Temporary Move FAQ

For two school years, 2023 - 2024 and 2024 - 2025, Montlake Elementary will move to a temporary location while our school building is being renovated.  Montlake staff and students will use the John Marshall building during this time.

How will students get to and from the John Marshall building?

By bus. SPS transportation will put a pick-up and drop-off plan together, and students will be grouped at stops near their homes. If enough families are interested and enjoy walking to and from Montlake, there may also be the opportunity to be picked up (and dropped off) as a larger group at the beginning and end of the school day.

Will the school start/end times be the same as they are now ?

 Unless something changes at the district level, school times are projected to stay the same.

How will students who attend Montlake but live outside the neighborhood get to school?

SPS Transportation will put together a drop-off and pick-up plan that is specific to every family.

What do you see as some of the benefits for our time in the John Marshall school building

John Marshall was remodeled approximately six years ago. The building is in good condition, is close to Greenlake, and is big enough to have options for flex spaces. It also has a large kitchen cafeteria and stage. It has two gyms, which allows for plenty of space for PE and indoor recess when needed. The Montlake staff and families will have a large parking lot to use, and the building is ADA accessible with an elevator and ramps at the entrance.

Will the Montlake art and garden programs continue at John Marshall? 

John Marshall has an Art Room, and also has a science room that might be used as a flex garden space. There is also a large planter in the shape of an alligator at the front of the school which could be used for a garden program.

Are you anticipating decreased enrollment during the remodel?  

Uncertain.

Who can families contact with other questions about the remodel and relocation plan?  

Paul Wight, Capital Projects Manager for Montlake, [email protected]

Will there be after school care at John Marshall? If so, will there be more student spaces than now? 

John Marshall has more physical space available and a dedicated, licensable child care room. Though the Montlake administration will determine how the school spaces will be best used, previous child cares have used one of the gyms (closest to child care Room 110), and have also used the cafeteria and other rooms as needed. Assuming Launch is able to hire the staff to support it, there is adequate space to enroll more students in the program than the current Montlake facility can support. Launch and other child-care providers across the city are working hard to staff their programs, and we cannot predict whether this will continue.

Which organization will run the after school program at John Marshall? 

Our current child care provider is Launch.  They are planning to continue providing after school care in our temporary location.

Will there be any transportation from the after school program at John Marshall back to the Montlake neighborhood?

This is not provided by SPS transportation or Launch; however, families are welcome to pursue service arrangements with a provider or find another work-around if they feel this is a need. Launch has offered to help facilitate the organization of carpools with families who are enrolled in their program.

Could school buses take students to a different after school program location closer to Montlake?

This is not provided by SPS Transportation, but families are welcome to fill out an alternate address form at https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/transportation/ to demonstrate interest for specific locations. Contact the Department of Transportation to find out if there is a bus with room for your child associated with the alternate drop-off address. There are no guarantees, but families are welcome to fill out this form. 

When the school moves into the remodeled space in 2025, will enrollment increase? If so, are other nearby schools consolidating with Montlake? Or, will neighborhood boundary lines change?

Boundary lines will not change. The new school has been designed to accommodate 500 students, and historically enrollment increases after Capital projects at schools.