Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 5, May 2003

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Wallingford neighbors angered over lack of notification

By MATTHEW PREUSCH

Wallingford residents crowded the gym at former McDonald School on March 13 to hear from representatives of the building's newest occupants, the ReLife Center of the Puget Sound Educational Service District.

ReLife draws students with emotional or behavioral problems from school districts throughout the county, and it provides behavioral and social therapy, as well as traditional education programs.

But when word spread through the grapevine that troubled youths, some with violent pasts, were attending the school, a small panic went up.

While many at the meeting grilled ReLife officials over safety questions, most of the residents' anger was directed at Seattle Public Schools for failing to inform them of the ReLife Center's arrival.

Steven Brown, a school board member and Wallingford resident, said even he was unaware that ReLife was coming to McDonald. "I didn't know about this until I started getting some of your e-mails over the weekend," he told the crowd.

Nancy McHenry, director of ReLife, tried to allay neighbors' concerns by explaining the program. She said McDonald was a temporary site for the program, and that the center hoped to find a different permanent home by the summer.

Currently, ReLife serves about two dozen students, grades 3-12, most of whom have been expelled from other schools. The students are always under supervision, either by teachers or security guards, and must pass through a metal detector and get searched every morning. "We have never, ever had a weapons problem," she said.

McHenry said the students were generally eager to improve. "These kids want to be successful," she said. "All they've ever heard is, 'You're causing problems.'"

For more information, call 935-9671.