Bellevue is growing and its schools are no exception. In recent years, the Bellevue School District has been the fastest growing school district in King County. The District has been closely monitoring crowding in several schools (Clyde Hill, Chinook and Newport) and you can see short-term solutions below which were developed in November of 2010 for those schools.
March 2012
The District Technical Team and Facilitator Dick Withycombe joined the School Board for a study session on the Boundary Review Process. Information presented to the Board covered the problem statement and committee charge, as well as Technical Team accomplishments to date and next steps. Click here to listen to the complete presentation and view the slide deck.
The application time period for the citizen-based Boundary Review Committee has been extended to April 6. Applications are due by 4:00 pm April 6, 2012. The Boundary Review Committee (made up of two parents and a principal or assistant principal from each school with geographic boundaries) is charged with developing a district-wide boundary recommendation to forward to the Superintendent for implementation in the 2013-2014 school year. To learn more about the Boundary Review process, and access the application form, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page
February 2012
The application time period for the citizen-based Boundary Review Committee will open on February 27 and close on March 16. The Boundary Review Committee (made up of two parents and a principal or assistant principal from each school with geographic boundaries) is charged with developing a district-wide boundary recommendation to forward to the Superintendent for implementation in the 2013-2014 school year. Applications will be posted on the web site on February 27. To learn more about the Boundary Review process, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
December 2011
District staff is starting work to prepare for Boundary Review. The process to review boundaries of all schools in the district is expected to take 18 months or more. A Boundary Review Committee comprised of parents and principals will be formed to develop a district-wide school boundary recommendation to send to the Superintendent. The District has identified staff members to form a district technical team. That team will identify what information may be needed to develop a springboard proposal to present to the citizen committee to consider for use as a starting point. A tentative timeline would launch applications for the citizens-based Boundary Review Committee in spring 2012 with committee meetings potentially starting in late summer of 2012.
November 2011
To address long-term growth, the District has started to discuss what a process might look like and how the community can be engaged to help develop a plan based on community values. The District has been working with consultant Dr. Dick Withycombe to discuss a process. Dr. Withycombe has worked successfully on boundary review processes with a number of nearby districts including Issaquah, Lake Washington, Northshore, Kent, Everett, Snohomish, and Bremerton. The following are the approved minutes of a November 1, 2011 Study Session with the School Board and the PowerPoint presentation that was presented.
Board Study Session Minutes 11 01 11 Approved.pdf
Board School Assignment Plan Presentation 11011 .pdf
In November 2010, the District and School Board developed short-term solutions to relieve crowding for the 2010-2011 schoolyear at the three schools that assume recent enrollment increases continue. The proposed solutions are:
- Clyde Hill would be helped by adding a classroom using already existing space currently occupied by an Early Learning program, which would move to Medina Elementary where existing classrooms spaces would be more efficiently used to house current programs.
- Chinook would be relieved by adding two portables, which the City of Clyde Hill has generously allowed to help the situation. Chinook starts construction on a rebuild project in the 2012-2013 school year.
- Newport High would be helped by adding at least two portables.
- All of these solutions are only short term and predicated on consistent enrollment.
Parents should continue to check the school district web site for any updates as well as be in contact with their school principal.
Meanwhile, the District is planning for the long-term assuming that enrollments continue to climb. As part of that planning, the District hired a demographer to look at population and growth trends. Click on the links below to view a video of the demographer’s presentation to the school board, or read the written report.