Public Schools

The Chief Sealth expansion project is being appealed by the group Save Our Schools and a public hearing is scheduled for April 24.

The Chief Sealth Senior Projects Manager for the Seattle School District reports that on March 6, the Seattle Department of Planning and Development received an appeal from a member of the public.

The following decisions are being appealed:

- The Determination of Non-Significance, which states the project will have no adverse effects to the surrounding environment.

- A departure to allow less than required parking stalls.

-A departure to allow the new structure to xceed maximum height in a single family zone.

The permits, and the appeal process, is part of the process to obtain the Master Use Permit and building permits for the project.

"We are following the process and the project team will continue to take steps to get the required permits for our project," the district said in a statement.

The project is proceeding to meet the expected opening of Chief Sealth on time in September 2010 and complete the construction of a new Denny Middle School.

The Ballard High School softball team was trounced by Roosevelt March 19 to start their season.

The Beavers gave up runs in four of the five innings and couldn't mount a response on the way to a 10-0 drubbing.

Starting pitcher Sophia Pauley gave up four hits in three innings with four strikeouts and seven walks for Ballard.

Ballard softball squares off against Sammamish at 4:30 p.m., March 23 at Sammamish Field.

Seattle Public Schools' initial recommendation for a new student assignment plan has been presented to the Seattle School Board.

The district says it has designed the plan so parents can easily know what schools their child will attend all the way through high school by simply knowing their address.

Each school would have a defined geographic boundary so that, without having to complete any application, students would be automatically assigned to their local attendance area school.

Families will still be able to apply for another school through the regular choice process.

Each middle school attendance area is also a service area for delivery of services not available at every elementary school, such as some bilingual, special education, and advanced learning services.

Services for more specialized needs will be located appropriately around the district.

Optional, or alternative school programs, which students must apply for, will need further definition regarding the program itself, student assignment and transportation. To do this the Council of Great City Schools has agreed to conduct an audit this spring.

At its meeting on March 18, the Seattle School Board voted to approve changes to transportation service standards for 2009-10, changing bus arrival and departure times this fall.

Some changes, especially for most K-8 schools, are significant.

The district hopes the changes will maximize operational efficiency, provide more consistency and reduce transportation costs by $2.2 million. Other changes will reduce rides times for many students.

The changes for fall 2009 are:

For middle schools, high schools and most K-8 schools (Alternative School #1, Catharine Blaine, Broadview-Thomson, Jane Addams, Madrona, Orca, Pathfinder and South Shore): Yellow buses will arrive at the schools at approximately 8:15 a.m. and depart at approximately 2:45 p.m. Principals will have the flexibility to adjust their specific school arrival and departure times within a narrow window of time in conjunction with the transportation service standards.



Seattle soccer fans have finally got what they’ve been waiting for, a professional team.

Tomorrow night, March 19, the Seattle Sounders Football Club will play their first regular season game in Major League Soccer. They will face the New York Red Bulls at 6 p.m. at Qwest Field. The match will also be televised on ESPN2.

Some of the best soccer players in the world have come to play for the Sounders. Starting goalkeeper Kasey Keller has played in four World Cups and was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year three times.

Another player coming in is Swedish star Freddie Ljungberg, who was his country’s captain in the 2008 Euro Cup. In that tournament he played every minute of every game. He has played 11 seasons in the English Premier League, arguably the best league in the world. He scored 72 goals in that time.

The Sounders will be getting even more winning experience from their new coach Sigi Schmid. Schmid was recently named the coach for the 2009 season. He led the Columbus Crew to the league championship last year, and was given the MLS Coach of the Year Award.

The West Seattle Wildcats boys came in third overall last year at the state meet and track coach Tom Burggraff led the Wildcats to the SeaKing district championship.

Burggraff was named spring coach of the year last year by the Seattle PI.

“I was honored, but really was a result of being blessed with a talented team and some great performances,” said Burggraff.

The Wildcats were undefeated in the 4x100 meter relay ran by Aaron Grymes, Markeem Adams, Christian Crain, and Brandon Brown. The group won by an unbelievable margin of 0.01 seconds.

Grymes and Adams are returning, leaving the other two spots up for grabs. Grymes took fifth place in the 100 meter dash at the state meet, while Adams took fifth at 200 meters.

The girls who are returning this year are seniors Tanya Tarabochia, Lizzie Perkins, Chandler Dennison and sophomore Kendall Kielbon. Senior April Johnson is currently recovering from knee surgery. Burggraff refers to her as one of the premier track athletes in the state, and a centerpiece of the team.


The returning boys are seniors Grymes, Jeremy Darden, Jules Guay-Binion, Ian Kiethly, Kyle MacDonald, juniors Adams, and Caleb Fisher.

The Ballard High School baseball team won their second game in a row by completely dismantling Roosevelt 11-2.

The win puts the Beavers at 1-0 in the conference and 2-0 overall.

The team was able to bounce back after a poor showing at the league jamboree March 15. Coach John Lamm said the team struggled that day because the pitchers couldn't get the ball over the plate in the cold weather.

Ballard's next game is at 3:45 p.m., March 18 at Whitman Middle School against Tacoma's Bellarmine Prep, weather permitting.

Lamm said the non-conference game should be a good test for the Beavers because Bellarmine is a very good team.

The Ballard High School soccer team lost its first game against non-conference Inglemoor Saturday, March 14.

Ballard's Nick Christie gave the Beavers an early 1-0 lead at the 27 minute mark, but Inglemoor would score the next two goals on the way to a 2-1 victory.

The Beavers face O'Dea High School at 3:30 p.m., March 17 at the Interbay soccer fields.

The Ballard High School springs sports season opened with a bang as the Beaver baseball team beat Oak Harbor 11-9 March 13.

Coach John Lamm said the team hit well, but struggled in its pitching, largely due to having little to know preparation time.

The bus arrived at Oak Harbor only 15 minutes before the game.

"It was quite an adventure for my first game," said first-year coach Lamm.

Lamm said the Beavers have a good pitching staff and the pitchers who had more time to prepare were able to throw strikes.

The team did a good job being patient at the plate, but he said he wants the players to make sure they are staying ahead in the count in coming games.

The Beavers face Roosevelt at 3:30 p.m., March 16 at Lower Woodland.

This summer Ballard-ites can grab an opportunity to host one of 15 Japanese junior high school students and in exchange share with them the American culture while at the same time learn about Japan and its way of living.

The students will be staying in Ballard from July 14 through Aug. 3.

“We’re looking for families in the Ballard area who are interested in hosting a Japanese student for three week this July,” said Kristen Ramirez, resident of Ballard and coordinator of Compass USA. “These students are traveling from their homes in Japan to learn about American customs and culture by staying with a Ballard-area family.”

Compass USA has been around for 19 years and is based out of Colorado, Ramirez said. They’ve brought a lot of international students to the Puget Sound and this will be the first time they’ve hosted students in Ballard, she said.