Former Laurelhurst Elementary School Head Teacher Involved in "Disturbing Discipline" According to News Report

 

Edward Roos

(courtesy of SPS)

Edward Roos, former Principal at View Ridge Elementary School, is in the news for alleged mistreatment of a student at that school. According to the KUOW article, he resigned last month, after a lengthy investigation.

Here is the full article titled: "Locked in ‘the cage.’ Report finds disturbing discipline measures at Seattle school."

Roos was Head Teacher at Laurelhurst Elementary School for the 2014 and 2015 school years.  He was not a teacher, but reportedly acted in a vice principle role. Roos worked under the Principal at the time, Sarah Talbot, who also started the same year, after Principal Jolly resigned.

In 2016 a petition was posted to remove Talbot from Laurelhurst Elementary School due to many serious parent concerns.

An article was written about her here titled: "Why Does the District Let Good Schools Go Bad?"

In 2015, Talbot was responsible for having a portable delivered without going through the proper City approval process. 

Roos shows as receiving, while at Laurelhurst, in 2014 $59,183 and $61,340 in 2015. The following year he received $109,675 during his first year as Principal at View Ridge Elementary and the last 2 years he received $125,963 and $135,425.

It has been reported that Roos also received many complaints from parents as did Talbot during his 2 years at Laurelhurst Elementary School.

The Laurelhurst Blog received multiple emails following the news report:

Mr. Roos seemed to single out mostly 3rd-5th grade boys and was demeaning and humiliating to them. He was known for forcing them to put their heads on the lunch table if they talked too loudly or did anything Roos did not like. He was shaming and his style of discipline was offensive and damaging to many boys he singled out for no valid reason.  

My son was in 5th grade when Roos was at Laurelhurst Elementary School. He was never in trouble during his other 5 years at the school. When Roos arrived he was treated with disdain with no explanation whatsoever. He was made to feel ashamed in front of his friends, mostly at lunch, and on the playground. It had a huge negative impact on my son for years after he graduated from the school. 

It is with great happiness and relief to read that Mr. Roos is no longer employed by Seattle Public Schools. Reading the information in the article is greatly disturbing, but comes as no surprise, seeing how Mr. Roos treated students, especially the older boys, with no respect, using his power in a very negative manner that had damaging effects on students. Unfortunately, it seemed that Talbot gave him great power to do as he wanted, though he was only "Head Teacher" and he appeared to take full advantage of that.

I had 2 boys at Laurelhurst Elementary School that were both treated extremely poorly by Mr. Roos. It was heartbreaking to see my boys come home with little confidence and very little joy or passion for school anymore.

It was in Mr. Roos' demeanor to be insulting, humiliating and unkind to students, especially those in the latter grades at Laurelhurst Elementary school. He often lectured students during the entire lunch period, told them to put their heads down on the table for 10-15 minutes taking up their lunch time and carried out other disciplinary actions that were disrespectful and disparaging. So many parents were concerned during those 2 years he was at Laurelhurst Elementary School but Talbot covered for him, herself disliked by many parents as well.

Hopefully View Ridge will get a better Principal and will move forward in a positive way. It took Laurelhurst Elementary years to move forward after the damage done by Talbot and Roos to the school community.  

Seattle Public Schools Daily Neighborhood Lunch Delivery

Seattle Public Schools comes through Laurelhurst daily in a big yellow School Bus to deliver sack lunches to students.  

The bus stops at the corner of NE 50th Street and 47th Avenue NE at 11:35am daily. The person who hands out the lunches is wearing gloves and a mask.

Lunch consists of a sandwich, drink, vegetable and fruit. On Fridays, Seattle Public Schools also hands out food bags with snacks and other items for the week-end.

The delivery will also happen on Monday, even though it is a holiday.

Seattle Public Schools posted this information:

Seattle Public Schools is committed to providing meal service to students during this pandemic. Seattle Public Schools will provide student sack meals on many bus routes. 

The sack meals, which are prepared by our central kitchen staff, are available for all Seattle Public Schools students.

Go here for more information.

Apply Now To Serve On City Advisory Committee To Decide Zoning Modifications For Roosevelt High School

Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods posted this information:

Community volunteers needed to advise on zoning modification to Roosevelt High School (reference high school for Laurelhurst)

Roosevelt High School

Those who live or own a business within 600’ of Roosevelt High School, residents in the surrounding neighborhood, representatives of city-wide education issues, students of Roosevelt High School, and parents of potential students, are eligible to apply for the City Advisory Committee to that will recommend whether to grant a modification to a City zoning regulation affecting Roosevelt High School. 

The Seattle School District is requesting to provide less than required on-site parking in order to retain existing classroom portables.

The committee will receive briefings from the School District and gather and evaluate public comments on the departure request. Following these meetings, the committee will make a recommendation to the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) to either grant or deny the requested modification. The committee may also recommend relevant conditions to be applied to granting the change to minimize its impact on the surrounding neighborhood. SDCI will make the final decision.

The committee will convene up to three public meetings at or near Roosevelt High School over a three-month period.

To apply, send a letter of interest by Monday, February 25 that includes your address, information about yourself and your interest in serving on this committee by email to Maureen.sheehan@seattle.gov.or send to:

Maureen Sheehan

Seattle Department of Neighborhoods

PO Box 94649

Seattle, WA 98124-4649

Email: Maureen.sheehan@seattle.gov

For more information email Maureen Sheehan or call 206-684-0302.

Public School Bus' Stop Paddle Cameras Help Keep In Keeping 23,000 Students Safe

A neighbor forwarded this information from the Seattle Public Schools website:

Stop Paddle Cameras Keeping Students Safe New District Initiative Aims to Improve Student Safety

Seattle Public Schools launched a new initiative to keep the 23,000 students using school transportation a lot safer. Read more about our Student Safety Stop Arm Camera Program initiative. The cameras began operation on September 18 and starting last week, the King County Sheriff’s Office began issuing $419 citations to vehicle owners that have violated the state’s stop paddle safety law. Visit the Washington State Legislature website to read the text of state law RW 46.61.370. The district partnered with King County and American Traffic Solutions to deter drivers from illegally passing buses that are loading and unloading students. Exterior cameras have been added to 120 of the 379 First Student buses that transport our students each day. The cameras capture video of vehicles that appear to be illegally passing the bus when its stop paddle is fully extended. The King County Sheriff's Office reviews the footage provided by the American Traffic Solutions cameras to confirm the traffic violation occurred. The safety of students is a top district priority. To better understand what is happening locally, the district piloted the stop paddle safety program on 10 school buses traveling the busiest routes. Over that 112-day period, nearly 600 vehicles illegally passed the bus when the stop paddle was in use. The School Board approved the use of the exterior cameras during its July 5, 2017, meeting. Visit the Washington State Legislature website to read the text of state law RW 46.61.370. Here is more information on the district website.

Information On Seattle Public Schools Student Assignment Plan And High School Boundary

A Laurelhurst neighbor would like to share from the recent Seattle Public School "Beat newsletter:"

FEATURED  Student Assignment Plan   and High School Boundary   Engagement Teacher talks with students. We want to hear from you about the Student Assignment Plan and High School Boundaries! The City of Seattle is growing rapidly. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, in the past year, on average, nearly 57 people moved to the city every day, and many of those moving here include families. In the past 10 years, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) has grown by 8,000 students. While our rapid growth is stabilizing, we are running to catch up and ensure enough high school capacity. In the 2019-20 school year, SPS will reopen Lincoln High School, a comprehensive high school in Northwest Seattle. Reopening Lincoln will require redrawing of the high school boundaries, which identifies the district areas that will feed into each high school. At the same time, we are making updates to the Student Assignment Plan (SAP). The SAP ensures that students have access to the services they need and outlines options for programs and enrollment outside students' designated schools. One area of review is Advanced Learning. These bodies of work (High School Boundaries, SAP, and Advanced Learning opportunities) are interconnected and require community engagement. Over the course of the next couple months, district staff will be asking stakeholders for ideas, analyzing impacts and making final recommendations to the School Board. SAP recommendations are planned to go before the School Board on Nov. 1. Any recommended changes to High School Advanced Learning will not go into effect until the 2019-20 school year. We anticipate High School Boundary recommendations will be introduced on Jan. 3, 2018, to the School Board. The approved high school boundaries will go into effect in the 2019-20 school year with the reopening of Lincoln High School. School Board meetings are open to the public.  Our number one goal through this process is to create the best educational experience for all of more than 53,000 SPS students. The district is also committed to keeping students, families and staff informed and engaged every step of the way through this process. You can learn more about attending a meeting on our School Board Meeting webpage. There is more information, including next steps, and resources on the district website.

Informational Meeting Tomorrow Regarding Lincoln High School Possibly As New Feeder School For Laurelhurst

Several Blog readers have sent information regarding a meeting tomorrow from 6:30-8:30pm at the Lincoln (Cascadia) Library, 4400 Interlake Avenue North, regarding Lincoln High School, scheduled for opening in the fall of 2019. 

One parent said it could become the feeder school for Laurelhurst, just as Hamilton was for several years.  

Here is information from Seattle Public Schools Office of Public Affairs:

Join School Board Director Richard Burke and Seattle Public Schools staff for a community listening session about Lincoln High School.  We have exciting plans for the site renovation and restoration, but the academic programming and student assignment plans are still developing.  

Come and share your dreams, ideas and help make Lincoln's opening a successful start for a vibrant school. Representatives from Teaching and learning, International Education, Enrollment, Capital Projects, Bassetti Architects, and the School Design Advisory Team (SDAT) are expected to be present.

A Laurelhurst parent commented:

I want to be sure that our community is aware that there will be a new high school opening. This likely will have impacts on who goes to what high school - as in boundary changes are going to happen again.


There are important questions that we should all be asking, for instance, if SPS geo-splits students and have no grandfathering, will a HS Junior be required to leave one high school for the new high school based on where he/she lives? Will Lincoln HS be a HCC/APP pathway for North end students given the capacity issues at Garfield?


This new highschool and the boundary issues will certainly impact our current 7th Graders (who will be sophomores at opening). Parents in this geographic region need to be paying attention and asking for some assurances.


Many of you will remember that Laurelhurst/Windermere students were assigned to Hamilton Middle School (out of the Eckstein MS area) before being changed back to Eckstein after several years. The current Eckstein - Roosevelt pathway may change to Eckstein-Lincoln.

Another parent wrote:

Here are some questions that should be asked: 

·  Will Lincoln have the International Baccalaureate (IB), Dual Language Immersion (DLI), or Highly Capable Cohort (HCC) program?

·  Will Roosevelt and Ingraham students be grandfathered at their schools?

·  What's being done in the interim to reduce the current overcrowding in area high schools?

·  What's the timeline for all of these decisions?

·  How will it be communicated to parents?

·  When will the principal be selected?

Community Invited To Learn More About Emotional Behavioral Disabilities Program at Laurelhurst Elementary, Impacts On School And Community

Laurelhurst Elementary School is having a follow-up meeting tomorrow night, from 6-8pm, from their March meeting where Seattle Public School representatives discussed the Emotional Behavioral Disabilities (EBD) program at the school. 

At that meeting, current parents as well as community members at large filled the school cafeteria to discuss the program in general, the location of the program inside the main building instead of in a portable, how general education students are being impacted, safety of all students at the school, training of all staff at the school to manage the students, as well as many other topics of concern.  

Many of those who attended the March meeting reported to the Laurelhurst Blog that they felt the meeting was very one-sided with the District choosing which hand-written questions were to be answered, amongst many that were submitted, regarding the social and emotional program which focuses on students with a variety of unique challenges.

A PTA representative confirmed this saying "Attendees felt their questions were not answered at that meeting and hopefully the meeting tomorrow will be more conclusive and action oriented."

The Laurelhurst Blog received these comments:

It seems that the administration was only taking comments and questions that they found appropriate and set parameters for the meeting. I think it was also clear that they were accusing the community of being insensitive to the special needs program and setting the dialogue up to point fingers at our community.

The meeting ended before most people's questions were answered. When a parent tried to ask a question that had not been submitted, it was shocking how the District treated that parent in such a demeaning and dismissive manner.  

There was time for only a few questions at the very end of the meeting.  Certain questions were selected from those that people handed in. The questions were answered but no follow-up questions were allowed or comments of any kind. It was solely the District representatives running the show. If someone tried to speak up, they were shut down. And this is how the District believes it is acceptable to treat our parent community and neighborhood?   

The PTA said that the initial meeting came about as "some community members voiced concerns that learning is being negatively impacted at our cramped school with the current set-up for programs. So Principal Sarah Talbot agreed that it would be useful for neighbors to attend the forum, in addition to school parents, as neighbors sometimes see EBD activity around school."


Reports have been made that students in the program are sometimes outside of the school supervised with a staff person but other times it has been reported that staff members are asking anyone they see if they have seen a particular child who has left the school unauthorized.

Here are additional comments received:

We have lived near the school for almost 25 years and we have become increasingly concerned seeing students running away from the school being chased by a staff member and even being asked if we have seen a student. We feel for these students and their families. We are concerned the Principal is not managing this program efficiently and effectively so that the young students don't escape and staff are then obviously panicking trying to find them. And do their parents know their student walked out of the school and they temporarily can't be found?  

We live a block away from the school and are worried more and more about the emergency vehicles that seem to come to the school more and more frequently. We heard last year that a student turned a classroom upside down and then this year a student tried to climb up a ladder onto the roof. Are these students not being closely supervised? We certainly have compassion for these students, but at the same time, we hope all the students are safe inside the school, as well as those that live around the school. 

Tomorrow night's invitation says:

Please join us for a moderated discussion and solutions session regarding the learning challenges facing all our students at Laurelhurst Elementary.  The format/content of this evening was determined by a taskforce of LES general and special education parents and teachers

Attendees are:
Wyeth Jesse, Director of Special Education
Jill Geary, School Board Member
Kim Whitworth, Education Director for the Northeast Region
Sarah Talbot, Principal at Laurelhurst Elementary


Here is a video of the first 30 half of the March meeting, which solely includes the presentation from Principal Talbot and Wyeth Jesse. The video doesn't include all the questions "so it is not entirely representational of attending the meeting," a PTA representative said.

 

Here is information about the school program from their website.

Increased Enrollment Impact On Laurelhurst Elementary School With Proposed Boundary Changes, Give Input At Upcoming Meetings

A concerned Laurelhurst Elementary School parent and PTA Board Member, Elizabeth, would like to share with the neighborhood about the upcoming meeting on next year's SPS boundary changes for elementary and middle schools. 

The meeting is happening on Thursday from 6:30-7:30pm at John Stanford Center Auditorium (2445 3rd Avenue South). 

Another meeting will be held April 26, 2016, 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Roosevelt High School.

To offer comments on the proposed changes send email to growthboundaries@seattleschools.org 

The boundaries for Laurelhurst Elementary School would increase with the addition of two new attendance areas - Northwest of Sand point Way and South of NE 50th Street.

"This could place increasing demands on our already overcrowded school," Elizabeth told the Blog Staff.

The meetings provide an opportunity for the District to share information with the community on the upcoming changes, and for the community to provide feedback on any changes that could affect the boundaries that were approved in 2013.

Elizabeth is heading up a committee that is working to eliminate the proposed boundary changes for Laurelhurst Elementary School due to unequal distribution of students in the NE. Currently the more northern part of that area attends Sand Point Elementary and the southern part attends Bryant

Elizabeth told the Blog Staff:

Boundary changes are set to be implemented for all of the elementary schools in the NE region, including Laurelhurst beginning in the 2017-18 school year. 

Unlike the last round of elementary boundary changes, SPS is considering a method known as a geo-split for the 2017-2018 changes.  With a geo-split if your home address is drawn into the boundary of a new school, then your child will be removed from their current school and enrolled in their new attendance area school.   

This means kids that are currently in those areas will not be grandfathered into the school they are currently attending. The geo-split method will assign them to their new attendance area school, regardless of how long they have been attending their current school. (This will not apply to students attending Option Schools).  

An example of the geo-split method is if you currently reside within the Bryant Elementary boundary south of NE 55th St. a proposed change is to map the area south of NE 50th St. to Laurelhurst Elementary.  If your child currently attends Bryant they would be assigned to attend Laurelhurst starting in the 2017-2018 school year. 

As a bit of history, when SPS enacted the New Student Assignment Plan (NSAP) about seven years ago, students were grandfathered at their current elementary school, and Sand Point Elementary was started as a roll-up.  The first year of SPE was just K, as well as students new to the district. 

Also take note of how boundary changes could impact your middle school assignment.  As an example, you live within the current boundary of View Ridge, that will become a part of John Rogers in 2017-2018.  View Ridge is a feeder elementary to Eckstein and John Rogers is a feeder school to Jane Addams Middle School. 

Laurelhurst is currently 36% over capacity, while neighboring schools, Sand Point and Bryant are 10% and 5% over, respectively. Wedgwood is 1% over. View Ridge is almost as overcrowded at 24%, but they are not proposed to gain any additional attendance areas in 2017.  

Here is the proposed map of the changes.

 

Go here for more information and here to learn more about the proposed changes, as well as view the proposed new boundaries at the SPS Growth Boundaries page.

 

City Approves Additional Lot Coverage Allowing One More Portable At Laurelhurst Elementary School

North playground

 

The City of Seattle Hearing Examiner, Sue Tanner, has approved the additional lot coverage for one portable at Laurelhurst Elementary School.

Christi Nagle, who heads up a concerned group of parents called Parents for Playgrounds and Proper Planning, notified the Laurelhurst Blog Staff of this latest update.

Seattle Public Schools submitted a requested last year requested a waiver from City zoning regulations to increase the allowed lot coverage of 45% on the two playgrounds, allowing up to four more portables.

On March 17, the City appointed, Design Departure Committee Meeting whose role it was to decide whether Laurelhurst Elementary should be allowed up to four more portables, ultimately passed two motions, both 6-1 (School District representative voted no on both):  
1) in favor or making a decision at the meeting, thus voting against no further meetings
2) in denying the proposal for additional portables at the school, 

Then several weeks later DPD (Department of Planning and Development), sent Seattle Public Schools (SPS) a "Correction Notice," which the Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) said routinely happens if DPD needs more information or what they have been provided does not fit their criteria, in order to make their final decision in granting at least one portable, though the request does not state what size.
Several members of the Design Departure Committee Meeting wrote DPD a letter expressing their frustration in not being informed of the Correction Notice request, as well as their concern with the lack of future Committee involvement when SPS provides the additional information.

On July 24th, the group filed an appeal, Project #3019627 regarding the City's approval to allow one more portable at the school. 

Christ Nagle told the Blog Staff:

A few days ago, we received the decision from City of Seattle Hearing Examiner, Sue Tanner, over the holidays.  Unfortunately, she approved the additional lot coverage for one portable.  

Her decision was based on rationale below...

"The District's need for control over its instructional space is a valid, present, educational need. … The Appellant's argue that the District could simply purchase the LASER portable that the district is currently leasing for use as a 5th grade classroom.  That may be one option available to the District, but there is no evidence in the record that LASER would be willing to sell the portable, or that the District wants to purchase it.  Having shown the need to control its classroom space the District has the authority to determine how it will do so."

Obviously, we are disappointed in the fact that decision is partly based on whether or not LASER is interested in selling one of their portables, and SPS is not being pushed by the City to execute the transaction to make most efficient use of space.  LASER is a tenant leasing space on SPS property.  We all want LASER to remain on-site, as they are an important part of the school community.  However, Parents for Playgrounds and Proper Planning, feels that the LASER program has ample space as set up now, without using their 2nd portable that is current 5th grade classroom.  Space is tight, and the most efficient, educationally beneficial uses are necessary.

PPPP filed a Reconsideration motion (12/28/15) based on the fact that the Examiner ignored an important piece of evidence in her decision.  This SPS memo confirmed district policy prioritizing K-12 classroom space over after-care space.  Sue never mentioned the document in her decision.   

SPS filed a rebuttal to our reconsideration on 1/6/15.   Yesterday, the Hearing Examiner denied our motion to reconsider, and submitted her final unchanged decision.  If anyone would like a copy of the appeal decision or PPPP reconsideration motion, please email us and we are happy to send them to you.  christinagle@yahoo.com  or  kaylenea@comcast.net. 

Parents for Playgrounds and Proper Planning is discussing next steps.  We have the option to appeal the City’s decision to the Superior Court.   

Thank you very much for the community support throughout this process.  We still feel strongly that our neighborhood school would be degraded if another portable got plopped down on top of the heavily used open playground space.   Quality, active recess is a key element to kids' educations.

portable delivered then removed on north playground at

Laurelhurst Elementary School last summer

  

Seattle Public School Meeting Tonight On Proposed New School Start And End Times

Seattle Public schools is holding a meeting tonight at 6:30-7:30pm at Jane Addams Middle School, regarding proposed new school bell times for 2016-17 school year . 

Most Elementary Schools would start at 8am, high schools at 8:50am and Middle schools at 9:40am.

Laurelhurst Elementary would start at 8am and end at 2:10pm.

Here is the agenda for tonight's meeting:
• Bell Time Resolution Analysis (20 minutes) – Timeline, History and Summary – Additional Considerations
• Superintendent’s Final Draft Recommendation – Questions and Answers (10 minutes)
• Large Group Feedback (30 minutes) – Written Comments – Oral Comments
• Ongoing Feedback/Next Steps 
• Individual Discussions

Maizun, Sand Point Elementary PTA Legislative Chair, wrote the Laurelhurst Blog staff that Sand Point Elementary is not included in the NE Elementary Schools cluster of an 8am start time, and has been pushed back to a 9:40am.

She wrote:

If you look at the new start times proposed in the Superintendent’s Final Draft Recommendation and the Community Meeting handout (see links below), all the NE Seattle elementary schools surrounding Sand Point Elementary (including Wedgwood, View Ridge, Bryant, Laurelhurst and Thornton Creek) are being assigned a new 8:00 am start time, while our school is being pushed back even later to 9:40 am! 

This was never even an option on the original bell times survey, and was not even something the bell times committee recommended but rather something the District decided at the last minute would replace the modified flip option.   

It seems curious that the elementary schools selected in our area for the extra late bell times all have similar population demographics, i.e. larger numbers of low income families than the other NE Seattle schools.  However, the District has not yet offered us any explanation, and it seems misinformed at best. 

 

To provide comments on the bell time changes, send email to arrivaltimes@seattleschools.org.

For more information go here. 

Seattle Public Schools Boundaries And Student Assignment Plan Update Meeting Tonight

Seattle Public Schools is holding a community information meeting from 6:30-7:15pm tonight at Thornton Creek cafeteria (7711 43rd Avenue NE) to share information and answer questions about boundary and student assignment plans for the 2016-2017 year.
 
The information says:
Boundary changes being implemented next year are all in West Seattle near Arbor Heights Elementary, which will open in a new building in Fall 2016. Boundary and geo-zone changes for the other schools opening in 2016 have already been adjusted.

Additionally, the district is proposing revisions to the Student Assignment Plan to streamline and clarify questions that have been raised over the past several years. Revisions include elimination of the distance tiebreaker and other conflicting statements. Once adopted, this will be the final implementation of the Student Assignment Plan.
 
At the meetings, staff members will present information, ask for comments and answer questions.
 
For more information go here.