DowntownSchoolFeasibilityStudy_8.28.pdf

8/16/2019 DowntownSchoolFeasibilityStudy_8.28.pdf

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DOWNTOWN SCHOOL FEASIBILITY STUDY

EVALUATING THE NEED FOR A PUBLIC SCHOOL IN DOWNTOWN SEATTLE

In Partnership with:


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Overview

Over the past twenty years, Downtown Seattle has undergone a dramatic demographic transformation. Since 1990, the Cityof Seattle’s population increased by 18 percent. During that same period, Downtown Seattle’s resident population grew bymore than 127 percent, doubling in population to nearly 40,000 residents. Downtown Seattle has continued to see its population increase at a rate that far outpaces surrounding neighborhoods and the city as a whole. Since 1990, Downtown hasbeen the fastest growing neighborhood in Seattle and is currently the most populous. City planning policies designateDowntown Seattle as the primary recipient of Seattle’s future population growth.

Downtown public schools and children living in Downtown Seattle are not new concepts. Downtown was home to threepublic schools in the first half of the 20th century. However, in recent years, Downtown, like the entire Seattle School Districthas experienced a marked increase in the number of children enrolled in Seattle’s public schools. Data indicate that a risein Downtown births in recent years will mean continued growth in the number of children enrolled in SPS who live Downtownincreasing current capacity challenges.

The public elementary schools that Downtown children are currently assigned to (John Hay and Bailey Gatzert) are over-crowded. Downtown is one of Seattle’s only neighborhoods that does not have a public elementary, middle or high schoolIn addition, SPS’ Central Region has received the lowest levels of capital funding from previous school levies. Demographicshifts, and proximity of students, are two of the main criteria used to inform SPS’ development of school attendance areas.

Figure 1. Downtown School Study Boundaries

1 Metropolitan Improvement District www.DowntownSeattle.com

Key Findings

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From 2007-2011, the largest growth in student enrollment occurred in South Lake Union, where enrollment grewby more than 65 percent.

In 2007, Downtown residents comprised 8 percent of the John Hay Elementary student body. By 2011, 1 out ofevery 5 Hay students was a Downtown resident.

The Moderate Growth Scenario projects that the Downtown K-8 population will increase by more than 50 percentto 571 students in 2020.

A focus group held in March 2012 indicated that the lack of a Downtown public school is a primary reason for fami-lies to move out of Downtown as their children age.

Downtown Seattle has been the fastest growing neighborhood in Seattle for more than two decades. This trend isprojected to continue with Downtown set to absorb 60 percent of future population growth within the City of Seattleover the next 12 years.

Downtown School Feasibility Study

Over the past five years, enrollment in Seattle’s public schools hasincreased at a rate much greater than had been projected, creating bothchallenges and opportunities. The upcoming Building Excellence ProgramIV (BEX IV) in 2013 aims to support District operations and improve facili-ties. As part of the BEX IV planning efforts, the Downtown Seattle Associa-tion (DSA) partnered with Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the City ofSeattle to assess the need for and feasibility of locating variations of a K-12public school in Downtown.

This feasibility study aims to provide policymakers with a clearer

understanding of the changes that have been occurring Downtown

and projected demand for additional school capacity. DSA was taskedto analyze past, present, and projected Downtown enrollment trends, as wellas explore potential sites and consider alternate school options. Given itsurban setting, a Downtown school would be different than any other in theschool district, and present unique opportunities and challenges. Traditionalownership and development models may not be appropriate given theunique conditions within Downtown and limited District resources so othertypes of schools in urban settings across the United States and around theworld were examined.


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The following is the Seattle School Board’s policy regarding student assignments adopted April 222009:

It is the policy of the Seattle School Board that students shall have the opportunity to attend an elemen

tary, middle or high school in a designated attendance area based upon home address, unless the

school designated by a student’s home address does not have the appropriate services for the

student’s needs, as determined by the school district. In such instances, the student shall be assigned

to a school that has the appropriate services. It is expected that most students will have the opportunity

to attend their attendance area school.

Families may apply for assignment to a school in a different attendance area or a school that does no

have a designated attendance area, but admission to such a school is not guaranteed. Assignment to

these schools shall be based on an open application process and, in the case of more applicants than

space available for students, an established set of tiebreakers shall apply.

SPS

STUDENT

ASSIGNMENT

POLICY

School Board Policy on Student Assignment

Figure 2. Downtown Attendance Area BoundariesSource: Based on data from Seattle Public Schools

2Metropolitan Improvement District www.DowntownSeattle.com

SCHOOL

DISTRICT

MODELS

Option schools provide a variety of programmatic opportunities for families looking for alternatives to

their attendance area schools. Option schools offer a variety of different curriculums and educational

styles. Option schools do not have attendance boundaries or feeder patterns. Assignment is by applica

tion only, based on set tiebreakers. The application period for option schools begins every spring during

Open Enrollment, and continues through September 30. Students new to the District after Septembe

30 may enroll in their attendance area (or designated) school or an option school with available space

Option Schools

Elementary, middle, and high school students are assigned to a designated attendance area schoo

based on where the student lives, as long as the school can meet the student’s needs. Elementary

school attendance areas are combined to create middle school attendance areas, resulting in

geographically-based feeder patterns as students move from elementary school to middle school. Themiddle school attendance area is also a service area within which various services, including transpor

tation, are provided for students who live within the service area. There are not feeder patterns from

middle school to high school. Each attendance area high school has its own geographic attendance

area (see Figure 2 for the Attendance Area boundaries covering the Downtown neighborhood).

Attendance Area Schools

TOPS K-8

Queen Anne

McClure

Washington

Coe

Hay

Lowell

Leschi

Stevens

Gatzert

Montlake

McGilvra

Madrona K-8

Thurgood Marshall

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Attendance AreaBoundaries

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John Hay

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Bailey Gatzert Attendance Area

Seattle Public Schools currently uses several different types of schools to educate children - the twomost common types are attendance area schools and option schools. The following are SPS descriptions of the different types of schools from the 2009 Student Assignment Plan:


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DOWNTOWN

DEMOGRAPHICS

1990-2010

Between 1990 and 2010, the number of children living in Downtown grew significantly. While theincrease in children is similar to the overall rate of population growth for Downtown, in absoluteterms children in Downtown have become a sizeable population. With the significant increase of25-34 year olds currently living Downtown, the trend is likely to continue.

Between 1990 and 2010, the resident population within Downtown grew from 16,129 to 36,679 - a127 percent increase (see Figure 3).

Downtown has been Seattle’s fastest growing neighborhood since 1990. South Lake Union/DennyTriangle experienced the most significant growth on a percentage basis; tripling in population since1990 (see Figure 4).

Downtown Seattle has the largest share of 25-34 year olds in the city of Seattle. Their share ofDowntown has grown from 26 percent of Downtown residents in 2000 to more than 30 percent in2010.

The number of women aged 25-34 living Downtown has grown by 76% since 2000, outpacing menin that age group.

In 1990, the total number of children 14 years old and younger living Downtown totaled 679. By2010, this population had grown to 1,268 - an increase of more than 87 percent.

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Figure 3. Downtown Demographic Changes (1990-2010)

% Change (1990-2010)

8% 18%

69% 103%

88% 305%

39% 183%

16% 109%

36% 63%

-10% 1%

40% 127%

67% 210%

76% -

17% 121%

% Change (2000-2010) % Change (1990-2010)

Seattle Resident PopulationDowntown Resident Population

Uptown

SLU/Denny Triangle

Belltown

Retail Core, West Edge and Waterfront

Pioneer Square

SoDo

Total

25-34 Years Old

25-34 Year Old Women

Under 5 Years Old

Children 14 Years Old and Under 10% 87%

Births

2010

608,506

3,055

9,986

8,601

7,350

5,333

2,354

36,679

11,024

5,126

625

1,268

217

2000

563,313

1,809

5,302

6,172

6,352

3,919

2,562

26,116

6,621

2,907

1,158

533

110

1990

516,259

1,506

2,468

3,039

3,512

3,273

2,331

16,129

3,551

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679

283

- 97% -

Source: Based on data from U.S Census Bureau and Washington State Department of Health


Figure 4. Total Downtown Population by CensusTract (1990-2010)

Source: U.S Census Bureau

201020001990

3 , 0 5 5

5 , 3 3 3

3 , 9 1 9

3 ,2 7 3

7 , 3 5 0

8 , 6 0 1

9 , 9 8 5


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Analysis of Zip Code Business Patterns data (2011) and BLS/U.S. Census Bureau's LEHD data from the OnTheMap Application (2011)

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50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Boston SanFrancisco

Philadelphia Seattle Minneapolis Denver Portland San Diego Charlotte

Total Employees Downtown contains a public elementary schoolEmployees per sq. mile

Figure 6.Total Downtown Employee Population and Employment Density (2009)

DOWNTOWN

EMPLOYMENT

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Downtown Seattle is the region’s major employ-ment center. Downtown businesses and organi-zations employ more than 200,000 workers.

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Among eight peer downtowns, Downtown Seattlehas one of the largest employment bases andhigh employment density (see Figure 6).

More than 35 percent of jobs in Downtown Seattleare held by Seattle residents (73,203).

Among peer downtowns, Seattle and Denverare the only two without a downtown publicelementary school.

The majority of Seattle residents working Down-town commute from Central and North Seattle.

Of Seattle residents working Downtown, nearly 40percent come from North Seattle (see Figure 5).

Of Seattle residents working Downtown, morethan 13 percent come from West Seattle.

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4Metropolitan Improvement District www.DowntownSeattle.com

Source: Analysis of BLS/U.S.Census Bureau OntheMap data

Madison

Eckstein

Denny Int’l School

McClure

Whitman

Washington

Mercer

Aki Kurose

19%

18%

17%

12%

10%

9%

6%

5%

4%

Hamilton Int’l School

Figure 5. Where Seattle Residents Working Downtown

Commute From By Middle School Attendance Area

Seattle Middle School Attendance Areas

Area % of DowntownCommuters

Note: Some U.S. census tracts straddle multiple Middle School Attendance Areas. In those cases, tracts were assigned to the attendance area where amajority of the tract resided. Workers are defined as those who are employedand 25 years of age and older.

Seattle Attendance Area Middle Schools

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STRENGTHS

DOWNTOWN

FAMILIES

FOCUS GROUP

FINDINGS

CHALLENGES

Participants were passionate about living Downtown and were hesitant to leave. Participantsvalued the ease of lifestyle and access to amenties Downtown.

Overall, participants felt Downtown was a great place to raise young children citing numerous

daycare/preschool options, and activities to do (e.g. Seattle Aquarium).

Participants felt raising a child Downtown made their child more worldly and cultured.

Many families were car-free and enjoyed living in the region’s transit hub.

“I like the experience. I like that my kids are seeing things that I had never seen in 32 years, I didn’know about walking across a crosswalk or riding the light rail or you know, just the diversity ofpeople . . . And that’s what we love, introducing this life to them is really a lot of fun.”

- Focus Group Participant

Lack of a Downtown Public School

Quotes about a Downtown Public School

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Participants felt that the addition of a Downtown public elementary school was the most significan

way to improve their quality of life, and would be a key factor in their decision to remain DowntownTwo-thirds of participants indicated that a Downtown school was their top priority for new invest-ments in Downtown Seattle.

Many participants had children nearing school age. Nearly all were planning to leave Downtown.

Participants desired a strong sense of community for themselves and their children that a neighbor-hood school provides. Many participants felt this community feeling was lacking Downtown.

Many participants faced challenges in trying to meet other Downtown parents and make play datesfor their children. Participants noted that there is no neighborhood school or community center toserve as a natural gathering place for Downtown residents.

“I would say if there’s not a public school Downtown in the next year and a half, we’ll move toanother [Downtown]. We want to live in a downtown and we want our kids to go to public school . . Queen Anne would not be workable. It’s the deal breaker for us.”

“If there’s not a public school . . . that’s walkable then we’d probably [leave], I could see ourselvesleaving at that point. School is everything for us. If we’re going to pay for a [Downtown] privateschool then we might as well go somewhere, spend a little more money on a house and you knowgo to a good public school.”

“If there was a school Downtown, I would come back, but not as it is now.”

“So I have to leave an hour ahead of time because the bus doesn’t show up or it’s running late. Soit’s extremely inconvenient for me to feel connected to the school [John Hay], I don’t get to walk andpick her up like the other moms. I don’t get to see the teacher on a day to day basis. So there [arepros and cons, the school’s excellent but at the same time I would love something I could walk toor even walk by, just feel like I belong to the community a bit, or pop in and bring cupcakes withouhaving to plan an hour and a half just to get there.”

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In March 2012, DSA retained Cocker Fennessy to conduct two focus groups with Downtownparents to identify barriers and opportunities to retaining and increasing the number of families wholive Downtown. The findings provide a foundation for understanding how parents perceiveDowntown’s “family friendliness,” from schooling options to the importance of open space and playareas. The findings also shed light on their anticipated plans for the next five years.

For more information about the challenges and opportunities facing Downtown families a full reporis available at DowntownSeattle.org.



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The number of kindergarteners living Downtown and enrolled in Seattle public schools climbedfrom 34 students in 2007 to 55 in 2011 - a 62 percent increase.

K-5 enrollment of Downtown students increased 15 percent, growing from 237 students in 2007to 272 in 2011.

K-12 enrollment of Downtown students grew by 21 percent since 2007.

In 2011, the neighborhoods with the most Seattle public school students were Chinatown-International District, South Lake Union, Belltown and Uptown.

The largest percent growth in student enrollment came from the South Lake Union neighbor-hood. South Lake Union student enrollment grew by more than 65 percent since 2007 (seeFigure 7).

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ENROLLMENT

OF DOWNTOWN

CHILDREN IN

SEATTLE

PUBLIC

SCHOOLS

Figure 7. Enrollment Data for Students Living Downtown by Grade and Neighborhood (2007-2011)

Grades 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

K 34 48 49 37 55

1 45 27 55 46 49

2 39 50 31 57 52

3 44 41 44 31 544 40 33 47 38 29

5 35 43 35 52 33

Elementary Total 237 242 261 261 272

6 42 40 31 31 42

7 24 39 25 31 36

8 23 31 34 27 29

Middle School 89 110 90 89 107

9 38 43 49 53 53

10 29 23 36 40 50

11 22 26 20 31 39

12 46 38 34 28 37

High School Total 135 130 139 152 179

Grand Total 461 482 490 502 558

Source: Based on data from Seattle Public Schools and Washington State Department of Health

Downtown Neighborhoods 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Belltown 48 56 76 85 77

Chinatown - International District 147 145 146 161 187

Denny Triangle 46 22 20 24 24

Pioneer Square/SoDo 12 14 13 15 16

Retail Core 46 37 39 31 28

South Lake Union 63 106 87

DowntownSchoolFeasibilityStudy_8.28.pdf

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