(Seattle Public Schools photo)

By Tracy Record
Editor of the West Seattle Blog

The word “devastated” kept coming up as more than 50 people gathered outside this evening Sanislo Elementary School talk about it Seattle Public Schools‘ Suggestion to close it.

The community-organized meeting – whose leaders asked not to record videos – offered parents, teachers, neighbors and students the opportunity to speak directly to the school board director Gina Topp about how they are feeling and, as one organizer put it, a chance for their voices to be heard in the process where they were not heard before.

They shared their stories about what school is like for them and their children. Every student is known, every student is welcomed, every student is understood, many participants explained. According to the district, the school has 145 students and will be merged into this school Highland Park Elementary Schoolwith 276, for a total population of 421,

It was a diverse audience – including an immigrant mother who said that after coming to this country “looking for something better,” she discovered a school that was “like a family – her.” welcomed us with open arms.” She also appreciated that Sanislo is a “multicultural school.” The school is 78 percent BIPOC and 74 percent low-income. The staff is also diverse; One of the bilingual teachers who attended the meeting has been at Sanislo for 35 years.

Some of the participating parents have or had several children there. More than one expressed sadness that their younger children will not be able to attend the same school as their siblings if the closure plan is implemented for next year and beyond. One mother was a Sanislo graduate herself.

Topp said she was there mostly to listen. Both she and a union representative emphasized that there isn’t much information yet about how this will all play out — other than that the board’s final vote is due in January, after a round of hearings at the city’s four elementary schools, including Sanislo proposed for closure. She said she doesn’t yet know how she will vote on it. But she stressed that the district’s $94 million budget gap needs to be closed somehow — and that the larger issue is that more state funding is needed to fully cover education costs.

But this big problem is hard to get to grips with when you see that there are plans to close your child’s school. Some staff will be able to move with the students, but not all: “Our librarian dressed up as Mary Poppins yesterday,” said one participant. “She can’t go to Highland Park because there’s a half-time position there,” and that position is already filled. The uncertainty about the fate of employees “exacerbates the situation,” noted one participant.

Some participants were upset about the injustice they see in the closure plan. One pointed out that other school communities in East West Seattle have already been disrupted in recent years – Roxhill Primary School And Cooper Elementary Schoolfor two.

Organizers put together fact sheets, including a refutation of some school leaders’ claim that Sanislo has high per-pupil education costs. Bigger West Seattle Elementary Schoolfor example, only costs $333 less per year per student. The fact sheet also points out that the “well-equipped school” that Sanislo students would be transferred to will not necessarily be “more well-equipped” than their current school once the population increases – they say that means “less.” would be time in the library and less subject time for art and music.” Some students who live north of Sanislo will ride the bus more than two miles to Highland Park, even though they are less than half a mile away Boren STEM K-8

Other arguments organizers are using to try to save Sanislo: “Highland Park and Sanislo are BOTH needed as neighborhood schools to keep up with population growth.” By closing Sanislo, Highland Park will become the only neighborhood school for all of Delridge “It should be rebuilt, not closed, with a population of 32,044.”

What about the poor condition of the Sanislo building? This is the district’s fault, say organizers, who have failed to invest in building improvements for many years: “The building’s deterioration is the result of the district’s neglect, for which students now have to pay.” But the school has disposed of about an incredible asset in their “green spaces and urban protected wetlands.”

The fact sheet ends with a request to “keep Sanislo open.”

At the start of the meeting, one participant described Sanislo as a “little sanctuary.” When asked how best to have a say in fate, Topp replied, “Talk to me, talk to other board members” and help them figure out how to set the budget for the long term. “In order for our education system to work, everyone has to pull together.” (You can initially reach them at [email protected].)