TOPS

2500 Franklin Avenue East

Seattle, WA 98102

October 29, 2002

Nancy Waldman

School Board President

The John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence

2445 3rd Avenue South

Seattle, WA 98134

Dear Nancy Waldman,

I am writing to express my opposition to the Superintendent’s proposal to change the TOPS assignment plan. The Eastlake families have a legitimate concern. I imagine it would be quite frustrating to wait for a bus to take your child five miles away from the school across the street. I imagine parents in other parts of the city, specifically the Central area, would feel the same frustration when the school across the street offers a substandard education and they have no other option.

The discrepancy between the quality of education offered in the segregated schools of north and south Seattle must be dealt with. The Seattle Public Schools took positive steps in doing this in August with the “Courageous Conversations on Race”. As a facilitator of the conversation at TOPS, I read Glenn Singleton’s article White is a Color twice. Perhaps you have read this as well. In it, he shares an incident on an airplane where he is offered a choice of two meals and the white man next to him is then offered only the meal Glenn did not choose. The man becomes irate, to which Mr. Singleton replies, if not you, who should be last? This sense of entitlement to the best choice is the type of institutionalized racism White people rarely question. If the families in Capital Hill and Eastlake shouldn’t have to go to MLK, who should?

The criteria of comparing schools based on test scores also undermines the core values of TOPS. The families who created this school were not upset with the lack of academic rigor at Stevens Elementary. People who choose TOPS want an alternative that embraces the social and cultural development of their children. Attached to this letter you will see a picture of members of the TOPS fifth grade class at Camp Sealth this fall. Yearly camp is just one of the unique experiences our teachers and parents value in the full development of the child’s sense of self.

Unlike a neighborhood school, parents choose TOPS because they support our mission and vision. I chose to work at TOPS (and was hired) based on my own passion for social and environmental justice. This focus is evident in my classroom. Student writings and pictures tell the tale of Columbus’ landing from the perspective of the Arawak Indians he enslaved. Each child’s picture, along with writing about what they would like to change in the world, adorns our walls. I consistently document student interests with digital pictures and notes, using this to guide my lesson planning. My ideal classroom, where controversy is embraced rather than avoided, would not be possible without parents who support our mission and vision.

This mission and vision explicitly state that we serve students traditionally underserved by the public school system. We rely on a diverse student body. Inequity exits in Seattle schools and our neighborhoods. The reality of racial divisions in this city mean we must either choose between neighborhood schools or diverse families. TOPS has boldly taken a stance against racism, including frequently overlooked privileges enjoyed by White people. Who is entitled to attend TOPS? I would argue that anyone who selects our school deserves an equal opportunity to attend, despite a legacy of racism and economic conditions which may prevent them from living in certain neighborhoods.

Sincerely,

Ilsa Govan

5th Grade Teacher