Highland Community Forum – October 26

Date: October 26, 2023

Forum Participants: 140

Summary

A note to the reader: This summary is intended to provide an overview of the consistent themes that came from the small group conversations at the forum. It is not exhaustive, but rather gives highlights of the feedback and responses. See below for the full set of combined notes from the meeting.

Responses to Question 1: What aspects of the middle school experience are most important to you/your student?

The participants at Highland were aligned around many themes in their responses. These included:

• Community
  • Students feel welcome and a sense of belonging.
  • Proximity to home.
  • Cultural identity.
• Teacher quality and student/adult relationships
  • Teachers work hard to support students.
  • Student / teacher relationships matter.
  • School psychologist provides supports.
  • Longevity of teachers is important for quality and relationships.
  • Keep class sizes small.
• Access to the clinic
  • Provides important health services.
  • Creates wrap-around support.
• Safety
  • Make sure there are enough adults to keep kids safe.
  • Larger middle schools could impact safety.
  • Improve safety.
• Diversity, equity and inclusion
  • Pride in the diversity at Highland.
  • Students feel a sense of belonging.
  • Diverse needs and diverse talents.
  • Closing Highland is not equitable.
  • More equitable access to programs, services and supports.
• Access to support and accelerated programs
  • Dual language.
  • Advanced learning.
  • Social emotional supports.
• Feeling “othered” for being a Title 1 school
  • Parents won’t send their kids to Highland because it’s a Title school.
  • People think it’s unsafe at Highland because it’s a Title School.
  • People look down on Highland because it’s a Title school.

Responses to Question 2: If we were to consolidate one middle school, what priorities or factors do you think we should consider?

The participants at Highland were aligned around many themes in their responses. These included:

• Students feel welcome and a sense of belonging.
• Proximity to home.
• Cultural identity.
• Teacher quality and student / adult relationships.
  • Teachers work hard to support students.
  • Student / teacher relationships matter.
  • School psychologist provides supports.
  • Longevity of teachers is important for quality and relationships.
  • Keep class sizes small.
• Access to the clinic.
  • Provides important health services.
  • Creates wrap-around support.
  • Make sure there are enough adults to keep kids safe.
  • Larger middle schools could impact safety.
  • Improve safety.
• Diversity, equity and inclusion.
  • Pride in the diversity at Highland.
  • Students feel a sense of belonging.
  • Diverse needs and diverse talents.
  • Closing Highland is not equitable.
  • More equitable access to programs, services and supports.
• Access to support and accelerated programs.
  • Dual language.
  • Advanced learning.
  • Social emotional supports.
• Feeling “othered” for being a Title 1 school.
  • Parents won’t send their kids to Highland because it’s a Title school.
  • People think it’s unsafe at Highland because it’s a Title School.
  • People look down on Highland because it’s a Title school.

Responses to Question 3: What questions do you have?

There were a large number of questions from participants. A full list of the questions can be found in the combined notes below. Many of the questions fell into the following categories:

• What will happen to special programs?
  • Dual language
  • Advanced Learning
• Are choice schools part of this decision-making?
• What are other districts doing and can we partner?
• Can we delay this decision?
• What are other options, what are the trade-offs?
• How are students being engaged in this decision?
• How are we supporting students?
• How many schools will be consolidated?
• Is high school next?
• Will we have a choice about where to go if Highland is consolidated?
• How are we planning to address special education needs?
• What did we learn from last year?
• Does the district understand and value its Latino/Hispanic families?

Return to all Community Feedback

Combined Notes

A note to the reader: These are the combined raw notes from the small group discussions at this forum, including the discussions conducted in Spanish. These notes have not been edited except to remove names and correct spelling or grammar. They have been consolidated to share the combined responses to each question.

Question 1: What aspects of the middle school experience are most important to you/your student?

English Session:

• Ensure the facilities match the needs of students, especially for kids with special needs (i.e., lift, toileting, size of rooms and space to maneuver, etc.)
• Program placement where students are safe in emergency, exiting building, parking, etc.
• Coursework that fits the needs of the students, challenging advanced classes available for students within their home school so they can stay with peer groups.
• The access to the health center, HUB, and Lifespring available is an important support.
• Dependable transportation that allows for feeder pattern drop off of older/younger students.
• Students have shown exponential growth at this school, both social/emotional and academic. Supporting every type of success for the student is important (sports, academics, music, etc.)
• Avid program
• Concentrating on the academic skills at the level needed for the student.
• Strong parent communication
• Strong relationships with friends need to be supported. Pay attention to groupings of students if we are making transitions.
• Health center makes it easy for families to access services.
• Staff who treat students like family.
• Strong sense of community
• Stability and consistency in order to build solid skills before moving forward.
• Strong core schools with programs for a variety of student needs.
• Quality education – Teachers know how to work with our students. They have cultural competency. Relationships have been built over the years.
• Transportation hub for students who work, ensuring that they still have the ability to continue with school and not drop out.
• Make sure that a community who will receive students is welcoming to any student no matter where they are coming from.
• Location and program should be good. Language programs are important. Advanced Learning is important.
• School and option mainstream with no special programs, are we becoming so specialized it takes away from core funding.
• Highland is only title 1 middle school and mix them economic background, they all get along. representative of the world. Diverse student body at highland, diverse culture and language. Doesn’t want students to be in a bubble.
• Feel as though Highland is looked down on. Do if they move to another school they will be looked down upon.
• Safety of students. If consolidate and packed students in the school, losing the ability to identify problems. Middle school doesn’t have critical thinking, so students are still developing. Kids will get lost in the system.
• Heritage and dual language programs make it educational outcome is increased for those that have for
• Heritage and dual language programs are not being used by the “right” group of parents. Not being used for the families it was designed for.
• Good transportation
• Variety of electives
• Diversity of cultures
• Too many choices, ignoring the basic neighborhoods middle schools.
• Choice schools take away from the gen ed schools.
• Pulled student from International and put them back at Highland.
• Priority for choice instead of gen ed.
• Why do we need to have AL program at Middle School?
• Cutting teachers at Highland in June but then had to hire them back in September.
• Important to have supports for students in middle school. Ease the ramp into middle school.
• Feel supported, to be socializing, to be happy, and be in a neighborhood.
• Sense of community first
• Proximity to home
• Extracurricular activities
• Son needs extra help. Knowing that he’ll still have access to that help.
• What are the next steps?
• Maximizing resources, wide enough parent body for PTSA. We struggled with that at Ardmore. Would like every school to be large enough to have enough people and resources.
• Like the diversity at HMS, gives people good Some schools are not as diverse. With HMS having so many community resources nearby, concerns me (if moved)
• Cannot get domain specific AL here. Need to bring programs for kids who may not qualify but have the need. Equity is very important.
• Beautiful brand-new building – just close it? We just invested in this facility and to just close it doesn’t make any sense.
• Almost 50% kids in F/R. Other schools – this school needs the resources.
• We just went through this last year at Ardmore.
• These communities were hit hard during covid.
• Kids said it’s a little rougher here. Focus on how to make it safe for everybody, including underprivileged and getting them what they need or not getting from home.
• Worried about safety. Newest school, so it makes sense to keep it.
• Love about LHE – white people are the minority. That’s why we stay in BSD.
• Reputation is an old reputation.
• People look at test scores.
• The culture has really changed.
• Diversity in the school community and diversity in class offerings and opportunities. (EX) domain specific services at their community school.
• Lots of hormones, social-emotional component and dynamics of friendships changing. Prep for high school, keeping organized, learning how to balance everything with the internal turmoil.
• Learning to navigate assignments, grades, have support for that. Support for students (with ADHD) was critical, would be hard to start over somewhere else, might cause some anxiety. Navigating new types of learning after middle school.
• All subjects given equal importance, extra time for subjects where they are behind (in tutorial). Near to home.
• Resources that Highland offers in comparison to other MS, more support with clinic and dental services. More robust in taking care of the student and family. Other schools are more academically focused, Highland is more focused on creating good community members. How can they contribute to their Universal Design is part of the student thought process, not as competitive or individually focused.
• Highland recognizes that everyone’s life is different. Challenged academically and to be a better person.
• New here, already feels like there are arms around them to support them. How can that be replaced? Psychologist was available when needed for their student. There is a sense that people want to help you here.
• (6th grade student)—Teachers are nice and welcoming. Everyone is very friendly.
• Tutorials are very valuable. Teachers are very accessible. Band teacher invited student who could not take band to come to tutorial so she can play in the band.
• Ensuring that students have the support in these critical foundational years. Social emotional, academics. Teachers are important in this process. More teachers per child. Need amazing teachers and quality teachers.
• More inclusivity added to the schools. Neurodiversity and other needs being mainstreamed in the classroom.
• More adults per student. Students are being exposed to things way earlier and we need more adults to monitor it. Safety. Peer to peer interactions need to be positive. Safe place for all kids. Students that qualify for Special education need to feel included.
• Ensuring that our Social emotional needs are critical.
• All races, abilities, languages, and cultures need to be embraced. All students need to be included. We should not judge a student’s intelligence based on the program they are in.
• Include more programs that are teaching our students life-skills.
• When students are happy, academics are better. We need to build a community. All children are intelligent.
• Culture is important and there’s a difference between AL schools and Title schools.
• Sports and after-school activities are important.
• Having the amazing school psychologists stay with the students.
• Closeness of the School: It’s important that the school is close and walkable for your convenience.
• Special Education Program: Concerned about the impact on the special education program if teachers change, particularly the bond between teachers and students.
• Daughter’s Education: Daughter is currently receiving special education.
• Class Sizes: Worried that class sizes might increase if a middle school is consolidated.
• Factors for School Consolidation: You’re seeking input on important factors to consider if the school were to consolidate one middle school.
• Variation in Programs and Resources: Wondering if each school will have different programs and resources and concerned about losing programs due to school changes.
• Cohort for Advanced Learning: Want to ensure that the cohort for advanced learning remains intact despite any consolidation.
• Dual Program and Cultural Diversity: Concerned about how students will be separated in the dual program, and you value the importance of learning from other cultures.
• Program Equity and Accessibility: Have friends who attended a school called Puesta and are concerned about program equity and accessibility. Also concerned about the distance to the school.
• Access to Dual Language, cohort stay together, community like at Lake Hills, small classroom size, longevity of classroom staff and teacher to foster community,
• The community, longevity, teacher, especially with the dual program. Because of the dual program that is our community. We lose students in the program from elementary to middle to high school. Want to minimize disruption. It was almost like the elementary was two different schools, so the kids were very closely knit. The fact that they move through together creates a tight knit community. I feel like students with disabilities may have some struggles.
• Support for students for students with disabilities. Teachers are consistent, keep good communication, consistency.
• Excellent teachers, peers in the school. Close relationships for students. The choices and the resources, it’s important to find students with similar interests, extracurriculars, clubs and sports.
• Diversity, equity & belonging is essential for a middle school experience, this exists at Highland, class sizes, clubs, extra-curriculars, great relationships between teachers as well as students, inclusive.
• Having a good facility, safety of the students, curriculum of the school. Lots of options for courses.
• Had a twice exceptional child. Middle school is a hard time for life. A block schedule is good for middle school students. The community—a relationship with strong, trusted adults, having extracurricular options. A diverse school environment is important for students. A strong community, a strong supportive school environment.
• Academics, what dual language would look like at Highland.
• Support for families that we work with (from clinic), families new to the community and new to the country, helping families learn to navigate many systems, language support.
• I want my child to be happy every morning when they go to school, I want him to want to go to school, he is stressed because he does not know what will happen.
• Each child has their own needs, sometimes one school setting is better than other (one child went to Odle, the other went to Highland) Want to support the learning experience and make sure it matches.
• At Highland, it felt like part of a community, accepted, kids that were different from them, they loved it, their friends their community.
• My daughter loves Highland, there are adults here that are here for her, they see her and care about her, I love that Highland reaches out in so many ways to connect with students and families, example, last year, play was presented to other students and community during the day, all kids are cared for.
• Diversity has this true diversity (experience with other middle schools), a big plus with Highland.
• Son loves MS, loves Highland, coming from Bennett, we heard rumblings in the neighborhood, “don’t want to send your kids to Highland…” Has been very active, it is mind-blowing. I don’t know why the reviews are the way they are.
• Challenge with projected low enrollment last year, and then did not materialize, teachers are amazing.
• Child at Cherry Crest, not impressed. Pulled from Cherry Crest to Bennett, better experience, and stay in community and go to Highland.
• Positive experience collaborating with Highland, strong support from school leadership, do one on one work with B&G Club, build healthy relationships with staff and students, partnership, keep the good things happening at Highland extended after the school day. Keep the connections with the clinic, the Hub, etc., space for all of us.
• The care at Highland…
• Highland is the only Title I middle school.
• Mom of 6th grader, 3rd hoping for Highland – move from LA. Stability is important especially with pandemic. Lives have been upended. The thought of more change is crazy. He loves it here. We were iffy about Highland, but we love Incredible programs. I’m surprised by the non-resident students coming to BSD. That could be a strategy – to bring in more. Why close them down, open them up to others in nearby communities?
• Parent of 7th grade, and family is BSD alumni – great experiences at Highland. Consistency is a must. Students had similar experiences that are upending – with Covid and Sherwood Forest. Bellevue borders Lk WA School district. Audubon Elementary just redrew their district lines since they are overflowing and overcrowded. This is so close to us. The kids are near Ardmore and get bused across town in Kirkland to go to elementary. Ardmore is actually much closer for these families. This is a huge opportunity for BSD. Can we have districts work together? Perhaps a cross-district collaboration. It is crazy to me that we were having the “close Ardmore” conversation at the same time as Audubon is having kids in portables and overcrowding and sending kids across town to Rose Hill Elementary. The schools are right next to each other! Let’s work with the neighbors. Microsoft is building apartments on 140th. How can districts collaborate to help provide stability to all children in the area? Things like this have worked in the past. Bennet was a part of Lake Washington school district before. Clearly there was partnership. Could something like this happen again?
• 6th grade Highland student – I love the teachers. I have awesome teachers. I knew the teachers from my elementary. Continuity and community aspects are what I like best. I love the dual language program. I’m involved in ASB.
• Mom of 6th grader and younger elementary age siblings at Sherwood Forest – engagement and community building, diversity has been a huge benefit. Our school is incredibly diverse both ethnically and economically. Diversity is a way to learn and grow. We need to raise well-rounded human beings. Highland has done a great job of including everybody. We want to ensure that the systems of strength that are currently here remain. This is an amazing school.
• Mom of 7th grade son at Highland – I am displeased with the questions on the survey. It sounds like decisions have already been made. BSD screwed Highland by allowing people to choose out and this continues to forward the bigotry towards us, our kids and our school. The other parents talk poorly about Highland. Parents have said directly to me on a group mom text, calling the kids here at Highland “riff-raff.” And, “Oh, well nobody will want to go to Highland.” The district is promoting this attitude, forwarding this open bigotry with open enrollment policies. We need to all feel proud instead of promoting this prejudice. (The group agreed that they also feel this way and have openly seen / heard this narrative.)
• We were hesitant at first as 6th grade parents, but then when we got here, this place is Fabulous school.
• We have many students that would benefit from AL services, and they should be served at their neighborhood schools. They shouldn’t have to go to another school.
• I know that the info online says that International and Big Picture are not in this study. Why not? The kids at those schools ‘won the lottery’ and now they are being excluded from this process. They should not be excluded. How is that equitable?
• If this process is truly equitable why is Highland even on the chopping block?
• Mom of 5th & 6th grade at Highland, similar feelings as others. Wants stable experience for daughter. Especially with pandemic instability. Most of the Bennet kids came here and they love it. As a former middle school teacher, I want a supportive staff. It is good and positive here. She (my daughter) gets that. She loves the teachers. I have background knowledge and I know a good school and good teachers when I see it. I hear it all at curriculum night. It is great. My younger daughter will need more services provided to her, and I cannot bear to think that she may not get to go here to Highland. The kids that choose not to go to Highland, they talk that way (offensively), and it has to be 100% acknowledged. Gosh, they’ve done something great here and that would be sad to go away. Can we have them stop choosing other schools? Stop the open enrollment. Or work to attract others? Bennet parents, we are going to Highland. We love it. The bus is packed! We love it. I want to be here. We service a community that needs people to support the kids here. Don’t take away the staff. They’ve built something great here.
• The staff works to create a collaboration environment, taking care of all kids. It is neat to see.
• My kid goes to tutorial every day because he enjoys it. He wants to be here.
• Piggybacking on the riff-raff, my daughter has one very good friend going to Tillicum. Her friend sends “we’re in a lockdown” text. We haven’t even had one. This is a safe fabulous school.
• Mom of son 6th grader – really enjoying it. I resonate with all of the comments. I started volunteering on Thursdays here. Parents fill the need of hall monitor, cafeteria. Getting to know the staff has been so valuable. I had heard things about the staff. The amount of effort to make the Title 1 school a safe and fabulous place. They put their own money into getting laundry done and the Jubilee sports teams. As the only Title 1 school in district, for the kids who don’t have the privilege as others. How are we possibly going to give them rides if their school is across town? We give them breakfast and lunch. Are we really going to bus all these kids somewhere and get them breakfast for a 7:30 start time? That is not fair for our community here. It would be 7-8 buses. These kids were affected by covid more than others. It is not fair for our community at all. This is a brand-new building. They want to be here.
• Doing anything with Highland is the least equitable choice of all, unless we add kids. Add kids and keep it open.
• I don’t think our district really knows the needs here. You have to walk through the halls. The Board needs to walk the halls, mystery shopper style. Invitation to monitor the halls. Come at See the kids eating. See this community. What do you like about school here? Hear from the kids directly.
• Single mom with daughter 7th grade – she loves the school. Very happy to hear directly from school. I got such bad comments about the school and its reputation but once I met everyone and saw my daughter. It is fantastic, new program. I got a recommendation from another principal to have my daughter here. She’s my only daughter and I am totally happy that she is integrated into the community. I am here because I want to be here totally integrated with you and the community. It works for us as Spanish speaking; she can learn both languages and really grow.
• STEM program – applied engineering and python and video and robotics. These programs are offered and unique. We have tech talent here, let’s keep it going. Many middle schools in the area do not have resources and classes like this.
• DL program is great.

Spanish Session:

• All their lives are around school.
• The school is close to the students’ homes and they feel safe.
• Classmates at school are neighbors and that generates a sense of community beyond contact at school.
• Since the parents are working, it is a peace of mind for them that the children are at school playing in the afternoons since it is close to the house.
• The dual program benefits students.
• The fact that the number of Latino children is large is a help to the Latino community. Getting closer to Latino culture is important as culture shock is important for our children.
• Students feel supported and helped to reach grades.
• Being able to be close to school prevents students from getting together with bad company.
• There are many homeless people in the surrounding area and knowing the school area makes them feel safe as they know the surroundings.
• They have continued paying high rents so their children can continue coming to Highland Middle School.
• Most of the teachers are bilingual. That makes Latino children feel more supported, helped, and integrated.
• The clinic means that parents do not have to travel and is an advantage over other schools.
• The boys and girls club is important for both parents and students.
• The Family Connection Center does a very important job for both students and parents.
• Highland culture, safe space and bilingual space.
• The opinion of my student, the environment of the new school, how staff and new classmates are going to receive the Hispanic community.
• Social/Emotional, how this change will impact our students emotionally, are they going to be able to stay with the same teachers, counselor, staff, etc.
• What’s going to happen with the Dual Program? Students who have been together since Preschool or kindergarten have built their community, they are united and belong to stay together.
• Transportation, many of our students have schedules, or walk to school, moving them could affect the family and the student.
• Mental health, this age is very vulnerable, and some students have some issues adapting to new changes too soon.
• Are classes going to be bigger? More students in one classroom?
• The most important experiences are:
• The Dual Program (Spanish-English) because it helps students keep in mind their culture, traditions, and values.
• Location, because it helps students walk to school. They also know the area and parents feel safe that their children walk in the area.
• Security, because students and parents feel that it is a safe school regarding to bullying, drugs, and inappropriate behavior.
• Other answers: All school information is shared in Spanish, safety and knowledge with IEP cases and Counseling in Spanish.

Question 2: If we were to consolidate one middle school, what priorities or factors are important that you think we should consider?

English Session:

• Equity
• Who bears the cost?
• The design of the facilities in supporting the needs of students with disabilities
• Pay close attention to staffing needs for students transitioning to a new location.
• Staff who push the kids from where they are to the next level.
• Community is important because of the demographic of Highland – distance, many kids walk to school.
• Highland kids need to be close to their school to have the community.
• Student wellbeing.
• Don’t plan around the special programs. Like language.
• First priority should be mainstream gen-ed.
• Choice schools are taking away from neighborhood enrollment.
• Choice schools are not on the consolidation list.
• Location – school bus doesn’t take too long.
• Flexibility – adapting to change.
• Electives – to find diverse friend groups.
• Not focus just on academics, but also on electives.
• Might be good for students to be exposed to many electives.
• Greatest good for the greatest number.
• Evaluate the small program middle schools as part of the consolidation process.
• There needs to be clarity around why does International and Big picture exist.
• Have BP spread out amongst the buildings.
• Waste of tax dollars in building these new buildings and then walking away from them.
• Consider the max capacity of each building.
• Consolidated students – will they have a choice where they go? They will pick Highland last.
• Making sure to catch those that need a boost.
• Consider class size.
• Teacher retention.
• How can we prevent this?
• Leadership – diversity, making sure resources are going the right way.
• Who is leading the kids?
• Cannot be talking about the how without the why.
• What can we do to stop those rumors about the school?
• Needs to be a partnership (parents, leader, staff)
• My son is playing sports he would never play before.
• Has now grown proud of his race.
• He needs help with English – every kid needs that option.
• Having meetings in different languages is important.
• Last year, a lot of people thought Ardmore was closing and so they moved to another school.
• We have to be clear that we’ve not made a decision.
• Timing of open enrollment is important.
• Last year, the Board hearing was at 4:30 and people could not get to Wilburton in the traffic.
• Need public transportation after hours.
• Didn’t hear from the whole community at those events.
• Start innovative programs, like robotics.
• Maybe attract more people from private schools
• Researching what private schools are doing that we could be doing.
• Have more enriching activities.
• Changes the availability of dreams, occupation.
• Community-building things like drama
• Like HMS is a walking school, it’s in the community where we live.
• When we have community activities
• The AL program is centralized – seems broken to do that. Removes kids from the neighborhood.
• Reconsider how AL kids qualify for the program. Perhaps a lottery program. Spread out to all the schools and make it more like a spectrum, every student would benefit. It creates a weird hierarchy with AL.
• Concerned about the distance some kids would have to travel to get to school. Parents can’t always transport them. Kids who have to travel the farthest should have a school closer.
• Extra help needs to be provided to kids who are in lower half, getting them to keep up with their peers at the same level.
• Equity for all the kids.
• Feeling welcome in the community, no matter.
• Culture of respect, understanding, and acceptance.
• We are the role models for our kids.
• Middle school needs to have a better community building session at the beginning of the year.
• We’ll have better scores if we can spend a week or two to build community at the beginning of the year.
• Community building was not robust enough, we still have some families who feel they don’t belong.
• Middle school kids need it more because parents are no longer their primary support when they get older.
• Test scores are not the only aspect of our school. How you measure the success of a school is not just in their test scores.
• Community resources, clinic, things that are not easily replicable.
• If Highland receives students in a consolidation, how can we deal with the perceptions that people have about Highland? How do you protect students from the racism and perceptions of others that might be consolidated here.
• Normal for students to be welcoming and part of the community. Would be worried that they would be siloed elsewhere.
• Socioeconomic diversity at Highland is a benefit.
• Integrating Immersion and Spanish DL could be a benefit, cultural exchange that could be beneficial to Immersion students.
• Students are getting so many benefits. BSD curriculum and Title/LAP funds benefit everyone.
• Some parents have the ability or privilege to leave or threaten to leave and go to a private school, many Highland families don’t have that ability.
• Diversity is one of the rich benefits of being at Highland.
• Consider staff commute times. Will they be asked to drive even further?
• Does not feel that district does enough to reach out to families who are not here. People don’t read e-mails. What outreach is being done? Is it all on the PTSA or a few people to reach everyone?
• Highland does not have as many speed bumps as Odle. Don’t consolidate us to Odle.
• Location of Highland is conducive to students taking the metro after tutorial or activity. The bus line is essential.
• Highland is a community school and also has unique programs. A lot of integration of Pacific, teaching to whole human. DL is part of the community.
• In comparison to other middle schools, it seems to have a lot of lockdowns. Disagreements can cause disruption. Cell phones are a concern. Too much emphasis on policing cell phones and not enough on just teaching.
• Highland provides a lot for families that they might otherwise need to travel to. It is very accessible to resources in the community. More than a middle school, like a community hub with all of the resources, beyond academics.
• Teachers are dedicated, excellent communication. Gets kudos, gets concerns.
• Keep neighborhood togethers. Bus rides need to be short. It is important to consider the income levels of the families, situations, etc. in this decision.
• Consider other models for schools, like K-7 and an 8-12. Supportive of this program. Staying together with their peers. Staying close to their schools. Need to ensure that we keep the students together as much as possible. Ensure that families are together.
• Safety concerns.
• Location of Highland is very important to us.
• Large number of Spanish speaking families are here at Highland. There is a lot of support and services here at HMS. Family hub is Learning labs at this school is great and we don’t want to lose that.
• Inclusivity and Opportunities: You want the consolidation to be inclusive and provide every child with opportunities, particularly highlighting the robotics program.
• After School Program: like an after-school program that’s accessible and close to your house, as there is no bus service.
• Participation in Clubs: Child participates in clubs and being able to walk home is important.
• Quality of Classes and Teachers: Concerned about losing familiarity with teachers and value the quality of classes and teachers.
• Electives: Interested in knowing if all schools will offer the same elective options.
• Highland’s Applied Engineering Class: Daughter enjoys this class and wants to know if it will still be available.
• Commuting and Traffic:
• Due to consolidation, all kids will have the same opportunity to participate.
• We need to consider what will happen next year.
• Keeping community together is really important. It’s a community for the students and the families.
• Consider the demographics of the students that are attending the school. Students at Highland have higher needs than some other communities. Consider the impact of students who most need to be served by the community, especially those who are underserved.
• Transportation is an important consideration. We need to make sure students get to school with reliable bus service, not long bus rides, make sure students are safe, safe with peers.
• Commute can’t be too long, especially students may be caring for siblings, support for multi-lingual learners must be considered and is important.
• High quality teachers that aren’t stressed, keeping class sizes small and reasonable is a critical consideration, consistency. Center the voices of the teachers.
• Transportation and to on a long bus ride, access to supports, concerned that this is short sighted.
• Consideration for transition if there is consolidation?
• Concerned about competing interests between programs (AL/Highland) competing interests in programs. Can have AL other programs.
• Diverse needs of families must be taken into consideration.
• Students here need Highland need this space because they will thrive, and that they cannot take advantage of other programs or other schools. The students should be protected.
• Equity must be taken into consideration, Highland has done a great job of creating equitable spaces, but that should not be treated as equal.
• The teachers at Highland are so well qualified, need to keep the quality of teachers, they care about the students, many are multilingual.
• I got a call from a teacher during the day on how good my child was! (happened to several parents at the table)
• I have changed my opinion about the quality of education in Highland, (could have gone to Chinook)
• Kids here need to be protected more, need a different type of support.
• Dynamics change in middle school, some peer relationships change, need to be aware of that (transition)
• We have chosen Highland, vs. the feeling in some of the community how to avoid Highland.
• The positive vibe here, connection, how do we preserve/integrate all that is good about Highland?
• “I believe that BSD is rewarding the bigotry toward Highland students by offering open enrollment to other schools.”
• Doesn’t it cost more money to bus kids? (Bennett area has a but to Tillicum that that is our area!)
• Title 1. Don’t pick our school because of these factors. Equitable decision-making shows that this school cannot be split up because of these reasons.
• Glad to see that these questions are being posed. I’m a bit skeptical that the equity process will really be followed.
• DL program is very important. Don’t get rid of this.
• I really don’t want to consider consolidation, period. If we could brainstorm those other options would be great.
• I felt like if consolidation has to happen, Highland needs to be kept standing. We deserve to have as much as other kids. It is hard for this group to have less. I want them to have everything that they deserve. Stop promoting segregation. Stop letting families choose out of Highland.
• Teachers, staff have worked so hard the last 2-3 years. It is just starting to turn.
• Doesn’t the district get Title 1 funding? From an economics stand-point closing doesn’t make sense. We’d likely not qualify for Title 1 otherwise.
• I don’t think the district has been clear about the budget. What are things that we can be doing to increase income? We are in a really affluent area. Could we ask, have families donate?
• I’m curious about the deficit.
• The city of Bellevue has a ton of money. Does the Bellevue school district have access to the money? What could we do to work together?
• Bellevue School District needs to treat our school better. They’ve created this. They need to step up and help. There are parents who are willing to help financially if we knew what we needed to do.
• Lack of trust in the equitable decision-making process. Sherwood Forest went through this last year.
• ASB students putting together a survey (student-directed and they wanted to do this, so they took up the project.) Student: “We have a PowerPoint and a survey”

Spanish Session:

• All families agreed that their priorities and factors to consider were:
  • The Student Community: because some of the students have been together since kindergarten and are used to having the same circle of friends.
  • Mental Health: Parents fear that when changing schools, students may manifest mental health issues by feeling unprotected, alone, depressed, or unable to accept the change.
  • Transport: Families claim that because Bellevue School District Transportation has some routes closed, families do not feel safe having a school for their children farther from their homes.
  • Other answers: A school with all services, bullying prevention, and space to celebrate the traditions of the Latin community.
• Student’s opinion.
• Programs that are being offered.
• The community that the Dual Program has, is not easy to move many students from the DL program to different schools, it would be better to keep them together.
• To keep a small number of students in a classroom.
• Transportation, easy access for the families
• Not over fill middle schools with more students that the school staff can handle.
• Safety concerns with
• Students’ mental health
• Special education services and after-school clubs.
• Having support for low-income and minority (Hispanic), there’s a lot of Spanish-speaking parent involvement. Family Connections. Dual language is very important.
• Increases the time required to pick up children.
• Highland offers a successful dual language program. Hispanic community cherish this for many reasons. Aside from the benefits that dual language education has to offer, it goes much deeper.
• It gives parents peace of mind that their children will not lose their cultural identity.
• It provides their kids a safe space from racism and bullying (which parents expressed they hear happening at other schools).
• Parents also feel more comfortable is HMS environment – many which do not feel that their English allows them to communicate with confidence. Highland has a true sense of community for all the parents at my table.
• Parents and students feel welcomed / safe / supported at highland.
• The IEP program is much appreciated as well as counting with extra tutorial support.
• Counseling support is right up there with the above priorities.
• One family at my table wanted their child to attend Odle, but the child refused and begged them for Highland. When prompted why – hearing from child friends experiences at both.”
• We care about the full educational program that the school has to offer which includes the core classes, electives, dual language, extracurriculars, sports, and special education.
• Many of our children, and the parents as well, enjoy the dual language program and feel like they have benefited from that program which has become a key part of highland’s identity.
• Highland has a special education program that is different from other schools. What will happen to those students and where will they go?
• Lots of students are arriving from other countries and they only speak Spanish. Highland is a starting point for many because of the dual language program. If they close this school, then they don’t have this community to get them started on start a big transition in their lives (Latino culture community).
• Emotionally students feel more confident with the dual language program. It’s important for students to be comfortable. Their children have gained more confidence over time with the dual language program.
• Lots of kids have been in the dual language ever since kindergarten. This is a lifelong family and a community to many students and parents.
• “I have back pain and when we were told that we were going to be changed to Stevenson I made the choice of getting on a metro bus to take my daughter to school. Now I hear that the same is being done to Highland and I think about the challenges of commuting every day.”
• The community is more supportive towards Latinos within Highland due to the large numbers of Latinos in the nearby community.
• Students are more motivated to do better in a community that they know they can thrive in and are continuously supported.
• Don’t take away programs like the clinic, or the boys and girls club.
• The family connection department should be maintained as it is very important.
• Mariela helps students graduate with emotional support and information support. She should be able to continue to do that work.

Question 3: What questions do you have?

English Session:

• What percentage of the new out of district students are former BSD students who have moved out of district and are staying enrolled in BSD?
• Do special programs deserve to exist at the cost of neighborhood schools?
• Transportation impacts
• Who will have the conversation with students about what is happening?
• Is there a session for the students to give input?
• Flexibility to changing
• The lottery system should be more fair for the choice Have an opt-out system instead of opting in for those programs.
• Have similar.
• Who is the target audience for International and Big Picture? Why do those programs exist? Many families can’t navigate the lottery.
• Will the apartments bring more students?
• Do we need to consolidate now? Maybe we should wait? We are still right off of Covid, maybe not everything has settled.
• Dual classes – what’s going to happen. Will other schools have it?
• We live in Lake Hills area. Would like DL to stay in one area/school.
• Are the high schools next on the chopping block?
• Are the demographic reports suggesting anything in high schools?
• Would like to see a map of the district with boundaries so we can see where our children would go.
• If students moved and there are different options for electives, how could that be addressed?
• What would happen to DL if Highland closed?
• What would happen to the Highland building if it were consolidated?
• What is the actual enrollment of Highland if AL students were included? (The ones that end up at Odle)
• Could we look at middle school and high school at the same time so that there is not a continual upheaval for students?
• Is the decision just based on the birth rates? Is that being considered that
• How many schools are they proposing to close?
• What are the ratios for middle school classrooms?
• Why are we building schools or remodeling schools?
• What are the levies being used for?
• What happens with the elementary buildings that were closed?
• What will happen to a closed middle school building?
• If we consolidate, can we allocate more resources to inclusivity, including neurodiversity.
• How do we plan to tackle the mental well-being of all students if we consolidate?
• How do we support the students that are homeless?
• How are we ensuring that we are reaching out to our families that cannot be here tonight because of multiple jobs?
• Why is AL not in all the schools?
• What will happen to the AL program?
• How can we get the information about these sessions when they are announced?
• How will the PTSA (Parent-Teacher-Student Association) work? I’m pondering the challenges it may pose.
• Who will be responsible for managing and controlling traffic with the influx of kids due to consolidation?
• How early will children need to wake up to catch the bus because of the consolidation?
• Do you think it’s necessary for children to wake up early, or should we consider their sleep and social/family time?
• Are all the facilities at the school new, and do they have everything they need for the students?
• Will students have the opportunity to stay together with their friends rather than being split up?
• Will parents and students continue to have the choice to select a school, even after consolidation?
• Is there a plan for Bellevue to rezone in response to the influx of students from other districts?
• It would be interesting to know the percentage of students coming from other districts and why it’s happening.
• Will there be options for students impacted by consolidation to move to another middle school based on their special education needs?
• Are there specific schools that specialize in special education, and which one would be better suited for these needs?
• Are there multiple schools under consideration for consolidation, and will parents and students have a say in the selection, or is the decision already made?
• What will happen to Title I funding, and how does it affect schools with diverse backgrounds?
• How will the Title I funding be utilized in the future?
• How will the dual program be affected by consolidation in terms of student numbers and teachers?
• What will the impact of consolidation be on the dual program, and will other programs be affected as well?
• How will special education services be distributed across the consolidated schools, and will they be equitable for all?
• Are there plans to address social and emotional discrepancies in students, especially in the next cohort?
• Future Enrollment and International School:
• If enrollment increases after consolidation, what plans are in place to accommodate the additional students?
• What is the plan for the International School’s needs and any potential new school?
• What social and emotional programs will be in place for students, and how important is it to address these needs during the consolidation?
• If a school is consolidated, will students still have the opportunity to apply to choice schools?
• What data is available regarding choice schools, and will there be efforts to expand access and opportunities to apply to these schools?
• Concern that demographics and projections are incorrect and underestimated. How do we know if these are correct?
• How are new families welcomed if we displace families, and are we putting aside funding and supports?
• What considerations are being taken to continue to support the dual language program? Honor K-12 commitment to the dual language program.
• What is the learning from the elementary consolidation and what are we doing differently?
• What are we actually going to lose? What are we going to actually lose? What are the actual trade-offs? What else have we tried? Why now?
• What did we learn from the elementary factor? What did we not consider or what did we miss?
• Non-resident / resident—funding
• What is the criterion by which the decision will be made? That is unclear. What factors will be taken into account? Programs? Commute? Worried we will impact the most marginalized.
• If we consolidate, what are the benefits of the consolidation? The negatives are clear, but the benefits are not clear.
• Why do we have ISA and Dual separate? There’s an opportunity to consolidate? How do we support MLL?
• Big Picture and International data are not included in all of the data. Why not? Are they not being considered for consolidation?
• What programs could be taken away? What does support mean if taken away? Currently parent at Lake Hills in Dual
• What would that mean at Highland if supports were lost?
• What are class sizes if consolidated, special program?
• How do we change the narrative about Highland?
• What is Lake Washington doing regarding declining enrollment?
• Is it possible that 2 middle schools get closed?
• Are Big Picture/International included in this process?
• What will happen to a brand-new facility?
• How confident are we in the enrollment data? What happens if it changes 5 years down the road?
• High schools are crowded. Will that continue?
• Will it happen at high school? (consolidation)
• If this happens, are families given a choice?
• Will real estate value be part of the decision-making? Example, Highland in a more commercial area, worry that the facility would be sold or rented.
• Will the dual language program continue?
• How much are we in deficit? If it is not that big, can we all pitch in?
• What would Highland’s numbers be if students went to their neighborhood school? Demographers report doesn’t show this?
• Wondering about special programs? Why can’t we offer AL at every school? Can we move the AL self-contained programs at all middle schools? Can we have the programs here as well?
• Are we going to look at the choice enrollment or open enrollment and will that impact the decision?
• Is it possible to collaborate with other districts to meet needs?
• How will we have access and transparency to the equitable decision-making process? We want to see this implemented with integrity and have confidence in how the decisions are being made.
• Can we have Board members experience each school being considered? Ex. Hall monitor volunteer (not an official tour visit, just a normal day)
• How will this information be shared with our students? Is this causing anxiety for students now? What is the plan to share with students?

Spanish Session:

• Is the School District considering the emotional and human impact the consolidation has?
• Will emotional support be provided to parents and students?
• Children already have enough stress; the parents would like to know what emotional tools are going to be provided at school and the families to cope with this process.
• What will happen with the dual language program? Where will it go? Will other schools have the dual language program, or will it be discontinued? Will the program be the same or will it change if it moves to other schools?
• What will happen to the IEP program that is unique to this school? Where will the parents with IEP students go and will the same services be provided at the other schools? Is the school district prepared to make such a transition?
• Where do we stand as a school in terms of how likely we are to close?
• How will the students be split up for the new students coming in to be consolidated? How is it determined which school they will get to?
• How will children be supported emotionally and psychologically from the experience of transitioning? and is the district prepared to handle that?
• This school is in proximity of a lot of our jobs to drop off our kids. How will the district accommodate if we cannot drop off our kids?
• Is this a competition between schools to not get closed? What can we do to not have our school close down?
• Does the school district care about the needs of the children or take it into consideration such as special education or the students that do not speak English?
• The Latino population is also growing in the area we live in, so how will this impact the Latino community if they take away such an essential part away.
• Is this an effort by the school district to displace Hispanic families and communities? It feels like the intent here is to displace the unified community that we spent years putting together.
• Fear that a consolidation would mean larger classes and less resources.
• What would happen the “the quality” of the dual program offered at Highland?
• If were where a reduction in # of classes, how does this affect academic development?
• What would happen to all the parent support they get – understanding schooling, paperwork etc.
• What is the main reason why it is closing?
• What will they do with this school/building?
• If they close this school, what will happen to my child? Why build a school of this size without taking into account the number of children there were?
• Is the community survey done?
• Dual language is why parents have kids here. Are the reviews of being a Good School fake?
• If Highland stays open, could you make transportation a little more accessible?
• How is it going to be handled?
• What students go to which school?
• Are they going to have options?
• Is the DL program will stay together?
• What’s going to happen with their teachers? Are they going to be moved with them?
• How is a student with an IEP will be served?
• What would be the numbers of students per classroom?
• What would security be like?
• Why would they close the school?
• Will there be more help for teachers?
• What school would the students transfer to?
• Would the two languages accompany each other?
• Bellevue is a very expensive city, why can’t it support the schools?
• Would closing a school improve education?

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