BREAKING NEWS :

Black River High School and the horticulture program have had their last classes. Bulldozers aren’t far from the school doors, but parents are still fighting to keep the school open at a bordering property.

Michele Savelle sent me a letter this morning that they expect to discuss with the Renton School Board this morning.

The letter encourages district administrators and board members to consider placing all of the Black River students at the recently acquired church property, which is right next to Black River. Right now, a core of students and teachers are moving to the Sartori Education Center.

A few groups that won’t be going to Sartori include the Emotional Behavior Disorder students, who are going to Lindbergh High School’s program, and new freshman classes. By not having a freshman class, in three years the last memory of Black River will graduate.

Black River serves as a last-resort school for students who might otherwise drop out. This letter also asks that new students be admitted into the group.

The letter also asks to save the horticulture program and move it to one of the abandoned greenhouses across the street.

The district has responded in the past that the horticulture program was going to be closed for issues of rigor, not property. It’s also said that moving a core group of students (about 73 percent) and teachers (8, or 6.4 FTE) to Sartori is better and less expensive than remodeling the old church property.

Below is Savelle’s letter.

Letter to Board From CRSBA

Today I was blessed to be listed in this e-mail thread between a community member named Donald Jensen and the Renton School District superintendent’s office regarding the closure of Black River High School and the elimination of the horticulture program.

Community members are still upset over the closures, which were announced in April.

While not all of the questions are addressed in these correspondences, the big ones are. Please read both of these unabridged letters before commenting.

RE:

Mr. Jensen,
I am responding on behalf of Renton Schools Superintendent Dr. Mary Alice Heuschel to your e-mail copied below.

1) The purchase by the district of the two properties you refer to—Skyway Church of God and Evergreen Floral—was part of a $150 million bond measure approved in May 2008 by an overwhelming majority of voters. Property acquisition is clearly presented to voters in bond measures to allow school districts opportunities to purchase available and increasingly scarce land for future school construction.

The district’s designed and responsible purchase of the property bordering our Black River High School campus works in the district’s plan for future development of much-needed elementary or middle school space. Purchasing land adjacent to existing property is strategic and forward-thinking as it allows for increasing acreage and expansion of existing property. The site was at one time thought to be a good location to house portions of Black River High students during construction of the new Secondary Learning Center (also approved in the May 2008 bond measure). But, our Sartori Education Center school has proven to be a better and more ready fit for those students during construction.

2) When the new Secondary Learning Center is complete at the Black River campus (see details here) it will not include the horticulture program because that program does not meet newly-established high school-level requirements, or those measured as college-readiness by the Higher Education Coordinating (HEC) Board.

Newly-adopted district science graduation requirements—prepared through a year-long process that included teachers from all district high schools including Black River High School—are now more in line with state standards which require critical science knowledge and rigor, have two years of a laboratory component, include an algebra-based component, and are taught at a 9-12 grade level. The new science graduation requirements also meet the Science Standards for College Success, established by the HEC board, to ensure high school graduates have credits recognized by colleges and universities, and help students matriculate into state and national colleges and universities.

The horticulture program at Black River specifically does not meet high school standards based on several criteria:

· The program’s standards are based on content of K-8-grade level;

· The program does not meet high school standards at the district, state or the HEC board level;

· The program has no complex human cellular or molecular content; and

· The program has no algebra-based component.

Although I am unable to address your concerns regarding the Alaska Way Viaduct, the state’s ferry service, and other stated opposition to state and federal government, I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight regarding concerns, rumor or innuendo regarding the Renton School District. Please contact me with any other questions.

Randy Matheson

____________

Subject: Letter of Concern to the Renton School District Board of Directors

To: Renton School District Board of Directors, Renton School District Superintendent, Washington Education Association, SeattlePI, Seattle Times, Komo News, Kiro News, Renton Reporter, Those seeking our votes

To whom it may concern,

We continue to be told that our taxes must be raised. We continue to be told that our services must be cut. We keep being told there is no more money. Then we find out the truth. For example, this year Washington state had to raise taxes to make up for a 30 million dollar shortfall. Now, just this past Friday, we find out that 10 million dollars have been wasted on overtime by the Ferry service. In Seattle, we are spending 5.5 million dollars to make just one bridge suicide proof, and yet we are facing reductions in public safety. We keep spending millions of dollars studying the Alaska Way Viaduct, but we cannot seem to get it replaced.

To add to the frustration, we keep telling our elected officials what is most important to us; Education, Public Safety, Transportation. Our elected officials keep raising our taxes to pay for these issues, but it never seems to be enough.

Let us take a look at our education system. By some measures, our education system in the state of Washington ranks below national average. Our student-teacher ratio is one of the worst in the nation. When asked to address it, our elected officials keep telling us that other programs are important also. While looking at the Renton School District, it has come to my attention that our tax dollars were used to purchas two pieces of property for which it paid 2.85 million dollars. The public was told this property was purchased to house the students from the soon to be closed Black River High School, and the school districts horticulture program. Then, against the will of the people, the district changed its mind. The students are going somewhere else, and the horticulture program has been dropped. The taxpayers are stuck owning property for which the school district seems to have no plan.

To our elected officials, and those seeking to be elected officials, the time has come to understand that you are our Representatives. Whether you are a member of the school board, or a US Senator, you are there to speak for us and present our best interested. In simple terms, the will of the people must be taken seriously, and the tax dollars we send to you must be spend wisely. Every dollar should have a question mark on it— Every Single Dollar!

These are no longer requests, but rather standards by which your performance will be measured.

These are the election year issues. These are the issues we will be casting our votes on.

I am asking the Seattle Press to publish this letter. There is nothing bad that can come from an informed public, and so far the public has not been fully informed. Take for example this story published in the Renton Reporter http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/ren/news/97180009.html If you notice, the entire story is written from the perspective of the school district. There is no discussion of the thoughts or concerns that the teachers, or students, or parents have. No one is asking about the quality of education that the students will receive in their new setting. Furthermore, there is no mention of the 2.85 million dollars that the school district has apparently wasted of property it had no use for. It is time to have these discussions, and if the Renton Reporter will not look at both sides, then hopefully the news agencies of Seattle will.

I further hope, that by publishing this letter, people around the state will begin to look more closely at where our tax dollars are going, and what decisions are being made by our elected officials when we are not paying attention. It is time to send a clear message, that we are paying attention.

I thank you for your time,

Donald K Jensen

I wrote a story about how about 76 of the 104 remaining Black River High School students will be kept together with 7 teachers under the roof of the Sartori Education Center next year.

I thought I’d use this blog to share a chart I received from the district about who is going where next year next year.

(Sorry the doc is zoomed out. Go to the bottom of the box to zoom in. Scribd is being fickle.)

Black River 2

Megan Stith, left, helps student Karen Huang, right, pin her sash to her gown before commencement. About 214 students graduated from Renton High School Tuesday.

New this year, we created slide shows for four of the Renton School District senior graduations. Look at the center fold of today’s newspaper (June 18). I took photos for the Renton High School graduation, but our photographer Charles Cortes took the remaining photos.

Renton High School

Lindbergh High School

Hazen High School

Black River High School

The three comprehensive high schools graduated Tuesday, June 15 at Kent’s ShoWare Center.
“This is what it’s all about,” said Superintendent Mary Alice Heuschel. “Some of these kids have overcome some amazing challenges to get here.”
One school after the other occupied the space. In a way it forced a comparison of the schools and their individual characteristics, struggles and values.
“One of the nice things is it brings the district together as a whole,” Heuschel said.

Congratulations to the senior class of 2010. For those attending the graduation ceremonies, below are the schedules.

For Renton, Hazen and Lindbergh high schools, the event is June 15 at the ShoWare Center, 625 W. James St., Kent.

Renton High School’s graduation is at noon with student speakers Tamthy Le and Lindsay Dacuan. About 214 students are expected to graduate. Damien Pattenaude is the principal with Renton School Board Director Todd Franceschina accepting the class.

Lindbergh High School’s graduation starts at 4 p.m. with student speakers Paula Luu and Teresa Nguyen. About 260 students are expected to graduat. The principal is Tres Genger with board Director David Merill accepting the class.

Hazen High School’s graduation starts at 7:30 p.m. with student speakers Brian Palma and Grace Bradford. About 265 students are expected to graduate. John Knisely is the principal with board Director Al Talley accepting the class.

Black River High School’s graduation will take place at the school, 7800 S. 132nd St., Seattle. The ceremony starts at 2 p.m. June 16. About 30 students are expected to graduate.

The Sartori Education Center graduation ceremony is at Renton Technical College at 3000 N.E. Fourth St., Renton. About 22 students are expected to graduate. It begins at 4 p.m., June 17. Student speakers include Antonio Cebey, Zakk Marx and Shane Omtvedt, and board president Lynn Desmarais will be accepting the class.

The Renton School District plans to open two more Emotional/Behavioral Disorder (EBD) classes within comprehensive schools next year with soft openings.

Black River High School has two EBD classes, totaling about 20 students. Those classes will be closed along with the school come summer.

The district now plans to open classes at Lindbergh High School and Nelsen Middle School, said Rebecca Lockhart, director of special education services, at a Renton School Board study session Wednesday.

The idea with Lindbergh and Nelsen is to keep the classes as close to the comprehensive schools as possible to make moving out of the program easier, she said.

The EBD programs are expensive, costing about $32,000 per student annually, she said.

A regular student costs about $5,000 annually.

It wasn’t made known whether the 20 students at Black River would be transferred into the Lindbergh program, but it was said that the classes will start small. A full EBD class has 10-12 students, that ratio is smaller at Renton Academy.

Currently Renton Academy has the largest concentration of EBD students. It opened in the 2006-07 school year with 28 students and four sessions, now it has about 53 and six sessions.

The Academy was opened to save the cost of transporting students outside of the district for EBD classes.

It was also announced at the meeting that next year the whole district will all adopt the ReEd program for EBD students, after a successful run at the Renton Academy. About 60 teachers will receive training, Lockhart said.

(EBD is an academic term that works as an umbrella for several different disorders. Students with it may have anything from development disorders like autism to something like ADHD.)

The Renton School District is having a community ceremony at Black River High School June 5.

The school is being closed this summer to make way for the new Secondary Learning Center (SLC).

From the press release, the goal is to give community members and former students one last visit before they tear down the facility. The event will include architectural renderings of the new SLC alongside artwork from Black River kids.

For those interested, it would be a great opportunity to mingle with administrators and learn more about the SLC. The event from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at 7800 South 132nd Street, Seattle.

The current site of Black River was once the location of Earlington Elementary School, an open-concept school, with one main building surrounded by smaller buildings. Earlington was constructed in 1972, and operated as an elementary school until 1980 when it was reopened as Renton Alternative High School. The school was renamed Black River High School in 1995.

Two recent stories I wrote about science programs show two sides of a coin, and I want to draw that connection for readers.

A month ago I wrote about the horticulture program getting a timely axe with Black River High School. I want to juxtapose that story with a new one I wrote about an exciting new environmental science class at Hazen High School. (Though the horticulture program wasn’t at Hazen, it has several Hazen students.)

One program is closing, while another one is opening. It’s all under the same vision, increasing rigor. When you read them together, it shows more clearly what the district is changing in the science program.

An unanswered question I had after the horticulture program closed is what the district plans to replace it with. By several standards it was a successful class.

Teresa Coda, the Hazen science chair, mentioned that teachers looked at several courses including astronomy. (Hazen chose environmental science because the new solar panels fit well into the class.) The class, which both sparks the interest of students and maybe even federal grants, is a probably good picture of what’s going to be coming.

I was cruising the Renton Schools Web site, when I discovered the communications team posted a new press release for the Black River High School closing.

I decided to share it, because I know some readers want everything I have on the issue.

There wasn’t any information in the release that was new to me. But the release does a better job explaining why the school is closing and the district’s perspective on the issue.

It also has pretty pictures of the new Secondary Learning Center. I’ll write about the center as soon as I can get the right people to talk to me about it.

Black River Sec Learnin Center-4!15!10

Questions are arising about proper legal procedure for closing a public school in Washington, after the district announced the closure of Black River High School.
There are a lot of questions I plan to ask on this issue, but I thought for now that I’d give readers a look at the Revised Code of Washington.
If this code applies, the Board of Directors will have to host public hearings over a 90-day time period, before voting. Public hearing notices will need to be published in a newspaper, which in their case is the Seattle Times and the Renton Reporter.
The Renton School District hasn’t run a public hearing notice in our paper in regards to Black River.

RCW 28A.335.020
School closures — Policy of citizen involvement required — Summary of effects — Hearings — Notice.

Before any school closure, a school district board of directors shall adopt a policy regarding school closures which provides for citizen involvement before the school district board of directors considers the closure of any school for instructional purposes. The policy adopted shall include provisions for the development of a written summary containing an analysis as to the effects of the proposed school closure. The policy shall also include a requirement that during the ninety days before a school district’s final decision upon any school closure, the school board of directors shall conduct hearings to receive testimony from the public on any issues related to the closure of any school for instructional purposes. The policy shall require separate hearings for each school which is proposed to be closed.
The policy adopted shall provide for reasonable notice to the residents affected by the proposed school closure. At a minimum, the notice of any hearing pertaining to a proposed school closure shall contain the date, time, place, and purpose of the hearing. Notice of each hearing shall be published once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the school, subject to closure, is located. The last notice of hearing shall be published not later than seven days immediately before the final hearing.