Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Arts in Schools from Councilman Nick Licata

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Arts in Schools from Councilman Nick Licata:


Arts in Schools from Councilman Nick Licata

by Melissa Westbrook
From Nick Licata's Office:



I recently came across this interesting article (http://www.studio360.org/2012/may/04/can-obamas-turnaround-arts-initiative-save-schools/) published by Studio 360 describing the Obama Administration's $14.7 million Turnaround Arts Initiative (http://turnaroundarts.pcah.gov/). The initiative seeks to utilize arts education to improve eight of the nation's worst performing schools over the next three years. One can argue whether that is nearly enough to address our educational system's needs, but underlying it is a belief that I share: we need to go beyond testing students in reading, writing and arithmetic.

That is a concern I had upon learning that none of the arts organization applicants for Families and Education Levy (F&E) 2012-2013 funding were deemed qualified to receive funding. Although other types of organizations were also not chosen because they couldn't guarantee measureable results, there was uncertainty over how to measure the influence of arts education in helping students think creatively.

 In response, the City's Office for Education (OFE: http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/education/edlevy.htm) will conduct four workshops for prospective applicants to 2013-2014 F&E funding. The workshops will take place for a full day on Monday, June 25; a half day on Tuesday, June 26; a full day on Wednesday, August 1; and a half day on Thursday, August 2. For the June 26 & August 2 workshops, OFE staff will meet with any arts education group requesting a one-on-one consultation. The workshops will present the Seattle School District's



Transportation Talking Points and other Ideas

by Melissa Westbrook
Pick any or all but do let them hear from you.

Also, Marty McLaren is having a meeting tomorrow.  If you can go, let her hear from you.
12:30-2:00 on Wednesday May 9th at the Southwest Library, 9010 35th Ave SW
  • school playgrounds not sufficiently lit 
  • issues with adults (teachers or staff) being there to supervise
  • No Public Engagement: The District introduced the new transportation plan at the School Board meeting on Wednesday, May 2 to be voted on at the next meeting, May 16. Staff admitted there was no public engagement prior to introduction of the plan. Furthermore, the proposal acknowledges that 5-6 additional schools will need to be moved to Tier One, but staff won’t disclose which schools will be affected. That robs those who will be affected of the opportunity to evaluate the impact to their school communities and provide feedback.

    • After Open Enrollment: The Transportation Service Standards, adopted by the School Board on February 1, 2012, state that bus arrival/departure times and school start/end times must be established prior to the start of Open Enrollment. Open Enrollment ended in March. 
    •  Enrollment: The District has not considered the impact on Enrollment if they make this change now. We predict that many families will leave option schools on Tier One because of the time change and show up at their attendance area school, many of which are already over-crowded. 
    •  Safety: The Transportation Service Standards state that option schools can have bus rides up to 
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