Viewlands Elementary School parents and community members hope their vision to grow Viewlands towards an environmentally focused preschool through eighth grade will make as much sense to the Seattle Public School District as it does to them.

"It's a very united feeling at Viewlands," said parent Lynn Miller.

The idea is to develop Viewlands from a general K-5 to an environmentally focused school by phasing in additional grades overtime. It's something the school community has been wanting for a long time, said Miller.

Viewlands supporters want to convince the district that the school is primed for environmental based curriculum. The goals of the new school would include hands on activities in the classroom and science lab and many outdoor learning experiences in nearby Carkeek Park.

Parents propose enhancing the school's existing partnerships with Carkeek Park naturalists, the Salmon Restoration Program and the Piper's Creek Watershed Project to study ecosystems, climate, conservation, watersheds, creeks, rivers and oceans.

So far the idea has gained the support of at least one school board member.

"They definitely have the expertise to move ahead with this idea," said Sally Soriano, who represents some schools in Crown Hill and Ballard.

In March, the district appointed a 14-member community advisory council to make recommendations on which Seattle Public elementary or alternative schools should close to quell a growing budget deficit. Viewlands parents and staff think the committee made many mistakes when evaluating their school.

"We are trying to bring the reality of what is happening to the floor," said Miller. "We want the board to realize the misinformation. It's very disconcerting to feel like they can't grasp that the committee is wrong."

The committee, which spent about two months analyzing schools based on a number of board determined criteria, such as academics and building condition, recommended that Viewlands be shut down and its students dispersed to nearby schools because of low building condition and educational adequacy scores. They said the school's "windows and doors are past their useful life." The exterior brick needs cleaning and repainting and the interior needs refurbishing. The school is set on a busy arterial, classrooms are inadequate and the facility is "very worn."

Community member and activist Kate Martin said it isn't the schools fault that Viewlands has been "neglected by the school district." Parents have been stuck with making many of the improvements themselves, she said.

"Despite all the cards being dealt to them, they turned to each other and asked, 'how can we make it better,'" said Martin.

Viewlands had the fewest kindergarten first choice in the Northwest quadrant of the city in 2002, 2004, and 2005. According to the committee, it has the lowest enrollment in its quadrant and there is a projected decrease of area K-5 residents through 2014. During the past few years, enrollment has stayed steady at around 200 students, but the school can hold 390.

Parent Julie Gwinn said the committee's enrollment predictions are flawed.

"We know anecdotally that more kids and families are coming in," said Gwinn, who has a master's degree in planning and real estate. "There was a big dip in residential building permits in 1999 and then it spiked. We are having a real building boom in our cluster."

Martin said Viewlands is situated near high density Greenwood and Holman roads and closing the school would be contrary to the city's goal of building urban density and avoiding sprawl.

"If I was going to put my finger on one thing that would keep families from leaving Seattle it is public education," said Martin. "We can't have the holistic city we are trying to create without it. I see a lot of kids walking to school here. That's exactly what they city wants."

The committee did praise some of Viewlands special programs. They called the school's Living Values program "a model for the district." That program involves the entire staff and student community in activities that explore one universal value at a time, such as compassion or unity. The Asperger/Autism inclusion program integrates special education students closely with the general education program and enhances the learning of all students, said the committee. But they recommend moving that program to nearby Greenwood Elementary.

Some parents like Doug Lidz, said the inclusion program would not be moved unless the entire student body went with it. Instead of disrupting a successful program, Lidz said the district should use it as an example.

School board member Soriano agreed.

"I think (their inclusion program) is an absolute model," said Soriano. She also said Viewlands could thrive if it expanded to include additional grade levels.

"There is no K-8 in the Northwest part of the city except for Salmon Bay, but that always has a waiting list," she said. "Let's replicate that."

The school board is looking at a number of options for Viewlands, said Soriano.

Viewlands should be saved because it's already proven its success, said Miller. There has been a steady increase in the percent of students meeting the standards of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning and the school has the second highest percentage of students living in poverty who met those standards in the Northwest quadrant.

"The miracle the district wants is going on in (Viewlands)," said Martin, chair of the Piper's Creek Watershed Council. "These people are walking the walk." "I couldn't pay for my kids to go to school like that."

Closures and consolidations are scheduled for fall 2007. The last public hearing on the recommendations is planned for July 19 and the school board will make a final decision July 26.