Student Assignment Plan

The Student Assignment Plan should provide equitable access to programs and services. But where is the effort to provide equitable access to CTE programs and academies? How will the District assure equitable quality among similar programs?

The District needs to fulfill their longstanding promise to assure the quality and effectiveness of advanced learning programs.

The District needs to make sure that the capacity of CTE programs and academies matches the demand for those programs and that the programs are equitably distributed around the District. Students cannot have equitable access a bio-tech academy if the only one is at Ballard High School. The same is true for a number of other popular and successful CTE programs and academies.

There is real concern that when students living in Queen Anne and Magnolia are assured of access to a nearby high school it will be Ballard High School and, as a result, students living in Ballard north of 80th Street will be assigned to Ingraham and will not have access to Ballard High School. I think that high school enrollment north of downtown is sufficient to support an additional 1,000 seat comprehensive high school at Lincoln. This can be the neighborhood high school for students living in Magnolia, Queen Anne, Fremont, Wallingford, and the University District. It can also be the destination high school for students coming out of international schools and language immersion programs.

The addition of high school capacity will improve students' opportunities to gain access to a high school they choose based on culture and programs rather than one chosen for them by the District based on zip codes.