School assignment map changes could impact Ballard

Geeky Swedes Ballard

Changes are being considered for the Seattle Public Schools student assignment map and one option would have a big impact on Ballard.  When the new attendance boundaries were drawn up, Garfield High School’s enrollment soared.  Now, the school district is trying to relieve some of that overcrowding by tweaking the map.

Under one scenario (areas E and F of the pdf), students currently assigned to Garfield who live in parts of South Lake Union, Belltown, and downtown would be reassigned to Ballard High.  In turn, the 228 middle and high school students currently living in the Ballard High attendance area north of NW 80th St would be reassigned to Ingraham High School. 

A Seattle Schools spokesperson tells us there are a lot of different options being considered and things are far from being finalized. 

“We’re gathering feedback from our families on what they’re thinking and what they want to see,” said Teresa Wippel.

A public meeting on the proposed changes will be held Monday, November 22 at Ingraham High from 6:30 to 8 p.m.  The school board will approve the final changes in January. (Thank you Kara and Patty for the emails!)

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

55 thoughts to “School assignment map changes could impact Ballard”

  1. Scenario F? Really, this again? There are quite a number of students (including mine), who live in Area F. These are students whose parents, more than likely, plan on sending their kids to Ballard HS. Once again, it’s a ridiculous proposition. Who thinks of these things, and most appropropriately, why? This is the sort of myoptic mentality that invites the continous criticism of the Board members and the schools chief. It would be pure folly to follow such a horrific path.

  2. Given all the residential growth in the South Lake Union area I wonder if anyone is thinking about building new schools to service that area. Kind of doubt since that would require long term thinking which is something people in Seattle seem to have a real problem with (witness the monorail fiasco) and spending tax money (people here seem to think everything should be free).

    I’m sure all the people in Area F are now screaming bloody murder. Of course I’m sure these same people were silent when it was the kids north of 85th getting reassigned! Not so fun when it happens to you, is it?

    I could care less either way. Neither Ingraham nor BHS seem to be very good. I remember seeing an article on this site where BHS was awarded for getting the passing rate on the science portion of the WASL up to 53%. The WASL isn’t exactly a demanding test and 53% on any test would earn you a failing grade. I wouldn’t send my kid to either school.

  3. When the new attendance boundaries were drawn up, Garfield High School’s enrollment soared.

    Only because the people who made the decisions REFUSED TO LISTEN to all the folks who knew darned well this would happen. They’re trying to pit parents against one another as usual, get everyone all worked up, and then push through whatever their real agenda is (probably trying to split APP at the high school level, which they protested so much they would never do ever, oh no, the boundary would fix everything so that we wouldn’t have to). I am so sick of getting manipulated and jerked around.

    For what it’s worth, I don’t think they’re actually going to move the Ballard boundary line (though they’ve certainly done things just as dumb in the past, so I’m not ruling it out). My sense is that it’s something thrown in to make everyone upset and pit different parent groups against each other.

  4. Seems a little odd to move 90 student from Ballard to Ingraham to allow 52 students from downtown to come in. I suppose that’s because they expect more growth in the downtown core?

  5. What we really need is charter schools. Then kids that live in Ballard can actually go to a school in Ballard. High schools in Queen Anne and Magnolia get sold off and Ballard residents are paying for it.

  7. This city just cracks me up!!!! This isn’t rocket science. What kind of people can’t look at all the available data and projections to figure this out. Obviously it is above the intellectual abilities of those currently responsible. So get someone that can! This really isn’t that complicated. And leave it to seattle to add thousands of residential units to an area without attention to details..like…SCHOOLS!! Hysterical. But then again seattle reduces off street parking requirements for developers and builders (forcing cars onto already packed streets and to get residents to give up their cars!!!LOL), start then stop then start then stop the monorail, There is the whole viaduct saga. Certainly is entertaining. My friends that live in other large cities love my stories of Seattle operations. Fire the morons currently in charge of this boundary issue. They are either hopelessly under qualified or just pulling shenanigans for nefarious purposes. It is seattle so I have no idea which to bet on.. Maybe the new boundaries will bring more football prospects. Thanks for the chuckles seatle.

  8. Thanks Josh, for bringing up the sales of school facilities when the population data CLEARLY shows that the temporary decline of students was ONLY going to be temporary. Seems everyone EXCEPT the school board new that student populations would be rising within 5-10 years. WTF? Who are these people? The urban density plans and the residential development plan for SLU and Belltown have been on the boards for 15 years. Everyone knew those areas would see massive residential increases. Along with the increase in numbers for the other neighborhoods. The ridiculous short sightedness possessed to close Queen anne facilities given ALL of the data was shocking. Yet this stuff is standard seattle operating procedure. Hysterical.

  9. How would charter schools help? We still wouldn’t have any more BUILDINGS over near Queen Anne and Magnolia. If any Gates/Broad Foundation folks are listening (hah) and want to know what kind of problem Seattle has that COULD be solved by throwing money at it, here’s my idea: rebuild Queen Anne High. That one feat would do so much for Seattle schools. There would be big old ripple effects — good ones, for once. I hear there’s a depression and real estate prices are down, plus construction workers are hurting and would probably bid a little lower than they would ten years ago.

    I know, I know — pipe dream, you couldn’t get the contiguous land over there — but still. (The district does actually own some land in Interbay, but I don’t know if it’s a workable building site.)

  12. I’ll be fighting to keep Area F in Ballard, just like I fought to keep the people north of 85th in Ballard in the last go-round. It’s pitchforks and torches time!

  13. Just sayin, there’s a gigantic parking lot over in Interbay with nothing but school buses on it. Not to mention the National Guard armory. Either of those spaces would fit a high school. No money to build it, though.

  15. Same for me – I fought then and will continue to fight now. I live in Area F too. It ridiculous to put kids living as far south as Jefferson St in BHS and kids who live a few blocks away somewhere else. Soon the actual school will be located in another school’s district. Sheesh.

  18. One of the proposals on the table (in addition to Area F) is to send Garfield kids to Franklin and more Franklin kids to Rainier Beach. Another one is to send some Garfield kids to Roosevelt. At least that one wouldn’t be too controversial.

  21. Well, the real problem is that Rainier Beach has about 450 kids in a building that can hold 1500 or so. The capacity problem is that very few people want to go to that school. There’s plenty of building space available, even if it’s not exactly where we might like it to be. That’s why a new high school is off the table.

  22. The data and studies are already available from sources much more thorough, smarter and trustworthy than the school board folks. Do not let them spend money to do their own duplicate research. That system has shown it’s shortcomings so many times already. Learn from it.

  24. And we want government running our health care? Really? Too bad there isn’t more competition driving things instead of beaurocracy. As in common sense. But todays kids are apparently tools. They’ll be 1/2 educated tools though!

  25. is ballard hs over crowded right now? might there be room to absorb the 30 or 60 kids from south lake union without sending more neighbor kids to ingraham?

  26. Hey norwegian- Don’t confuse the unbridled, unscrupulous greed and criminality of the health insurance companies collusion for anything righteous. Maybe you should get some common sense. Wait, didn’t you go to ballard high too?

  27. Ahhh…thinking of the good ol’ days…when you could actually go to the school you lived near and was often the whole reason your family moved there.

  28. For what it’s worth, yes the city is considering asking SPS to use property vacated after the Mercer Corridor Project (a teardrop-shaped piece of land currently on Broad St) for a new school. We’re talking about at least a decade out though.

  30. Oh, interesting. Do you have a source on this? Of course, if it’s ten years out, that’s just enough time to have the economy really get going and have prices through the roof again. Buy high, sell low, that’s our district every time.

  31. Moving students – School District play-time.
    Per the School Report just public, Ballard High has 1,632 students and Garfield High has 1,642. So lets just move students. Oh, who cares about the effect it will have on the students, we love the pay for designing new areas!

    Come on, will the Superintendent and the School Board get back to thinking of students and their education? School has been in session for 11 weeks and they are once again drawing lines!!!

  34. Maybe the best solution is to send the kids of the most left wing parents in Seattle to Rainier Beach?

    Think about it, the lunatic left has spent the last 40 years ruining Seattle Public Schools with their failed social experiments plus they all hate the new assignment plan (“It’s segregation”). So, let them send their kids to Rainier Beach? I mean, they’d be happy with that solution wouldn’t they?

  35. Maybe the best solution is to send the kids of the most left wing parents in Seattle to Rainier Beach?

    Think about it, the lunatic left has spent the last 40 years ruining Seattle Public Schools with their failed social experiments plus they all hate the new assignment plan (“It’s segregation”). So, let them send their kids to Rainier Beach? I mean, they’d be happy with that solution wouldn’t they?

  37. Charlie Mas for one. Meg Diaz. People who can actually read and think and work with numbers and stuff like that. I will say Kay Smith-Blum has been a welcome surprise; I didn’t originally support her but she’s been doing a very good job.

  38. I don’t understand why they don’t immediately get started on opening/ building a new high school that will serve the kids from Queen Anne and Magnolia.

    Aren’t there any facilities or buildings owned by the Seattle Public Schools in Magnolia? There must be. This boundary re-drawing is getting ridiculous.

  39. Well, that’s just rude. Imagine though, if you you lived just 6 blocks from Ballard High School and were told that, no, your kids will have to be bused 4+ miles to Ingraham. That’s really not fair, considering this whole new “plan” was to have kids living in an area go to the nearest school.

    (I’m not even close to the Ballard HS boundaries, but I do have sympathy for the folks who are right on the boundary.

    Why doesn’t the Seattle School district start giving some serious thought to opening a new high school in the Magnolia/QA/S.Lake Union area. It only makes sense.

  40. So because I live 5 houses north of 80th my kid would have to drive for 30 minutes to school instead of walking 15 minutes? Seriously? We live .7 of a mile from Ballard high for god’s sake!

  44. “What kind of people can’t look at all the available data and projections to figure this out. ”

    The same people who can’t figure out that you need more than a 2 lane bridge to connect Seattle to the East Side. The same people who can’t figure out that the population keeps increasing but the land for roads is fixed and don’t spend money on transit. The same people who still can’t figure out what to do about the viaduct. Let’s face it, people in Seattle can’t think more than 30 seconds into the future.

  45. “What kind of people can’t look at all the available data and projections to figure this out. ”

    The same people who can’t figure out that you need more than a 2 lane bridge to connect Seattle to the East Side. The same people who can’t figure out that the population keeps increasing but the land for roads is fixed and don’t spend money on transit. The same people who still can’t figure out what to do about the viaduct. Let’s face it, people in Seattle can’t think more than 30 seconds into the future.

  46. Are you also opposed to fire departments being government run? If not, why not?

    Fire departments are little more than a socialized medical service. The vast majority of calls the FD respond to are medical related, not fire related. Also keep in mind that fire departments used to be privately run. They stopped doing that after a few cities nearly burned to the ground.

    Also the free market health care system we have today is failing. Our infant mortality rate is worse than Cuba (and that’s according to our own CIA – hardly a leftist group!)

    Why don’t we also privatize police protection. We should also close the public libraries. If you can’t pay for a book then screw you, right? We should also privatize the parks system. Finally, let’s not forget the roads. Our government run system is a mess – just look at all the potholes. I’m sure a private company could do a much better and cheaper job of maintaining the streets. Finally, let’s privatize the biggest chunk of the Federal budget: the military. LOTS of cost savings there.

  47. Our school board has been irresponsible for the past 20 years. They have tested fads, closed schools, remodeled schools and bussed kids around. It has resulted in lower test scores, higher drop out rates, larger class sizes and overworked teachers.
    Cut out the special programs. Focus on the basics. Bring back neighborhood schools. Open up Lincoln High School to accommodate the increased population.
    We need to support school levys (even if our kids go to private schools). Better schools mean better neighborhoods.

  48. I have a freshman at Ingraham this year and with low expectations, have been very pleasantly surprised about the Ingraham pre-IB program. The principal is customer service orientated, the staff is working hard and my kid said she loves high school and is getting straight A’s, different then she did at middle school. Other kids I run into who graduated with some IB (International Baccelaureate) classes did very well at college. I think Ingraham will be good for us.

  49. Rainier Beach has 500 students! Why move students by bus from Lake Union area to Ballard and Ballard students to Ingraham? Bus the Lake Union area students to RB! Less bussing needed which means $$$$.

  53. There is an OLD SCHOOL that has been abandoned in the center of Magnolia. Squatters were living in it mostly, but why cant they simply remodel it and get it going again?

    Also, I heard Ingraham is kind of sketch. Lots of Jenkem huffing over there. I know a kid who used to go there and told me all about the Jenkem abuse that was on the rise.

  55. So how come all the leftists aren’t lining up and insisting their kids go to Rainier HS? If these same loony leftists insisted on busing everyone else’s around town for 30+ years to achieve ‘equality’ and ‘diversity’, and now believe the new assignment plan is ‘segregation’, why aren’t all these white, uber-liberals volunteering to send their kids to Rainier HS?

    You’d think they’d be clamoring to get into Rainier High School; unless they’re all effing hypocrites. The silence is deafening.

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