Thank you to everyone in our learning community for sharing their thoughts, questions and concerns with us — in person and online — as we collaborate to address declining enrollment, a discussion that includes a proposal to consolidate three elementary schools. Community forums were hosted at Ardmore, Eastgate, Enatai, Phantom Lake, Sherwood Forest, Woodridge and Wilburton elementaries the week of January 23, to gain valuable insight directly from members in each school community. All feedback that was shared through the community engagement process is being used to develop options for Interim Superintendent Jarvis to consider prior to making a recommendation to the school board on Thursday, February 9.
Once the recommendation is made, there will be additional community involvement opportunities for the impacted schools, as well as the schools who would receive students as a result of any proposed consolidations. The district will be asking staff, families and students in those school communities to help us co-design the transition, including through working groups. These groups will help develop the plans and options for families and determine how to blend the school communities. Further, families at impacted schools will have the opportunity to consider open transfer options and will be given priority in the open transfer process.
Next Steps
An abbreviated timeline of what to expect moving forward is as follows:
- Thursday, February 9 – A recommendation to consolidate up to three elementary schools will be provided to the school board at the regularly scheduled board meeting.
- There will be further discussion about the recommendation during a board study session within the regular meeting. Please note (Updated 2/08, 12:57 p.m.): In addition to being streamed live online, the study session will also be recorded and published to the district YouTube after the meeting. This is a modification from the normal practice for study sessions and will be done to ensure transparency and visibility for this very important discussion.
- The Board must take action within 90 days of receiving the recommendation.
- Monday, February 13 – Community working groups and focus groups are formed at impacted schools, an additional opportunity for sharing feedback and future planning.
- Week of February 27 – Hearings for the impacted schools will be held. The specific schedule and format will be determined and released after a recommendation is made.
A full timeline can be found on the Planning for the Future – Process Timeline webpage. This page will be updated throughout this process.
As a district, we extend our gratitude to our learning communities who have stepped forward to actively participate in this challenging process. Your voices are heard and will continue to be sought to ensure a sustainable future and positive outcomes for all students.
Learn More
For the past few months, the Bellevue School District has regularly shared information with our learning community about the enrollment challenges the district is projected to experience. More information on this topic can be found on the District Budget webpage.