To gather further public input from families, Seattle Public Schools has expanded the schedule of community meetings to review proposed attendance area boundary maps that, if adopted, will play a significant role in where students will attend public school in Seattle.  

In West Seattle

Thursday, Oct. 15 - 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
West Seattle High School ~ 3000 California Ave. S.W.

Friday, Oct. 16 - 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Denny Middle School ~ 8402 30th Ave. S.W.

The updated schedule adds opportunities in the central, northeast, and southwest parts of Seattle. 

The proposed maps will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at a work session of the Seattle School Board to be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the John Stanford Center auditorium.  

After reviewing comments, the district will formally introduce recommended boundary maps—including any revisions—at the School Board meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The School Board will vote on the recommended boundary maps on Nov. 18.

“We want families to have plenty of opportunities to hear more about the plan, understand how it works, and to learn about the data-driven process we used to create attendance area boundaries,” said Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson. “We welcome the input of all families and will have interpretation services available at the public meetings on our schedule to ensure that all voices are heard.” 

From a press release from the Seattle School District:

Predictable assignment

The general idea behind the new student assignment plan is that students will receive an initial assignment to an attendance area elementary, middle, or high school. This assignment will be based on their address. A student can choose to apply to a school outside their attendance area; that assignment will be based on a series of tiebreakers. 

If a student is currently enrolled at a school outside their attendance area, they can stay at that school through its highest grade under a process called “grandfathering," as long as the services the students need are available at that school. 

The new plan will be implemented in phases, beginning in the 2010-11 school year; the assignment rules for the current 2009-10 school year will remain the same. 

New attendance areas  
If adopted by the School Board, the new attendance area boundaries will replace a set of school reference areas that haven’t been updated in decades, no longer reflect city demographics, and do not accurately address the capacity of the district’s facilities, according to district officials.
 
By comparison, the development of the new attendance boundaries has been a data-driven process, one designed to reflect demographic shifts and building capacity more accurately—as well as provide greater assignment predictability while preserving choice options. 

Meetings are scheduled elsewhere as follows:

Tuesday, Oct. 6 - 4 p.m.
John Stanford Center Auditorium ~ 2445 3rd Ave. S.

Saturday, Oct. 10 - 10 a.m. to noon
Eckstein Middle School ~ 3003 N.E. 75th St.

Saturday, Oct. 10 - 2 p.mm. to 4 p.m.
Washington Middle School ~ 2101 S. Jackson

Monday, Oct. 12 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
McClure Middle School ~ 1915 1st Ave. W.

Tuesday, Oct. 13 - 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Aki Kurose Middle School ~ 3928 S. Graham St.

Wednesday, Oct. 14 - 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Ballard High School ~ 1418 N.W. 65th St.

Saturday, Oct. 17 - 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Mercer Middle School ~ 1600 S. Columbian Way

Tuesday, Nov. 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
John Stanford Center Auditorium, 2445 3rd Ave. S.

Wednesday, Nov. 4 - to 6 p.m.
John Stanford Center Auditorium, 2445 3rd Ave. S.

Thursday, Nov. 5 - 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Roosevelt High School ~ 1410 N.E. 66th St.

Saturday, Nov. 7 - 10 a.m. to noon
Rainier Beach High School ~ 8815 Seward Park Ave. S.

Monday, Nov. 9 - 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
John Stanford Center Auditorium, 2445 3rd Ave. S.

Wednesday, Nov. 18 - 6 p.m.
John Stanford Center Auditorium, 2445 3rd Ave. S.

Families who cannot attend the meetings can submit comments via e-mail to newassign@seattleschools.org and by postal mail to Seattle School Board,
P.O. Box 34165, MS 11-010, Seattle, WA, 98124-1165.

They can also visit the recently refreshed new student assignment plan Web site at http://www.seattleschools.org/area/newassign/