SEATTLE — TOPS K-8 School is one of the schools proposed to be closed in one of Seattle Public Schools’ school closure plans.
It is also the school that is home to the district’s only Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program for children in that age group.
The school district released two options for school closure plans on Wednesday as the district is trying to close an approximate $94 million budget gap spurred by decreasing student enrollment and less federal funding. One of the closure plans includes TOPS K-8 school, which is in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood.
Several parents of deaf and hard of hearing students said they feel shocked and betrayed that the district is looking to possibly close the school, which they call an inclusive and necessary community.
“As a kid who doesn't want to be different, who wants to be around people who are like him, this has been an amazing place,” said Chris Longhurst, whose son started at the school this year.
Chris Lonhgurst and his wife, Taryn Longhurst, said their hard of hearing son has found community and built confidence in his one week at the school. They said he used to attend their neighborhood Seattle Public School and that the school did not have the right resources or services to serve their son in the right way.
On Wednesday they were shocked to hear that the school they had just moved their son to may soon be closed by the school district.
"We just spent all this time advocating to come to a community where our son was not alone and the only kid wearing a hearing aid,” said Taryn Longhurst. “We are not going back to that, we need TOPS, we need it to stay."
Another mother of two deaf students, who is also deaf herself, said she felt like district leaders are failing them. As someone who is deaf, she said closing the school, where deaf and hard of hearing students from all over the city attend, would have bad ramifications.
“This will impact a lot of kids because, as a deaf person, I know how it feels to feel isolated in your neighborhood school where people make you feel different because we have hearing loss and we have to constantly explain how to better communicate with us,” said Laura Gramer.
This concern is shared with other parents who have kids in the program.
“There’s nowhere else for them to go,” said Meg-Ann Whitney-Miller, a parent of deaf and hard of hearing students. “If we scatter them to the winds across the district, across the city, I have zero confidence that they will be appropriately served, zero.”
Parents of TOPS students who are not in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program said that their kids appreciate being in a diverse and inclusive community at TOPS.
“It's not just special education,” said Melissa Pico. “It's a culture. It's a whole community here, and I don't know that that was considered.”
Parents hope the district will decide to keep their school and their community together.
“My message to Seattle Public Schools would be, you're taking away from a community, you're breaking up a community that is unique and small and cannot be serviced by the local schools. We've seen it cannot be serviced by the local schools,” said Chris Longhurst.
KING 5 asked Seattle Public Schools what would happen to the program if TOPS K-8 school closed, but has not heard back.
On the district’s FAQ webpage abut the closures, one question is:
“Where will my child access intensive or specialized (Medically Fragile, Deaf and Hard of Hearing) special education services?”
The answer the district provided on the website is the following:
“SPS will ensure that all special education services and the full continuum of pathways will be available to all students who qualify. For many students, the services and pathways will be available at their neighborhood school. If a student is assigned to a pathway not available at their neighborhood school, they will be assigned to a school that has the appropriate pathway as close as possible to their residence. A parent/guardian can request an IEP meeting at any time to discuss their student’s services.”