After starting school two weeks late due to the Seattle Public School strike, the Alki Elementary School community has just learned that the entire first grade (and school) will be disrupted just as they have settled in, as a teacher will be removed due to school district staff reductions.   

Last fall the School District approved the addition of a teacher due to the large amount of students entering Kindergarten in the fall of 2014. It was recognized a year ago that class sizes were too large and therefore something needed to be done.  Students and teachers alike benefited greatly from the reduced class sizes giving our children the best opportunity to learn. 

A year later and the District is now asking for the Alki staff to be reduced and this cut will likely come from the grade level that added staff in 2014. Basically a year later it is now okay for classrooms to be overcrowded?

Our children deserve better.  Our children deserve a stable learning environment without classrooms over capacity. 

The school board needs to find a different way to cut costs than at the expense of our teachers, staff and students. Please sign this petition in support of ensuring that our children have the 1st grade (and Alki Elementary grades of all levels) learning opportunity they deserve.