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Trends and Balance: The Proposal
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School Board approves plan to balance enrollment
Junior high, high school changes to be phased in over three years
At its Dec. 12, 2006, meeting, the Northshore School Board approved Option 2B (with three-year phasing)
to balance school enrollment and provide all students comparable access
to a high-quality education. The Board voted to address the enrollment
imbalance by changing boundaries for eight elementary schools and all
the junior highs and high schools in the district.
After spending the past several years gathering and studying data, the
Board unveiled a proposal in September to change school boundaries.
Over the past three months, based on input from district parents and
staff, adjustments were made to the original proposal.
Families affected by the changes will receive a personal letter notifying them about how they are affected.
Beginning next fall, elementary students affected by the changes will
attend a new elementary school and some of this year's sixth graders
will attend a junior high other than the one they expected to attend. Current
sixth graders who do not wish to attend the new junior high that serves
their neighborhood need to complete a waiver application through the
Office of Student Services.
Current junior high and high school students have the option of
remaining at their current school or transferring to the new school
that serves their neighborhood. Transportation will be provided for the
next three school years to junior high and high school students who
choose to remain at their current schools.
No
waiver is needed for any junior high or high school student who wishes
to remain at their current school during the next two years. Those
who want to attend the new school that serves their neighborhood should
contact their school registrar to make that transfer.
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Northshore is working to
balance enrollment among schools to ensure that all students receive
comparable access to a high-quality education. A proposal about how to
do that was presented to the School Board on Sept. 12.
The proposal includes boundary
adjustments that would change which elementary schools some students
attend and pathway adjustments that would change the junior high
schools to which some elementary schools feed. Any changes would take
effect with the start of the 2007-08 school year.
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The proposal to balance enrollment among our schools was developed over
the past two years, using the latest information available about
enrollment trends, housing patterns, and school capacities.
The proposal would potentially impact about 1,000 families (about 9
percent of the district’s total students), each of whom has received a
personal letter notifying them about how they would be affected and
inviting them to attend an informational open house.
The School Board will weigh all the implications, consider community
input, and then make a decision – expected in late November. Changes
would happen in the fall of 2007.
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Will It Affect My Family? |
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The School Board is currently gathering feedback on the proposal and
invites you to provide input. Open houses will provide the opportunity
for you to meet the principal and parent leaders of the new school that
your student(s) would attend. You will also be able to find out more
about the proposal and how your family would be affected, ask
questions, and provide comments.
Please plan to attend the open house where representatives are present
from the school that your student(s) would attend under the proposal.
The open-house format of the meetings means that you can stop by
anytime, 7-9 p.m.
Open House Schedule
Schools Represented: Kokanee Elementary, Leota Junior High, Woodinville High School
School Represented: Canyon Creek Elementary
Schools Represented: Timbercrest Junior High, Woodinville High School
Schools Represented: Frank Love Elementary, Shelton View
Elementary, Canyon Park Junior High
Read the Frequently Asked Questions
Sign up for automatic e-mail updates
Submit a question or comment
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School Board Criteria
Northshore's School Board approved guidelines that will help them
determine how to balance enrollment at schools throughout the district.
The criteria, adopted at the Board’s regular meeting on June 27,
provide a framework to evaluate the proposal that was presented to
the School Board on Sept. 12.
Provide equitable programs and services for students.
- Each school’s ability to offer a comprehensive academic program
- Comparable access to technology, nursing services, library, PE, and music
- Safe conditions on school grounds and at the beginning and end of school day
- Capacity for schools to respond to changing academic needs
Establish stable learning environments for students.
- Capacity to manage future growth
- Balanced secondary school enrollment among existing facilities
- Least disruption to families
Keep groups of students together as they progress through school.
- Consideration of natural geographic boundaries and neighborhood groupings
- Junior high students moving together to high school
- All kindergarten students attend their neighborhood school
Ensure fiscal responsibility.
- Efficient bus routes
- Maximal use of existing schools
- Minimal use of portable classrooms
- Deferral of cost of building a new school
Read the frequently-asked questions from last spring
Trends and Balance: The Challenge (PowerPoint presentation from spring 2006)
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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Posted October 8, 2006
How are the e-mails, letters and other written comments being provided to School Board members?
Since the proposal was presented to the School Board on
Sept. 12 we have received e-mails from about 250 individuals, more than
100 questions submitted during informational meetings, and about a
dozen comments and questions delivered via U.S. Mail.
These written comments are being provided word-for-word to each member
of the School Board. Hand-written input is being transcribed verbatim.
E-mails are being cut and pasted. The compiled document is sorted by
topic and by school so that Board members can easily see what are the
issues of concern and what schools are most concerned.
Board members receive updates approximately every two weeks or more frequently if needed.
Why can't I come to a School Board meeting to provide my input?
Well you certainly can come, but providing feedback in that
way does not allow for providing your input to the School Board in
writing. The written comments will be easy for School Board members to
review as they deliberate their decisions in the coming weeks.
The open houses, where written comments and questions are
collected, also provide a great opportunity to get questions answered
immediately, face-to-face with the people who know: principals, PTSA
leaders, district planners, transportation staff, and experts in
special education and student services.
Those not able to attend one of the remaining open houses
are encouraged to submit questions and comments via e-mail at
balance@nsd.org. To submit comments and questions via U.S. Mail, send
to:
Trends and Balance
Communications Dept.
Northshore School District
3330 Monte Villa Parkway
Bothell, WA 98021
What are the capacities of the junior high schools and high schools?
When considering secondary school capacity there are
several things to keep in mind: not all classrooms always have 30
students in them at any one time and the use of portables would change
the capacity of the school. The chart below describes capacity
according to how many students the building was designed to serve,
based on a 90-95 percent room usage rate.
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Capital Facilities
Plan school capacity
(based on room
utilization study
Oct. 2005)
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Current
Enrollment
(Oct. 2006)
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Projected
enrollment in
2010 w/o any
changes
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Projected
enrollment in
2011 with
proposed changes
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High School
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| Bothell |
1,654
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1,674
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1,750
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1,505
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| Inglemoor |
1,942
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1,955
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1,800
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1,429
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| Woodinville |
1,571
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1,321
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1,174
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1,544
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Junior High
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Canyon Park
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1,120
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829
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791
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803
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| Kenmore |
811
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760
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679
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741
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Leota
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912
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639
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620
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767
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| Northshore |
1,008
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900
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811
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740
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| Skyview |
1,056
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914
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1,122
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889
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Timbercrest
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972
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679 |
570
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858
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Posted September 12, 2006
If a student starts at a particular high school will they be allowed to graduate from that high school if the boundary changes?
Students who will be a junior or a senior in the 2007-2008 school
year, may continue at their current high school, although
transportation would no longer be provided. To stay at their current
high school, students do not need to do anything. If your student would
like to change schools to the new high school that serves your
neighborhood, please contact your current high school registrar to
handle that transfer.
Would district-wide programs change locations?
There are no plans to change the locations of district-wide programs like PACE, EAP, and IB.
What about special education programs?
Elementary students with special needs may attend a specifically
designed program. Junior-high and high-school students enrolled in
special education generally are able to find services matching their
needs at their neighborhood school. Students not attending their
neighborhood school for special education services will be notified by
the Special Education Department if a change is warranted.
What about students with current in-district waivers?
Students with current in-district waivers are asked to complete a
renewal/cancellation form by Feb. 1, 2007. That form will be mailed to
all students currently on in-district waivers once the Board has taken
action on the proposal in late November.
What about students who want to apply for an in-district waiver?
Northshore's waiver process will remain largely unchanged, except
waiver applications will be due by Feb. 1, 2007 - an earlier deadline
than in years past. Schools that are overcrowded may not have capacity
to accept all in-district waivers. If that happens, a school-wide
lottery would be held to fill the available seats.
What if my student is currently attending a Northshore school on an out-of-district waiver?
Since you reside outside the geographical boundaries of the Northshore
School District and want to continue your request to remain at a school
in the Northshore district, please confirm that you intend to continue
at that school in the 2007-2008 school year.
1. Complete a waiver application form obtained from
the school district in which you reside. That process is handled
through the administrative offices of that particular school district,
not the school. This must be done in person or by requesting that
a form be mailed to your home. Faxes or copies will not be
accepted by the Northshore School District and each student in the
family needs a separate application form.
2. Once you have completed the application form and
the Superintendent's designee from your resident district has signed
the release, you can hand carry the application to the Office of
Student Services located in the Northshore Administrative Center.
You may wish to have the resident district mail it to our office.
If the form is received without the releasing district's signature, it
will not be processed.
Remember that the parent/guardian is responsible for all transportation
to the school of choice for their son/daughter. Also, it is
important that families understand that an approved waiver places the
student at that site for at least one year.
Applications completed by Feb. 1, 2007 will be given early
consideration and notification will be sent by the end of April
regarding the acceptance or denial of the waiver. Please note that
enrollment projections dictate staffing patterns, master schedules, and
other school plans for the forthcoming year and are decided in early
spring. Therefore, applications received after February 1 may
depend upon capacity. It could be as late as August before a
determination can be made on your waiver request.
What criteria affect out-of-district waiver approvals?
As long as the school is not overcrowded and there are services
available that meet the student's needs, a waiver is normally approved.
Waiver approvals are contingent on establishing a favorable performance
record, including:
• Attendance - no truancy or excessive absences or tardiness
• Academics - successful progress throughout the school year
• Good Citizenship - following school/district rules and being respectful to self and others
Should any of these factors become an issue, your student may be placed
on probationary status by the school administration. The waiver
may be revoked by the Office of Student Services, which will result in
your student being returned to your resident district. These
factors will also be part of the review process for future requests.
How is athletic eligibility affected by in-district waivers?
According to the Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association
(WIAA), which governs high school sports in the state, student athletes
are eligible to play for a school that they waiver to with no
restrictions, as long as they begin the school year at that school.
Waivers become suspect when a player changes schools right before the
season begins.
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