NSD superintendent message regarding 2015 Northshore Primary Center | Francois

Until the opening of North Creek High School, grade reconfiguration and boundary adjustments to help balance enrollment districtwide in the fall of 2017, several schools in the north/central region of the district will continue to be challenged by significant over-crowding and ongoing enrollment growth.

By Larry Francois • December 12, 2014 5:48 pm
Northshore School District Superintendent Larry Francois.
Northshore School District Superintendent Larry Francois.

Until the opening of North Creek High School, grade reconfiguration and boundary adjustments to help balance enrollment districtwide in the fall of 2017, several schools in the north/central region of the district will continue to be challenged by significant over-crowding and ongoing enrollment growth. While we have installed several dozen portable classrooms and reassigned kindergarten students from over-crowded schools to others with room, enrollment growth is projected to exceed available classroom capacity between now and 2017.

To help address this challenge, the district entered into a lease agreement with Eastlake Community Church for classroom space in their facility adjacent to the district’s Administration Center. These classrooms will open for students in the fall of 2015 as the Northshore Primary Center (NPC). The NPC will serve as a regional kindergarten center and may also be utilized for a small number of first-grade classes for schools that cannot address their over-crowding through the reassignment of just kindergarten students.

Over the past two months, we have been updating enrollment projections and classroom availability and projected shortages for the next several years. Our goal is to develop a transition plan that will get us to 2017 and beyond with as much predictability and as little disruption as possible. The challenges we face make this task increasingly difficult.

The NPC provides a valuable option to help meet our classroom needs over the next several years.

We are finalizing our transition plan now so that it can be communicated to families and staff before we begin kindergarten registration for 2015-16 in January. Please be looking for additional communication from your school and the district regarding this plan in the coming weeks. As always, I continue to appreciate your understanding of our challenges and welcome your questions and feedback.

This is my final staff and community message of 2014. On behalf of the Board of Directors and our administrative leadership team, I wish each of you a happy and healthy holiday season. Please enjoy a safe and restful winter break with loved ones and friends.

Larry Francois is the Nortshore School District superintendent.