My Meeting with Michael Tolley and Shauna Heath
Back at the beginning of the summer, when I was being a real nudge, I was invited to a half-hour meeting with Michael Tolley and Shauna Heath scheduled for today. We had that meeting this morning and it consisted entirely of my questions and their answers. They were gracious and relatively candid. Half an hour isn't much time and I wanted to cover a few topics in great depth.The first thing I aske
Education News
Some interesting legal rulings have come across my desk.One is from Ed Week that 529 Plan Savings can be used to pay for college courses taken in high school. As long as students are getting college-level credit and are enrolled as students at a college, there is no age requirement about when families can start using savings from their 529 plans, according to Joseph Hurley, founder of Savingforco
Nickelsville to move near Washington Middle School?
The West Seattle Blog is reporting that the Nickelsville homeless camp will be moving to a site at 20th and Jackson which is near Washington Middle School at 21st and Jackson.I'll ask the district about this. Thanks to alert reader Amy.
Executive Committee Meeting Wrap-up
I attended the Executive Committee meeting last week.The minutes from the previous meeting on June 12th were somewhat telling. They reflect some discussion of the new Seattle Teacher Residency program. Michael Tolley noted that it had been assigned to the Audit and Finance Committee and not the Curriculum and Instruction Committee. That's interesting because I would think training teachers woul
Marni Campbell Leaving Seattle Schools
Marni Campbell, Executive Director for the NW, is leaving to become the Executive Director of Instruction and Innovation in Highline School District for Susan Enfield. (Oddly, the notice of her hiring just calls her "Executive Director of Schools" which sounds like a far larger post than for just a region. Probably an oversight.) I don't see this as a big loss for SPS as it seemed that she was
8-28-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools: Not Open for Business September 4th?The district sent out this e-mail to families:The Seattle Education Association (SEA), which represents teachers, rejected the district’s latest contract proposal. They plan to meet again on September 3 to vote on whatever the proposal is at that time. With the start of school on September 4, we are encouraging f