Cleveland High plan is revised, goes back to the board
An $800,000 contract to help Cleveland High open a new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program is back before the Seattle School Board for a second time.
Seattle Times education reporter
An $800,000 contract to help Cleveland High open a new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program is back before the Seattle School Board for approval of revisions.
In early February, the board voted 4-2 to approve the 3 ½-year contract with the New Technology Network, a national association of 41 schools.
By becoming part of the Network, Cleveland would receive materials, training and other assistance as it phases in its STEM program starting this fall. But after the vote, some district activists complained that certain provisions in the contract differed from what district staff had said publicly.
In particular, the staff had said that Cleveland would remain one school with one principal, but with two academies — one focused on engineering and design, one on life sciences. Staff members also said the two academies would eventually have a total of 1,000 students.
The original contract, in contrast, indicated that the district would have to create two separate schools in Cleveland's building, each with its own principal. It also said that enrollment must be capped at 450 students per school, and that teachers in one academy couldn't teach any classes in the other.
In response to those questions, officials from Seattle Public Schools and the New Technology Network have said that they had verbal agreements that matched the staff's description of the program.
