JR Weekly Update 8/3/21

JRE Families,

We are so excited to welcome students back to school for the Fall of 2020. This week movers came to JRE to set up classrooms for socially distant learning. Teachers have been working to set up warm and welcoming classrooms, Dana Keene and Andrea Bergan have returned to their posts in the JRE front office, and teams of teachers are planning the racial equity work for next year as well as the nuts and bolts work of teaching and learning in a still not yet out of a pandemic world.

Seattle Public Schools submitted a landmark nomination to the city landmarks board for John Rogers ES as part of the planning effort for the BEX V construction project. This is standard practice for any new building in Seattle schools and an attempt to address any hurdles a successful nomination may present.

A nomination hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18th at 3:30pm. I, along with other SPS staff would like the landmarks board to deny this nomination at the Aug. 18th hearing, as we don’t think this building meets any of the landmark criteria. It would be very helpful for the landmarks board hear directly from the school community in addition to SPS staff. Often, the board considers opinions of the school and community when they make their decision at nomination hearings.

In an attempt to start the design process with a clean slate, families could write letters/emails to the landmarks board and tell them what does not work for your students (e.g., building systems, lighting, size of the classrooms, or lack of program spaces, etc.). Letters/emails should be sent to Erin.Doherty@seattle.gov by 3:30pm on Aug. 17th.

I plan to speak at the Aug. 18th nomination hearing sharing my thoughts on our beautiful community and the building we can create, while asking the board to deny the nomination of JRE as a historical landmark. Again, the nomination is standard practice for buildings SPS is looking to replace.

I hope you and your family can find relief from the heat and smoke of the week.

In partnership,



Brent Ostbye

Principal

John Rogers Elementary