Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Federal Way Public Academy

This discussion was subject to a deletion review on 2016 February 20.
For an explanation of the process, see Wikipedia:Deletion review.

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was merge to Federal Way School District. The article's subject is found to lack the required notability to have a stand-alone article. — Coffee // have a cup // beans // 15:51, 19 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Federal Way Public Academy

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Not a diploma granting high school, so not automatically notable, no indication of ORGDEPTH. Note that an attempt was made to redirect it to the school district, which will be the inevitable outcome here, but an IPv6 editor reverted the redirect. So here we are..... John from Idegon (talk) 05:19, 25 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Schools-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 20:09, 25 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Keep as a secondary school per longstanding precedent and consensus. Educates to the school-leaving age in many countries so does count as a secondary school. -- Necrothesp (talk) 14:25, 27 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America¹⁰⁰⁰ 15:56, 1 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I do not believe the page should be closed. It is important for individual schools to have their own wikipedia page for incoming students can refer to it as well as for logistical purposes.

Furthermore, the school is very qualified within the district. It ranks in the top 3 college-preparatory academies when contrasted with the other learning institutions situated within the district boundaries.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:601:200:680:1185:e233:3914:87fa (talk • contribs) 02:08, 2 February 2016‎

Keep as a high school. No reason to think that with local and hard copy searches sources cannot be found to meet WP:ORG. We keep high schools for very good reasons; not only do they influence the lives of thousands of people but they also play a significant part in their communities. Expansion not deletion is the way to go with such stubs. Just Chilling (talk) 23:36, 6 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]
THIS IS NOT A HIGH SCHOOL^[1] In the US, grades 6-10 is a middle school. And local sources do not establish notability under ORG. John from Idegon (talk) 00:08, 7 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Grades 6-8 represent middle schools. The grade at which a leaving certificate is issued marks the boundary of a high school. In the US that is Grade 10. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Just Chilling (talk • contribs)

- - Just Chilling, Do you have a source for that statement? I have never heard of getting a "certification" for finishing middle school, and High school beginning at grade 10 is just plain false. Most high schools start at grade 9. Some middle schools start at grade 5. What is unambiguous is that when you finish high school, you are done with your basic education. Very few students leave school at the end of the 10th grade, and with only a few exceptions, the reason students leave prior to the end of 12th grade is failure. If you do not get a recognized diploma for successful completion, the institution is not a high school. Only high schools have automatic notability. Perhaps you are confusing UK practice with US practice? John from Idegon (talk) 20:02, 8 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, —UY Scuti ^Talk 18:20, 8 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Comment - Notifying DGG for analysis. SwisterTwister talk 02:47, 9 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Merge to school district It is indeed a junior high school. It is possible that later grades will be added in future years, but calling it a college preparatory school is true only in the sense that it is part of a college preparatory curriculum after the final two years elsewhere, and that it is assumed that the students in it will , when they finish in the actual high school , go on to college. I checked this in detail with their web site--see http://schools.fwps.org/pa/ , and more specifically, http://schools.fwps.org/pa/files/2015/09/201516.jpg?f5991c for their class schedule. If we do not have an article on the district, this can go to draft space as part of one until it can be started. DGG ( talk ) 06:12, 9 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Merge to Federal Way School District as this seems best. SwisterTwister talk 06:27, 9 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Comment. We generally consider all schools that educate to 16 to be secondary schools as that is the school-leaving age in much of the world. -- Necrothesp (talk) 14:09, 10 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Keep - two sources were enough as provided on main article. D4iNa4 (talk) 11:33, 11 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - FYI, school leaving age in the State of Washington, USA, is 18.^[2] What the school leaving age is anywhere else in the world may be is totally irrelevant. No Child will ever walk out the door of this school and be done. And to those that proffered the argument "sources should exist", I ask "Where?" Local schools are rarely covered beyond locally. To nominate an article for deletion, BEFORE is required. Although in letter it does not apply to !votes, the spirit is there. To make that kind of arguement, in at least one case a cut and paste that I've seen in other AfD discussions, is a waste of the community's time. John from Idegon (talk) 12:08, 13 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Federal Way Public Academy". ed.gov. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
^ "Age range for compulsory school attendance and special education services, and policies on year-round schools and kindergarten programs, by state: Selected years, 1997 through 2008". ed.gov. Retrieved 13 February 2016.

Merge per DGG. Comments about "the school-leaving age in much of the world" disregard the fact the school does not educate to the school-leaving age in the particular part of the world that it is actually in. Egsan Bacon (talk) 04:08, 16 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Keep per the significant coverage in reliable sources.
1. Rodriguez, Carrie (2014-05-21). "Students shine at Federal Way Public Academy; lottery determines admission". Federal Way Mirror. Sound Publishing. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  The article notes:
  
  Out of 143 students who applied for the Federal Way Public Academy (FWPA), only the first 60 incoming sixth graders that Curtis called made it into the school. The other 83 students were placed on a waiting list, again, via the lottery.
  ...
  FWPA provides students a rigorous, challenging academic program. The school’s mission is to provide a college preparatory curriculum for students in grades six through 10. About 300 students attend the small school each year and are placed through the Choice Enrollment program via a lottery. Though the school is open to all students, more than 60 percent of those who apply on average are turned away.
2. Low, Kyra (2008-12-13). "Federal Way Public Academy celebrates 10 years". Federal Way Mirror. Sound Publishing. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
3. "Public Academy not adding 10th grade this fall". Federal Way Mirror. Sound Publishing. 2002-03-13. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
4. "Federal Way Public Academy supports Kenyan school for AIDS orphans". Federal Way Mirror. Sound Publishing. 2012-10-31. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
5. Ciepiela, Elizabeth (2008-06-13). "Public Academy head sets goals for next year". Federal Way Mirror. Sound Publishing. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  The article notes:
  
  When she was in the 10th grade, a nun inspired Federal Way Public Academys new principal, Judy Kraft.
  Sister Matthew Walker was a strict disciplinarian who taught Kraft how to write, introduced her to Fyodor Dostoevsky and Walt Whitman and quizzed the class each morning on the nightly news.
  "I had to write. I had to think. I had to speak. I had to work. And I loved every minute of it," Kraft said.
  Today, Kraft brings her private school education and her career as a teacher and assistant principal with her to her new job as principal of Federal Way's Public Academy.
  Kraft began July 1, following the footsteps of Ray Griffin, the school's founder and first principal.
6. Broom, Jack (2013-03-24). "We Day concert/rally expected to draw 15,000". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  The article notes:
  
  That’s already happening. Federal Way Public Schools, which is sending more than 1,200 students and chaperones to We Day, has a districtwide focus on service, which includes raising money for an adopted village in Sierra Leone.
  In addition, individual schools have projects of their own. Federal Way Public Academy, an academics-focused alternative school, is sending about a third of its 306 students to We Day.
  Projects at that school include the fashion show to benefit homeless teens in the Puget Sound area, and an annual carnival to help build a school in a village in Kenya.
7. Maynard, Steve (2004-02-02). "Federal Way academy to dedicate building - 'Success': Public prep school uses Socratic style". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  The article notes:
  
  The warehouse-type building once was home for the Deluxe Check Printing Co.
  Now it's the deluxe $6 million home of the Federal Way Public Academy, an intensely focused college preparatory program for sixth- through 10th-graders.
  The public can view the new campus at a dedication ceremony Thursday night.
  Founded in 1999 by Federal Way Public Schools, the 285-student academy had been meeting in portables on the Illahee Middle School campus. It moved into the 34,841-square-foot renovated building in early October.
  The academy stresses math, science, technology, Spanish, writing, speaking and leadership skills. Its 13 teachers focus on Socratic, seminar-style teaching which emphasizes discussion. Sixth and 10th grades were added in the fall.
  Test scores for academy students are far higher than state averages.
8. Sullivan, Paula Lavigne (1999-08-30). "New school to challenge gifted children - Federal Way district's academy will offer immersion learning". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  The article notes:
  
  The Federal Way Public Academy opens for the first time Wednesday to about 120 students. It is a public junior high school for smart students who want to be immersed in learning.
  Students take advanced lessons in math, science, English and computers along with their choice of foreign language. There's no football team. No band. No drama club. The school is three portable units chopped up into five classrooms and one office in a parking lot behind Illahee Junior High.
  Its creation was tinged with controversy from those who called the academy elitist and suggested instead the district improve honors courses at the six junior high schools.
9. Cafazzo, Debbie (1998-09-16). "Idea For Rigorous Federal Way Junior High Academy to Get Hearing - Proponent to Share Views About Controversial School at 2 Public Meetings". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  The article notes:
  
  The Federal Way School Board gave tentative approval to the academy concept in April. But the board asked academy proponent Charles Griffin to return in November with more details on what would be taught in the school, where it could be housed and other issues.
  Griffin said he's been working on those details over the summer.
  Griffin, an administrator at the private Annie Wright School in Tacoma, developed the idea for a public school academy for high achievers while he was working on a doctoral degree in education at the University of Washington. He proposed the idea to the Federal Way School District, he said, because Superintendent Tom Vander Ark has a reputation for innovation.
  Griffin said he wants to offer the same kind of rigorous, high-standard academic work available in many private schools to public school students whose families might not be able to afford private schooling.
  Federal Way Public Academy would be a small school, likely located in a portable classroom building on an existing campus. It would not offer the full breadth of classes and activities available at traditional junior high schools, but it would instead appeal to students who want to focus intensely on high-level academics.
10. Pemberton-Butler, Lisa (1999-09-01). "Shh! It's Almost A Charter School - Federal Way Academy Sets Its Own Curriculum". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  The article notes:
  
  Freshly painted and surrounded by towering Douglas fir trees, three portable buildings are home to an unusual school that will be one of the most aggressive experiments with education reform in the state.
  The Federal Way Public Academy, a rigorous college-prep junior high that opens today, joins a growing network of community initiated schools. But there's a striking difference between it and the dozens of other alternative, or "choice," public schools in the state.
  In exchange for extensive freedom in how they do things, academy officials have signed a contract giving the School Board the right to close the school in two years if it fails to meet the high standards it has promised to attain.
  ...
  Under its contract with the district, the Public Academy will handle its own budget, staffing and programs - a practice becoming more common across the district as it strives to form a system of choice schools, officials say.
  With an annual operating budget, including staff salaries, of about $1 million, the school will receive the same district funding per student as other schools, Isaman said. It just has more flexibility in the way it spends it.
11. Cafazzo, Debbie (1998-11-24). "College-Prep School OK'D in Federal Way - Board Votes 3-2 To Set Up Academy For 120 Students". Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  The article notes:
  
  A divided Federal Way School Board granted approval for a small college-preparatory academy Monday night.
  The board voted 3-2 to approve the Federal Way Public Academy, which is to open to 120 seventh- and eighth-graders in September 1999.
  Board members Holly Isaman, Linda Hendrickson and Jim Storvick voted to approve the school, while board President Ann Murphy and board member Joel Marks were opposed.
  The school is designed to offer a rigorous curriculum to high-achieving students from throughout the school district. It was proposed earlier this year by Charles Griffin, an administrator at the private Annie Wright School in Tacoma.
  He developed the idea for a public college-prep school while working toward a doctorate at the University of Washington. He has said he wants to offer the same kind of high-standard academic work available in many private schools to public school students.
There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Federal Way Public Academy to pass Wikipedia:Notability#General notability guideline, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject".
Cunard (talk) 05:17, 16 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

With significant coverage in the Federal Way Mirror, The News Tribune, and The Seattle Times, it is clear that Federal Way Public Academy passes Wikipedia:Notability#General notability guideline. The article should be kept, not merged, regardless of whether it is a considered a high school or not. Cunard (talk) 05:17, 16 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Comment - Local schools will be covered in local papers. All of the sources you mention are local papers (Sea-tac). Hence, still fails ORGDEPTH. And just in case it wasn't clear, as the nominator, the outcome I was looking for is Merge to Federal Way School District. John from Idegon (talk) 05:54, 16 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Seattle Times is a major regional newspaper, the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington.
From Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies)#Audience (my bolding):
The source's audience must also be considered. Evidence of significant coverage by international or national, or at least regional, media is a strong indication of notability. On the other hand, attention solely from local (as in - with a circulation limited to a single city or metropolitan area) media, or media of limited interest and circulation (such as trade journals), is not an indication of notability; at least one regional, statewide, provincial, national, or international source is necessary.
Since The Seattle Times is a regional newspaper, Federal Way Public Academy passes Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies).
Cunard (talk) 06:07, 16 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The Seattle Times article hat still does not show notability beyond the immediate region. This is a perennial problem for the local coverage by major newspapers, The other articles are press releases wherever published. DGG ( talk ) 06:53, 16 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Comment - This concept is quite unique. One can hope that somewhere down the line a paper will be written and vetted on it. Until theses academic sources are created, though, we are at TOOSOON. John from Idegon (talk) 07:32, 16 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Merge to Federal Way Public Schools. Not a high school so WP:OUTCOMES doesn't apply, and the coverage is only from local sources, so it doesn't appear to pass WP:ORGDEPTH. Onel5969 ^{TT me} 13:18, 17 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

[1] "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Federal Way Public Academy". ed.gov. Retrieved 7 February 2016.

[2] "Age range for compulsory school attendance and special education services, and policies on year-round schools and kindergarten programs, by state: Selected years, 1997 through 2008". ed.gov. Retrieved 13 February 2016.

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