On January 22nd, Seattle’s school superintendent Denise Juneau plans to end the popular long-running Highly Capable Cohort (HCC) gifted program at Washington Middle School.

She wants the Seattle school board to cancel the HCC program and start funding one proposed by the Technology Access Foundation (TAF) Academy.  The Superintendent realizes the unpopular move may cause more families to pull out of the city’s public schools.  She writes,

“HCC families may decide to opt out of Seattle Public Schools for local private school education.” (Report to the Board, December 10, 2019.)

Seattle already has one of the highest private school attendance rates in the country, and many public school employees send their own children to private schools.

The move is presented as part of school officials’ Strategic Plan to, as they put it, “undo the legacies of racism in our educational system” that they run.

Ironically, Washington Middle’s gifted program, the one officials want to shut down, is located in one of the state’s most diverse communities, and has been successfully educating neighborhood children since 1978.

Washington Middle’s success is no secret.  At a public meeting on January 8th teachers, parents and students presented emotional testimony in an effort to keep their program open.  Stunned, the teachers said they were not consulted by the Seattle district’s Central Office.  With so many students of color attending the school, naturally they wondered why their program is being targeted. 

After a time, Board president Zachary DeWolf cut off public statements, indicating the Board was moving on to other business.

So it looks like Washington Middle School students, parents and teachers lost and that the School Board will close the HCC program on January 22nd.

Interestingly, this would not be happening if Washington Middle were a public charter school. 

In that case the school would have its own volunteer board, without being subject to the tensions and stresses of Central Office politics.  As independent public schools, charters are able to tailor learning programs to best serve children in the community.  That would be a no-brainer for a program that has been serving children of all ethnicities for over 40 years.

Similarly, the TAF Academy which, under the skilled leadership of Trish Dziko, has been educating students of color in Federal Way for years, could be welcomed and funded as a Seattle charter school, giving families access to its highly successful STEM program.

As the wealthiest district in the state, with a budget of over $1 billion and spending of $19,700 per student (more than most private schools), Seattle can easily afford to provide choice and access for all children residing within its borders.  The city already hosts several successful charter schools, none of which get surprise notices from the district’s Central Office that a prized academic program is about to be de-funded.

Why not let Washington Middle School students keep their HCC program, and then make TAF Academy one more choice offered within the public system?  Instead of closing popular programs, a policy of openness and inclusion may draw more Seattle families back into public education.

With a little more tolerance and – dare I say it – kindness, Seattle School officials can, as they like to remind us so frequently, ensure that Every Child Learns.

Senator Pedersen (D-Seattle) has filed a bill, SB 6282, in an effort to help the students at Washington Middle School.  Superintendent Juneau says she opposes the bill, and the move adds one more factor as the Seattle school board decides the program’s fate.