle, Cooper Elementary School has the second lowest percentage of incoming students who selected the program as their first choice, at just 22 percent. It also has the second highest percentage of students who transfer out of the school each year, at 14 percent.

Arbor Heights defends their program

Since Arbor Heights found out their school's future was in jeopardy, members of the community have come together to protest the proposed closure. Co-Presidents of the Parent, Teacher and Student Association Suzette Riley and Eric Iwamoto compiled specific information on their program to show the School Board that Arbor Heights is a model for the kind of neighborhood school that the district is striving for.

It has been estimated that 52 percent of the student body at Arbor Heights live in the school's reference area, and 90 percent live in the West Seattle South cluster. More than half of the student population lives within walking distance of the school, according to Iwamoto. He also estimates that to bus the 174 Arbor Heights students who currently do not require transportation, would cost the school district an additional $191,400 each year.

Members of the Arbor Heights community have also questioned why the district considered closing a program as successful as theirs. The other three schools recommended to close are currently failing under No Child Left Behind, but Arbor Heights has a level 1 academic program, the highest ranking available.

During the 2007-2008 school year more than 62 percent of incoming kindergarteners at Arbor Heights selected the school as their first choice, second highest among all West Seattle elementary schools.

Other alternatives for Pathfinder

Cooper has not been the only alternative suggested by Arbor Heights. After compiling data, the community also recommended the district consider Roxhill and West Seattle Elementary as more appropriate facilities for Pathfinder.

Like Cooper, West Seattle Elementary is relatively close to Pathfinder's current location. In fact, 150 of Pathfinder's current students live in West Seattle's reference area. Iwamoto has estimated that eliminating the need to bus those students would save the school district $165,000. Still, in exchange, the district would likely have to pay transportation costs for the 36.1 percent of West Seattle Elementary students currently living in their reference area to attend other schools.

The West Seattle building, formerly known as High Point Elementary, is also in good condition. Built in 1988, it has been ranked 80 out of 100 by the School district.

Meanwhile West Seattle Elementary does have the third lowest percentage of incoming kindergarteners who selected the program as their first choice out of all the neighborhood's elementary schools. They also have a relatively high turnover rate of 13 percent of students who transfer out of the school each year.

The Roxhill building would likely be a less attractive alternative from the perspective of Pathfinder. Built in 1958, the district has ranked the facilities at 63.3-an improvement over Genesee Hill which scores 46.61, but still below most school buildings in West Seattle.

But Roxhill does not fit the model of a neighborhood school like Arbor Heights, with the fewest students coming from its own reference area. Roxhill also has the lowest percentage of incoming students who selected the school as their first choice and the largest percentage of students who transfer out each year.

Pathfinder's ten year search for a new building

While the academic program at Pathfinder has thrived, it has never been housed in an ideal facility.

"People love the school but can't imagine putting their kindergarteners in our building," said Giomi.

The school started as a K-5 in 1992 as a co-located school at Roxhill Elementary, and moved to the Louisa Boren building where it was co-located with Cooper Elementary the following year.

In 1994 Pathfinder moved into Genesee Hill, a building that had been vacant for years. Although it was considered one of West Seattle's worst school buildings, staff and parents worked together to improve the facility by painting and completing other small projects.

Four years later the Seattle School district asked Pathfinder to consider expanding to include middle school students as well. While staff and families argued against the change, the school district mandated it the following year, providing only $7000 in support and making no changes to update the building.

In the Spring of 2005, when the district announced plans to close schools throughout the district it was recommended that Cooper Elementary close so that Pathfinder might move into the building. The district withdrew the proposal after outcry from the community.

Later, in 2006 a Citizen's Advisory Committee formed to readdress school closure throughout the district. In a preliminary recommendation the committee suggested that High Point Elementary, now West Seattle Elementary, close so that Pathfinder might move into the building. But when Superintendent Raj Manhas' recommendation was released in June it was suggested that Pathfinder move to the Louisa Boren building and co-locate with several other programs. Members of the Pathfinder community rejected this proposal, believing that the facilities at Boren would been even less appropriate for a K-8 school than Genesee Hill was.

In the fall of 2006 the district recommended that Pathfinder merge with Cooper Elementary in the Cooper building, effectively modifying their program. The proposal was rejected by Pathfinder, who did not wish to change their academic program.

As parents at Pathfinder are presented once again with the possibility of a new home, the opportunity seems bittersweet.

"Any move that enhances our ability to attract families (to our program) is good," said Giomi. "But every time a recommendation comes up we're causing pain in another community."