MONTLAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Open Enrollment underway for 2010-11 school year

Open Enrollment for the 2010-11 school year began March 1 and runs through 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 31, 2010. During Open Enrollment, families may register their child to enter Seattle Public Schools in fall 2010 and/or apply for a school other than their assigned school.

For the first time this year, current students in PreK-11 - and those who will be new to the District in fall 2010 and pre-registered before Jan. 15 - received their school assignment at the end of February. If the family wants to attend the school noted in the February letter, no other action is needed. If the family wants to apply for a different school, including an Option School, they may do so during Open Enrollment. Please join us at a school visit to learn more about our schools.

Note that all applications received during Open Enrollment are processed together at the end of March. Families who apply during Open Enrollment will receive their assignments at the end of May. Please visit the Enrollment Services Web site for forms and detailed information, including addresses of outreach locations and dates when enrollment staff will be there to accept forms and applications.

On January 20 the School Board took the next step toward implementation of the new student assignment plan with the approval of a transition plan outlining the assignment and transportation rules that will apply for the 2010-2011 school year. With new attendance area boundaries approved unanimously in November, the New Student Assignment Plan will be phased in, beginning with students at entry-grade levels-usually kindergarten, 6th, and 9th grades. As the plan will be phased in, a transition plan is required for next year.

Highlights of the transition plan include a commitment to making every reasonable effort to accommodate as many kindergarten siblings as possible at the older sibling?s school; transportation grandfathering for two years and a series of specific assignment rules.

Please note that the Transition Plan posted on the School Board Web site will be updated to incorporate motions approved at the January 20 School Board meeting. Additional summary information will be made available so families have the information they need to make choices for fall 2010.

In-coming kindergarten siblings:
The School Board and staff at Seattle Public Schools have a sincere desire to enable incoming, non-attendance area kindergarten siblings to be assigned to the same school as their older sibling if requested by the family. While we are not able to guarantee sibling grandfathering, we are fully committed to making every reasonable effort to accommodate as many kindergarten siblings as possible in their older sibling's school. The Transition Plan outlines a series of steps to accomplish that goal. For families whose preference for the Kindergarten sibling to attend the older child's school cannot be honored, we are committed to a "safety net" so the students will not have to attend a different school.

Transportation:
The Transition Plan provides two years of 'grandfathered transportation' for students.

Other key highlights including amendments to the Transition Plan as introduced and approved by the School Board are:

** The special program preference for Thornton Creek 5th graders applying to Salmon Bay K-8 will be renewed for one year(2010-11)without transportation.

** Current fifth grade students rising from the language immersion program at John Stanford International School will be assigned to the sixth grade at Hamilton International Middle School for the 2010-11 school year, if they chose Hamilton International Middle School as their first choice during Open Enrollment. Standard transportation eligibility rules apply.

** A one-year special program preference tiebreaker for students living in the Aki Kurose middle school service area and applying for PreK at South Shore for 2010-2011. The tiebreakers for PreK admission at

South Shore for the 2010-2011 school year will be:
1. Sibling
2. Special Program Preference for students who live in the Aki Kurose Middle School service area, and
3. Lottery