November 3 Online Community Forum

Date: November 3, 2023

Forum Participants: 31

Combined Notes

A note to the reader: These are the combined raw notes from the small group discussions at this forum. 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?

• Advanced learning programs to support students.
• Quality of education to prepare for college (math, English.)
• Opportunities for electives (robotics and rocketry).
• 7th grader starting at Odle last year, the adjustment from elementary to middle was hard. If there is a consolidation, I want him to be minimally impacted by school changes. Middle school are tough years for a lot of kids. How do we make sure he is supported, and all students are supported in a
• First year in BSD, daughter at Tyee and in 5th – came from Seattle – saw problems with declining enrollment and problems when that wasn’t addressed. Our previous middle school lost a lot of teachers and programs.
• Like his teachers a lot, some exceptional teachers, passionate about students and enjoy teaching.
• Prefer to attend Odle because of the AL program, administrative staff is friendly and welcoming to students. Wanting to maintain the friend.
• Nonresident group; just moved this year and a choice transfer, but was a prior a BSD student. The choice transfer is a great option, closer than home school. Just started about 2 months ago. Will this impact them as a transfer back to home school; being unstable is a concern?
• Environment and best academic environment. Feel like they are settled; especially for middle school; very important to stable environment during this move from childhood to teenagers.
• Odle is a top-ranking school across of the nation; might impact.

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

• Student to teacher ratio.
• What is best for the future students? Distance to school.
• My child spends 40 minutes on the bus per trip, we are happy with that program – I think that will be longer if we consolidate – that should be considered.
• First year in BSD, just moved into the area, my son is a 5th grader – he is in AL program now at Somerset. Transportation is an issue for us too – right now he doesn’t have a bus – I drop him off and pick him up.
• My kids are in AL – this was our number one reason for choosing BSD when we moved. We’ve been happy with the level of education for our middle schooler. We also chose BSD for the 7-period day – not offered everywhere – we value this a lot. My kids like to do foreign language and music – you need a 7-period day to fit this and other things in. Gives you the space for exploration without sacrificing what you want to do in the long term.
• Make sure kids can get to school – we don’t have enough buses now – how can we make sure all kids can get to school if we consolidate?
• Course continuity – in Seattle, they cut French from 8th grade after she’d taken it in 6th and 7th, and that was really frustrating for my child – would want to make sure there is continuity of course work for students.
• My child is at Odle – to have the least impact on the most number of students, don’t close Odle.
• Advanced learning is least the same number who have like-minded students; they are humbler when
• Continue non-resident through the middle
• Keep neighborhood school.
• Does the standards of each school the same if our school is closed.
• Can the choice schools be considered along with comprehensive middle schools?

Question 3: What questions do you have?

• What other considerations have been made other than consolidating a middle school?
• How are property taxes used to fund the school district? They keep increasing.
• Be more transparent: What is the cost per student, what amount do we receive per student from the state, what is the cost per school?
• What is the alternative to consolidating the school?
• What studies have been done to eliminate this consolidation factor? To reduce the impact on the students.
• What assumptions are being made in the enrollment data about housing? How does this align with the city’s active process to increase housing? (Question from city council member)
• Are there other programs that can be added that would bring new students into the school system and increase enrollment? How can we increase the revenue (we are only focusing on the expense).
• Who is making this decision? What led to this option?
• What would the transportation to the gifted program look like if we consolidated a middle school?
• Are you going to cancel the gifted program if we consolidate?
• How soon do we anticipate there will be a consolidation?
• When looking at the chart of the 8th grade class and projected 9th grade class – the 8th grade class is a lot smaller than the 9th grade class – where are we projecting that students are coming from? Are they non-resident students?
• How would this happen?
• What would this look like?
• What are the top factors that would be considered?
• Why was the information not shared earlier shared with the community about the declining environment?
• Why does them so sudden for such a large impact?
• What is the impact on the choice schools?
• How did the pandemic impact the drop of enrollment?
• Did the district overspend during the pandemic that impacted our budget?

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