The ribbon cutting at the made over Fairmount Park Elementary School on Sept. 2 was attended by interim Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland, King County Executive Dow Constantine, State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, Executive Board member Tania de Sa Campos, Marty McLaren, Seattle School Board District 6. Following the ribbon cutting visitors toured the school and kids (and adults) enjoyed ice cream.

The school is located at 3800 SW Findlay Street.

Earlier in the day Dr. Nyland made a speech at Jane Addams Middle School and outlined his priorities and provided a look ahead.

“I’m thrilled to return to the district where I received my education, especially at this exciting time of student population growth, curriculum alignment, and positive increases in student achievement,” Dr. Nyland said. “I look forward to continuing the district’s good work on implementing the goals of the Strategic Plan.”

SPS’s five-year Strategic Plan outlines three specific goals: Ensure educational excellence and equity for every student, improve systems districtwide to support academic outcomes and meet students’ needs, and strengthen school, family and community engagement.

Dr. Nyland also outlined news happening around the district this year.

The district is currently experiencing an increase of about 1,000 students a year. In response, and thanks to Seattle Voters, who passed the 2013 Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) capital levy, the district is opening two schools this school year, Jane Addams Middle School and Fairmount Park Elementary, and beginning construction on several additional sites.

This year the district will also complete implementation of the next generation of state learning standards (Common Core Standards) as well as a new K-5 new math curriculum. Additionally, the district will transition from the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) tests for reading, writing and math in grades 3-8 to the Smarter Balanced tests, which are designed to align with the Common Core Standards.