Teacher assignments and classroom configurations

We know that new families have a lot of questions leading up to the first day of school. Please let us know if we can help answer any of those burning questions! Send us an email or leave a comment.

Many people want to know who their child's teacher will be. Note that teacher assignments are not finalized until a few weeks before school starts. You will receive a letter by mail with your classroom assignment about a week before classes start. 

For those families on the waitlist, changes are made continuously, right through the end of September. You could be offered a spot in your first choice program a few weeks after school has begun. Check your student's status at Seattle Schools Student Assignment and/or Waitlist Status.

Ms. Ayer, the principal at Daniel Bagley, recently announced some planning updates for the upcoming school year. Enrollment has increased by 25 students, predominantly in the Contemporary program. The enrollment numbers shift constantly, so the following classroom configurations are subject to change.

Contemporary:

• Kindergarten: Ms. Stone
• Kindergarten: Ms. Steele
• First: Ms. Tamura
• First: Ms. Sams (Ms. Beisel will be teaching 1.5 days for Ms. Sams while she completes her administrative internship)
• Second: Ms. Filep
• Second/Third: Ms. Scordas
• Third: Ms. Adriance
• Fourth/Fifth: Ms. Outhouse
• Fourth/Fifth: Ms. Manley

Montessori:

• Kindergarten: Ms. Richards
• Kindergarten/First: Ms. Norton
• First/Second/Third: Ms. Messom
• First/Second/Third: Ms. Green (Ms. Beisel will be teaching 1 day for Ms. Green)
• First/Second/Third: TBD
• Second/Third: Ms. Forselius
• Fourth/Fifth: Ms. Manley
• Fourth/Fifth: TBD
• Fourth/Fifth: Mr. Vonderlage

To stay connected to the Bagley community, be sure to sign up for the Daniel Bagley Families Email List (most people call it the "V-List"): http://vlists.net/mailman/listinfo/daniel-bagley-families.

Open Enrollment is Feb 25-March 8, 2013

Are you ready for open enrollment?  SPS Open Enrollment info is here.

This is your only chance to:

(a) apply for Bagley if you are out of the area

(b) apply for Montessori

It's also an opportunity to sign up if you are in the area.  Although this can be done at any time, since you're guaranteed a spot in the contemporary program if you live in the Bagley attendance area, it's nice to give the school an idea of who is coming.  It lets SPS begin the process of assigning spots to the people who apply during open enrollment.

Scan through old posts for more information about the enrollment process.  Look for the label 'registration' and take a spin through this post from last year.

Waitlist updates, Welcome Night, Curriculum Night

Waitlist
There doesn't appear to have been much movement yet on the waitlist, based on today's updated report, which indicates the following stats for kindergarten:
Contemporary - 9
Montessori - 20
Inclusion - 3

But, don't lose hope!  Classroom assignments haven't been confirmed yet, and there is a lot of movement toward the end of August, right through the first week of school.

Welcome Night
You will receive your classroom/teacher assignment in the mail before welcome night which will be on August 30th at 6pm (confirmed start time!).  New students and their parents are invited to meet their teachers and classmates, find their desk and locker, and get acquainted with Bagley.  Expect to be at school for about an hour.

Curriculum Night
You will get curriculum-related information at the aptly named 'curriculum night', on Tuesday, September 18 (time TBD; 6:30ish is a reasonable estimate).  

Classroom configurations now set for 2012/2013

Per Principal Ayer:  In 2012/2013, the classroom configurations will remain the same as this year:

Contemporary
K/1: 2 classes (Mrs. Stone & Ms. Hansen)
1/2: 1 class (Ms. Filep)
2/3: 2 classes (Ms. Scordas & *TBD*)
4/5 2 classes (Mr. Bauer & Ms. Manley)

Montessori
K/1: 3 classes  (Ms. Norton, Ms. Messom & Ms. Richards)
2/3: 3 classes (Ms. Green, Ms. Forselius & Ms. Humphrey)
4/5: 2 classes (Ms. Stackhouse & Mr. Moore)

... so, two contemporary K/1 and three Montessori K/1.  That's good news for anyone on the Montessori waitlist.

Current wait list information

For non-attendance area Daniel Bagley hopefuls:

SPS posts lists indicating the number of children on the wait list for each grade and program, by school.  These are updated each Friday.  This week's is here.

Current stats for Daniel Bagley:
K Montessori - 19
K Contemporary - 9
1st Montessori - 8
... and either 1, 2, or 3 on the list for all other grades and programs.

Don't fret quite yet; there is a lot of movement on the wait lists at the end of summer, since families hold 'just in case' spots at multiple schools until then. Last year, students as far down the wait list as #14 or 15 received calls before mid-September (n.b. if you are fairly far down the list, you should consider whether you would be willing to transfer after school has already started).  

Wait lists are dissolved as of September 30 each year, so if you don't get in but still want to, you'll have to try again during next spring's open enrollment.

Registration with Seattle Public Schools

You are probably confused by the SPS website.  We all are.

How to register your kindergartener for the 2012-2013 year.

FUN FACT:  SPS will always have a spot for your child at your 'Attendance Area' school, no matter when you register them, even if it isn't until August 31.  Sure, earlier is better, since they'd like to know whether classes will be oversubscribed earlier than that so that they can work down the waiting list, and it would be a nice thing to do so that waitlisted families can reduce their stress levels.

FUN FACT:  When you are registering your student, you're really just getting them into the SPS system.  They'll be assigned to your neighborhood school by default, pending your acceptance into your 'preferred choice' school or program.

• The Bagley attendance area default is CONTEMPORARY K.
• Montessori applications must be made during the Open Enrollment Period below

FUN FACT:  The 2012 application period for option schools/programs is short! Open Enrollment is from February 27 - March 9 2012 ONLY! 

Bit and bites from this morning's playdate (waitlist, teachers, after-school classes, etc.)

Thank you to all the families who came out to our New Family playdates!  It was wonderful to see all the new (and older) students making friends over the last two weekends.  We estimate that there were about 25 families who came out today, and about 25 last weekend as well.  That's a pretty good representation of the new Bees.

Here are a few thoughts on some of the items that came up this morning:

Understanding the wait list

***Update August 27 2011 - there is movement on the Montessori list, so there is hope... Look for an email from SPS noting that you have been offered a spot (check your spam folder)***

Being in limbo is not easy, and based on discussions at this morning's playground meetup, there are quite a few of us in this position!

(Great to see so many families out to play in the sunshine at Greenwood Park this morning, BTW - another one next Saturday morning, 10:30-12 - cross your fingers for more summer weather!)

Right now, many Seattle families are still making decisions about their fall school choices, and sometimes students will not withdraw from Bagley until the last minute, when they accept a spot at another school, and open up a spot for someone from the wait list.

Who is my child's teacher?

Teacher assignments are made a few weeks before school, and you will receive a snail mail letter with your classroom assignment about a week before classes start. You'll meet your teacher at Welcome Night on Tuesday, September 6, 6:30pm at Bagley (come a little earlier so you can actually socialize with other parents from your kid's classroom, & so your kids can run amok on the playground - no time for that at Welcome Night).

If you are on the waitlist, note that changes are made continuously, right through the end of September. You could be offered a spot in your first choice program a few weeks after school has begun. Check your student's waitlist status at seattleschools.org using the link in the right sidebar.

***UPDATE 8/16/11 - next school mailing will be sent out on August 29 (or earlier), so we'll find out our teacher assignments later that week.***