Information from the City of Seattle

The City of Seattle today announced it will open and staff drop-in activities at 20 designated community centers for Seattle Public Schools students on free and reduced lunch from Kindergarten to 8th Grade if a strike delays the opening of Seattle Public Schools. The free program will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. beginning Thursday, September 5 and include supervised recreation activities, with an anticipated supervision ratio of 20 children to 1 adult leader. Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Associated Recreation Council will staff these sites.

“I urge the district and the teachers to do what it takes to reach an agreement and ensure our students are in the classroom on Wednesday,” said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. “If they do not reach an agreement, we are able to provide some drop-in services for the students most in need, but our capacity is limited.”

Due to space limitations, eligible students will be accepted as space permits each day. All students must have a completed registration form, which can be obtained at open community centers starting this weekend, at the community centers the day of the drop-in service, or online at http://www.seattle.gov/parks. A registration form still must be printed and brought to the community center if registration has been done online. Parents can secure a spot for their child in advance by going to https://class.seattle.gov/parks/Start/Start.asp beginning Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m., but those spaces will not be held past 9:00 a.m. each day of the drop-in service.

Parents are asked to drop off eligible children by 9:00 a.m. each day. Once signed in, children will only be released to the authorized contacts listed on the registration form (identification is required). Parents are also asked to drop off a sack lunch with their child each day if possible. Breakfast, drinks, and snacks will be provided to all students, and lunch will be provided to those students who are unable to bring their own.

The drop-in activities will be available at the following community centers:
Alki, 5817 Southwest Stevens Street
Ballard, 6020 28th Avenue Northwest
Bitter Lake, 13035 Linden Avenue North
Delridge, 4501 Delridge Way Southwest
Garfield, 2323 East Cherry Street
Hiawatha, 2700 California Avenue Southwest
High Point, 6920 34th Avenue Southwest
Jefferson, 3801 Beacon Avenue South
Loyal Heights, 2101 Northwest 77th Street
Magnolia, 2550 34th Avenue West
Magnuson, 7110 62nd Avenue Northeast
Meadowbrook, 10517 35th Avenue Northeast
Miller, 330 19th Avenue Northeast
Northgate, 10510 5th Avenue Northeast
Queen Anne, 1901 First Avenue West
Rainier, 4600 38th Avenue South
Ravenna-Eckstein, 6535 Ravenna Avenue Northeast
South Park, 8319 8th Avenue South
Van Asselt, 2820 South Myrtle Street
Yesler, 917 East Yesler Way

This service would be available until Friday, September 13, unless a strike ends and school begins before that date. If a strike continues beyond September 13, the City will examine its ability to continue providing this service.

Parks will also retain the summer Teen Center hours until school resumes in order to provide some daytime drop-in activities for teens. Geographically located Teen Centers are Meadowbrook, Garfield, and Southwest. Hours will be from noon to 8:00 pm on days when school is not in session due to a strike. Parks will also have regular Late Night programs at the following geographically based Community and Teen Centers: Bitter Lake, Delridge, High Point, Garfield Teen Center, Meadowbrook Teen Center, Rainier, Rainier Beach, Southwest Teen Center, South Park, and Van Asselt.