Highland Community Forum by Golec, Jason L

Process

2023-10-27 01:25:25 UTC

Why were Big Picture and International school included in the demographer reports for population but not considered for consolidation?

2023-10-27 01:29:53 UTC

Would consolidation affect Bellevue residents in terms of tax?

How does consolidation impact the reimagining middle school?

2023-10-27 02:01:18 UTC

Dual language program

2023-10-27 02:02:26 UTC

With consolidation, would it be beneficial to combine the dual language Spanish and International Spanish Academy?

2023-10-27 02:04:36 UTC

What is the capacity of each MS, including for the choice schools?

Opportunities

2023-10-27 02:05:24 UTC

Is it possible to partner with community partners to offer family hubs at other middle schools with the open space that’s available now and in the future?

Elective subject/Course

2023-10-27 02:12:55 UTC

If the consolidation happened what will be the plan of elective subjects which kids already selected this curriculum

Highland Transfers

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:13:20 UTC

How many students in the Highland attendance area:

go to Odle for advanced learning
go to other schools through open enrollment general education.

Non-resident Enrollment

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:14:45 UTC

Does BSD expect non-resident enrollment to stay at 26%, or increase, or decrease?

Highland Culture

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:16:20 UTC

What is BSD doing to evangelize change in culture at Highland/bad reputation? This may impact future enrollment.

LWSD/Redmond

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:17:55 UTC

Why are LWSD/Redmond schools overflowing while Bellevue is declining?

Safety

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:19:12 UTC

How can we ensure kids' safety and support if school will be packed and classes will be overfilled?

Reimagine Middle School

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:20:37 UTC

How does the reimagine middle school effort fit in with consolidation? That program seems to be very similar to Bellevue Big Picture.

Strategy

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:24:41 UTC

What is the strategy in case we are consolidating schools but the 1-n2 years later the number of kids enrolling will increase? Will we reopen schools?

Lighting for Fields

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:26:33 UTC

It is my understanding that BSD has funding to put more lights at the schools for after-hours activities, like soccer. Why is nothing be done/built?

Eastgate Parking Lot

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:27:37 UTC

Why is BSD spending $1m a parking lot at Eastgate?

New Language Programs

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:28:59 UTC

Considering adding languages - more than one - at every school including BP & IS.

Feeder Pattern Alignment

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:30:11 UTC

Consider feeder pattern - all students at a MS progress to HS together.

Enrollment by Program

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:31:15 UTC

What are the number of students by program (dual language vs. neighborhood)?

Combine International & Big Picture

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:35:22 UTC

Why not combine International and Big Picture? Why are we catering to the choice schools at the expense of the general population? First priority should be keeping the middle schools open to help them thrive. Sell one of your many properties, rebuild International and put Big Picture there.

Choice Schools

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:36:35 UTC

Why aren't you looking at closing International and Big Picture choice schools? How much funding is diverted to specialized programs?

Choice Schools

duenwaldt — 2023-10-27 02:38:27 UTC

Choice schools should not take priority over general education. The fewest students would be disrupted if a choice school program was internalized in general education school thus saving funds on ovehead.

Consolidating ideas

2023-10-27 15:51:30 UTC

Could middle school programs be consolidated into high schools like Big Picture and International school?

Consolidating Choice Schools

2023-10-27 15:52:25 UTC

Could Big Picture and International be consolidated into one middle school campus? Why do they need their own campuses?

Invest in innovation

2023-10-27 21:50:49 UTC

Neighboring districts have a lot more choice schools. Can we invest on innovative school programs that open up different pathways and careers? Some schools offer comprehensive programs in 6-12 grade format in CTE and/or specific sectors: cyber security, computer tech, artificial intelligence, aerospace, etc.

Enrollment

2023-10-27 22:05:28 UTC

Can the district provide what the enrollment would be at each of the 5 comprehensive middle schools based on a students residence within school boundaries (e.g., showing numbers that would be at each school of kids were not removed from neighborhood schools for self-contained AL program, etc).

Can BSD share a "reality check" of the programs/services that potentially be cut?

2023-11-08 04:47:44 UTC

We need to have an open conversation about what really is at stake here. It's hard for families to talk about numbers (or make choices) if we don't understand the true impact of not having a balanced budget.

What are the possible scenarios and how do they span out?

2023-11-08 04:51:24 UTC

For elementary consolidation, several scenarios were presented (I believe it was in the updated recommendation for Ardmore). What are the scenarios for this consolidation round? What happens if we postpone this difficult decision?

Can BSD host a "Money Talk" town hall where families have the chance to learn and ask questions about the budget shortfall and district funding?

2023-11-08 04:54:48 UTC

Giving an opportunity for families/stakeholders to discuss budget beyond the demographers reports would help us understand how we got to this situation.

How is our district advocating for a fully-funded education?

2023-11-08 05:02:01 UTC

Lack of adequate funding, chicken nugget inflation, increased needs for mental health, and staffing shortages are statewide and easy to understand. But are legislators hearing from you all as a group?

Please! Keep impact away from the most marginalized students and families

2023-11-08 05:07:51 UTC

Historically school budget/program cuts disproportionately impact our most marginalized students and families. :-( As a community, we really need to be cognizant of the choices (cut, close, shrink, decrease, merge, consolidate) and try to have our community really think about the bigger picture: how can we work together, to protect our students and keep the impact as far away from classrooms (students & teachers) as possible?

Cultivating trust and "healing" as a community

2023-11-08 05:15:12 UTC

A lot of our families already went through this process last spring. How do we cultivate a sense of belonging, connection/trust, investment, and voice in our district? It's hard to not feel targeted if we are continuously put in a fight or flight situation.