Potential School Closures within SPS

To our Sacajawea Community:

Yesterday, SPS announced its two proposed options for school closures via its website. We learned the difficult news that Sacajawea Elementary is one of many Seattle schools on the list for potential closures and consolidations. What does this mean for Sacajawea? Below is what we can tell from the website. 

Option A Proposal:

• Sacajawea is closed

• Our zone is broken into two sections

• Top (purple) of our current boundary is rezoned to Hazel Wolf

• Bottom (light green) is rezoned to Olympic View

Option B Proposal:

• Sacajawea stays open; however our boundaries are reduced

• Top dashed area (blue) of our current zone is rezoned to Olympic Hills; Bottom dashed area (light green) is rezoned to Olympic View

• No mention of rebuild

We will send out more information as we learn about the legally mandated community meetings, public comment, and SPS School Board voting timelines. To stay informed, please ensure you are on our PTA email list. Please also reach out to us at chair@sacpta.org if you have information to share or questions. 

Let’s remember that Sacajawea’s potential closure or adjusted boundaries will greatly impact our students. Please center your children when you discuss closures and consolidations. This is a very big and scary issue for many of our learners and our community as a whole. We also ask that we give our teaching staff grace as they’re also being significantly impacted by these proposed changes. 

In solidarity,

Heather Platisha & Tiffany Elliott

Co-chairs, Sacajawea Elementary PTA

Welcome to 2024-2025

Versión en español

Hello Sacajaweans!

It is our pleasure to welcome new and returning families to another year at Sacajawea Elementary on behalf of the PTA. We are excited to be back to school, and we look forward to connecting with you and your families. 

The Sacajawea Elementary School PTA is a small-yet-mighty organization that works to help support our school, educators, administration, and most importantly, our students. Throughout the year, we host community events, work to promote equity, and raise money to support our school. We also send a weekly newsletter with school news, a note from Principal Fisk, our school calendar, and more.

One of Sacajawea's great strengths is the broad participation and involvement of our parent community. As kids return to school, we, as your PTA, will work to support you and your families as much as possible this year with consistent communication and community-building events. We are planning even more fun events this year and can always use an extra hand—please let us know if you are able to get involved.  

If you’re looking for an easy way to meet fellow parents and see all that we do, please attend our monthly PTA meetings. They’re a welcoming, productive, and fun way to get involved. We meet monthly, and our first meeting is Tuesday, September 10th, at 7:00 pm at school (and on Zoom). This year, we will meet in person once a quarter and on Zoom for the other months. 

Please be in touch with us as the school year gets underway. We’re here to help, and you’ll find contact details below. To ensure you receive all of our PTA updates throughout the year, please subscribe to our email list: sacpta.org/subscribe. You can also visit our website (sacpta.org) throughout the year for up-to-date info on school and PTA events. Lastly, join our Facebook group (sacpta.org/facebook) for more discussion on life at Sacajawea. 

Thank you all for making this school such a special place! At Sacajawea, we truly do all SHINE.

 Sincerely,

Heather Platisha, PTA Co-Chair

Tiffany Elliott, PTA Co-Chair

chair@sacpta.org

Versión en español

¡Hola Sacajaweans!

Es un placer darle la bienvenida a nuestras familias nuevas y que regresan a otro año en la escuela primaria Sacajawea. Estamos emocionados de volver a la escuela y esperamos conectarnos con ustedes y sus familias.

La PTA de Sacajawea es una organización pequeña pero poderosa que trabaja para ayudar y apoyar a nuestra escuela, facultad, administración y, lo más importante, a nuestros estudiantes. Durante todo el año, organizamos eventos comunitarios, trabajamos para promover la equidad y recaudamos fondos para apoyar a nuestra escuela. También enviamos un boletín semanal con noticias de la escuela, nota del director del Sr. Fisk, calendario escolar y más.

Una de las grandes fortalezas de Sacajawea es la participación de nuestra comunidad de padres. A medida que los niños regresen a la escuela nosotros, como su PTA, trabajaremos para apoyarlos a ustedes y a sus familias tanto como sea posible este año con una comunicación constante y eventos de construcción de la comunidad. Estamos planeando eventos aún más divertidos este año, y siempre podemos usar una mano extra. Háganos saber si puede participar. ¡Ahora es un buen momento, mientras sus hijos todavía están emocionados por su participación!

Si está buscando una manera fácil de conocer a otros padres e involucrarse, por favor asista a nuestras reuniones mensuales de la junta de la PTA. Son una forma acogedora, productiva y divertida de participar. Nos reunimos mensualmente y nuestra primera reunión es el martes 10 de septiembre a las 7:00 pm en la escuela. Este año, nos reuniremos en persona una vez por trimestre y por Zoom los demás meses.

Por favor, póngase en contacto con nosotros a medida que avanza el año escolar. Estamos aquí para ayudar y encontrará nuestros datos de contacto a continuación. Y, para asegurarse de recibir todas las actualizaciones de nuestra PTA durante todo el año, suscríbase a nuestra lista de correo electrónico: sacpta.org/subscribe. También puede visitar nuestro sitio web (sacpta.org) durante todo el año para obtener información actualizada sobre los eventos de la escuela y la PTA. Únase a nuestro grupo de Facebook (sacpta.org/facebook) para discusión sobre la vida en Sacajawea.

¡Gracias a todos por hacer de esta escuela un lugar tan especial! En Sacajawea, realmente hacemos todo SHINE.

Atentamente,

Heather Platisha, CoPresidente de la PTA

Tiffany Elliott, CoPresidente de la PTA

chair@sacpta.org

Get Ready for 2024-2025 at Sacajawea

Hello, Sacajaweans!

Another school year is almost upon us, and we hope you’re enjoying the last bits of your summer vacation.

As we roll into Kindergarten JumpStart and the start of the school year, we want to ensure you can stay connected with our school and PTA updates.

Here are a few things to do (or double-check) as we head toward September:

1. Register for our email list for periodic updates and event notices.

2. Join our Facebook group for more discussion on life at Sacajawea.

3. Interested in volunteering? Contact our volunteer coordinator, Charlene Shanahan, for details: cyshanahan@seattleschools.org.

4. Become a PTA member at Sacajawea.

We’re having a back-to-school pizza party event on Tuesday, September 3rd. We'll meet on the upper playground from 5:30pm - 7:00pm, and we'll have (free) pizza and fun. Come have a bite, see old friends, and meet our newest community members, too. Please bring your own water/drink.

Version en español

¡Hola Sacajaweanos!

Se acerca otro año escolar y esperamos que esté disfrutando los últimos momentos de sus vacaciones de verano.

A medida que avanzamos hacia Kindergarten JumpStart y el comienzo del año escolar, queremos asegurarnos de que pueda mantenerse conectado con las actualizaciones de nuestra escuela y la PTA.

Aquí hay algunas cosas que hacer (o verificar dos veces) a medida que nos acercamos a septiembre:

1. Regístrese en nuestra lista de correo electrónico para recibir actualizaciones periódicas y avisos de eventos.

2. Únase a nuestro grupo de Facebook para más debates sobre la vida en Sacajawea.

3. ¿Interesado en ser voluntario? Comuníquese con nuestra coordinadora de voluntarios, Charlene Shanahan, para obtener más detalles: cyshanahan@seattleschools.org.

4. Conviértase en miembro de la PTA de Sacajawea.

Celebraremos una fiesta de pizza de regreso a clases el martes 3 de septiembre. Nos reuniremos en el patio de juegos superior de 5:30 p. m. a 7:00 p. m. y comeremos pizza (gratis) y diversión. Ven a comer algo, ver a viejos amigos y conocer también a los miembros más nuevos de nuestra comunidad. Por favor traiga su propia agua/bebida.

PTA to Purchase Homeroom School Supplies for 2024-2025 School Year

We are thrilled to announce a new initiative by our PTA that will significantly benefit our school community starting in the 2024-25 school year. For the first time, the PTA will purchase all homeroom supplies for students. This means families will no longer need to worry about supply lists over the summer. Instead, parents only need to provide their child with a backpack and a water bottle. This change is designed to ease the financial burden on families and ensure that all students have the necessary supplies for a successful school year.

The PTA allocated funding for these supplies in our budget for the upcoming school year, increasing the importance of our fundraising events, such as the Move-a-thon, Direct Ask, and the Spring Auction. Your contributions during these fundraisers are crucial, as they now help cover the costs of school supplies, ensuring that every student is equipped and ready to learn from day one.

We also want to highlight the ongoing need for volunteers to make this program successful. We are looking for dedicated individuals to assist in various tasks, including finding the best prices for supplies, making bulk purchases, delivering supplies to the school, and organizing them for distribution. The volunteering opportunities are designed to be flexible, allowing parents to contribute in ways that fit their schedules. If you’re interested in helping or have any questions, please get in touch with us at supplies@sacpta.org.

Membership Approves Budget and Executive Board for 2024-2025

Last week, at our annual Ice Cream Social and General Membership meeting, our PTA members voted on approving the executive board nominees and the proposed budget for the upcoming year.

We are excited to announce the new executive board, as approved by the membership:

• Co-chair: Heather Platisha (2nd year of a two-year term)

• Co-chair: Tiffany Elliott (1st year of a two-year term)

• Treasurer: Cheryl Davis (1st year of a two-year term)

• Secretary: Jessi Friedrichs

In addition to the executive board vote, members also approved the proposed budget for 2024-25. This budget was initially approved by the board at the May meeting. The budget for the upcoming year is $103,879, which is $20,000 more than last year’s budget. This increase is fully funded through a combination of donations from this school year and surplus funding from previous years.

One of the main reasons we’ve increased our budget is to support new programs, such as buying school supplies for every student. Our goal in introducing this program is to relieve parents and caregivers of the burden of purchasing these items themselves and to ensure that every student has access to the necessary supplies for the school year.

The biggest categories of expenditure in our budget are:

• Classroom Support, $33K. This includes funding for classroom supplies ($9K), teacher stipends and reimbursements ($19K), and specialist support for art, library, PE, and Music ($5K).

• Staffing, $23.7K. This includes funding for Hourly Staffing and Tutors ($13K), Volunteer Coordinator ($7K), and Family Support Coordinator ($3K).

• Family Support, $14K. This includes supplements and grocery cards for our Packs for Kids families ($10K) and scholarship funds for various programs throughout the year ($4K).

• Arts and Culture, $9.5K. This includes Teacher Appreciation ($5K), Field Trip Buses ($2.5K) and Equity Team ($2.5K).

More details on our budget can be found on the Budget page.

Thank you to everyone who attended the social and participated in the voting process. Your involvement is crucial to the success of our PTA. We look forward to a fantastic year ahead with our new board and approved budget!