tops

The monthly newsletter of TOPS, a Seattle Public K-8 alternative school.

November 1997

Volume 1, Issue 3

Principal:
Karen Kodama

Site Council Chair:

Penny Bolton

McDonald School
144 NE 54th Street, Seattle, WA 98105

729-3360

http://sea-css.ssd.k12.wa.us/TOPS/index.html

The Outrageous Publishing Service

Kodama's A-Plus Award Benefits TOPS

Karen Kodama won the A+ Award from the Seattle Alliance for Education for being the District's best principal last year, and she has decided to share her $1,000 award with TOPS faculty. The following "mini-grants" have been made: Tracy's 2nd grade class will spend $200 on ten hours of Spanish lessons; Julie's 4th grade will spend $200 on a service-learning project cleaning up Greenlake's shoreline; Nani's 5th grade class will spend $250 on an authors' conference at Camp Long; Luzita and Michelle's 6th grade will spend $100 on a migration quilting project; and the Internet committee will spend $250 to upgrade software for Internet access.

District Student Assignment Plan Proposals Hits TOPS Hard

Under the District's proposed new assignment plan, more than half the currently-enrolled TOPS families would no longer be eligible for transportation to TOPS after the 1999-2000 school year. TOPS would be the designated alternative and K-8 school for only the Central and Magnolia/Queen Anne clusters. Perhaps more importantly for some, younger siblings not already enrolled would not get the benefit of "sibling preference" to get into the school.

The District's goals with the new plan include increasing academic achievement, increasing student market share, creating opportunities for racial integration and minimizing transportation costs.

The District's 60 reference areas relating to each elementary school remain relatively unchanged. These 60 areas would be grouped into nine clusters. Each cluster would include an alternative school, a Spectrum program and a K-8 school, but in general the district wants to discourage choice of those programs outside one's cluster.

Technically, all schools are open to anyone in the district. Transportation, however, is provided only within one's cluster. For schools which are in high demand (like TOPS), the following tie-breakers will determine the priority under which students are assigned: reference area (generally determined by the elmentary school closest to home), siblings, integration postive, distance, and lottery.

Out-of-cluster transportation will be provided for three predominantly white clusters (NW, NE and QA/Mag) and three predominately minority clusters (SE, S and Central) when the student makes an "integration choice." The north and two West Seattle clusters will not have transportation provided for integration choices. The cluster with an "integration choice" access to TOPS is likely to be the South onebut only to families of color, and only if there is space available.

The proposed "grandfather commitment" would provide transportation to students who are currently eligible and who maintain their current school assignment and current service address, but only through the 1999-2000 school year. The District claims parents are not permitted by state law to pay for district-provided transportation. Arrangements might be made with Metro, however, for a "custom bus" service.

After a hearing on October 29, the board is scheduled to vote on November 5 in time for publication of the Choices booklet on November 15.

This newsletter will not be the source of the latest information on student assignment proposals, but TOPS parents are strongly encouraged to read weekly take-home notices and local newspapers to stay informed and find ways to influence the discussion.

TOPS Enrollment and Budget Both Down

Principal Karen Kodama reports that enrollment is at 541 as of October 1, about 60 students below projection, which is causing a budget problem. Space restrictions at our new location have required limiting the number of children in some grade levels (especially kindergarten). While second and fifth grades are slightly overbooked, grades K, 1, 3, 4, and 8 are under by about 25 students. Enrollment in the bilingual orientation program is the most undersubscribed area. There are waiting lists at virtually every grade level, and where physical space is available, students are being invited.

The new "weighted student formula" budgeting process in the school district gives schools a budget based on their projected enrollment. When enrollment is below projection, the school is expected to give back more than $2,200 per student. Because space limitations drove some of the enrollment reductions, the district is not going to require that all the money be returned. The principal and a faculty-parent "leadership committee" are working to decide where to cut about $20,000 from the budget.

Olchefske to Speak at TOPS

Joseph Olchefske, Chief Finacial Officer for Seattle Public Schools, will speak at TOPS on state funding and student assignment. This is an all-school meeting sponsored by the Parent Steering Committee. The meeting will be November 18, 7 pm in the lunchroom. Call Chris in the office to reserve a spot in childcare.

About The Outrageous Publishing Service

This is the third monthly newsletter of the 1997-98 school year, edited by Amy Hagopian and Jim Wells. Robyn Ricks does layout and design. Bruce Pulmano maintains the mailing list and gets this in your hands. We welcome help with writing and soliciting news from contributers. Please leave notes for us in the Newsletter box in the staff room if you can help, or call us. We're looking for kids' art, photographs, committee news, faculty news, classroom news, opinions, compliments, profiles, questions, education politics, calendar items, and announcements.

Articles are welcome from anyone wishing to reach the TOPS community, and may be submitted to the mailbox in the main office or mailed to Amy at 4203 5th Av. NW, 98107. Articles are preferred on computer disk, accompanied by a paper copy. Both IBM and Macintosh are accepted (Macintosh preferred). Email submissions may be sent to Amy_Hagopian@fam med.washington.edu. (but call ahead to discuss formatting).

The next issue deadline is November 17, 3:30 pm. And we really mean it.

Principal Search Committee

Rolls Up Its Sleeves

Topics Gets Underway

Topics started October 14 for first through fourth graders. Kids met from 2:15 to 3:15 on Tuesday and Wednesday the first week to study a topic of interest in groups of varying age with either a teacher, parent or peer directing the project. This valuable program enriches our strong & alternative school community.
Some of the first week's Topics included a study of aerodynamics (using paper airplanes), a focus on graffiti art, and a special look at the Mexican celebration of Dia de los Muertas.

Parent Dana Carey-Twight is starting a ten-week Topic called The Stock Market Game, developed by Economics America, through the Washington Council on Economic Education. The game introduces five students to the U.S. economy and the world of finance and investing by trading a hypothetical $100,000 on the American and N.Y. stock exchanges and the NASDAQ. Students will follow the market as a team, competing with teams from other schools across Washington.

This year, TOPS is working on increasing and encouraging science Topics. We are currently planning a training session at which parents will learn to teach science lessons using fun and interesting kits provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Now, it's time to decide what your Topic(s) will be this year! Parents of all grade levels are encouraged to participate. If you need support, direction ideas or a partner please call Niki Contos at 525-2913 or Joni Marts (volunteer coordinator). Topics handbooks are also available.

The committee to find a new principal for TOPS (for the 1998-99 school year) has organized to survey parents and faculty, draft a job description, prepare a description of the school, and explore the experiences of other schools' principal search committees.

The survey, answered by 55 individuals, identified the following as the most important qualities of the new principal:

• u Clear and authoritative when necessary
• u Respectful and approachable
• u Fair
• u Teambuilder
• u Listener
• u Effective problem solver
• u Commitment to the TOPS philosophy
• u Political savvy with the school district

The most important TOPS strengths on which the new principal should build, according to respondents, are parent involvement, high academic standards, cooperative spirit/community/ownership/ responsibility, TOPS' alternative school identity, independence from the district and ability to choose good teachers. Weaknesses to address included large class sizes, lack of diversity, and lack of world language education.

Parents were asked what qualities their children appreciated in Karen Kodama, and the most frequent responses revolved around her effort to know and appreciate all the children. Some quotes: "Her warmth and strength combined. You don't mess with Karen, but you also know she's reasonable and she listens;" "She's beautiful and the beauty goes deep to her heart;" "She knows each child's name and displays enthusiasm for accomplishments and community building."

Work experiences deemed most important include teaching, administration, K-8, and alternative. Skills must include management, working with the district, sharing decision-making with staff and parents, and supervising and evaluating staff. The new person must like middle school students, understand alternative schools, have a vision and a sense of humor, be good at getting what we need from "downtown," and believe in kids.

Well, this should be easy. No one mentioned walking on water. Call Penny Bolton at 325-5074 for more information.

Now's the Time to Start Thinking About the TOPS Auction

With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, our Auction Committee has a great idea for reaching out to the community for auction items. Though the auction itself isn't until March 28, as you're out and about in the upcoming weeks, you can ask merchants (local and otherwise) for their donations in support of our wonderful TOPS programs. This is a terrific opportunity to be a TOPS volunteer while you shop. What could be simpler? And remember, the committee could still use your volunteer help in a hundred other ways. Please contact either Rhian Lombard, 325-5395, or Karen D'luhosh, 323-8123.

Funding Cuts: Should Seattle

Sue the State?

Scott Barnhart

The Old World

Does it seem like each year there are deeper budget cuts? Why are reductions in transportation and assignment reference area being recommended? Why is class size at TOPS averaging at about 30 students per classroom? The reality is that Seattle's per pupil funding is dropping. I believe the Seattle School District should evaluate the pros and cons of suing the Washington State for full funding. Why consider suing Washington State? Approximately 80% of all school funding is controlled by the legislature and is not in the control of the local school board. The Washington State constitution states "It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders." The legislature is responsible for funding and clearly isn't meeting its obligation. Some facts:

Inflation Adjusted State Controlled Revenue per Pupil

increase their performance (Figure 2). In the "New World" districts are required to educate all students, at a minimum, to a set standard (Figure 3).

What are the options?

Seattle has put its administrative house in order, reduced central administration costs to the lowest level in a decade, implemented the weighted student formula, given schools increased budget authority, eliminated the controls on student enrollment due to racial balance guidelines and negotiated a new contract with the teachers. There is much work to still be done, but progress is apparent on many fronts. All of this will be lost if funding continues to decline. Importantly, the District is currently failing to adequately educate all students and we will not succeed without greater revenue.

Three changes are needed.

Change 1. Fund the full cost of educating children in poverty. The state's funding formula must recognize and reimburse this high cost. Poverty is associated with achievement levels 25 points lower on standardized tests. Education reform requirs all students to meet a specific standard. Without more funding, many students below the poverty level will not meet that standard.

Change 2. Increase flexibility. State funds come attached with enough strings to make a rope to hang ourselves. We should ask for the same flexibility requested in the charter school initiatives and preserve only key requirements such as equal access and allocation of resources according to need.

Change 3. Ratchet up funding overall. The level of funding overall must be raised dramatically to cover both capital and educational costs.

To sue or not to sue?

The decision to sue must be weighed against the option of continuing to work at the political level with business, labor, other school districts and the legislature. An earlier suit by Seattle in the 1970's resulted in a "same size fits all" formula. A suit would be expen

continued on page 10

(figure 2)

The New World

(figure 1)

Fact 1. Inflation-adjusted per pupil funding is dropping.

Fact 2. Initiative 601 caps growth in state spending to parallel general population growth. There are disproportionately greater numbers of children in that general population, however, placing them at risk.

Fact 3. The Seattle Public Schools have $250 million in deferred maintenance. A levy to rebuild only 20% of the buildings passed only after five election attempts. Seattle's students will forever be in substandard facilities unless something is done.

Fact 4. Washington State funds education for three categories of children: regular education, special education, and bilingual education. There are only limited state and federal adjustments for the cost of educating students in poverty. Thus, school districts with poverty rates of 2% (Mercer Island or Bainbridge) get nearly as much as Seattle, which as a poverty rate of 40%.

Fact 5. The state's education reform bill (1209) requires that students meet specific standards. In the "Old World" every student received funding to

(figure 3)

Dan Bloedel, TOPS' science teacher extraordinaire, has set up a very cool web page with lots of science information and links to science sites on the web. Check it out:

http://members.aol.com/dbloe47661/science.html

Committee Reports

TOPS site council committee reports are welcomed in this space each month. Our committees this year include: Chess, Drama, Curriculum Enhancement (including world languages, science, School to Work and music), Diversity, Executive, Facilities, Finance, Fund Development, Immediate Assistance, Middle School, Parent Steering, PEAK (the kindergarten enrichment and extension program), Safety, and Volunteer coordination. If your committee's news is missing, please try to get it in the next issue.

Curriculum Enhancement's World Language Committee is working to implement a language education program at TOPS. Paul Aoki (522-0608) is the coordinator.

Curriculum Enhancement's Chess Club started October 6, and meets Mondays after school from 3:30 to 4:30. No meetings during early dismissal weeks (Nov. 17 & 24). Coordinator is Steve Ludwig (706-0989), and coaches are Albert & Katya Shmidt, generously provided by the Chess Mates Foundation.

Curriculum Enhancement's Science Committee is planning a fall science awareness workshop for parents to be held November 5, 7 pm. Lianne Sheppard (633-2184) is coordinating. See related article.

Diversity committee is chaired by Jonathon and Gwen Davis (725-5916.

Drama committee is putting on "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as the middle school play in December. The elementary play will be a sequel to last year's History of Seattle. Call Anne Sebeste at 322-7076.

Executive committee consists of the TOPS site council leadership, including chair Penny Bolton, vice-chair Melora Battisti, secretary Belinda Butler-Bell, treasurer Doug Williams, and principal Karen Kodama. The current project is working on the principal recruitment and selection process.

Facilities committee chairs are Debrah Walker (329-0625), Phil Convers,e and Lynn Wunder. They are making a presence at the Master Use Permit hearings and reviewing decisions about the scope of the bid, including air handling, and selection of colors and materials (see related article). Next meeting Novem

ber 4, 5:30, in the library.

Finance Committee Doug Williams is in his 2nd year as treasurer and is looking for one or more interested persons to be the treasurer next year. Easy job especially if you like detail. Please contact Doug (innkeepr@wolfe net.com or 285-0810) or Penny Bolton. The finance committee comprised of Phil Converse, Henryk Hiller, Randy Joseph, Paul Pepin, Susan Wardle and Doug is terrific. It oversees the budget, collects and deposits monies pays site council bills and various other activities relating to a non profit organization. It meets once a month and is not a dull group.

Fund Development committee has a new chair, Craig Dawson (322-4414), who is interested in planning a TOPS endowment. He'll need help, so call to volunteer.

Middle School committee will work this year to implement the middle school strategic plan (see related article). Linda Secord at 325-6497.

Parent Steering committee is chaired by Susan Spieker, at 324-7261. This committee coordinates room reps, the roster, the newsletter, and all-parent meetings.

PEAK reports 38 families have signed up to contribute to the cost of full-day Kindergarten at TOPS, although the budget requires 41 families to participate. The monthly tuition may need to be raised unless more families contribute. It's also important that all 38 committed to paying actually pay. Call Betsy Scott (784-5768).

Safety committee is chaired by Michelle Butler-Myles at 725-7447.

Staff Appreciation is a new activity of the Parent Steering committee, and is being organized this year by Janet Moore (283-7284). Janet needs folks on her committee to help keep staff happy. This is fun! The committee thanks Cafe Appassionato for donating coffee for the staff lounge.

Volunteer coordinator is Joni Marts, who can be reached at school or at 632-9741.

Susan Mamlock, 1st grade teacher

Did you Know?

In the interest of peace and quiet, Susan's first grade has moved out of the double portable it shared with Carla's first grade and into the portable next door. Carla's class, then, is in P1, and Susan is in P3. The other half of P1 is now office space and the middle school lounge during lunch.

The two kindergarten classes gather together on the lunchroom stage every morning for a class meeting, and then divide into three groups headed by Joby, Joan, and Kathy. This class size reduction is made possible by the contribution of all kindergarten parents to the PEAK budget, which makes possible the hiring of Kathy as a teaching assistant and the "half" of Joby which the district doesn't provide.

TOPS Site Council meeting, September.

From left: Roxana Marachi, Dana Carey-Twight, Cheryl Pappy, Doug Williams, Karen Kodama, Dave Sarju.

TOPS Rolls Out Science to Students

and Parents

TOPS is embarking on its second year of the District-adopted hands-on science curriculum for elementary students. Our school has been one of the first to adopt this curriculum thanks to the support of a National Science Foundation-funded training grant. This science education is based on inquiry and is taught using science kits. Each unit is designed to take 10-12 weeks to deliver and each grade will have 3 kits over the course of the year. The units are:

• u Kindergarten: balance and motion; wood
• u First grade: weather; balls and ramps; organisms
• u Second grade: balancing and weighing; soils; liquids
• u Third grade: rocks and minerals; sound; plant growth and development
• u Fourth grade: circuits and pathways; food chemistry; ecosystems
• u Fifth grade: magnets and motors; changes in state; models and designs

This fall the Site Council and the Parent Steering Committee are sponsoring another Science Awareness Workshop. It will be held in the TOPS lunchroom on November 5 from 7-8:30 p.m. The workshop last year was very successful with about 80 parents in attendance. Again this year parents will learn about inquiry-based science and why it is proven to be an effective way to teach science. Participants will experience an activity similar to the kinds of activities the children will be doing in the classroom. Parents who participated last year are welcome to attend again we will explore a new activity this year. Limited childcare will be available.

Later in the year we plan to follow up the introduction given at the Science Awareness Workshop by sponsoring an evening inquiry training session. Teachers will share with parents their ideas on questioning strategies and effective practices in the classroom. This training will help parents support inquiry science at home, as classroom volunteers, and as TOPICS leaders. We encourage attendance at a Science Awareness Workshop by any parents interested in the inquiry training. Sign-up for the inquiry training will be available at the Science Awareness Workshop.

Call Lianne Sheppard at 633-2184.

Newsletter on Line

You can find the TOPS newsletter on the World Wide Web at <http://sea-css.ssd.k12.wa.us/TOPS/index.html>

Traffic Trouble

Right before school is out, as the buses line up going east on NE 55th Street and parents line their cars up on NE 54th, our traffic troubles begin. Observers in the neighborhood and at school have noticed a number of potentially dangerous situations occurring as cars and buses converge around the little neighborhood block that houses our school. Here is an accounting of the problems that have been noted and some actions and suggestions that should help to rectify them.

Parents picking up their children. We appreciate parents complying with our request to relieve the congestion with the buses on 55th St. by picking up their children on 54th St. however, we have found that the congestion on 54th also makes it very difficult for traffic to move through that street at dismissal time. Cars attempting to turn onto 54th from Latona sometimes find they cannot enter the street, and traffic on Latona backs up in both directions. Other cars, deciding to park instead on Latona and wait for the children there, are inadvertently creating an unsafe situation for the children who have to cross the already congested Latona in order to get to their cars. Neighbors have reported having witnessed many close calls.

By the buses. A similar situation occurs on 55th St. when vehicles attempt to turn onto it from Latona. Often, a car turning onto 55th finds that there is nowhere for it to go as another car approaches it moving east in the narrow lane of traffic. In addition, a few parents are still trying to pick up their children by parking on 55th heading west. Again, this creates a potentially dangerous situation as children need to cross the street.

What to Do: Some Suggestions. Before anyone gets hurt or any accident occurs, we need to make some changes:

• u To give traffic entering from Latona a place to pull to the side when faced with approaching cars, we are considering requesting 'no parking from here to corner during bus time' signs posted on both sides of 54th and 55th streets, approximately 2 car lengths from Latona.
  
• u To alleviate the congestion at dismissal time, we are asking that, whenever possible, parents delay their arrival for approximately 15 minutes, arriving around 3:35 rather that at 3:20. The 15 minute delay gives most of the buses time to leave and opens up 55th St. as a pick-up zone as well. Children will be supervised while they wait until at least 3:40, at which time they may choose to wait for their ride in the building by the front office.
  
• u Should you need to pick up your children on time and should you find no parking spaces available in front of the school, please drive on, park in a safe, legal place, and walk to school. Do not park illegally or park in such a way as to endanger foot or vehicular traffic.
  
• u We also ask that all attempts be made to pick up children in such a way as not to cause them to have to cross a street to get to the car.

Other Suggestions? Please send any other suggestions you may have for alleviating the congested situation at dismissal time to the school office. We appreciate your input.

School To Work and Service-Learning: Similarities and Differences

Similarities between the programs

Both strategies are based on the notion of experiential education which recognizes that we learn best by doing, so students are given concrete opportunities to apply skills learned in the classroom to real life situations. In both strategies the learning environment is expanded beyond the traditional classroom to include a variety of community settings where students become more active learners. Both programs help TOPS develop and maintain productive relationships within the broader community.

And some basic differences

Intended Goals-Service Learning seeks to instill a sense of civic responsibility in students while School to Work is designed to prepare students for the world of work.

In a Service-Learning activity both the student and the community will benefit equally. The main beneficiary of School to Work activities is the student. School to Work opportunities are primarily in the business community while Service Learning activities are almost exclusively within the non-profit community, including schools.

Watch for these and other examples of School to Work and Service-Learning activities planned for TOPS this year:

• u Keyboarding class offered to middle school students after school (School to Work)
  
• u Clean-up of a portion of Green Lake and
• replanting of native plants (Service-Learning)
  
• u Mock trial facilitated by a local attorney and a visit to a King County courtroom (School to Work)
  
• u 6th graders developing a conflict resolution curriculum and teaching it to 1-5th graders (Service Learning)

If you've been wondering about the terms School to Work and Service-Learning, you probably aren't alone. Both are educational strategies that will provide TOPS students with some exciting learning opportunities in the coming year. And although the programs have a lot in common, there are also some key differences between the two.

First, some basic definitions

School to Work is an educational approach that links students, schools, and workplaces in an effort to provide students with a graduated understanding of the world of work. School to Work seeks to teach and reinforce workplace skills to prepare young people for their ultimate entry into the workplace. Typical activities include classroom visits by professionals in careers related to the academic subject; job shadowing in the workplace to gain a hands-on understanding of what is involved and the skills and interests which are required; mock interviews by and with professionals; and career day fairs focusing on specific pathways such as math and science.

Service-Learning is an educational method which connects service in the community with a student's academic learning, personal growth, and sense of civic responsibility. Examples of service-learning projects include developing and maintaining a bird sanctuary while studying geography and biology; designing and building a handicapped access ramp for a local senior center while studying geometry and social studies; and conducting oral history interviews with elderly people while studying local history.

Sarah Meeker, Curriculum night.

Nani Castor-Peck,

5th grade teacher, Curriculum night.

Gwen Demombynes, Eric Herdon, and other members of the TOPS Site Council, September 1997 meeting.

Come to the After-School Homework Program

The After-School Homework Program has started and will be continuing in the library 3:30 to 4:30 every Tuesday and Thursday until the end of the school year. A total of ten middle school tutors in addition to adult volunteers will be available at each session to assist students in the first through fifth grades with their homework.
The tutors have undergone an application, interview, and training process and are eager to assist young students with their work. Currently, there are more tutors than kids who are enrolled in the program. We know there are many more children who could benefit from the extra help a couple of hours per week. If transportation is an issue, we can work out carpools with parents and volunteers. If there are any parents out there who have considered signing up their children, but have been hesitant for any reason, please pick up the phone and call Roxana, the Americorps volunteer, at 523-8232. She'd be happy to talk to you more about the program and enroll your child.

Middle school teachers Lori and Kevin are also hosting middle school study sessions from 3:30 to 4:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Roxana Marachi

Report Says Kids Need to Connect with Parents, Community

Researchers involved in a $25 million federal study on the well-being of teenagers are reporting that "parent-family connectedness" and "perceived school connectedness" were protective against virtually every adolescent health risk. The study involved a written survey of over 90,000 and interviews with over 15,000 teens.

The researchers, reporting in the September 10 issue of JAMA, note that the main threats to adolescents' health are predominantly the health-risk behaviors and choices they make. More than three of every four deaths in the second decade of life are due to social causes: injuries, homicides, and suicides.

The family factors considered important were:

• u parent/family relations, as expressed by connectedness, shared activities, and parental presence;
• u norms and expectations for adolescent behavior, especially school achievement and sexual behaviors;
• u parental modeling;
• u household features, such as access to weapons and substances.

The important school connectedness issues were related to perceived caring from teachers and high expectations for student performance. Far less important were policies aimed at governing adolescent behaviors.

Teens who worked 20 or more hours per week at a job were found to be at risk for emotional distress, substance use, and earlier age of sexual activity.

Middle School Committee Organizes With Big Plans

Coordinating activities and new programs for middle school students is the focus for the newly formed Middle School parent-staff committee. Each month, we will use this space to talk about school issues and programs, and to provide a calendar for upcoming events.

Plans are underway to re-establish quarterly recognition for honor roll students. Students are recognized in three areas: academics, expectations (citizenship and effort), and academic improvement. Our goal is for all of our middle school students to be recognized for one or more achievements.

Parent Forums: More than fifty parents attended a Families First program on Oct. 14 which focused on transition issues for middle school students. The next forum on January 13, 1998, will be on "How to help your student choose a high school." Future forum dates are March 10, and May 12. Contact Belinda Butler-Bell if you have ideas for parent forum programs.

Several student activities in progress focus on service-learning and School to Work (see article this issue). The School to Work program sponsors the new after-school keyboarding class, and has arranged for an exciting Kid Law program for 7th and 8th. graders, which is mock trial-based and will shed light on career opportunities in the criminal justice system. Staff David Katz, Luzita Roll, and Charlie Burleigh will be working with students from Seattle University to develop service-learning activities.

Upcoming middle school activities:

October 20 Kid Law unit (7th grade Social Studies)

Oct. 28, 30 Library field trips (7th grade LA)

November 5, 7 Kid Law mock trial (7th grade)

Nov. 12, 17 Library field trips (8th grade LA)

Nov. 13 Seattle Art Museum field trip

(7th grade Art)

Nov. 18, 20 Library field trips (7th grade LA)

Nov. 24 Seattle Art Museum (6th grade Art)

News and Information Line

The Seattle School District News and Information Line is reached at 298-7207. Call for District activities, calendar items, emergency notifications, and the like. Updated at least weekly.

December 2 Math Fair, North Seattle Comm. College career fair (6th grade)

Dec. 16 Seattle Art Museum field trip (8th grade Art)
To get involved with these and other middle school activities, or to add to the activity calendar, contact Linda Secord, 325-6497.

Haven't you always wondered....

What Goes Into Lunchtime?

Ernese McQueen is TOPS' new kitchen manager, coming to us from Lowell Elementary last year. She serves over a dozen kids breakfast every day, and probably another couple of hundred buy lunch.

TOPS' kitchen is equipped with an oven and a refrigerator, but it's not a "cooking kitchen." Food brought in from the District in trucks is reheated for serving over the course of four lunch shifts. McQueen reports the Lowell kitchen was equipped and food was prepared on site. "But the food here is really good," she says. "Kids eat it all and enjoy it. Their favorite, of course, is pizza."

Breakfast and lunch are available to all students at every school in the District. Elementary breakfast charge is 60 cents, and includes cold cereal, toast, breakfast pizza, and the like. Lunch is $1.25, and October's menu included chicken nuggets, burritos, Japanese noodles, gyro sandwiches, chili, pizza, nachos, hamburgers, spaghetti, waffles, quesadillas, and turkey tetrazzini. Reduced price meals for eligible students are 30 cents (breakfast) and 40 cents (lunch), and some students can even qualify for free meals. Save money on pre-paid meal tickets by buying in one week increments. Call Child Nutrition Services for more information at 298-7640.

Ski Program Gears Up with a Huge Ski Sale November 16

On Sunday, November 16, TOPS families can take advantage of terrific pricing on skis and ski equipmentand support the Middle School Ski Program as well. At this one-day sale, you can buy new equipment at some of the best prices in town, buy last year's equipment at discounted prices, or swap your old or outgrown clothes and ski equipment. Event sponsor Alpine Hut has pledged a portion of the profits to TOPS for ski-trip scholarships for our budding Olympic hopefuls. And all this in plenty of time for the holidays!

While you're at the sale you can get answers for your questions about this year's Middle School Ski Program and turn in your filled-out application for the ski program or for the Ski Weekend at Mission Ridge. If you choose, you can even use your credit card to pay for the Ski Program.

So clip this article and pin it to your November calendar: Sunday the 16th, noon to 5 p.m. only, at Sports X (owned by Alpine Hut), 2218 15th Ave. West (Interbay), 284-3575. Please note: Alpine Hut emphasizes that they will offer their sale prices to TOPS families for this one day only.

For additional information, please contact Sue Williams, at 285-0810.

Ernese McQueen, TOPS Kitchen Manager.

Kathy Rossi, Curriculum night.

World Languages Committee

At the Parent Involvement Night meeting last month, a couple dozen parents signed up for the TOPS World Language Committee. Parents were interested in offering Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, any language, and sign language to grades K-8.

The World Language Committee will hold its first meeting October 29, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. to determine the rationale, language(s), scheduling, and funding for a language program to TOPS. At the moment, there are several possibilities: bring the Seattle School District elementary language program to TOPS; work with a foreign language department at the University of Washington; or contract with a commercial company such as the American Cultural Exchange, the Summit Academic Club, or Kumon. Each alternative has its strengths and weaknesses. The enterprise of early language learning can be very distinct from high school language learning, depending on the learning expectations.

More resources are available to learn about language learning. A small booklet on "World

Languages and Communications: A Focus on Elementary Schools" highlights some of the rationale and goal issues of any world language program: cognitive benefits, academic skills, and cultural reasons."In Other Words: The Science and Psychology of Second Language-Acquisition," by Ellen Bialystok and Kenji Hakuta is a good overview of language learning. The public library has copies of this book. Those who would like to connect with other language resources on the internet can access a rich resource using a web browser such as Netscape or Explorer at: http://www.llc.washington.edu/uwlanguage/.

Call Paul Aoki at 522-0608 for details.

TOPS Carpool Coordinator

Jane Braziunas (mother of Kristin and Erik) has volunteered to be the TOPS after-school activities carpool coordinator. Call her at 323-5319 if you have ideas, want to help, or want to organize a carpool.

School Hints

No gigapets at school.

The lost and found, right outside the office door, is piled high. Things will soon be given away, so check for your stuff.

Dear Mr. TOPS,

My kids tend to get into fights a lot. What does TOPS do about this, and what should I do?

Peeved by Pugilistics

Dear Peeved,

It is normal for children to experiment with solving problems physically. We all know, however, that fighting does not solve problems. TOPS has varying consequences for fighting, depending on the age of the student and the number of prior occurences in which the student has been involved.

A middle school student can expect to spend a day in in-house suspension for a first occurence of physical violence; and he or she can expect home suspension for any future occasions. A kindergartner, by comparsion, may have to spend time in recess detention as a consequence for fighting.

TOPS' emphasis on teaching alternative methods of solving conflicts, however, applies to any student of any age. So is our insistance that children who fight be removed from the social setting for a time. Fighting is never the appropriate solution to any problem, but children need to build a repertoire of viable alternatives from which to choose when they feel angry enough to hit. That is what TOPS teachers, counselors, and administrators discuss with students who have fought. This year all TOPS students will receive training in conflict resolution, either from adult trainers or from older students.

As a parent, you can discuss different methods of resolving conflict with your children. Emphasize that fighting is unacceptable, and if you learn that your child has been in a fight don't enable him or her by explaining away the violence. To understand what made a child so angry that she wanted to fight is different from extending your understanding to the fighting itself. And don't fall into the "self-defense" trap. At TOPS self-defense means holding an arm up to ward off blows while moving away to get an adult. To do more is to fight. Parents can be proactive by listening carefully when their children describe conflicts. Ask them to role-play with you while together you search for an effective, nonviolent solution. Your child will love having a chance to play the provocateur, and you'll have fun while working on issues that are of the utmost importance to your child.

Getting It Built

at Seward

As part of the building permit process, the Seward project was required to have a Master Use Permit. All of last year, TOPS facilities committee was involved in negotiations with the Eastlake Community Council over the issues included in this "MUP." Eastlake appealed the published permit and the hearings were held September 29 and October 14. The hearing examiner should make a decision on the appeals by October 28.

TOPS' site council's Facility Committee reports that Seattle School District's land use attorney, Richard Hill, is doing an excellent job at the hearings. Should Eastlake Community Council (represented by Carol Eychaner) lose its appeal, it can carry its case to the Superior Court. The project's schedule has been able to absorb the appeals so far, but if it goes to court it will begin to affect the construction schedule, and cause delays. It should be known by November if this will go to court. If so, the site council will write a letter to the Eastlake Community Council urging it to become more broadly involved in the resolution of these issues.

Design issues are also unresolved. The Facilities Committee feels both the budget cuts made to the project and the materials and air system chosen were adopted too hastily last spring. As reported in the September newsletter, portions of the project are not going to be in the "base bid" because of concerns about cost. Finishing the gym with a stage and locker rooms, for one example, currently will be an "add-alternate" to the base bid and included in construction only if bids come in low enough

To discuss both concerns with the district project managers and architects, the facilities committee is meeting with them November 4 at 5:30 in the TOPS library. They will be presented with a letter addressed to the school board. The committee is also hiring a "healthy building' specialist to review materials and the air filtration system currently specific for Seward. She will be on hand at the November meeting to discuss areas of concern.

The Internet Comes to TOPS

TOPS now has its own high-speed Internet connection! Thanks to the efforts of the Internet Committee and the resources of the Site Council and the Building Excellence fund, TOPS has a direct ISDN (128K bits/second) connection to the Internet by way of the School District's central computer system. So far, about five of the Macintosh computers in the library are on line, and teachers can now search the World Wide Web for classroom resources. Eventually, after we obtain needed hardware upgrades, we will be able to put most of the computers in the library and many of those in the middle school classrooms on line. This will make it easy for teachers to post classroom info on the Web, to use e-mail to communicate with parents, and to have their students do research projects on the Web.

If you have any unused Mac hard disks, memory chips, or Ethernet cards that you'd like to donate, or if you'd like to help in any other way, please contact the Internet Committee through Joan Demorest (632-4821, d2@d2.seanet.com) or Jack Lee (524-6346, lee@math.washington.edu). You can also check out the TOPS Web site <http://sea-css.ssd.k12.wa.us/TOPS/index.html> under "How You Can Help" for more information.

continued from page 3

Audubon F.U.N.

Seattle Audubon Society's Finding Urban Nature (F.U.N.) Program is helping T.O.P.S. fourth graders explore nature. Audubon's Martha Nester and T.O.P.S. parent volunteers, who attended a training workshop, are leading the F.U.N. fall activities:

Envirolopes (hunt for diversity in urban nature), Webit (investigate behavior of spiders), Roots and Shoots (compare root structures of plants), and Neighborhood Birds (examine preserved birds).

What do the students get from all this? Teachers report that the activities bring to life things described in science textbooks. Parents report that through this program their children develop a greater interest in science and a greater curiosity about nature. The program helps youngsters sharpen their abilities to observe, use scientific tools, and record and analyze data. Children apply critical thinking skills as they compare results and reach conclusions.

How can you help? Fourth grade parents can extend the program by asking their children to tell about their discoveries, by encouraging them to observe nature on their own, and by exploring with them in the backyard or on family outings. Call Joan Demorest (632-4821) to volunteer for the spring activities (in March) or Carol White to volunteer for next year's fourth grade activities.

F.U.N. Program Contributors include Seattle Audubon members, Bullitt Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, Washington Foundation for the Environment, Battelle Seattle Research Center, Weyerhaeuser, Fred Meyer, Fremont Gardens Greenlake PTA, K Mart, Puget Consumer Co-op, Science, Art and More, and Stadium Cleaners.

sive. A suit will not make us friends in Olympia.

Despite these concerns, I believe we must rapidly move to consider a suit before the legislature convenes in January, 1998.

Unfortunately, the political route has not proven to be viable. Washington's legislature is dominated by suburban and rural representatives, not from Seattle. If we were to adopt a new funding program which allocates according to student need (poverty), and if total state education dollars remain the same (as necessitated by initiative 601), districts such as Mercer Island and Bainbridge Island would receive less money. There is not the political might in Seattle and other districts impacted by poverty to succeed politically over districts with small proportions of students in poverty. We live in an economically segregated state and we shouldn't waste 2 - 4 years being polite, studying the problem, and expect the funding pie to be re-cut in a more equitable fashion. The courts offer a better option to result in increased funding for Seattle.

Second, the educational reform statutes give us grounds for a suit. Before the reform act was in place the interpretation of the constitution's "adequate provision" was subject to debate. Now, the act defines "adequacy." Furthermore, there is plenty of data to suggest that children below the poverty level will not make the standards without additional help. For these reasons a suit may be in the best interests of Seattle's children. This suit should seek relief in several areas: 1) adequacy of funding for the classrooms; 2) substantial increments for poverty; 3) flexibility in use of funds; 4) increments which acknowledge the greater cost of operations in some districts (e.g. a first year teacher's salary of $24,000 goes a lot further in Omak than Seattle); and sufficient dollars to eliminate deferred maintenance and rebuild schools.

Finally, a suit can serve as the hammer over the head of the legislature to focus its discussions. There is common ground among all school districts to achieve more flexibility and seek adequate funds. The key, however, is how to re-cut the pie. A suit as part of a two pronged legal and political approach may be the quickest route to full funding of basic education.

The responsibility of the school board is to employ the superintendent, set policy, approve the budget, and ensure that the needs of the students are met. The board is doing a good job in a difficult economic environment on the first three. The needs of students are not being met. It is time to consider a suit!

Scott Barnhart is a member of the Seattle School Board and the opinions are his alone. Joseph Olchefske, Chief Financial Officer of the Seattle School District deserves acknowledgment for developing a cogent analyses of the funding situation and graphics above.

TOPS Site Council, September 1997.

Race Relations at TOPS to be Topic of

Nov. 12 Forum

The Diversity Committee and TOPS' new cultural outreach coordinator, Cheryl Pappy, have scheduled a school community forum on race relations, to be held Wednesday, November 12 at 7 pm. Ed Taylor, assistant professor at the University of Washington College of Education, will facilitate. Taylor is author of many articles and book chapters on race relations, and has spoken widely on the topic. One of his articles is, "Black on White: Using critical inquiry to promote identity development in white students preparing for leadership in public schools."

This first forum should lead to a year-long dialogue among all TOPS families and faculty members about race. It will be a more successful forum if parents from a variety of backgrounds participate.

Middle School Strategic Plan

Middle School faculty have proposed, and the TOPS site council approved, a middle school strategic plan to guide us next year. The middle school committee of the site council will keep tabs on progress.

Items in the plan include:

GOAL 1: Increase academic achievement for all students

• u Continue focus on process writing, reading, math and science
• u Conduct weekly staff meetings to provide support for students
• u Collaborate to integrate the curriculum
• u Increase parent volunteers in the classroom
• u Increase project oriented assignments (multiple intelligences and higher level thinking skills)
• u Investigate a second language program
• u Increase student involvement in band
• u Involve special education teacher and students
• u Encourage use of Internet for meaningful learning
• u Ask site council to support field trips

GOAL 2: Eliminate disproportionality in academics and discipline

• u Provide intervention plans for all students in the bottom quartile
• u Focus staff development on positive discipline, "Assessment Literacy," and "Educating African American Students" programs
• u Provide tutoring support through Homework Club, before/after school tutoring program
• u Increase communication with parents
• u Develop a consistent discipline policy
• u Provide 4th & 5th grade students of color with "transition to adolescence" forum

GOAL 3: Assess student learning

• u Include District assessments (CTBS, ITBS, 7th grade pilot assessment, DWA)
• u Implement student portfolios
• u Include other classroom assessments by subject mater
• u Conduct and analyze annual student survey; involve students in learning to use surveys as research tools

GOAL 4: Enhance the personal, social and emotional growth of students

• u Involve student council in issues such as harassment policy development
• u Involve students in sessions on self esteem, anger management, drug/alcohol use, etc.
• u Start a Natural Helpers/conflict managers program
• u Loosely affiliate with NOMS (New Option Middle School) for faculty and student collegiality

• u Welcome fully new middle school students who are not from TOPS fifth grade
• u Conduct 8th grade transition/passage ceremony
• u Involve students in producing annual yearbook
• u Provide recognition celebrations for students
• u Support programs to improve positive peer pressure

GOAL 5: Increase cross-age interactions and multicultural activities

• u Pair up with an elementary class for projects
• u Increase appreciation for diversity through assemblies, role models in the classroom
• u Infuse multicultural content in the curriculum
• u Include middle school students in Topics
• u Support ski club
• u Support drama productions

GOAL 6: Include School-to-Work and Service Learning projects in the classroom

• u Involve students in a workshop on Service Learning
• u Include service projects in the curriculum
• u Offer keyboarding class
• u Increase awareness of career development concepts
• u Educate parents about the inclusion of service learning and school-to-work as goals of the District and the school
• u Involve community and PIPE partners (business) in these projects
• u Involve parents and students in the design and implementation of career development activities

GOAL 7: Improve faculty and parents teamwork

• u Ask site council to contribute money for a facilitator for faculty team building and plan development
• u Organize middle school forums to involve parents in activities of the program.

Michelle Ota, Middle School teacher.

Middle School Policies

Last year, middle school faculty adopted three polices in regard to student conduct. They are:

Tardiness. Each student may have up to three emergency passes per quarter per class. These may be used for tardiness, bathroom necessities, or other miscellaneous needs (such as getting homework). No other passes to the bathroom, water fountain, etc., will be issued. Once these three passes are used up, students may not leave the classroom. Should a student be late to class after having used up his or her emergency passes, that student will be placed on hall restriction and will not be excused to go anywhere for any reason. At this point, students will bring home a letter to parents. Further tardiness will result in lunch detention.

Cutting class. Students more than five minutes late to any class will be considered absent or "cutting," and parents will be notified. Additional consequences may apply.

Walkmans. Students must leave walkmans (those personal radios with earphones) in their lockers. Walkmans used during school hours will be taken, and will only be given back to a parent who comes to school to claim it.

CG 599

815 Fourth Avenue North

P.O. Box 19116

Seattle, WA 98109-1116

Nonprofit

Organization

U.S. Postage

P A I D

Seattle, WA

Permit No. 3904

School Bd hearing-assignment plan @ 815 4th Av. N. October 29, 7 pm

Facilities Committee in library November 4, 5:30

Science workshop for parents November 5, 7 pm

7th grade mock trial November 5 & 7

Veterans Day holiday November 11

Parent/Teacher conferences (early dismissal) Nov. 17-21 & 24-25

Parent/Teacher conferences (K only) Nov. 12-14 plus above

Race relations forum w/Ed Taylor November 12, 7 pm

Deadline for next newsletter November 17, 3:30 pm

Joseph Olchefsky @ TOPS November 18, 7 pm

Thanksgiving holiday November 27-28

Midsummer Night's Dream (Middle School play) December 12 and 13

Young Authors Conference K-8 December 17

Winter break December 22-January 2

Martin Luther King day January 19, 1998

Day between semesters (no school) January 30

Mid-Winter break (unless...) Feb. 12-17

Staff development day Feb. 18

7th Grade debate Feb. 27

Presidents day Feb. 16

TOPS Auction @ Asian Res. Cntr. March 28

Speech Tournament April 5-10

Spring break April 13-17

Staff development day May 13

Memorial Day May 25

TOPS barbeque June ___

8th Grade Passage June 16

Wild Waves June 17

Last Day June 18

Thanks to...

Craig Dawson who just agreed to be TOPS' new Fund Development Committee chair.

Carla M. DewBerry, an attorney who works for Bennett & Bigelow with an accounting background, who has agreed to audit the financial records of Friends of TOPS.

Thanks to G&H Printing

2370 Eastlake East

329-9888

The Seattle School District is an Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer and employs individuals without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, marital status, handicap/disability or sexual orientation. The Seattle School District provides Equal Education Opportunity without regard to race, creed, color national origin, sex, mental states, handicap/disability or sexual orientation. The District complies with all applicable State and Federal laws and regulations, including but not limited to Titles VI, VII, and IX of the Civil Rights Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), RCW 49.60, Law Against Discrimination, and RCW 28A.640 "Sex Equality," and covers, but is not limited to, all District programs, courses activities (including) extracurricular activities, service, access to facilities, etc. The Title IX officer and 504 coordinator with overall responsiblity for monitoring and ensuring compliance is: John Yasutake, Manager, Affirmative Action Office, 815 4th Av. N., Seattle 98109. Phone (206)298-7175. Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against in any of the District's employment or educational activities can file an internal discrimination complaint with the District's Affirmative Action Office.