Tech program, jazz band cut from offerings at Washington Middle School

Seattle’s Washington Middle School is reeling from the news it will lose two cherished programs next school year: A technology program aimed at improving academic outcomes for students of color, and a jazz band that helped kids develop the music chops they needed to try out for Garfield High’s renowned jazz program.

It’s the latest example of how schools across the state are managing steep cuts caused by declining enrollment and the loss of COVID-19 relief money. Bellevue is closing several elementary schools, and Edmonds and Shoreline are cutting teaching positions.

“It’s solely about money,” Trish Millines Dziko said of the decision to end Technology Access Foundation, or TAF, the technology program she helped develop and bring to Washington Middle. “It’s a shame because we were really starting to get some legs here. This kind of partnership and work takes years to build up and we were really doing well given the circumstances under which we started.”

Music students testified to Seattle School Board members how much the jazz band has improved their mental health and given them a sense of community. The district is eliminating the position taught by jazz teacher Michael Sundt.

“The moment I stepped foot in that classroom I knew it was going to be great and Mr. Sundt and the music program were going to work for me,” Jo Chick, a sixth grader, said in an interview. “He creates a safe space. He always knows how to help you and you can always talk to him.”

Among Seattle’s 106 public schools, Washington Middle is losing the most staff, nine educators. The district must make multimillion-dollar budget cuts in the next two school years. To save money, SPS is planning layoffs, possible school closures in 2024, and reductions in education programs. 

SPS’ relationship with TAF started in 2020 and was aimed at improving academic outcomes for students of color and changing the culture of the school. TAF focuses on teaching science, technology, engineering and math.

The adoption of the TAF curriculum was contentious because it replaced a program that offered advanced courses, known as the Highly Capable Cohort. Students in the HCC program were placed in separate classes, creating segregated classrooms, with white students the majority. 

The TAF model did not split classrooms based on learning levels. The program offered training on how to teach existing curriculum in ways that are more inclusive.

Melissa White, who has a seventh grade daughter at Washington Middle, says TAF’s approach seems to be working for students on every level of learning. Her daughter was in HCC classes and has enjoyed being a part of TAF math and science classes. She said she’s nervous about what next year will bring.

“I know we have to focus on kids … who need more help,” White said. “I really like that TAF is able to do both — support kids ready to move on as well as kids who needed more help and once TAF is gone, I just don’t feel like they’ll have the resources to be able to do that.” 

The racial makeup of Washington Middle has changed dramatically since the 2019-20 school year — during the time TAF was being introduced and HCC started to phase out — and went from being majority white to majority African American. The school’s enrollment has fallen by 113 students.

In the 2019-20 school year, the school was 37% white and about 23% African American, according to state data. The student enrollment is now nearly 40% African American and about 19% white. That change is likely because HCC drew wealthier white families to the Central District school, a historically Black neighborhood that’s gentrifying.

That shift in demographics also brought a change to the jazz program. “This is also the closest the jazz band has been racially equitable … in decades,” Sundt said.

Financial decision 

The partnership with TAF brought seven additional educators and one assistant principal to the school. According to SPS, that’s more than other middle schools have.

“We’re leaving because the district could no longer fund the additional teachers that are needed to run our model,” said Millines Dziko, TAF’s executive director. “Our model requires small class sizes, teacher collaboration, and in terms of structure no more than five periods a day … They [SPS] are unable to cover those additional pieces.”

The program includes mentorships, exposure to potential jobs, project-based learning, smaller classroom sizes, more staffing in classrooms, and training for educators. 

TAF costs SPS about $1.3 million annually, officials said. On average, Millines Dziko said, TAF spent $700,000 a year on the program — most recently giving the school a grant to hire an assistant principal and engineering teacher. The only money TAF received from SPS was for professional development — about $25,000 a year.

In a statement, SPS said it couldn’t afford the extra staff without outside funding.

A big challenge for TAF was that it began during COVID — making it difficult to know whether TAF helped improve academic outcomes for Washington Middle students. Standardized tests were on pause from 2020 to 2021.

TAF also measures success based on what’s happening in a classroom and how instruction is delivered, Millines Dziko said. For example, if students’ eyes are glazed over in a classroom and engagement or problem-solving isn’t happening, something needs to change, she said.

“Our job is getting teachers to deliver content in different ways and in some cases deliver different content making it culturally relevant so it connects to kids,” Millines Dziko said. “A lot is about building community in the school itself — we are in the very beginning of this relationship.”

Loss of full-time music teacher

Last week, for a second time, students and parents rallied at an SPS board meeting to advocate for keeping their music teacher, Sundt, who teaches a jazz band and intermediate orchestra class. Both of those classes will end next school year.

Sundt’s positions was axed because of the decline in enrollment at Washington Middle, SPS officials said in a statement. The district is working to find a way jazz instruction can continue at the school.

With the help of the middle school’s music booster program, many more kids of color have been able to access the music program, Sundt said. The school was able to afford newer instruments and pay for other expenses. About 80 students are in Sundt’s beginner music classes, he said, and about 60 are students of color.

“I don’t think this can kill jazz — it’s not preventing kids from gathering,” Sundt said. “But it better serves and is more equitable to students to have a jazz program during school hours.”

With Sundt’s departure, the school will only have a beginning orchestra and a concert orchestra.  

Many are also concerned about what the loss of a jazz program means for the feeder high school, Garfield, which is renowned for its award-winning jazz program. Musical icons have been part of Garfield jazz — including Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones and Ernestine Anderson.

“I think the biggest impact the cut will have as related to the Washington [Middle] and Garfield pipeline is obviously just general enrollment in music,” said Jared Sessink, director of bands and jazz at Garfield. “We’re going to see a dip and when we see a dip like that, it’s hard to justify how many classes to offer.”

When enrollment in music programs tanks, it’s difficult to rebuild, Sessink said, and overall the number of students in Garfield’s music program has gone down. 

Washington Middle’s program cuts are just one example of how budget cuts affect students and employees. 

Alan T. Sugiyama and Middle College high schools were the other two schools with the most significant staffing changes, district officials announced last month. Management for both schools will be shifted to another team. Each school has less than 100 students and they will still have access to their classes and instructors.