Letter to the Editor: Additional funding will improve services at McGilvra Elementary

Editor,

We want to thank you for your Jan. 10 article about our neighborhood public elementary school, McGilvra.

We are excited to let you and our community know about increased investments in Washington State public schools for the 2022-23 school year and beyond, which will directly impact McGilvra Elementary School and other neighborhood schools. Among the legislative accomplishment this year is dedication of more than $600 million over the next three years to help schools hire more counselors, nurses, social workers and psychologists. We know the social-emotional supports for our community are critical for engagement and learning, and we are so pleased to see additional funded.

A big thank you to Washington State taxpayers, the Washington State Legislature, Seattle Public Schools and public-school advocates so we can have increased investments in our public schools for the future!

The McGilvra PTA would also like to remind our community about some of the great features of our school.

McGilvra Elementary School was built in 1913 and has served generations of Seattleites. It is a small, welcoming neighborhood school and community that feeds primarily from Madison Park, Denny Blaine, Washington Park, Madison Valley and Arboretum neighborhoods. We have wonderful teachers who have been with the school for five to 20+ years — once they come, they stay as the school is such a great community and place to be! Our principal is a strong leader and collaborator. Teachers and staff get to know all the students and their families.

There are many opportunities for family involvement and a strong PTA that supports community engagement.

We have a full-time math and reading academic intervention teacher who supports our reading support program. We have a great art program, physical education three times a week and vocal and instrumental music. McGilvra boasts a large outdoor area and a newly resurfaced turf field that gets well used before and after school and at recess. We also have a beautiful cafeteria and multipurpose building, newly built in 2018, where the school hosts concerts and other community events.

McGilvra supports great academics in addition to a strong social-emotional focus; we have a wonderful school counselor (now fully funded by the state) who teaches curriculum in each classroom every week and supports students in small groups and one-on-one. McGilvra also supports numerous opportunities for student leadership development including student council from K-fifth grade.

There is a great afterschool program that includes outdoor time, indoor crafts, snacks and homework time that runs until 6 p.m. in addition to a KidsTime program where kids can take hour-long afterschool programs in a range of activities including jewelry making, outdoor education, chess and world languages. 

Being a public school, it is free for every child to attend McGilvra.

To learn more about the school, visit our website at https://mcgilvraes.seattleschools.org/ and our PTA website at mcgilvrapta.org.

The McGilvra Elementary School Parent-Teacher
Association